What If Narrowing Your Focus Is THE Missing Piece?

I've suggested MANY times that the most important ministry book you could read is Seven Practices of Effective Ministry. In fact, I've suggested it so many times that I'm actually disappointed in you if you haven't read it multiple times. It is the best explanation for the way to do effective ministry. I really do believe that.

Which leads me to today's post.

Have you ever wondered if there actually was a single most important missing piece to your strategy?

Think about this Andy Stanley line:

"Your ministry is perfectly designed to produce the results you are currently experiencing."

Is that phrase locked squarely in your mind?

Your ministry is perfectly designed to produce the results you are currently experiencing. Click To Tweet

Now think about this, what if you have everything right in your design except one thing? Could that one thing cause your results to still miss the mark? To keep you from achieving the win that you've clarified?

What do you think? Could getting everything right except one thing cause you to miss the mark?

Spoiler Alert: I believe your design only has to miss one thing in order to significantly alter your results.

Your design only has to miss one thing in order to significantly alter your results. —Mark Howell Click To Tweet

That's right. If your ministry is perfectly designed to produce the results you are currently experiencing...only one element of the design needs to be off.

Example: 8 Key Design Elements to a Successful Church-Wide Campaign:

For example, if I were to list the major design elements to a successful church-wide campaign, the list would include the following:

1. The topic (or specific study chosen).
2. The timing of the weekend message series.
3. Isolating a single message for each weekend in the weeks leading up to the campaign.
4. The senior pastor's involvement as champion in promoting the campaign.
5. The message series that leads up to the campaign.
6. A clear distinction between the host ask and the group member ask.
7. Connecting every new group leader with a coach.
8. Choosing the follow up study in advance and promoting it skillfully to new group leaders and members.

What if you only missed one design element?

I believe you only have to miss one design element to end up with significantly reduced results.

Choose the wrong topic, you're toast because the topic determines who will say yes to hosting and who say yes to joining a groups.

Chose the wrong timing for the series and clearly your results will be different.

Choose the wrong person to champion the campaign (anyone other than the senior pastor) and your results will be significantly reduced.

Choose the wrong message series leading up to the campaign and your host and member asks will seem forced.

Fail to differentiate between the host ask and the member ask and you will severely compromise the number of hosts you recruit.

Fail to connect every new leader with a coach or fail to choose the right follow up series and you will sustain far fewer new groups.

Note: For most of my readers, especially those who have completed MAXIMIZE Your Church-Wide Campaign - 2020 Update, this is all old news.

Special Note: Fail to isolate a single message, to narrow the focus, to a single objective and the whole thing can be drowned out by the white noise of too many opportunities.

Fail to isolate a single message, to narrow the focus, to a single objective and the whole thing can be drowned out by the white noise of too many opportunities. Click To Tweet

The Most Overlooked Design Element?

I believe the most overlooked design element is the failure to isolate a single message, to narrow the focus, to a single objective. When too many things, too many options, are being promoted at the same time, the whole thing can be drowned out by the white noise of too many opportunities.

The most overlooked design element is the failure to isolate a single message, to narrow the focus, to a single objective. When too many things, too many options, are being promoted at the same time, the whole thing can be drowned out… Click To Tweet

When you attempt to promote more than one thing at a time, your people hear noise. They do not hear options. They hear noise.

If you want to connect beyond the usual suspects, you must narrow the focus to the single message you want them to hear. When you don't do that, it is a design problem. Your design problem.

If you want to connect beyond the usual suspects, you must narrow the focus to the single message you want them to hear. When you don't do that, it is a design problem. Your design problem. Click To Tweet

P.S. If you haven't read Seven Practices of Effective Ministry you can order it right here (and join the smart set).

Further Reading:

• 10 Simple Steps to a Great Church-Wide Campaign
• 5 Keys to Avoiding a Church-Wide Campaign Disaster
• Narrowing the Focus Leads to a Church OF Groups

Image by Andrew Kimmel