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Ultimate Guide To Church Business Plans: How To & A Free Template

Cody Perez is an editor for Venture 4th Media, dealing with editing, general content creation, and assisting with launching new websites. He also writes for a variety of large media companies, including IGN and Destructoid. Cody currently studies remotely for Tokyo International University, focusing on Business Economics and Japanese, which has complemented his 10+ years of experience in marketing, public relations, social media, and content creation.

When you hear someone refer to a church as a business, I don’t blame you if you shudder a little bit. Church financial management is fundamentally different from for-profit entities… and the idea of any church running itself as a traditional business is alarming and, rightfully so. That said, we can learn from companies through […]

When you hear someone refer to a church as a business, I don’t blame you if you shudder a little bit. Church financial management is fundamentally different from for-profit entities... and the idea of any church running itself as a traditional business is alarming and, rightfully so.

That said, we can learn from companies through features like a church business plan. 

A church business plan takes the idea of laying out a document with everything someone needs to know at a glance about an organization. Instead of making it about maximizing profits and return on investments, though, it is about building the Kingdom of God. 

In my time serving in a large church, I find the most successful and growing churches nail down an efficient church business plan. That plan is one of the tools in your church management toolbox. Your church management software (ChMS) is another central tool - and we've ranked and compared the best FREE church management software tools.

I’ll cover:

What is a church business plan, why do you need a church business plan, what should be included in your business plan.

• How To Create A Business Plan For Your Church

Church Business Plan Template & Sample

At its core, a strategic plan isn’t too much different from one you might find in a standard brick-and-mortar store. The idea is to lay out who your business (religious organization, in this case) is, what its purpose is, and how you will go about accomplishing your goals. 

A church business plan doesn’t have to be as detailed or extensive in its raw data, specifics, and legal jargon like you might find in a regular business. It is possible to shrink it down to a single page where you succinctly and adequately describe the top level details of your church. 

A church business plan is a straightforward, technical document. It can include some of your more passionate ideas but this page should essentially be as dry as can be.

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There are a few reasons why you need a strategic plan, starting with the fact that you should take your church’s plans seriously. If you want to be taken seriously by others and experience church growth, building out a clear plan can help with that. 

The point of the church business plan is to show yourself and your staff members the steps moving forward for your church. Laying this out for your church staff will ensure that everyone is on the same page with a clear focus in front of them. 

This is especially crucial for any new church staff members you add to your team down the road. They weren’t with an original church leader when you first formed your vision and goals, so a business plan can be part of orienting them to your team. 

It goes beyond your church’s four walls, though. A church strategic plan is also essential for partnering with third-parties, be it investors, businesses, charity organizations, donors, and even other churches in your community. 

A business plan that you bring to the table immediately informs and shows the potential partner how serious you are about your business. Since few churches do this from my experience, I find that organizations are more willing to work with a church plant with an actual plan. 

The strategic planning process can be daunting, especially if you don’t have a professional on your team with experience with these. I find that a business plan for a church doesn’t need to be as lengthy or specific as one with an actual for-profit company or startup .

That said, there are some bare minimum sections and features you should absolutely include in your church business plan. Here’s what you need:

• Executive summary (can go by a different name as you will see in our template)
• Values and vision for your church
• Mission statement
• Current goals (both short-term and long-term)
• Plan of action for how to strategically execute those goals
• List of ministries and current staff members
• Financial (can be included in the prior section)

How To Create A Business Plan For Your Church?

When it comes to creating a church business plan, it can be a group effort between a few core staff members (supported perhaps by one of the top-end church software tools we've written about). I find this helps alleviate some of the stress and ensures that everyone’s ideas shine through. As mentioned, you can absolutely cover a business plan on a single page or even two without sacrificing the importance of it. 

1. Values and Vision (Executive Summary)

A business plan should begin with the overview of your church and what will be addressed below. Businesses call this the executive summary, but I like to call this area your values and vision. This is where you break down what your church stands for, what it believes in, and what it wants to do. 

This is a brief section, only meant to be a couple of paragraphs at best. I like to divide it between the now (what you believe in and currently do) with the future (what you are praying to see happen). Keep this section as brief and engaging as possible to hook in the reader who might just help you make this all happen. 

2. Mission Statement

Your mission statement should be its own section when it comes to a church business (and church business management ), not included in the previous area. This is because your mission is why you are doing what you’re doing. It is the central mantra of your church and should be given the spotlight it deserves.

The mission is your ultimate goal for your church, which you can word however you like. Any variation of building out the Kingdom of God or seeing everyone become believers works in this case. A couple of sentences or a short paragraph will do here. 

3. Current Goals

This third section is where we get into the nitty gritty of the church business plans. In this area, you lay out your current goals. While your mission statement is to see the whole world believe, your goals are smaller, more focused ideas that you can actually tackle with your church alone. 

These should include both short-term and long-term goals that your church has. A short-term goal might be something like completing the renovations of your sanctuary and buying a new piece of land. A long-term goal, though, could be to take that new land and build a homeless shelter or food bank for the nearby community. 

4. Plan of Action

Your goals and ideas need action to make them happen. This is the section where you detail the strategies you have for tackling your various goals. This could be noting that you need X amount of budget for Y purpose and go over the exact steps needed to happen. 

Your Plan of Action section can take up several pages on its own, so I prefer bullet points here that you can elaborate on in separate documents or meetings . Other Plan of Action could include smaller steps that build up to the greater goals. 

For instance, if you want a new piece of land for creating a new children’s center for the congregation (part of your church property management strategy), this is where you note steps for that. It could include meeting with nearby landowners, garnering interest from investors, doing fundraisers to gather funds for it, and finding the right construction company. 

5. Ministries and Staff Members

This final section is a bit of a catch-all area. You want the people you’re possibly partnering with or hiring onto your staff to know more about your church. Here, I like to list out all of the core ministries that you have at your church, a very brief description of them, and your staff members. 

That is rather straightforward enough, but it gives someone who might not regularly attend your weekly church service a better idea of it. In addition, I also like to include any financial areas in this section. 

If you want the person to know how much your church brought in last year, your current capital, and monthly costs, this is the place to do it, or create a separate section for it entirely, if you feel it is necessary. 

You can find my church business plan template here (simply click the link and make a copy of the document to edit). This blank template offers you the sections that I believe are crucial to any church serious about organizing its ideas for possible partners.

In addition, I included a sample of a filled-out business plan that offers a look at what you should include in each section. This sample isn’t directly taken from any one church—I used a made-up church in this case—but it is taken from some of the elements of past churches I worked with. 

Plan For The Good And The Bad

The church business plan is a document used for information, growth, and investment in your church. For the most part, everything surrounding this plan is dealing with the hopefuls and positives. But you also need to plan ahead when it comes to the negatives, too. 

There are struggles, disagreements, and issues that will inevitably happen when we come together to make a real change in the world. For those situations, a business plan won’t help in the slightest. I recommend creating a church risk management plan , which is there to mitigate and solve issues that can and will pop up. 

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Church Sample Business Plan

Church Sample Business Plan available free to download, customize and print for your administrative office..

Do you have a Business Plan for your church? If not, then you can start now with the sample below to help you create your own plan for your church.

Strategic planning is a very important part of the creation, development and growth of your church or any other organization.

Church business planning allows the ability to map out strategic steps to help your organization achieve their mission and vision.

The Church Business Plans Needs to Include:

• Mission and Vision Statements - You need statements to help explain where your church is going and why you want to get there and the principles that guide the organization.
• Market Research - This will determine if there is a need for what your church offers in the community. Make sure to get the opinions of the people who live in the community. Provide detailed information about competing churches in your area to find out what they offer and who they appeal to. Provide detailed information on how your church can fill in gaps with ministries to various age groups and community activities.
• Marketing Plan - This plan should explain how you will let prospective attendees how about your church and its unique offerings, such as by advertising your worship services, Bible studies and children's activities in the local paper. Don't forget to include a plan for building a website, getting free publicity through local publications and radio stations, and encouraging your congregation to invite others to join your church.
• Management Team - Explain in detail including their past experience in helping the church grow the management team that will be implementing the plan. If they don't have experience at other churches, discribe any other business successes they have achieved. Include a little background information on the people who will be impacting the plan's success, such as the Pastor and Youth Fellowship Leaders.
• Daily Operation of Church - Explain in steps the daily operation of your church including the duties of the administrator, minister, staff and volunteers who lead studies or group activities. Describe the church facility where you hold services and classes, and insert costs involved in moving to a larger facility once membership increases. List the equipment you will need over the next few years for the church, and this sectin should alsi include the insurance coverage the church carries.
• Financial Reports - Provide the church financial information as the final section of the plan including operating budgets, last 3 years of financial statements as well as 3 yars of forecasted projections including profit and loss statements. The profit and loss statements need to have all the potential contributions made to the church as well as expenses (Pastor's salary, utilities, rental space, etc.). Also include information on how your church qualifies as a non-profit organization to stay exempt from paying taxes.
• 1-3 Page Executive Summary - This is the last step but place it at the beginning of the plan. This summary needs to express the most important parts of the plan so that's why it's best to create it after you finish your plan.

Note: You will need Adobe Reader (the latest version is recommended) installed on your computer in order to save or open these forms. You can get Adobe Reader free here (a new window will open so you can download it without leaving this page). If you want to open the file in your browser window, just click on one of the links above. However, if you want to download the file to view later, then right-click on the link and choose "Save Target As" or "Save File As". Then select where you want to save the file on your hard drive.

Note:   These sample forms are meant to serve as example forms and should not be construed as legal documents.  Please contact a legal professional for legal language for your specific organization.

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Church Business Plan Example

Published Oct.12, 2016

Updated Apr.22, 2024

By: Cynthia Turner

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Table of Content

There are billions of Christians in the world today. They all need a sanctuary that they can visit on Sunday and during the week for prayer sessions, weddings, and other religious activities. If you are a professional evangelist, or you have the necessary credentials required to start and run a church, nothing should stop you from setting up your church.

Even though a church is not business as per say, you still need a church business plan to help you make the right decisions. OGS Capital is a group of business plan writers and industry experts who have been writing business plans for not only churches but also companies in a wide array of fields. We take pride in the fact that our church business plans have helped clergymen and clergywomen to set up churches all across the globe and preach the Gospel to millions of people.

Reasons why you need Professional Church Business Plans

To create a mission and vision.

Without a mission and vision of where you want to achieve from the church after a given number of years, you will not succeed in your mission to have a church. Our team of experts will help you to create a mission and vision statements that you can use to show the congregation the goals and objectives that you want to achieve. This section of the church business plan also helps one to get potential investors who would be willing to donate funds for the construction of the church and purchase of the required equipment.

We will also help you come up with;

• A financial model to guide you on how to spend your capital
• A strategic plan to keep you on the right track as the church expands
• A professional executive summary that gives an overview of the church

Market research and Analysis

As mentioned earlier, a church is not like a conventional business. However, it is still important to carry out market research and analysis to know if there is a need to start a church in your community. One way of knowing if you should go ahead and set up the church is by consulting the community members. Put their feedback into consideration to make the right decision.

To save you time and resources, our team of professionals church business plans writers will carry out an intensive market research and analysis and include the results in the reports. We will also go an extra mile and explain the results of our study to you to steer you in the right direction.

Creating a Marketing Plan

How will you inform the prospective attendees about your church and the unique offerings such as Sunday services? Starting a church and waiting for people to stream in every Sunday is counterproductive. You need to get down to work and come up with ways of informing the target audience about your church and the reasons why they should choose to join.

Our professional marketing experts will come up with a set of marketing strategies to help you advertise your worship services. In the current highly digitalized world, you need a website and a mobile application to disseminate information better and affordably. We will create a plan on how to go about the process of creating an interactive website and refer you to a reputable web development agency that has personnel with the required web development skills and expertise.

Describe the Management Team

The management team is a group or groups of people who will help you manage the church. Information about these teams needs to be included in the plan to show that you have personnel who can make the decisions that are in line with the goals and virtues of your church. Our team will organize several meetings to get details of the management team and include them in the business plan. We will also give you insights on the right people who should be part of the management team.

Get in touch with us today for a professional business plan writing service for your church. We will tailor the plan to suit your preferences and objectives. Fill the form to get in touch with our support team.

OGS capital staff also specialize in writing business plans such as home staging business plan , eyelash extension business plan , horse boarding business plan , locksmith business plan , plumbing business plan and etc.

Download example church business plan pdf

OGSCapital’s team has assisted thousands of entrepreneurs with top-rate business plan development, consultancy and analysis. They’ve helped thousands of SME owners secure more than $1.5 billion in funding, and they can do the same for you.

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New or established churches that want to grow must write business plans that lay out their vision and provide detailed information for the future. A solid, working business plan requires a big investment of time and thought. But once the plan is written and approved, use it as a road map to reach your goals while ministering to current and prospective members who are enthused about what your church offers.

Develop mission and vision statements. These statements help explain where the church is going, why you want to get there and the principles that guide the organization.

Conduct market research to determine if there is a need for what your church offers in the community. Talk to current members and people who live in the community to get their opinions. This section should also provide detailed information about competing churches in the area to find out what they offer and who they appeal to. Explain ways your church can fill in gaps with its ministries to various age groups and community activities.

Create a marketing plan that explains how you will let prospective attendees know about your church and its unique offerings, such as by advertising your worship services, Bible studies and children’s activities in the local paper. Include a plan for building an interactive Web site, getting free publicity through local publications and radio stations, and encouraging members to invite others to join your church.

Describe the management team that will implement the plan, and include their past experience helping a church grow. If they lack experience at other churches, discuss their success in helping the church reach its past goals or any other business successes they have achieved. Include background information about the people who will impact the plan’s success, such as the pastor and youth fellowship leaders.

Outline the steps for daily operation of the church, including listing the duties of the administrator, minister of the church, staff, and volunteers who lead studies or group activities. Describe the facility the church uses to hold services and classes, and mention the costs involved in moving to a larger building once membership increases. List the equipment the church will need over the next few years. This section should also mention the insurance coverage the church carries.

Provide financial information as the final section of the plan, including operating budgets. Include information on how your church qualifies as a non-profit organization to stay exempt from paying taxes. Add the last three years of financial statements as well as three years of forecasted projections, including profit and loss statements. The profit and loss statements need to include all potential contributions made to the church as well as expenses, such as pastor’s salary, utilities, rental space, computers, auditory equipment, furniture and any loans.

Write a two to three page Executive Summary, and place it at the beginning of the plan. The summary expresses the most important parts of the plan, and is best created after you finish the rest of the document.

• SBA.gov: Create Your Business Plan
• Since most people will not read the entire business plan, use the summary to build excitement and get members involved.
• Avoid mistakes in grammar and spelling as these problems bring the reliability of your business plan into question.

Nancy Wagner is a marketing strategist and speaker who started writing in 1998. She writes business plans for startups and established companies and teaches marketing and promotional tactics at local workshops. Wagner's business and marketing articles have appeared in "Home Business Journal," "Nation’s Business," "Emerging Business" and "The Mortgage Press," among others. She holds a B.S. from Eastern Illinois University.

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Section one: background information, section two: how are you going to do it, section three: how much will it cost, section four: the conclusion, case studies.

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Chapter eight: Writing a business plan (554.44 KB)

Pull together everything you have done so far and answer the following questions.

• Your vision
• Your project in general
• And who you are trying to help
• Your location
• Your community

You can include maps, plans and photos in an appendix.

Describe the results of:

• Your community audit
• Your surveys

Make it clear that you have:

• Checked out the competition
• Found a real gap in the market
• And are proposing something different
• How you will manage the activities in the long-term
• Your policies and procedures
• o /more/church-resources/churchcare/making-changes-your-building-and-churchyard/organise-yourselves ( e.g. faculty )
• And how you are going to sort them out

Describe your project strategy in detail.

Describe in detail:

• Who will manage it (e.g. staff or volunteers)
• How you will find them
• What skills you need
• Your partners
• Your assets (e.g. your building)
• Any building work (include plans)
• What equipment you need
• Where you are going to get it
• Any IT needs

Strategic plans

ChurchBuild: Strategic plan for your church building (475.92 KB)

Put together a budget and separate:

• The cost of putting the project together
• The costs once the new activities are up and running

Capital funding means money paid for one-off things. They include:

• Professional advice
• Building costs

Important: If your funder says that they will pay for your overheads or core costs (i.e. full cost recovery), include them here.

Revenue funding is the cost of running your activities every day. This includes:

• Utility bills
• Salaries for paid workers
• Expenses for volunteers
• Maintenance and repairs

A budget includes your overall project costs and your income. Make sure everything balances out.

• Build in some flexibility
• Be realistic and do your research
• Don’t underestimate costs to make your project sound cheaper. You might run out of money!
• Don’t overestimate either. Funders might think others can do it for less

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Describe where you are getting the money to pay to get the project going:

• Grants and donations
• Reclaim your VAT
• Community fundraising activities
• Your own cash (maybe 10%)
• In-kind support (e.g. volunteer time or free-labour from local businesses)

Then show where the money will come from once the new activities are up and running.

How will people find out where you are and what you do?

• Adverts in the local press
• Local directories
• Special events

How much will it cost to tell them?

Find out more about keeping people informed

Your group wrote down specific objectives to describe exactly what you were trying to achieve.

Now, write down criteria to help you evaluate the success of each objective. And think of ways to monitor those criteria.

Helpful hints

Parish Resources: Evaluation and monitoring methods (110.9 KB)

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Case study: St Helen Grindleford (426.62 KB)

Case study: St David Islington (172.95 KB)

To make your vision become a reality you need to start thinking about:

• Keeping everyone informed
• Appointing an architect
• Raising money
• Searching for grant funders

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Methods: Planning consistently happens in three areas, personal, ministry and organization and on three levels, strategic, tactical and operational

12 free resources for church vision and strategic planning.

Today there are many definitions for vision and strategic planning but for the purpose of church based planning the definition I prefer is:

“The process of determining the visionary direction of the church or ministry and then breaking down that overall direction into broad objectives, that are then divided into smaller measurable goals and ultimately to specific tactics.”

And, just as there are many definitions for strategic planning there are a variety of proven approaches to strategic planning. And it can be challenging to discern which approach is right for your church or ministry. Our purpose here is not to recommend a specific approach. But rather to provide a variety of vision and strategic planning examples and exercises that may be used by church leadership to stimulate thinking and to identify high impact strategies and tactics for inclusion in the church’s ministry plan.

• Ministry Plan Example
• Church Vision Strategy Development Exercise
• Four Decisions And Four Questions Of Church Strategic Planning
• Church Vision And Organizational Planning Process EXAMPLE
• Corporate Spiritual Discernment MAP
• Easy to Use Focus Group Feedback Questions for Church Strategic Planning
• 30 Sure-Fire Exercises For Church Strategic Planning
• Where We Stand Now Current Realities Exercise
• Divine DNA Discernment Exercise
• Optimize, Change, Clarify, Or Add Church Strategic Planning Exercise Template
• Start, Stop, Continue Decision Making Worksheet
• Church Or Ministry SWOT Analysis Worksheet

Click HERE to read more of my blogs on vision and strategic planning.

Posted on December 23, 2020 Tags: church strategic planning Church Vision

Jim is a Church Organizational Leadership and Management Coach, Consultant and Trainer. Throughout his career Jim has demonstrated a passion for showing Pastors and Ministers how to use organizational tools for church and personal growth and health.

“For I may be absent in body, but I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see how well ordered you are and the strength of your faith in Christ.” Colossians 2:5

Church Strategic Plan

Any businesses, groups, organizations, and even individuals can use a  brief strategic plan  if they would like to. This means that religious ministries can also use this document if they want to achieve church growth or any kinds of development or improvement with their operations, activities, and programs. If a church will incorporate strategic planning within its operations, it can result to the effective mapping out of necessary and relevant tasks and call-to-actions which can then help the organization achieve its goals, missions, objectives, and vision.

Church Strategic Plan Example

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Detailed Church Strategic Plan Example

Strategic Planning in the Church Example

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There are different kinds of church strategic plans that can be done depending on the changes that a church would like to see in a particular time period or the milestones that they would like to achieve for their organization with the help of a detailed church strategic plan. Use our downloadable examples of church strategic plan in PDF as references and document guides if you would like to create one for your church.

How to Create a Church Strategic Plan

Even if a church will not use a strategic plan, it is still possible for them to achieve their goals. However, it may take a longer time or it may be harder to the members of the church to execute their work functions and any other deliverable expected from them. If a church strategic plan will be used, the processes of getting the church to the state or condition that it desired to be at can be faster and more efficient. Listed below are the steps that you can follow if you want to create a detailed church strategic plan.

• It is important for you to first know the purpose of the church strategic plan’s creation. You have to align your goals and objectives with the values that the church adheres to and the mission that it has or the purpose of its existence. Being able to merge these elements together can help you come up with a highly usable document that can present action plans for the betterment of the church and its operations.
• Base your church strategic plan on the vision of the church as well. You have to be knowledgeable of the things that the church would like to achieve so you can use these as the pillars or foundation of the document that you will make.
• Develop organizational goals for the church. You have to be guided by these goals so you will not veer away from achieving what you would like to get for the organization. More so, having specific and time-bound goals can give you enough time to collaborate with church members and to thoroughly plan the strategies and call-to-actions that you will execute.
• Just like when creating any other kinds of strategic plans like a printable strategic sales plan , it is suggested for you to conduct a SWOT analysis for your church. Know the strengths of the church that it can rely on and use to ensure the continuous commitment of its members. You also have to look into the weaknesses and threats that can minimize the potential of the church’s successes. More so, there are opportunities that you can list down to identify which of these available conditions can be grabbed for the betterment of the church and the achievement of particular milestones.
• Know how to execute gap analysis. It is important for you to understand the range of gap that is in between the current condition of the church and the condition where the church would like to be. You have to evaluate the different areas of the church for you to be able to come up with a comprehensive gap analysis. You can focus on discipleship, the experience of the church members or the ministry programs that are needed to be improved or developed. Your key points will depend on the processes that the church would like to give focus on for the purpose of growth.
• List down all the action plans and strategies that you think can help the church realize its vision. Always refer to your gap and SWOT analysis so you can be as objective as possible when developing your church strategic plan. Evaluate the final draft of your strategies and action plans so you can ensure that they are all necessary, relevant, and essential for the church and its operations.

Strategic Ministry Plan for a Church Example

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New Church Strategic Planning Process Example

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Do You Want to Have an Effective Church Strategic Plan?

Just like research strategic plan examples , a church strategic plan should be based on the needs of the organization who will use it. Different churches have different goals, visions, and objectives. Hence, there are different kinds of church strategic plans that can be developed. With this, you have to ensure that you will create a document that is fit for your church and the growth that it aspires to see in its operations.

Being able to come up with a relevant document that can align all strategies and tactics with the church operations can help you present the effectiveness of your church strategic plan. Here are some of the activities that you can implement if you want to come up with an effective strategic plan for your church:

• Know the direction that the strategic plan is leading the church in. Always keep in mind that there should be focus when creating and implementing a church strategic plan so you can sustain the effectiveness and efficiency of all the efforts that you have included in the document.
• Identify the resources that you will be needing and ensure that you will make the most out of the available resources that the church has. It is important for your church strategic plan to be attainable and realistic, which is why you have to consider the ability of the church to produce, provide, and/or gather the requirements and needs of the church strategic plan that you made.
• Ensure that the church’s board members and other stakeholders or decision-makers are involved in the planning, development, and execution of the church strategic plan. Before putting all your strategies and plans into action, you have to make sure that all the details of the church strategic plan are finalized and approved. In this manner, you can lessen or even remove the existence of misunderstandings and confusion.

Church Strategic Plan Outline Example

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Advantages of Having a Church Strategic Plan

If you will create any type of strategic plans, you have to make sure that you will be knowledgeable of the document’s purpose and the implications of its usage. An output or an outcome can be generated as planned if you are already aware of the vision that you would like to realize and the steps that you need to take. As an example, a brand strategic plan  can only work at its best and finest if you have an idea about the brand that you would like to build and present to your target audience. The same goes when creating a church strategic plan.

A comprehensive church strategic plan can provide a lot of benefits to the church, its operations, and its members. Listed below are some of the advantages that you can experience if you will create a complete and detailed church strategic plan.

• A church strategic plan can promote a church culture that is based on strategic thinking. This means that the church can conduct activities and programs that will allow its resources to be used accordingly while still ensuring that goals and objectives can be achieved. With this, the effort and time of the church members can be utilized and not be wasted.
• A church strategic plan can make it easier for the church to showcase their values as an organization. It is important for potential church members to see what the church truly cares for so that they can understand the purpose or the reason of the church’s operations and activities. If this will be done, the church can take care of its current members while providing an avenue for more people to participate in its operations may it be just for praise and worship or for ministries and evangelical missions.
• A church strategic plan can help the board members or the management of the church to come up with ways on how to achieve operational sustainability. It is important for churches to have the funds that they need so that they can maintain the facility where the church is built or to continuously play for the church’s rent, maintenance, and other needs.
•  A church strategic plan can make it more efficient for church members and other stakeholders to identify and define the measures of their successes. Of course, different churches also have different ways on how to evaluate the success of their strategies and action plan. If you can evaluate your successes accordingly, then it will be more efficient for you to update your church strategic plan from time to time depending on the goals that you still would like to achieve.
• A church strategic plan can help assist all entities involved in church operations in decision-making. Since goals, objectives, vision, and strategies are outlined and specified in this document, there will already be a material that each individual can use whenever there is a need for referencing before coming up or finalizing a decision for the church and its operations. Therefore, a church strategic plan develops a platform where everyone can be on the same phase and the similar page with regards the processes that they need to execute for the betterment of the church and for it to be led in the direction specified in its vision.

Church Strategic Planning Steps Example

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Strategic Planning for Your Church Example

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Useful Tips for the Development of a Church Strategic Plan

Do you know how to develop a church strategic plan? Or do you want to have more idea on how to better your processes of developing this document for your church? Some of the tips that are very useful when it comes to the development of a church strategic plan include the following:

• Use a strategic planning checklist that can guide you in the creation of a complete and well-formulated church strategic plan. Knowing that you have already completed all the details that you would like to discuss can help you develop a comprehensive document that works.
• Always review the final document that you have made so that you can make sure that the church strategic plan is free from errors or mistakes. This can also help you identify the items that you need to change or update for the purposes of accuracy and precision. Assessing the actual document can help you refine it accordingly.
• Identify the key factors that you need to look into when developing a church strategic plan. You have to be aware of the elements and items that can affect the effectiveness of the strategies that the church will use for developing, changing, and/or improving its operations.

Feel free to download any of the church strategic plan examples that we have prepared and put together for you. You can also use templates if you need help in formatting your own church strategic plan. We hope that the discussions and references that we have provided you with are already enough for you to come up with your own church strategic plan.

Text prompt

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Create a study plan for final exams in high school

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• Business Templates
• Sample Plans

FREE 9+ Church Strategic Plan Samples in PDF

Every organization must have their own strategic plan. A strategic plan is a document that serves as a tool for communication where every part of an entire organization can be made aware of the organization’s goals, objectives, plans and direction that the organization will be taking. Churches also have their own strategic plans and it is used in making decisions how resources can be allocated and control certain mechanisms to guide in the implementation of the planned strategy. Through a church strategic plan, the church can show their values as an organization to their various members, and help them understand the purpose or reason for the different church activities. Here are different church strategic sample plans that you may find useful.

Church Strategic Plan Samples

1. lutheran church strategic plan outline, 2. church strategic planning sample, 3. sample evangelical lutheran church strategic plan, 4. sample church ministries strategic plan, 5. printable church strategic plan sample, 6. church strategic planning workbook sample, 7. episcopal church strategic plan sample, 8. five-year church strategic plan sample, 9. sample presbyterian church strategic plan, 10. baptist church strategic plan sample.

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If you are wondering what a church strategic plan looks like and what it contains, then you can very well check out this sample. It is from a Lutheran church and details the programs and activities that they have prepared for the entire church organization. It will provide you with an outline on how you can organize the strategic plan that you are about to make. Why not download a copy of this sample and check the many pages it has to offer.

Size: 125 KB

If you think that you need to know more about church strategic plans, then you will find this church strategic planning sample a good read. The different parts of the strategic plan are provided, namely the purpose, Process, Strategic Planning, and Conclusion. Every section is explained and examples are also provided for better understanding. There are also steps and guide questions that are useful in the process of making a strategic plan.

This is a detailed and very comprehensive church strategic plan sample that will surely make a good reference material if you are planning to make one that is as detailed and comprehensive as this one. A plan like this is well-thought of and is carefully put together so that both the church and its members can benefit from it. The plan includes an executive summary, organizational description, goals and strategies, and different tables and charts that are related to the plan.

Samples make really good reference or guide materials, especially if you know exactly which one you need that will help you with your task. For a church strategic plan, you may check out this church ministries strategic plan plan. The layout and design used in this plan is simple and easy to read through so your readers will not have a hard time scanning through the pages. The different sections or parts of the plan are also written in bold so that they can be easily distinguished from the rest of the texts. Using this sample will surely be worth it.

Size: 18 MB

There are many strategic plan examples that you can check out and use as reference either for business or other important things. Strategic action plan samples and strategic sales plan templates are just some of the few that you can use to help you. But if your need is specific to that of a strategic plan for church, then why not check out this printable version that we have here. The plan is packed with visuals, like photos, graphs and images that makes it an interesting document to read. Check it out now!

Size: 888 KB

This church strategic planning workbook sample is made for church leaders. Different strategic planning modules are included in this sample that will help church leaders make the best strategic plans for their organization. It is more like a guidebook that thoroughly explains what strategic planning is all about and how an effective strategic plan is beneficial to the church.

You will find a detailed report on the strategic plan of an Episcopal church in this sample. The sample consists of many parts and different sorts of visuals are provided throughout the document. There are pie charts, graphs, tables, illustrations and other images that makes it more interesting read and look at. There are also other samples that you will find useful, like  church budget templates and management plan samples.

Both short and long-term plans play an essential role in an organization, regardless of what type of organization it is. For big plans that can only be done withing a long period of time, a long term plan is best used to allow enough time for the planning and implementation process and reduce the chances of failure. Such is a five-year church strategic plan. Although it may take some time, the outcome will surely be worth the wait. Check out this sample to learn about long-term strategic plans.

This sample plan has a classic and attractive feel to it which is a good way to encourage readers to browse though the pages and read its contents. You can get lots of wonderful and useful ideas with this sample that you can use in your own strategic plan. Who says they have to be boring white pages all the time? Try using this sample now!

Your church strategic plan can be made better with a  strategic planning checklist and a sample plan above as your reference. In this plan, you will find a list of the goals that the church wants to achieve, as well as a list of strategies that will be used in achieving this goal. Here you will learn how to effectively organize the details of your own starteic plan.

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11+ church strategic plans – doc, pdf.

If you’re setting a new church facility or redoing an existing one you’d be aware that you’re going to need a well-drawn strategic plan for the same. In reality, a simple strategic plan for a church contains details of how all the tasks are going to be achieved. We have simple church strategic plan templates for you – in multiple styles and different strategic plan formats – which you can download, customize, print and use.

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Church Strategic Plan Template

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5 Steps to Create a Strategic Plan

Step 1: evaluate your present position, step 2: prospective clients, step 3: list out your strengths and weaknesses, step 4: plan your approach, step 5: action plan, strategic plan template.

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Free PDF Format Church Strategic Plan Template

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