Before we head in any direction, we must first have a starting point. What does the ground under our feet look like? Are we trying to hike mountains in flip-flops? Do we have a desire for something really cool to happen in the life of our church, but we do not have enough people willing to roll up their sleeves to make it happen?

Is honoring history and tradition more important than anything else?

Has method become the true north rather than the mission?

Is there a key influencer, matriarch, patriarch, or family in control of “their” family chapel?

In the life of the church, I like to refer to this as the current reality. The church has become distracted by the latest bells and whistles, personal preferences, lack of accountability, and being program-driven rather than missionally driven. If what the church is doing and spending its resources on is not making disciples, then why are we doing it? Yet, so many churches continue to do what they are doing without ever evaluating the effectiveness of their “doing.”

We have fooled ourselves into thinking that as long as we are a “busy” church then we must be an effective church. But, the real question to ask is if our busy-ness is fulfilling the mission.

How would you rate your church’s missional effectiveness currently? How effective is your church in its mission of making disciples who disciple others? How often is your council or board asking this foundational question? How are the leaders of your church trained to know the purpose of the church and to continue to ask the question and evaluate? How many adult professions of faith did your church have this year? Last year? Two years ago?

In Journey Preparation, Kay Kotan will lead the reader into a deep dive into a congregational assessment to ascertain the current lay of the internal land of his/her congregation.