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LIBERTY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF DIVINITY

Final Project
A Strategic Plan for Your Organization

Submitted to Instructor Dr. Gregory Faulls

LEAD 620
Mission, Vision, and Strategic Planning

by
Christopher Callaway Sr.
October 21, 2016

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Mission Statement... 3
Vision Statement 4
Value Statement. ...... 5
Mission Driven . 6
Strategy to fulfill. 8
SWOTS Analysis....10

Bibliography .. 16

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Mission
This project is a comprehensive strategic plan for 2017 for the opening of the new
celebration church main campus. This paper will discuss church planting, church growth, and
church revitalization. The elements of a mission driven church are to preach the gospel because
the church is Gods agency to evangelize the world. The church was what God use to send
preachers to preach the word and do his work. The bible says, And when they had fasted and
prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away (Acts 13:1-3). To teach the saved; to
provide a spiritual atmosphere; to duplicate the character of Christ; to bring joy to the world. The
primary mission of any church is to preach the gospel, and this is a church paramount objective.
A visionary leader is very successful in creating an optimistic and positive idea of the
future and carrying that vision in an appealing manner that will attract dedicated followers. A
visionary leader understands the need for meaning and purpose in the church organization or any
group and organization. This manger will use that need to inspire followers to achieve goals and
to build real future of the church. With the vision communicated followers will feel motivated by
the idea and will regularly feel a sense of unity within the group because of the common
grounds. Vision is simply ones big picture of the way things should be. It is like a poster image
of what you are working to accomplish. Most visionary leaders go about their life trying to find
ways to make things better. Once they put together all the pieces of how things should be, this
becomes an overall vision. The overall vision paints a picture of your ideal that will show your
ideas in a powerful, accurate, and quick way. Once you have a vision, you tell people about it
and use it to lead the people. As Barna clearly states, "To minister authentically and

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authoritatively, you must first clarify your vision, then embrace it and make it the focus of your
life's work and the heartbeat of your church.1
Mission Statement
Celebration Church stands now, as it always stood, for the whole bible, the entire
scripture beginning to end. The essential doctrines of the church have remained constant since
the inception of the church in October 2000. We, the church, believe it is the responsibility of
every member and pastor of the church to be informed and versed in the doctrines and teachings
of the church. The foundation of the church is based on the principles of biblical holiness. It is a
religion of grace, holiness in fact and holiness in the name. We firmly believe that without
holiness, it is impossible to please God. It is the responsibility of the members and pastors at
Celebration Church to know the doctrines and teachings of the church. This is done through
Christ-centered, Bible-based worship, evangelism, discipleship, ministry, mission, and
fellowship.
Vision Statement
To demonstrate our commitment to Christ through our practice of the spiritual disciples;
demonstrate a commitment to Christ and dedication to God and His Church, and will show
commitment to the work of Christ through our being good stewards. The vision of Celebration
Church consists of:
Worship-An accompaniment of traditional Christ-centered sacred worship services, ordinances,
and choral expressions.
Prayer-A consistent and rowing prayer life by all members, individually and corporately.

1 Barna, George. The Power of Vision: Discover and Apply God's Plan for Your Life and Ministry. Baker Books,
2009.

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Discipleship- An endless and life-long commitment to Bibles study and discipleship training to
enhance and support each persons walk with Christ.
Missions-Fulfilling Christs command under the Great Commission and preparing others to
share the Good News of Christ.
Evangelism- Engaging our members and others in sharing their faith with our neighbors using
outreach programs, through worship and ministry service.
Ministry- Meeting the needs of our members and our community.
Fellowship- Providing a friendly, engaging environment for members, visitors, and guests;
respecting the sacredness of a sanctuary for worship.
Resources- Facilities and staffing to provide worship, service and missions.
Values Statement
There are values that Celebration Church uses as a value statement chart.
1. Evangelism- to reach and preach to everyone to the ends of the earth helping others
accept Jesus Christ as their savior by faith (Matthew 28:19-20).
2. Edification- In this, we mean helping saved people, children to seniors grow in the Lord
by way of studying, serving, and giving followers of Jesus Christ. (Tim. 2:15; Eph. 2:10;
Mal. 3:8-10).
3. Love- Love for others is the character of Christ. By this, we mean demonstrating longsuffering and kindness to one another. Love is outcome or fruit of edification which is
important enough to be free standing (1 Cor. 13; Mt. 5:13-16).
4. Worship- by this, we mean the deliberate act of expressing our commitment to obeying,
trusting and our thankfulness towards God. Worship with prayerfulness or a strong desire
to do Gods will with a /holy spirit (1 Thes. 5:17).

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5. Community Involvement- Community Involvement- We mean that we are to be
involved in improving the quality of life in the community surrounding our campuses.
We believe that love starts at home and should spread across the nation and abroad.
6. Excellence- We mean that we believe that God wants all things related with the church to
be super natural, and exceed the expectations of this world. Strive for excellence in
everything we do.
The Mission-driven vision of the organization
The gift of true godly faith is needed for salvation. The Scripture is clear, For by
grace you are saved through faith and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God
(Ephesians 2:8). Faith and courage ae paramount in leading and building great
organizations. As Warren states, many churches operate on misconceptions and myths,
and this prevents churches from being healthy and grows to their full potential. Churches
need truth to grow.2 Great leaders bring the ability to strategic planning. Warren discussed
the myth that dedication was not enough to build church. If you are dedicated, the church
will grow.3 A great leader of faith brings talent and ability to building churches and
organizations. Wanting something with great passion will not produce results. Warren
states, The reason the apostle Paul was so active in planting and developing churches
was because of his skill in doing so. He admits this in 1 Corinthians 3:10, By the grace
God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder.4 Warren maintains that there
is one secret to church growth regardless that it is a complicated matter. Through
strategies, the opposite of each other churches will grow. God loves variety so reach out
2 Warren, Rick. (1995). The Purpose Driven Church: Growth Without Compromising Your Message &
Mission. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, (1995, 71).

3 Ibid, 56
4 Ibid, 57-58

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to all kinds of people and never criticize what God is blessing whether its a type of
ministry that makes you uncomfortable. God works in mysterious ways.5 The Ministry
mission is the churchs mission, which is the Great commission (Matthew 28:19-20). All
church leaders must be moving in the same direction, or there will be chaos. Leadership
implies followers, and if a person has no followers, he is not a leader. A visionary is
someone who guides their team, group in a very broad direction while helping them to
develop to be more effective and in unity. They possessed inconsistent leadership roles,
attitude and are defined by being able to unite and charismatic approach.
According to Malphurs, the churches vision is what the church will look like in the next
five to ten years of its life as it accomplishes the mission.6 It takes a regal leader to be
visionary or have a vision. A great leader should be able to demonstrate a moral sense of
judgment, should be spirited who can and is willing to take the risk while being assertive
yet possessed an insightful disposition. Must be able to handle complex matters and meet
the expectations and needs of those who he is leading. Followers want leaders who make
decisions authoritatively but inclusively, interpret situations with rational, emotional
intelligence, and also display confidence and humility. Because with confidence, a great
leader will have confidence in their success. According to Dr. Faulls, Nehemiah was
challenged to restore the walls of Jerusalem. Nehemiah and his followers were challenges
from the very beginning but with faith in Gods power, he was able to gain courage and
overcome the obstacles in their way.7

5 Ibid, 61-62
6 Malphurs, Aubrey. Advanced Strategic Planning: A 21st-Century Model for Church andMinistry Leaders. 3rd ed.
Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2013. p30.

7 Faulls, Greg., Dr. You Can Lead. Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary. 2015.

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The senior pastor at the Celebration Church. Pastor Joe Champion is visionary and
because of his visionary leadership style, he has inspired the church and congregation to
be the best minister and missionary that one can be. It is the belief of Celebration church
that we are not just called to deal with the Spiritual life in the church but we are also
responsible for taking part in the leadership of socio-economic, cultural and evangelism
in the community. Celebration Church believers firmly that the church should go out into
the community to evangelize and that the congregation should be biblically versed so
they can be a good evangelist. The vision that Pastor Joe has set fourth is quite clear. The
scripture in Ephesians 1:22 said, God placed everything under his feet and appointed
him to be head over everything for the church. However, God entrusted the authority to
lead to his servant who he set them aside to lead the community. Malphurs pointed out,
that strategic thinking and acting or strategic planning in the Bible; it is biblical.
References and examples can be found generously distributed throughout the Old and
New Testament.8
Before any strategic plan can be fulfilled a complete understanding of the understanding
of what is strategic planning. According to Malphurs, Strategic planning is the fourfold
process that a point leader such as the pastor who works through regularly with a team of
leaders to envision or reinvasion and revitalize his church by developing a biblical
mission and compelling vision, discovering its core values a crafting strategy that
implements a unique church value. 9
Strategy to fulfill the Overall Vision
8 Malphurs, Aubrey. Advanced

Strategic Planning: A 21st-Century Model for Church and

9 Ibid., 31.

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Identifying the objectives and goals of the strategic plan, once the implementation goals
are in place, they must be prioritized. By determining the policy priorities, it allows the
church to focus all its resources.10 Articulate these measurable actions to the church that
will realize these goals.11The below will relay the strategy to fulfill the overall vision for
reaching their targets:
Evangelism Goals and plans
1. Our evangelistic efforts will be to each one reach one, follow-up evangelism, and
community Evangelism; Worship about preaching, good singing, and loving
atmosphere, and ministries such as outreach, people groups within the church, and
application oriented teaching will be major methods of reaching this goal.
2. Increase average attendance in our church services Sunday 9:15, 11:30, 1:15 worship.
Establish a Sunday night service, and Saturday night service to better accompany
people especially due to the attendance number increasing with the opening of the
new main campus. We want to establish a Spanish speaking service for Saturday and
Sunday. The same efforts used to secure the worshipers will be utilized, and high
energy will be used to retain our members by way of the membership.
3. Expand our community outreach and SERVE Saturday programs to reach over the
entire greater Austin area.
4. Expand our resources in Africa allowing more opportunity for mission trips and
church planting.
5. Continue to expand and grow our small groups make sure everyone in our church is
either leading one or is a part of one. Here at Celebration Church we believe the small
groups are where real fellowship happens and more intimate relationships are built.
Edification Goals and plans
10 Ibid., 290.
11 Ibid., 291.

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1. Preaching and teaching about the importance of discipleship, the Discipleship
Development ministry, acknowledging disciples, and restricting leadership positions to
followers will be used to reach this goal.
2. The increase of adult Sunday school attendance, Wednesday Bible studies, and
participation in Prayer Meetings. Preaching and teaching the importance of being in a
church sponsored Bible study and prayer meeting, recruiting, and following up on
absentees will be used to attain this goal.
3. Preaching and teaching about the importance of discipleship, the Discipleship
development ministry, acknowledging disciples, and restricting leadership position to
followers will be used to reach this goal.
4. Preaching, teaching, training, and programming will be major methods of taking 40 needmeeting ministries and addressing them by priority. Among the ministry groups that are a
priority in developing is a family ministry that features nurturing classes for both married
couples, parenting joint or single, and singles ministry.
Distinct goals and plans are to improve the building roof, bathroom, handicap accessibility of
fellowship hall, carpet and sanctuary ceiling. Preaching and teaching about the importance of
saved people paying their tithes and giving their offerings, being accountable with the churchs
funds, enhancing the building, and building an endowment, and being intentional about
improving the building with budgeted funds will be used to reach this goal. Efforts to renting out
underutilized space in the church building and creating a separate housing corporation, as
additional ways of achieving our monetary targets. Those in worship to follow godly pastoral
leadership in having things done with excellence. Preaching, teaching, and training will be
primary methods used in reaching this goal, in addition to showing the people of God how doing
things Gods way works. Monitor compliance with the strategic plan and executive committee

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members will be assigned multiple parts of the strategic plan to control and report. Sharing the
strategic plan report with the church family is vital.
SWOTS Analysis
The following are key ideas from the SWOTS Analysis conducted in 2015:
Strengths
1. Worship Our worship services are noted for great preaching and singing along with the
frequently moderate level of energy, even though sometimes we just have a Holy Ghost
fit. The skill level and commitment of the Pastor and Choir are very influential in this
being a strength. The deliberate effort of monitoring the attention paid to regular great
worship, particularly relevant Bible-based preaching, singing, congregational
participation, and a loving spirit.
2. Teaching. Our education has grown from near the bottom of the list of strengths to
ranking strength primarily because of Pastoral involvement and preaching about the
importance of the congregational study. The deliberate efforts should be in teacher
training, teaching supervision, and developing more appropriate curriculum and
education venues based on interest. The Curriculum Committee will play a vital role in
developing and approving curriculum in a timely fashion.
3. Loving atmosphere. The Pastor works on having greeting periods, using humor,
exemplifying the demonstration of affection, and preaching and teaching about the
importance of demonstrating love towards one another and visitors. The deliberate efforts
of maintain greeting periods, preaching and teaching about love, promoting the
importance of showing affection, comforting one another in times of crisis, and having
fellowship projects throughout the year.
4. Various ministries. The departments range from efforts designed for the young to those
things that cater to the seniors.

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5. Pastoral leadership. The Pastor is lifting a vision, managing the affairs of the church,
and including the church family in the process at a level that is new, refreshing, and
challenging. We believe that he will lead us into being a greater faith in God. The
deliberate effort in locating and developing helper who have the spirit that God has given
the Pastor, so the Pastor will not get burned out.
Weaknesses
1. Lack of mature disciples. A lack of involvement, lack of unity, and the existence of
cliques. The developing of believers who study serve outreach, and give as parts of the
one body of Christ, as a discipleship goal, it will lessen this weakness.
2. Lack of trained disciple leaders. There is too much resistance by existing office holders
to being trained and too much fear or apathy by non-leaders to becoming trained disciple
leaders.
3. Lack of under 30-year-olds. The developing of ministry managers, teachers, and followup workers to minister to this age group will be used to lessen this weakness. Teaching
age appropriate curriculum and providing age appropriate ministry opportunities with
intentional follow-up.
Opportunities
1. We are well known in our area and the construction of our new main campus is on a hill
right off a main interstate with a 40 foot cross lit up in the front of the church.
2. Many souls need to be saved and need services. Our evangelistic efforts, having each
ministry group perform some community project each year, and our being deliberate in
ministering to the community as whole will be used to take advantage of this opportunity
for the sake of our goals and plans.

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3. We can influence political systems and distributions of goods for Celebration. The Pastor
intends to be more involved in the political issues and building relationships with the
politicians, as the church matures in carrying out its strategic plan.
4. Community groups need the space that we have. We will work on ways to make our
space available to charitable organization and causes that allow for a win-win situation
for them and the church. Liability, damage recovery, rent, and other issues.
Threats
1. Recession- The Pastor believes that worst of the recession is behind us at the time of this
writing. Our Economic Empowerment Ministry will be urged to prioritize financial
literacy and discipline to lessen the impact of the recession on individuals.
2. Miscommunication -Some are too exposed to unsatisfying religion and negativity
attached to the church. That is, some people have been to so many churches that put a
greater emphasis on traditionalism, emotionalism, and rules than on helping people to get
saved and strong in the Lord that they may not want to try another church. Some people
have heard so much negativity about the preachers and members that they may not want
to take another chance. However, our doing a great job of pursuing our mission will help
to lesson this threat.
3. Gossip -between church members and church leaders leading to division from within.
Also since we have a new big church that will open on a hill off of a major highway the
threat of negative publicity due to the stereotypes on bigger churches. We fear that a
bigger church built on a hill to draw more people through the doors and to a relationship
with God will back fire due to big church stereotypes and negativity.
Assumptions
1. It is important to the Pastor to see the church continue to grow especially with the
opening of the new building.

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2. Strong emphasis to pursuing the strategic plan. Executive committee members will have
the task of monitoring various parts of this strategic plan, and reports quarterly to the
church family about our compliance and need for adjustments.
3. The population will continue to grow. If there is a migration of people it will be
beneficial with our growing church.
Bibliography
Barna, George. The Power of Vision: Discover and Apply God's Vision for Your Life and
Ministry-with Study Guide. Rev. ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2009.
Collins, Jim C. Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Dont. New
York: Harper Collins Publishers, 2001.
Dockery, David S. Christian Leadership Essentials: A Handbook for Managing Christian
Organizations. Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2011.
Faulls, Greg. Dr. You Can Lead. Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary. 2015.
Guise, Marty. Giving Life to Vision: Moving the Church from Plans to Progress. Wipf and Stock
Publishers, 2012.
Guder, Darrell. Missional Church: A Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America.
WM. B. EERDMANS PUBLISHING CO., 1998.
Malphurs, Aubrey. Advanced Strategic Planning: A 21st-Century Model for Church and Ministry
Leaders. 3rd ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2013.
Michael A. Milton, Finding a Vision for Your Church: Assembly Required. P&R Publishing,
2012.
Warren, Rick. The Purpose Driven Church: Growth Without Compromising Your Message &
Mission. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1995.

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