Monthly Power Planning
By Tim Massengale

Why Plan Monthly?
•	If you stop meeting with your ministry leaders each month that your growth plan will collapse.  
•	They are the key to the success of your church growth plan.
•	Setting growth goals and launching evangelism programs are good – but success lies in motivating and managing that growth plan for the long term.  
•	Of the four key parts of the church management plan – the annual planning retreat, the departmental one-year plans, the monthly planning council, and the weekly tag-in – the most critical is your monthly planning. 

Encouraging Faithfulness
•	Set monthly meeting dates at your annual planning retreat.
•	Go through the calendar month by month and make sure they all mark the dates.
•	Send an email a week before the meeting reminding your leaders of the meeting and attaching a copy of the tentative agenda to show what will be discussed.
•	You should be able to list most of the discussion topics in advance; they come from the departmental one-year plans that they hand in after your planning retreat.  
•	Whatever the department has planned for the next three months should be on the agenda.
•	In the email, ask if they have anything they want to add to the agenda.  
•	You or your secretary should contact them by phone the day before the meeting to finalize the agenda.  
•	If a leader is unable to attend for some reason, ask them to have someone else – usually their spouse or assistant – attend in their place. 

Monthly Planning Success
•	Lecture format does not work.  
•	Always meet sitting around a table so everyone has good eye contact.  
•	Try to occasionally vary your location.  
•	A member who could host a small meeting party or a restaurant are both good options.
•	Be conscientious of your leaders’ time.
•	Keep the atmosphere informal; it's as much a time of fellowship as it is planning. 

Monthly Departmental Reports
•	When the secretary calls the night before the meeting, have them stress that they have their report ready.  
•	Always collect reports the very first thing – even before prayer.
•	Ask anyone that does not have their report ready to wait and hand it in at the next church service or weekly tag-in.
•	If your leaders know why the report is important, they are more committed to doing it.
•	As you come to each department listed on your agenda, always have the leader read the highlights and totals from their report.  
•	Everyone appreciates being appreciated.

The Weekly Tag-In
•	The weekly tag-in is optional – but most pastors find it necessary.  
•	The tag-in is done before or after a regular service time.  
•	When you do it is not important.
•	Have a brief time to encourage faithfulness and help them solve problems.  
•	The primary benefit is that it helps stop procrastination and improves communication.

	If you would like to have a more in-depth description of a monthly planning council and weekly tag-in, plus sample monthly departmental reports and tag-in sheets, call 1-800-800-0247 or email ais@apostolic.edu.  Cost is $5.00 plus postage.