Annual Review Document:
Planning for Ministry

People give if they believe that their giving will make a difference, that it will change something. So givers, consciously or unconsciously, make a judgment on whether the charity, or in this case the local church, is a suitable vehicle for making that difference. Clarity of mission and purpose is therefore essential. Without clarity there will be a residual or passive giving to the church, in effect a glass ceiling on any serious giving. The presence of active and committed giving to restricted funds, such as youth work, highlights the importance of defining mission and purpose.

The final part of Section 1 of the Annual Review Document provides a framework for the identification of goals for ministry and mission in the coming year. Planning groups are encouraged to make use of the reflection and questions in the resource paper Areas of Parish Ministry. Seven broad areas, descriptive and traditional, are suggested as the basis for considering ministry goals.

• Pastoral Care: resources for a bereavement group, training for Eucharistic ministers, worship in nursing homes, developing listening skills, etc.
• Administration: IT equipment, secretarial support, office resources.
• Mission: evangelistic materials, training, Alpha courses, baptismal preparation, etc.
• Community: aspects of ministry focused around the needs of the local community and further afield.
• Christian formation: house group leader training, small group resources, local ministry team development, etc.
• Worship: choir, music group, all age worship, service sheets.
• Buildings: distinguish between a budget for routine maintenance & repairs and specific larger scale works or re-ordering. Note that large capital works will fall beyond the scope of a revenue budget and will require a dedicated capital fund raising project to be presented to the congregation separately.