Good leadership requires performance evaluation and planning that works

Many approaches to performance evaluation are unhelpful and even damage a shared sense of ministry. They involve top-down appraisal and are experienced as judgmental. They do not reflect the reconciling mission of God. Participants feel "my ministry" is being attacked, and as a result, are de-motivated. The process of performance evaluation is often avoided and growth in ministry is impossible.

In contrast, MP&R is an approach that is supportive while being diagnostic. It encourages all who participate to look at their ministry and learn from their experience. MP&R is an approach that focuses leaders, teams, and congregation together on improving performance toward greater missional fruitfulness and faithfulness.

MP&R builds up the body of Christ, strengthening the congregation in important ways: Pastor and other church leaders develop their competencies. Team relationships are strengthened. Team performance planning is improved. Persons who have used MP&R report feelings of being liberated for more creative ministry. One of the primary objectives of MP&R is to help pastors and church teams become self renewing and self correcting by strengthening diagnostic and problem solving skills.

God's mission needs a church today where all - pastor, lay leaders, and congregation - are linking arms to improve their performance toward greater missional results.

MP&R will help your church leaders -

• Strengthen their church for ministry and mission.
  
• Confirm rather than disconfirm one another in the process of ministry performance review.
  
• Develop the sense of koinonia within their church.
  
• Improve their performance in the context of teamwork.
  
• Help one another grow in faithfulness to God's calling.
  

Developing a judicatory strategy to improve local church and leader performance

Why should your judicatory get involved? Because your focus is on supporting congregations. Your purpose is strengthening leaders. The end result is increased local church strength and greater missional faithfulness.

A judicatory strategy to improve church and leader performance would:

1. Equip pastors

• Theological foundations for their ministry of administration.
  
• Managing their time in more focused ways.
  
• Working smarter using new skills.
  
• Developing a ministry plan.
  

2. Equip local pastor-parish (mutual ministry) teams.

• Clarifying the team's role and responsibilities.
  
• Defining the congregation's ministry in ?key result? areas.
  
• Using a practical approach to mutual ministry that is really mutual.
  
• Leading ministry planning & review sessions with the pastor.
  

3. Equip judicatory staff or other leaders to coach pastors and local church teams.

• Training leaders in the MP&R process to equip congregations and clergy
  
• Providing resources that work for a variety of readiness and skill levels
  

4. Develop Judicatory Strategy and Support

• Developing a strategy so all churches and pastors have access.
  
• Designing an approach that recognizes local realities
  
• Training to introduce and equip.
  
• Coaching to support and help embed.
  

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Costs

Costs will vary according to the scope of a project and the length of the ministry partnership agreed to. We would be glad to explore a more detailed scenario and how it might be structured for your situation.

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A Partner in Ministry:

The mission of the Center for Parish Development is to provide counsel and resources to facilitate the transformation of churches seeking to discern, celebrate, and participate more fully in God's mission. The Center Staff is eager to share its resources and experience to support regional leaders and teams who seek, who pray, and who work for the church's renewal as God's new creation community. "So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!" (2 Cor.5:17)