Ed Stetzer: Strategy Matters in Fast Growing Churches

I’m pretty sure I’ve never met anyone who became a pastor so that they could spend their time worrying about strategy.

Those of us who are pastors and church leaders generally invest in ministry because we love people, not because we love spreadsheets and flowcharts. We love ministry because we want to see people move from where they are to where God wants them to be. There are very few things in life more powerful.

Seeing broken people become whole in and through Jesus really is amazing. However, church leaders do themselves—and the churches they lead—a huge disservice when they neglect strategy because they are not naturally inclined to it. Many pastors and church leaders are not necessarily strategically inclined, and because of that they ignore it or intentionally neglect it.

In our research on the Fastest-Growing and Largest churches in America, however, we have found that strategy really matters. Churches which are rapidly growing, and which maintain that growth, place a premium on intentional and strategic leadership. Read more