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Faith Goals

Faith goals are measurable, time-based ministry goals that help teams seek God's will and join his work. They guide actions and prayers but do not limit God. Faith goals have both benefits and risks; they can help avoid sins like laziness but also allow sins like self-reliance. Both "task-oriented" and "relationship-focused" people have strengths to offer in ministry planning. Ultimately, faith goals are a tool to help teams trust that God will accomplish the works he has prepared for them to do.

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253 views4 pages

Faith Goals

Faith goals are measurable, time-based ministry goals that help teams seek God's will and join his work. They guide actions and prayers but do not limit God. Faith goals have both benefits and risks; they can help avoid sins like laziness but also allow sins like self-reliance. Both "task-oriented" and "relationship-focused" people have strengths to offer in ministry planning. Ultimately, faith goals are a tool to help teams trust that God will accomplish the works he has prepared for them to do.

Uploaded by

Keith
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

FAITH GOALS: WHAT, WHY AND HOW WE USE THEM

NOVEMBER 7, 2016 BY By Matt Kvernen

Why do we need this article?


As Cru staff we are full-time ministers of the Gospel, called to join God’s work of
winning, building, and sending multiplying disciples to lead spiritual movement so
that everyone knows someone who truly follows Jesus. We value faith, growth,
and fruitfulness. We plan. We set goals. We evaluate.

Some people, we’ll call them task-oriented people, are very motivated to see
ministry results. They generally like to set goals, make plans and appreciate the
need for evaluation. The Spirit in them wants to see people won to Christ, built up
in their faith, and sent out to the world as multiplying disciples. The flesh in them is
prone to self-reliance and doing things for their own glory, not God’s.

Other people, lets’ call them relationship-focused people, seek to love people
well. They value relationship with God and others above tasks and accomplishing
goals. They can tend to think that goals and plans are useless or at least
unspiritual. They often affirm, “Only God can save and change lives anyway. He is
Sovereign. So why make goals or evaluate plans?” The Spirit in them knows that
actions without love gain nothing. They know God’s highest commands are to love
Him and others. And they remember that only He can produce lasting spiritual
fruit. But the flesh in them can tend towards laziness, an unwillingness to submit to
specific direction from their leadership, and a spiritual pride that says, “Jesus and
me is enough. I don’t need my team or leader to help me seek His will.”

Both types of people have plenty to offer a team during ministry planning. And
both types of people will bring with them natural blind-spots or wrong tendencies.
This is one huge reason why our company values serving together with a team! I
trust the following article can help all of us as we approach ministry planning,
especially setting faith goals, this year.

Definition of a Faith Goal


A faith goal is a measureable, time-based ministry goal that helps us move
towards our God-given mission and vision.

Purpose of Faith Goals


Setting faith goals is a process of seeking God’s will about how to join His work
during a specific time period.

Reviewing our faith goals mid-stream helps focus our ministry efforts and prayer
during that time period.

Evaluating faith goals and results provides an opportunity to celebrate God’s work
and evaluating ours.
Components of Faith Goals
1 Our part – Faith action
1 I Cor 3:5-9 – small compared to God
2 Matt 25:14-30 – but significant to God
3 Eph 5:16 – make the best use of time
4 Eph 2:10 – God has created you in Christ and called you here this
year for good works that He has prepared beforehand that you should
walk in them.
2 God’s part – Spiritual fruit
1 God saving and changing lives. (1 Cor 3:5-9)
2 An abundance of lasting fruit (John 15)
3 This is the huge deal! What we get excited about! What only God can
do!

Mixing the components – most of our faith goals will be a mixture of both God’s
part and ours. I believe God’s Word teaches that both our smaller part and His
greater part are important. “So neither he who plants nor he who waters is
anything, but only God who gives the growth.” (1 Cor 3:7) “For we are God’s fellow
workers. … According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master
builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take
care how he builds upon it.” (1 Cor 3:9-10)

Why use Faith Goals?


1 Faith Goals help direct our actions. They help us to know what to do with
whom and when. Trusting God to set these goals helps get everyone on the
same page about what our teams are focusing on and why. Trusting God to
act in specific ways puts us in a better position to see God build a
movement on our campus.
2 Faith Goals help direct our prayers. Paul planted. Apollos watered. But
it’s God who gives the growth. Ultimately what we really want is for God to
show up and use our 5 loaves and 2 fish to feed the 5,000. Faith goals
clarify the huge gulf between our part and God’s part. They can help us pray
for one another … that we would faithfully do “our part” in the power of the
Holy Spirit (in dependence & for God’s glory). They also help us to cry out to
God to do the bigger, greater work that only He can do.
3 Faith Goals do not constrain God to act in a certain way or time frame.
His ways are higher than our ways. His thoughts are higher than ours. He’s
worked a million setbacks, failures, and disasters for good. He’ll do so
again. He never gives up His sovereign control over all things. And He often
doesn’t reveal all the details of His plans for the future. Yet this doesn’t
mean we shouldn’t plan or prepare for the future.
4 We do not DEPEND ON Faith Goals to provide motivation. God’s love
and grace give us the motivation for joining God’s work of turning lost
students into Multiplying Disciples who will lead Spiritual Movements. That
said, faith goals will likely provide task-oriented people with some
motivation. That is fine. But this should never be our complete motivation for
ministry efforts.
5 Faith Goals help us avoid some common problems/sins. They help us
to fight against our own self-centered desire to do whatever we want to do.
The help us fight against pride in our own “wisdom” and help to humble us
by teaching us to submit to the leaders that God has given us. They help us
fight against laziness and/or apathy.
6 Faith Goals DO NOT keep us from all sin. After receiving clear ministry
direction many of us tend to slip into trying to “succeed” for the wrong
reasons (i.e. my glory) and in the wrong way (i.e. by my own strength).
7 Faith goals DO NOT give us an opportunity to justify ourselves or
prove our worth. Our justification, worth and identity are all found in Christ
alone. All who’ve been saved into God’s eternal family of love have the
righteous record of Christ. He is our justification, worth and identity.
8 We DO NOT use faith goals alone to evaluate a person or team’s
faithfulness. In other words, unfulfilled faith goals do not NECESSARILY
mean that we sinned or were lazy or were doing the wrong things with the
wrong people for the wrong reasons. They often mean that God was up to
something different or on a different time line than we expected. Welcome to
the club of Godly men and women that misunderstood (slightly or
drastically) God’s plans and timing: Abraham, Moses, David, Peter, …. Just
as God used them despite their weakness and sin, God can and will use us.
Not because we always get everything right. But because He is powerful
and gracious to perfect His power in our weakness.

On the other hand, sometimes unfulfilled faith goals are a result of laziness or lack
of faithfulness. And there is nothing wrong with letting these goals remind staff that
they are stewards of their time and abilities and that their actions are important to
God, the team, and the ministry. (1 Thess 5:14)

How to set Faith Goals?


1 Be in God’s Word letting it guide and correct everything we think, feel, say
and do.
2 Pray fervently and expectantly for God’s will to be done, for wisdom to know
how God is leading you, and for faith to do the right things with the right
people for the right reasons.
3 Consider your God-given mission (often your leaders will play a part in this)
and your God-given circumstances (strengths, opportunities, limitations,
challenges, …). Then you can ask the question, “In light of our mission and
circumstances, what is God calling us to do/ask for right now?”
4 Make a decision trusting that God will give you the wisdom you’ve sought
and will lead you into the good works that He’s prepared in advance for you
to do. (James 1:5, Eph 2:10) He will surely work all things for good! And
then watch and see what He does. Join Him for the ride. He’s in control.

Setting, reviewing and evaluating our faith goals is a bit like Paul wanting and
planning to go to Asia but being prevented by the Holy Spirit (Acts 16). The
specifics don’t always work out the way we expected. It’s not always clock-work
like the battle of Jericho. Sometimes God gives us clear leading about what will
happen, how and when. Other times it’s less clear. Sometimes we have to wait
much longer than we thought, like Abraham waiting for a son. Sometimes we
argue with our brothers and sisters, “Should we bring John Mark or not?”
Sometimes we get stopped dead in our tracks and don’t get to go to Asia like we’d
been telling everyone we were going to do. Sometimes we understand more
clearly later. Sometimes we don’t.

In all these sorts of situations God is up to something wonderful both in us and


through us! God’s desire, power, and faithfulness to save and redeem is where we
place our hope and confidence! This is where we get our motivation. Not from the
fact that we always make accurate plans.
“The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of
the peoples. The counsel of the Lord stands for ever, the plans of his heart to all
generations.” (Ps 33:10-11)

Summary
Faith goals are an incredible tool to help you lead your teams to trust God to
accomplish the works that He has prepared for you to do! Faith goals are
measureable, time-based ministry goals to help your team seek and follow God’s
will. They help guide our actions and prayers, but they do not constrain God’s
hand. They give opportunity for some problems and sins (self-reliance and self-
glorification). Yet they can also help us see and sometimes avoid other problems
and sins (laziness, self-centeredness, insubordination). May your team depend on
God and expect Him to give you the wisdom that He promises in James 1:5. And
may He use this process to bless you, your team, your scope, and the world!

Common questions

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The ultimate motivation for ministry efforts stems from God's love and grace, not from the achievement of faith goals themselves . While faith goals can provide additional motivation, particularly for task-oriented individuals, they are not meant to be a complete motivational foundation. Faith goals serve as tools to guide actions and prayers, but true motivation is derived from the transformative power of God's love in turning lost individuals into multiplying disciples .

The process for setting faith goals effectively involves several key steps: first, immerse in God's Word to ensure that all thinking, feeling, saying, and doing are scripturally grounded . Secondly, engage in fervent prayer to discern God's will and seek wisdom for appropriate actions . Consider the specific mission and circumstances given by God, which include considering strengths, opportunities, and limitations . Make decisions with trust that God will guide into pre-prepared good works, and then observe His actions . This process facilitates alignment with divine intentions while still allowing flexibility for God's sovereign plans.

Setting faith goals in a ministry context provides several benefits: they direct our actions and enable us to align on what to do, with whom, and when, creating team cohesion . They help focus prayer efforts by clarifying the distinction between human effort and divine intervention, motivating us to seek both God's guidance and support . Faith goals also aid in combating common issues like self-centeredness and pride by humbling us and aligning our actions with God’s will . Despite their utility, they neither constrain God nor should they be the sole source of motivation, as true motivation comes from God's love and grace .

Faith goals, while helpful, can inadvertently promote self-glorification and self-reliance when individuals focus on personal or team achievements as a measure of success . These attitudes can develop if goals are pursued with an emphasis on human effort over divine grace, leading to pride in personal capabilities. To mitigate these issues, it's crucial to maintain the perspective that ultimate success in ministry derives from God's power and grace, not human accomplishments. Keeping humility at the forefront, seeking constant guidance from God, and recognizing the distinction between divine and human roles in achieving ministry success are fundamental to addressing these challenges .

Faith goals help combat ministry-related problems and sins by keeping self-centered desires in check, encouraging humility, and promoting submission to leadership . They address issues like laziness and pride by focusing on collective objectives that require dependence on God and cooperation among team members. Even though faith goals can expose issues of self-glorification and self-reliance, they also highlight the importance of seeking divine guidance to achieve meaningful spiritual progress .

The sources highlight that ministry planning is inherently unpredictable due to the nature of divine intervention, where God's ways and timings often diverge from human expectations . Biblical examples, such as Paul’s plan to preach in Asia being thwarted by the Holy Spirit (Acts 16), illustrate that human plans may not align with God's immediate intentions. This unpredictability reminds ministries to plan diligently with an openness to divine redirection and to place ultimate confidence in God's overarching purpose, which remains steadfast despite changing circumstances. Faith goals assist in preparing for action, but reliance on God ensures that ministries remain adaptable to His divine, often inscrutable, orchestration .

Faith goals play a crucial role in guiding prayer efforts by clarifying the division between human responsibilities and divine actions, thus directing prayers towards seeking both human faithfulness and divine intervention . They encourage teams to pray for the strength to fulfill their ministry parts while relying on God for the completion and success only He can bring. This focused prayer effort enhances team unity as members collectively depend on God to achieve overarching spiritual outcomes, aligning their efforts and expectations under a common faith-oriented framework .

Task-oriented people in ministry are motivated by results and progress. They prioritize setting goals, making plans, and evaluating progress as they seek to see tangible ministry outcomes. The Spirit in them drives them to expand their influence for Christ, but their flesh can lead them to self-reliance and seeking personal glory . On the other hand, relationship-focused people value deep connections with God and others, often perceiving strict planning and goal-setting as unspiritual. While they appreciate the role of love in ministry, their approach can be hindered by tendencies towards laziness and insubordination . Each group carries blind spots and strengths that contribute uniquely to team efforts.

Faith goals help delineate between God's role and our role by framing human effort as the planning and execution of ministry activities, while recognizing God as the ultimate source of spiritual growth and transformation. They emphasize the smaller human efforts in planting and watering, acknowledging that it is God who truly provides growth and harvest (1 Cor 3:5-9). Faith goals thus underscore the importance of aligning human actions with divine purposes, while continuously relying on God's greater work and sovereignty in achieving lasting spiritual outcomes .

Faith goals should not be the sole metric for evaluating ministry faithfulness because achieving or not achieving goals does not necessarily reflect one's spiritual state or effort. Unfulfilled goals may arise from God's different plans or timing rather than human shortcomings, as seen in biblical examples like Abraham and Moses who misunderstood God's intentions . While faith goals highlight areas for potential improvement, they should be considered alongside broader spiritual contexts, acknowledging that God ultimately uses people in their weaknesses and errors . Christian identity and justification are found in Christ alone, not in goal fulfillment .

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