Imagine preparing to go on a trip. You open the map app on your smartphone and type in the address of your desired destination. Starting from your current location, you hit the directions button to see what options you have. As is often the case, two to three route options are presented. All of them will get you to the place you want to go, but you have a decision to make regarding which route to take. You choose the one that seems best, hit the go button, and the journey is mapped out. As you follow your chosen route, your map app helps you track progress towards your desired destination.
This simple process has become a part of our everyday life. I would summarize it as: defining our desired destination, understanding our current location, choosing the appropriate steps toward the goal and tracking progress.
Often in ministry, we may see an effective route that someone has taken and try to incorporate the same route, even though our destination and starting point are different. Although the steps for following a map seem straightforward, when collaborating in ministry, it is easier to leave something out or switch something up in that process than we would care to admit.
One of the things I have appreciated about being a part of the Support Raising Solutions Network, is that we start with the clear outcomes we want to achieve–a common destination. We want to see the nations flooded with Great Commission workers who are spiritually healthy, vision-driven and fully funded.
With the clear outcomes defined, it allows organizations to join the network based on like-minded goals. These outcomes become the sacred things that we hold on to.
The route to get there can change over time. We may find that the activities are no longer effective, or that someone has simply come up with a better map to get to the destination. When we hold firmly to what we want to achieve and loosely to the ways to achieve it, we will continue to adapt and grow in our multi-organizational network. As soon as we hold on tightly to the wrong things, we’ll lose our ability to answer the question, “Are we achieving what we set out to achieve?”
How is this working on a practical level within our network?
Support Raising Solutions not only has public SRS Bootcamps to deliver this training, but will also certify ministry leaders to conduct Bootcamps within our organizations. We receive the full packet of training materials with an expectation to deliver them in a certain way.
However, along with that, we are entrusted with the freedom to make some of the components more specific to our organization. The result is that we are able to collaborate to use Support Raising Solutions training maps, while choosing the route which best suits our ministry culture.
If we did not have an agreed upon set of outcomes that define our destination, we would not be able to have a network like this. If the activities or the methods were the things that were held sacred and unchangeable, we would not be able to make tweaks to pass on those qualities that make each of our ministries unique.
Perhaps when we use something as simple as an app to properly map our course, we will be reminded of how we can continue to work well together to bring God glory around His planet!
