The secret of momentum in football, or any sport for that matter, has less to do with talent, and more to do with how the team plays together. You can have the most talented players in the world, and still lose a game simply because they’re not working together to move the ball down the field. 

Momentum has less to do with talent, and more to do with synergy. 

In ministry, we define synergy like this — the combined energy around a common strategy. 

That’s why if you want to have momentum and build a ministry that lasts, you need to align leaders around a common strategy and values. 

Because here’s what’s true: you don’t have to work at misalignment – you have to be intentional about alignment.

In other words, when you’re trying to get everyone on the same page, going the same direction, you have to work at it. It’s kind of like the tires on your car. Give it enough mileage, enough time, and enough bumps on the road, and the tires begin to work against each other. So, you have to take it into a dealer, have someone connect a diagnostic machine to it, balance the tires, recalibrate everything, and then start over. 

The same is true for our ministry. From time to time we have to stop, see how everything is working together, realign everything, and go again. That’s what it means to think in terms of strategy. 

What’s At Stake if Our Leaders Don’t Have a Common Strategy

We all know the fallout of not working together as a team.

If you’re the student pastor and don’t get on the same page as the children’s pastor, how can you expect parents who have kids and students to get on the same page with you? Working together with other nextgen pastors matters.

What if your volunteers aren’t working together in a synchronized way? Chances are, your kids or teenagers who are trying to follow you feel lost because they’re not sure who’s leading which direction. 

If your messaging doesn’t follow some type of a strategy or plan of action, then you’ll have competing voices. Oftentimes, competing messages or voices cancel each other out.

Strategy is more important than we ever realize. Just like a team moving the ball down the field, we have to think in terms of being deliberate and intentional about getting everyone on the same page. We have to focus on getting people moving in the same direction. 

If you want to attract and keep good leaders, you have to work hard at alignment. Because the truth is having the right kind of aligned organization actually helps you attract good leaders.

Leaders love to know what the plan and strategy is. They love to operate off of common values. When it happens, it’s magical. It helps us win in our organizations because it gives our ministries synergy.

If you loved this content or want to develop a ministry strategy that works, grab a copy of Think Orange today.