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Ministry Mapping Inventory (MMI)
Process Steps
For Congregational Stewardship
STEP ONE
Complete the
Gospel Impact Survey
The Gospel Impact Survey is tailored to evaluate your core (6-8) ministries based on four organizational disciplines: alignment with core mission, community building, the principle of leverage, and excellence of execution. As a congregation practices and monitors these healthy behaviors, we will refer to the organizational disciplines as shared "spiritual disciplines." Each ministry in a congregation has a specific mission; that is, the day-to-day process tasks (with internal customs and value propositions) that best describe how the ministry promotes the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The goal is to make the congregation’s core ministry activities, internal customs, and value propositions explicit, linking them to the congregation’s mission and overall vision to seek and to save the lost.
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Member responses to the survey reflect an overall assessment of each ministry relative to the other ministries in the survey based on the above shared spiritual disciplines. The survey offers members the prominent voice in the stewardship and evaluation process. It is not an actual measurement of Gospel impact (which we leave to the Holy Spirit). There are no "right or "wrong" answers. The results are used to plot the data for the "Y" axis, "Gospel Impact" (qualitative analysis).
Spiritual Discipline #1
Aligning with Core Mission
Over time, ministries may drift from their mission. Hence, at any given time, some ministries are more aligned than others in Gospel impact. Most (or probably all) current ministries have some level of impact on individual participants, but there is room for discussion about whether these ministries are ever increasing (Eph 4:12-13) in alignment with the congregation’s core mission to promote the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:18).
Spiritual Discipline #2
Applying Leverage
Ministry programs do not exist in isolation. One element of impact is leverage, the degree to which a ministry program increases the impact of other ministry programs. A ministry may score high on the criterion of leverage because it creates opportunity for evangelism, member and visitor assimilation, youth engagement, volunteer participation, worship attendance or increased offerings.
Spiritual Discipline #3
Building Community (Teaming)
One measure of impact may be related to building the capacity and strength of the community – care ministries, spiritual growth, and mission field – in addition to building the ministry itself. Does the ministry program help build the community in and around the church? Universal grace implies the need for transcendence across cultural, ethnic, or ministry team boundaries. The Apostle Paul is a good example of someone who adopted a multiple team model, joining teams in the churches of Galatia, Ephesus, Rome, Colossi, Philippi, Thessalonica, and Corinth. Interviews with community and ministry leaders may provide information about community building.
Spiritual Discipline #4
Executing with Excellence
Often ministry programs will spend more explicit attention to planning than to execution. The criterion of excellence is a way of getting at execution. Is this ministry program something that the church-school offers in an outstanding, superior way? Do we execute this ministry program competently, or do we execute it amazingly well? Excellence in execution is a desirable trait in ministry (Ecc. 9:10; I Cor. 10:31). The following are sources of information related to the criterion of excellence: Program evaluation data; Feedback from customers, patrons, and clients; and Direct observation; Staff performance evaluations; and Staff turnover and exit interviews.
STEP TWO
Complete the Stewardship Calculator
By completing the Stewardship Calculator, a congregation will be able to evaluate each ministry team's utilization of the "True Cost" calculation. Formally or informally, a congregation allocates human capital (staff and volunteer hours) and financial resources (approved budget) to each ministry. The results are used to plot the data for the "X" axis, Financial Viability (quantitative analysis).
STEP THREE
Evaluate and Discuss
"Gospel Imperatives"
Based on the quadrant a ministry is plotted in, a Gospel Imperative begins to emerge. That is, which ministries to keep and contain costs ("The Heart"), which ministries to invest in and grow ("The Star"), which ministries to water and harvest ("The Money Tree"), and which ministries to renew, revitalize, redevelop, or help in redemptive death ("The Intervention"). New stewardship conversations begin to emerge about mission alignment, ministry teaming, execution, and overall financial sustainability.
STEP FOUR
Consult the "Decision Table" for Action Teams to Prayerfully Consider Gospel Imperatives
Strategic Analysis: Evaluate, Prioritize & Select Ideas
Now, a picture of your congregation's current ministry state is made explicit, and a robust conversation can begin. Depending on where an activity is placed on the map, strategic imperatives emerge and are placed on the Gospel Imperatives Decision Table. The Gospel Imperatives Decision Table will prompt your congregation's leaders or action team members to reflect on each ministry in relation to the whole. In this step, decisions will be made about how each ministry should proceed in view of Gospel impact and financial viability. That is, what congregational stewardship (or shared stewardship) should look like for your congregation. The team must begin the process of eliminating ideas that aren't practical, wouldn't improve the ministry. The mapping and analysis process will also enable teams to evaluate possibilities for internal and external partnerships, merger and legacy planning.