Your project or ministry will work better if you take time to prepare
The beginning of almost any project is punctuated by anticipation and energy. We find ourselves chomping at the bit, eager to get things underway. There is nothing quite like throwing ourselves headlong into a new challenge, ready to meet unknown tests along the way, confident that we will ultimately prevail. This is the stuff we live for.
The problem is the start of a project or personal ministry is the exact wrong time to recklessly charge forward. It is a time for strategic preparation.
Imagine your personal ministry is to do food shopping for shut-ins or those recovering from an illness. You jump in the car, heading to the grocery store, ready to dive into your mission. Unfortunately, in your haste to get started you forgot to check what items to buy and you made no list. You may have surged ahead to serve through your ministry but you end up wandering the isles unsure of what to buy. In the end you are only able to deliver a fraction of the things you had hoped to pick up.
Jerry Madden, Associate Flight Projects Director with NASA, wrote a piece entitled One Hundred Rules for NASA Project Managers. Many of his rules are applicable across all project management and ministry lines. Of particular note is Rule 15, “The seeds of problems are laid down early. Initial planning is the most vital part of a project. The reviews of most failed projects or project problems indicate the disasters were well planned to happen from the start.”
We want to be successful as we bring our project across the finish line. This means we must take time to plan and prepare up front. The more complicated your project, the more time you should spend in preparation.
Matthew relays a reminder about planning and preparedness. We need only spend a few moments to think through our potential needs and take actions upfront to meet them. Peter, too, talks to us about the need to be prepared, rolling up our sleeves and living an action oriented life. We are to keep our minds engaged in our lives, ready to explain our deeds to anyone who is curious.
We are eager to jump into new adventures through or projects and ministries. Sometimes it is hard to resist the urge to charge ahead. If we want to ensure success, however, we must resist that temptation. Taking the time to plan our steps will help lead us to success and will keep us in line with Rule 15.
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