Part Four- Annual Strategic planning continued: Developing & Communicating the plan
Once the numbers are in and the goals begin to take shape, it’s time for one of my favorite parts of strategic planning—developing and communicating the plan.
This is the part where prayer meets purpose. Where discernment turns into direction. Where we sit with our key leaders, look back in gratitude, and then look forward in faith, asking together:
Where is God calling us in the year to come?
The Work of Conversation
I’ve learned over the years that strategy doesn’t start with spreadsheets (as much as we have tried) it starts with people. When we gather the right voices around the table we create space for the Holy Spirit to move.
There’s something sacred about those conversations. They’re full of laughter, sometimes tension, sometimes tears, but always truth. It’s where we discern together what to carry forward, what to release, and what to dream about next.
“Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.”
— Proverbs 15:22
When done prayerfully, these meetings become more than planning—they become formation. They remind us that leadership is about stewardship, and stewardship is about listening to God’s invitations.
The Gift of the Off-Site
One of the most transformative practices we’ve implemented at Bella has been our annual off-site… something we learned from author Patrick Lencioni.
In The Advantage, he writes, “There is no substitute for spending time away from the office to focus on what really matters.”
Gather the key minds of your team and commit. We turn off notifications, step away from the day-to-day, and allow ourselves to think, dream, and listen. We pray together, review the past year, assess the health of our team, and then get laser-focused on what God is asking of us in the next season.
At first, it was clunky. (Mostly, I was clunky.) We read the books but it was initially a bit of a mess! We got confused and on different pages to start. But we kept trying. (We got help.) And then we tried some more. We weren’t sure what to talk about, how to structure it, or even what success looked like. But over time, this rhythm has become one of the most fruitful things we do. It gives us time to get above the noise, reconnect with one another, and remember why we do what we do.
It’s not just about strategy—it’s about clarity and unity.
What to Do at the Off-Site
If you’re thinking about hosting one for your team, here’s a rhythm that’s worked beautifully for us:
Start with prayer and silence. Give God the first word. Seriously. Be intentional. Don’t skimp on this one.
Revisit your mission, vision, and values. Lencioni says healthy organizations return to these often—they’re your true north. The last few years I have loved how we look over this and end up saying “Yep! Thats what we do!”
Reflect on the previous year. Celebrate the good fruit. Call out what is rotten. Talk about the “why” behind both. (Go back to Parts one and two for suggestions on this.)
Discuss the health of your team. How are you doing at trust, communication, accountability, clarity? (Five Dysfunctions of a Team is gold here.)
Identify your “Big Rocks.” Choose the 3–5 key priorities that, if accomplished, would make the biggest difference this year. We have been surprised to find that these may take different form or priority but generally stay the same!
Assign ownership. Name who will lead each initiative and how you’ll measure progress.
End with encouragement and prayer. Close with unity and gratitude for what God has done and will do.
This time away helps us ensure that our plans aren’t just good ideas—they’re God’s ideas. One of my favorite things is to see how excited the team is as we wrap it up and have a plan!
Bringing It Back Home: The Kickoff
Once your plan is crafted, the next step is just as important: communicating it.
This is where you bring the team into the story—where you take everything you’ve discerned and turn it into inspiration, direction, and shared ownership.
At Bella, we do this through our annual kickoff. It’s something we make special, different, and memorable every single year. Our fall retreat is about soul and heart—it’s for the team. But our January kickoff is about mission—it’s for the work.
We set aside time to share the “why” behind our goals, to highlight how each person’s role contributes to the whole, and to re-ignite that spark of purpose that can sometimes fade in the busyness of the day-to-day.
We make it celebratory and fun, not heavy. Hopeful, not overwhelming. We use visuals, music, stories, games and humor—anything that helps the message stick. We have found that when the team understands where we’re going and why it matters, their work becomes mission and ministry.
“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and He will establish your plans.”
— Proverbs 16:3
Final Reflections
Strategic planning can sound corporate, but at its best, it’s profoundly spiritual. It’s about aligning human effort with divine purpose. It’s about being faithful to plant seeds, even when we don’t yet see the harvest.
Patrick Lencioni often says that healthy organizations require both clarity and communication. I’d add one more: consecration. When we give our plans back to God, He does more than we could ask or imagine.
So as you close out your planning season, my encouragement is this:
Bring your people together.
Take time away.
Pray boldly.
Plan humbly.
Communicate clearly.
Celebrate joyfully.
And above all—trust that the same God who called you to this mission will guide you through every step of it.