FAITH GOALS: WHAT, WHY AND HOW WE USE THEM

NOVEMBER 7, 2016 BY By Matt Kvernen

Why do we need this article?

As Cru staff we are full-time ministers of the Gospel, called to join God’s work of
winning, building, and sending multiplying disciples to lead spiritual movement so
that everyone knows someone who truly follows Jesus. We value faith, growth,
and fruitfulness. We plan. We set goals. We evaluate.

Some people, we’ll call them task-oriented people, are very motivated to see
ministry results. They generally like to set goals, make plans and appreciate the
need for evaluation. The Spirit in them wants to see people won to Christ, built up
in their faith, and sent out to the world as multiplying disciples. The flesh in them is
prone to self-reliance and doing things for their own glory, not God’s.

Other people, lets’ call them relationship-focused people, seek to love people
well. They value relationship with God and others above tasks and accomplishing
goals. They can tend to think that goals and plans are useless or at least
unspiritual. They often affirm, “Only God can save and change lives anyway. He is
Sovereign. So why make goals or evaluate plans?” The Spirit in them knows that
actions without love gain nothing. They know God’s highest commands are to love
Him and others. And they remember that only He can produce lasting spiritual
fruit. But the flesh in them can tend towards laziness, an unwillingness to submit to
specific direction from their leadership, and a spiritual pride that says, “Jesus and
me is enough. I don’t need my team or leader to help me seek His will.”

Both types of people have plenty to offer a team during ministry planning. And
both types of people will bring with them natural blind-spots or wrong tendencies.
This is one huge reason why our company values serving together with a team! I
trust the following article can help all of us as we approach ministry planning,
especially setting faith goals, this year.

Definition of a Faith Goal

A faith goal is a measureable, time-based ministry goal that helps us move
towards our God-given mission and vision.

Purpose of Faith Goals

Setting faith goals is a process of seeking God’s will about how to join His work
during a specific time period.

Reviewing our faith goals mid-stream helps focus our ministry efforts and prayer
during that time period.

Evaluating faith goals and results provides an opportunity to celebrate God’s work
and evaluating ours.
Components of Faith Goals
1 Our part – Faith action
1 I Cor 3:5-9 – small compared to God
2 Matt 25:14-30 – but significant to God
3 Eph 5:16 – make the best use of time
4 Eph 2:10 – God has created you in Christ and called you here this
year for good works that He has prepared beforehand that you should
walk in them.
2 God’s part – Spiritual fruit
1 God saving and changing lives. (1 Cor 3:5-9)
2 An abundance of lasting fruit (John 15)
3 This is the huge deal! What we get excited about! What only God can
do!

Mixing the components – most of our faith goals will be a mixture of both God’s
part and ours. I believe God’s Word teaches that both our smaller part and His
greater part are important. “So neither he who plants nor he who waters is
anything, but only God who gives the growth.” (1 Cor 3:7) “For we are God’s fellow
workers. … According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master
builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take
care how he builds upon it.” (1 Cor 3:9-10)

Why use Faith Goals?

1 Faith Goals help direct our actions. They help us to know what to do with
whom and when. Trusting God to set these goals helps get everyone on the
same page about what our teams are focusing on and why. Trusting God to
act in specific ways puts us in a better position to see God build a
movement on our campus.
2 Faith Goals help direct our prayers. Paul planted. Apollos watered. But
it’s God who gives the growth. Ultimately what we really want is for God to
show up and use our 5 loaves and 2 fish to feed the 5,000. Faith goals
clarify the huge gulf between our part and God’s part. They can help us pray
for one another … that we would faithfully do “our part” in the power of the
Holy Spirit (in dependence & for God’s glory). They also help us to cry out to
God to do the bigger, greater work that only He can do.
3 Faith Goals do not constrain God to act in a certain way or time frame.
His ways are higher than our ways. His thoughts are higher than ours. He’s
worked a million setbacks, failures, and disasters for good. He’ll do so
again. He never gives up His sovereign control over all things. And He often
doesn’t reveal all the details of His plans for the future. Yet this doesn’t
mean we shouldn’t plan or prepare for the future.
4 We do not DEPEND ON Faith Goals to provide motivation. God’s love
and grace give us the motivation for joining God’s work of turning lost
students into Multiplying Disciples who will lead Spiritual Movements. That
said, faith goals will likely provide task-oriented people with some
motivation. That is fine. But this should never be our complete motivation for
ministry efforts.
 5 Faith Goals help us avoid some common problems/sins. They help us
to fight against our own self-centered desire to do whatever we want to do.
The help us fight against pride in our own “wisdom” and help to humble us
by teaching us to submit to the leaders that God has given us. They help us
fight against laziness and/or apathy.
6 Faith Goals DO NOT keep us from all sin. After receiving clear ministry
direction many of us tend to slip into trying to “succeed” for the wrong
reasons (i.e. my glory) and in the wrong way (i.e. by my own strength).
7 Faith goals DO NOT give us an opportunity to justify ourselves or
prove our worth. Our justification, worth and identity are all found in Christ
alone. All who’ve been saved into God’s eternal family of love have the
righteous record of Christ. He is our justification, worth and identity.
8 We DO NOT use faith goals alone to evaluate a person or team’s
faithfulness. In other words, unfulfilled faith goals do not NECESSARILY
mean that we sinned or were lazy or were doing the wrong things with the
wrong people for the wrong reasons. They often mean that God was up to
something different or on a different time line than we expected. Welcome to
the club of Godly men and women that misunderstood (slightly or
drastically) God’s plans and timing: Abraham, Moses, David, Peter, …. Just
as God used them despite their weakness and sin, God can and will use us.
Not because we always get everything right. But because He is powerful
and gracious to perfect His power in our weakness.

On the other hand, sometimes unfulfilled faith goals are a result of laziness or lack
of faithfulness. And there is nothing wrong with letting these goals remind staff that
they are stewards of their time and abilities and that their actions are important to
God, the team, and the ministry. (1 Thess 5:14)

How to set Faith Goals?

1 Be in God’s Word letting it guide and correct everything we think, feel, say
and do.
2 Pray fervently and expectantly for God’s will to be done, for wisdom to know
how God is leading you, and for faith to do the right things with the right
people for the right reasons.
3 Consider your God-given mission (often your leaders will play a part in this)
and your God-given circumstances (strengths, opportunities, limitations,
challenges, …). Then you can ask the question, “In light of our mission and
circumstances, what is God calling us to do/ask for right now?”
4 Make a decision trusting that God will give you the wisdom you’ve sought
and will lead you into the good works that He’s prepared in advance for you
to do. (James 1:5, Eph 2:10) He will surely work all things for good! And
then watch and see what He does. Join Him for the ride. He’s in control.

Setting, reviewing and evaluating our faith goals is a bit like Paul wanting and
planning to go to Asia but being prevented by the Holy Spirit (Acts 16). The
specifics don’t always work out the way we expected. It’s not always clock-work
like the battle of Jericho. Sometimes God gives us clear leading about what will
happen, how and when. Other times it’s less clear. Sometimes we have to wait
much longer than we thought, like Abraham waiting for a son. Sometimes we
argue with our brothers and sisters, “Should we bring John Mark or not?”
Sometimes we get stopped dead in our tracks and don’t get to go to Asia like we’d
been telling everyone we were going to do. Sometimes we understand more
clearly later. Sometimes we don’t.

In all these sorts of situations God is up to something wonderful both in us and

through us! God’s desire, power, and faithfulness to save and redeem is where we
place our hope and confidence! This is where we get our motivation. Not from the
fact that we always make accurate plans.
“The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of
the peoples. The counsel of the Lord stands for ever, the plans of his heart to all
generations.” (Ps 33:10-11)

Summary
Faith goals are an incredible tool to help you lead your teams to trust God to
accomplish the works that He has prepared for you to do! Faith goals are
measureable, time-based ministry goals to help your team seek and follow God’s
will. They help guide our actions and prayers, but they do not constrain God’s
hand. They give opportunity for some problems and sins (self-reliance and self-
glorification). Yet they can also help us see and sometimes avoid other problems
and sins (laziness, self-centeredness, insubordination). May your team depend on
God and expect Him to give you the wisdom that He promises in James 1:5. And
may He use this process to bless you, your team, your scope, and the world!