Ministry planning / Pastor’s Coach

Ministry launch plan template:
give your vision a practical next step.

Before you recruit a team or set a launch date, get clear on the people you hope to serve and the work you can support. Use this guide to prepare a ministry proposal and begin a useful conversation with your leaders.

You can read this planning guide here. The companion worksheet is available through existing Boot Camp training materials for participants with access.

For pastors and ministry leaders starting a ministry or clarifying the direction of an existing team.

About the planning resource

What is in the Ministry Launch Plan?

The 30-page Ministry Launch Plan by Dr. Michael Brodeur is a companion to the How to Launch a Thriving Ministry video series. It provides space to work through these decisions:

Purpose and direction

Clarify values, priorities, vision and mission. Name the people and community your ministry aims to serve.

People and capacity

Identify leaders and team relationships. Consider the money, time, people and energy the ministry will require.

Action and review

Summarize the proposal, break the work into goals and tasks, assign responsibility and dates, and track progress.

The companion is a planning worksheet with writing space, not an interactive PDF form.

A useful starting point

Prepare the proposal with your team.

Draft the direction. The pastor begins the proposal, explaining the need and the intended ministry.
Work with the delegated leader. Review the plan together and agree what each person will own.
Invite the leadership team’s input. Surface questions and adjust the proposal before asking people to carry it.
Keep reviewing. Return to the plan as the ministry develops and circumstances change.

Try this in your next meeting

Leave with one decision you can act on.

Choose one ministry idea and give each person time to describe the need in their own words. Separate what you already know from what still needs checking. A clear next action is more useful than a long list of hopes.

Which people are we trying to serve, and what have we heard from them?
What would a small, worthwhile first step look like?
Who has agreed to lead it, and what support do they need?
What must be in place before we begin?
When will we meet again to decide what to keep, change or stop?

Illustrative example

A welcome follow-up team

Instead of deciding to “improve welcome,” agree who will coordinate follow-up with visitors who have asked to be contacted. Clarify how volunteers will be prepared, what they may access and when the team will review the experience.

Adapt the task to your church’s people, capacity and existing consent practices. This is an example for discussion, not a completed ministry plan.

Training and existing access

Looking for the companion worksheet?

The template is available in the resource area of the existing 8-week Boot Camp roadmap. If you have that access, sign in and open your materials. If you cannot locate a resource included in your original enrolment, contact the team.

Open the existing 8-week Boot Camp roadmap and resources. This resource area is for existing access; current cohort information is on the Boot Camp overview below.

Explore How to Launch Thriving Ministries for related teaching. For current cohort information, see the Boot Camp overview.

Still choosing where to focus? See a sample Church Health assessment and action pathway. The assessment is a separate offer, with its own stated inclusions.

Ministry launch plan template:give your vision a practical next step.