Lesson Learned: 5 Things to Consider When Making Decisions

Consider your Purpose, Pieces, Presence, People and Position when making decisions for your ministry or business

Consider your Purpose, Pieces, Presence, People and Position when making decisions for your ministry or businessYesterday, I had to decide what colors to use on a new graphic.

The day before, it was the agenda for an upcoming event.

And last week, I had to decide if an expensive course was a worthwhile investment for my business.

Every day, there is another decision that needs attention, a choice to be made, a direction to be taken.  I didn’t realize how many decisions I would have to make to keep things moving around here!  I bet you have the same problem.

Being the leader of a ministry-minded business was something new to me and I had to learn a new way to make decisions.  Of course, everything needs to be covered in prayer as the number 1 priority.  But here are five practical things we can pray through when deciding what to do next in our ministries or businesses.

Is it consistent with your Purpose?

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 NIV

If you’ve been around Do A New Thing at all, you know this is something I talk about a lot.  The most important thing you can do for your ministry is to have a clear view of your purpose … mission, calling, niche, vision … whatever you call it.

In any decision we make, we should also think about how it will affect our audience.  Will it enhance her experience, encourage her, lead her closer to where God wants her to be?

Does it fit in with other Pieces of your ministry?

And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.  Colossians 1:17 ESV

I love this verse because it reminds me that God is a God of order.  Sometimes with so many great ideas floating in our head, we can lose focus if we aren’t careful.

Try this.  Give that a shot.

Before we know it, we have a bunch of pieces that look more like a pile of Pick-Up Sticks than a tight-fitting puzzle.

Does it reflect a God-honoring Presence?

 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Philippians 4:8 ESV

Our reputations as women of God’s Word are valuable and precious.  Actions and decisions reflect our hearts and we should be careful so that they build a reputation that honors God.  Should I actively promote a product or service from some who uses foul, shock-language to get a point across?  These are the things I’ve started to think about.

How does it affect your People?

The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice. Proverbs 12:15 ESV

Even if your ministry “team” is just you, your decisions affect other people.  You may have volunteers who help you.  Or maybe resources who support you, or partners that you collaborate with.  These people matter, and their opinion counts.  Seek wise counsel from those above, beside and below you and factor that into your decision-making process.

Are you in the right Position?

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19 NIV

Consider your resources.  Your time, your money, your experience.  Do you have what you need to do this right? Or should you find help to pull it off?  There is a delicate balance between stretching outside our comfort zone and being way out of bounds where we don’t belong.  Wise investments of time and money are always needed to move a ministry forward, but knowing what is “wise” is the hard part!

Are you struggling to make decisions for your faith-based ministry or business?  Frustrated by all the things you COULD do and afraid of doing the wrong thing?  I have two resources that can help!

RESOURCES

Stop the Idea Tornado Webinar

This FREE webinar will walk through my unique Idea Tornado toolkit and show you how to capture all those ideas swirling in your head, filter and prioritize them and how to create an action plan that is doable. Get Instant Access to the Idea Tornado Webinar  

MTAB FB 2

In this six-week guided course, you will take a deep dive into your ministry and look at your Purpose, Pieces, Presence, People and Position in a new way. You come out with a specific Master Plan to confidently make God-honoring decisions!

 

RESPOND

What ministry decisions are you struggling to make today?

Linking up with  Dawn Klinge at #GraceandTruth,  Abby McDonald at #RaRaLinkup, Crystal Storms at #IntentionalTuesday, Jaime Wiebel at #SittingAmongFriends, Crystal Twaddell at #FreshMarketFriday, Holley Gerth at #CoffeeForYourHeart and Susan Mead at #DanceWithJesus

16 thoughts on “Lesson Learned: 5 Things to Consider When Making Decisions”

  1. This is excellent guidance, Christa. God keeps bringing ‘decision making’ to my mind lately – probably because I’m so horrible at it! My husband and I were just laughing yesterday at how we toil over things and waver back and forth when making decisions:) I recently wrote an article on this topic too. I’ll be tucking this little gem away for later!!

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  2. What a practical, useful list. (Bonus points for the alliteration!) How a decision affects my people is a BIG one for me. Because when mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody–especially her people–happy. And my people often bear the scars from my poor decisions made with good intentions. Pinned! Stopping by from Grace & Truth.

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  3. Very wise. Thank you. I’ll be remembering and praying over these in some decisions coming up! Blessings on your week and ministry endeavors #DanceWithJesus

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  4. This is wonderful! There really are so many decisions in business and ministry than one would expect! This was super helpful for navigating those waters!

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  5. Christa,
    I am the president of a non-profit ministry organization – Redeemer Christian Foundation, Inc. I really liked and needed your “points to ponder” this morning as I go about my business of making continual decisions that affect the ministry. God had a purpose for me being linked up beside you this morning 🙂
    Blessings,
    Bev

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    • It can be so much more stressful to make decisions that affect an organization. Blessings to you, Bev, as you lead your foundation. Praying you will make wise decisions for this important ministry!

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  6. Very helpful words and a great reminder. For me, I work alone a lot and it can be so easy to get stuck in the weeds of a problem or get really focused on what I’m doing that I miss the bigger picture. Surrounding myself with helpful people to brainstorm, talk through a situation, or simply check-in with from time to time is so encouraging to my soul and helps the day to day decision-making process. Proverbs 12:15 rings true for me right now. Listen to wise counsel. Thankful for ya, Christa, that you are one of those people for me!! Love it…Christa!

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  7. Christa, I found myself say Yes, Yes Yes all the way through. As a team builder these things are what we emphasize so often with groups and individuals. Sound wisdom that must be intentional, but flows great rewards through every part of our life when applied. I just love this! You should share on #Fresh Market Friday Link-up which is all about making intentional choices in life. So glad to stop by here:) Crystal~

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    • Thanks for the invite, Crystal! I’ll hop on over there. Sometimes I find I am better at training OTHER people to do these things than I am at implementing them myself!

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  8. Christa, these are great ideas to help in making decisions. Sometimes it really is hard to know whether we just need to push past the comfort zone or if something is just not for us to do. Thank you for your encouragement with the questions to help us think through decision making. Blessings! I’m your neighbor at #FreshMarketFriday.

    Reply

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