Planning has been defined as "predetermining a course of action". It is an attempt to write future history.
We plan so as to increase the probability that what we want to happen will indeed happen. If we plan well then Murphy's law (which states that anything that can go wrong will go wrong) is less likely to happen because potential problems are anticipated and resolved.
One of the most useful worksheets for planning consists of three columns.
What is the present state of
• your ministry?
• your target group?
How do you go from now to then?
In other words, what activities / programs will help reach your goals?
What would you like to see existing at a specific time in the future?
In other words, what are your goals / objectives?
Let's take a closer look at each column in this order: THEN, NOW, HOW. Use the "Hamburger" menu in the top right to navigate the pages.