Every week in ministry, we face the same challenge — it’s the challenge of simultaneously balancing …
- The regular responsibilities of our jobs.
- The unexpected problems that always seem to pop up at the worst possible times.
- Our relationships of the people we lead, serve, or work alongside.
- Our vision for our ministries that we need to lead.
Yet, how often have you started your week focused on handling something important for your ministry, only to be interrupted by something that urgently needed your attention? The urgent stuff is a part of ministry we can’t avoid — but the urgent stuff can’t always prevent us from planning ahead.
You’ll always need to address the last-minute meetings, conversations, and shopping trips for supplies. But these sudden weekly surprises don’t need to disrupt your entire plan for the week! You can take time to plan out your week and save space for whichever unexpected surprise pops up this week. You just have to focus your planning on four key areas each week.
If you need help with this, we’ve got a Weekly Planner made just for church leaders that you can download for free! Zero dollars. Free free free.
Free PDF Resource
4 Things Every Ministry Leader Should Plan Each Week
Every week, this planner will prompt you to plan these four things:
1. TAKEAWAYS FROM LAST WEEK
Weekly ministry is a constant wave of motion. When you do get the occasional downtime, it only seems to last a few hours before you’re planning the next event or working on your teaching content for the next week. We can spend a lot of time looking ahead in our ministries rather than reflecting on what’s just happened.
That’s why we recommend focusing on one key takeaway from the previous week. What’s a lesson you learned or a conversation you’d like to remember? It could be something from a sermon, a podcast, a book, or a show. There’s no set criteria for where a takeaway comes from. What truly matters is that you remember it and write it down somewhere you can see it.
We want to capture what we learned in the last week for several reasons. First, it’s helpful for us to remember we’re always learning and growing. There’s so much we know, and still so much we don’t. These lessons can help orient us as we head into new seasons and ministry experiences. Second, when you finish planning out your year, you’ll be able to reflect on everything you’ve learned each week. Start with a simple review of the previous week and watch as your review grows into a log of the lessons you’ve learned throughout the year.
2. KEY OUTCOMES FOR THIS WEEK
What do you hope to accomplish by the end of this week? Don’t think of these outcomes as tasks and to-dos. Instead, view them as accomplishments. These outcomes will help give a general shape to your week.
An outcome can look like “Settle on a direction for Spring Retreat” or “Identify three more small group leaders.” You could even write “Have more fun” as one of your outcomes.
Remember, these are the big-picture goals you’ll want to chase by the end of the week. So, no matter what unexpected meetings and conversations pop up, these outcomes can help guide you through the end of your week.
3. ACTION ITEMS YOU CAN’T MISS
You have your takeaways from the week before and your outcomes for the end of this week. Now, it’s time to start thinking about the steps involved. What do you need to do to help you reach your outcomes? Do you need to start looking into camp locations? Do you need to interview potential volunteers? Do you need to write a message or prep a craft?
Start to break down each of your outcomes into the practical steps you can take to get them done by the end of the week. Write these down, and if you want to go a step further, start planning out when you can tackle each step during your week.
4. PEOPLE TO CONNECT WITH
Finally, you’ll want to plan the time you spend with people. We get it. There are more people you want to spend time with than there are hours in the week. You won’t be able to grab coffee or lunch with everyone you want. At the same time, you can’t deny spending time with everyone. Ministry is about people, and you have a great ministry full of volunteers, families, kids, or teenagers who want you to invest in them.
So, plan it out. Be strategic in how you spend time with others. Ask God who you could spend some time with, and write down any name that pops into your head.
This isn’t a commitment to a three-hour lunch, though (unless that’s what you want!) You can spend time with others by sending a text, making a phone call, or setting up a Zoom or FaceTime call. The idea isn’t to overload your schedule but to be intentional about the connections you make in your ministry. So go ahead and schedule those phone calls, send texts telling people you’re praying for them, and check in on the people God calls to mind.
Tracking each of these four areas can help you stay focused on what’s important for your ministry while also giving you the space to take care of the unexpected moments that pop up throughout your week. And if you’re looking for a way to get started with tracking your week, we’ve got a great resource for you. You can get our 2025 Weekly Planner here!
Oh, and because we really want to help you grow, both in your faith and in your leadership, we’ve also included on every page …
- A weekly tip for working with kids, teenagers, or family ministry.
- A Scripture passage to think about. (And if you’re using Grow Curriculum in your ministry, these verses are connected to what’s being taught in that week!)
You can get the free PDF of the Weekly Planner right now. There are three versions you can choose from:
- The Children’s Ministry Weekly Planner
- The Youth Ministry Weekly Planner
- The Family Ministry Weekly Planner
Free PDF Resource
4 Things Every Ministry Leader Should Plan Each Week
And if you decide you’d rather not print the planner yourself, you can get your Weekly Planner on Amazon for Children’s Ministry, Youth Ministry, Family Ministry, or all three! So, whether you’re looking to level up your weekly planning, track your goals and outcomes, or just start planning your week, go snag that free Weekly Planner!
In this post, here’s what we’ll cover: