Project Planning

Planning is bringing the future into the present so you can do something about it now.... -Alan Lakein-

Planning….That word is not used too often in my vocabulary. Our speaker this week was Lance Rawlins, who is originally from South Africa, so on top of getting to learn about planning, I also got to listen to a sweet accent all week! He currently lives in Portland and works with the WCAC (Women and Children’s Advocacy Centre)

Lance started this week by showing us the biblical basis for planning, and that we need to start whatever we are doing with God. He took us through Genesis 1 and showed us how God planned before He acted. He didn’t just start by creating mankind, but He knew what we needed and created that first. (Air, Vegetation…) After God did all this He rested. I was challenged personally with the need for a Sabbath. This may mean I have to move around the rest my week so that I am able to take a day of rest. So what does a Sabbath look like for me?

We were told that on Friday we had to put in writing and present a project plan. Brenda & I started planning an outreach to Jaco after this school. Reality Check. Planning a project is hard. There are many aspects to doing it, as well as a lot of time and effort. Another reality check. Is it actually feasible? Think about it. This part of the lecture not only taught me a lot, it also challenged me to ask questions about what I have in mind for my future. I need a goal that is focused and can be measured. I realized that I need to start small and take baby steps.

We learned how to set SMART goals.

Specific

Measurable

Attainable

Realistic/ Relevant

Time

It was mentioned in class that 60% of ministries fail within the first 2 years. Why is this happening? One of the things that Lance taught on are the different needs. There are the perceived needs which is what outsiders think; the felt needs which is what the people themselves think they need; and there are the real needs which is the actual underlying cause of the problem. I think too often ministries try to fill the immediate need instead of doing something about fixing the cause of the problem.

This class was incredible, our school was so lucky to have him teach. We no longer will have to feel like it’s hopeless when we are being faced with the most heartbreaking problems. Instead we will be able to focus on what we can do.