I began as lead pastor at my current church, West Park Church in London, Ontario four years ago. When I started, I faced a steep learning curve. I not only needed to understand a new church culture, but a new country culture as well.

So, I developed what I called my six-month on-boarding plan to best discern what needed to be done early on.

If you are starting a new ministry role or are simply starting a new ministry project, if you’ll put in place these five essentials as you begin, your chances of success will increase. In this post I state those five essentials.

A book that’s helped me create my plan and one that I recommend for pastors transitioning to a new church is, The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter by Michael D. Watkins.

He also has an iPhone app as well. The book is a must-read. He suggests that before you implement a change, you must make sure you have these five supporting pillars in place.

1. Awareness. A critical mass of people aware of the need for change.

2. Diagnosis. You know what needs to be changed and why.

3. Vision. You have a compelling vision and a solid strategy.

4. Plan. You have the expertise to put together a detailed plan.

5. Support. You have developed a sufficiently strong group of supporters to implement your plan.

So the next time you plan a new ministry initiate, consider these five pillars.