Putting Every Ministry on the Map
Last time, you did something many churches never do: you named the stages of spiritual growth for your church. You described each one, listed its marks of maturity, and named a next step. Now you have a map.
In this lesson, we're going to take every ministry, program, and event your church runs and place it on that map. It's a simple exercise, but don't let that fool you. This is often the moment when everything clicks. For the first time, you'll be able to see where your church is pouring its time, money, and people — and where it isn't.
Paul reminds us that in God's kingdom, every role matters: "I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase" (1 Corinthians 3:6, KJV). Some ministries plant. Some water. Some help bring in the harvest. The goal of this lesson is to find out which ministries are doing which job, and whether every stage of growth is getting the care it needs.
You'll need two things from earlier lessons: your ministry inventory from Lesson 6 and your stage chart from Lesson 7. Grab them, and let's get started.
How to Map Your Ministries
Mapping is simple: for each ministry on your list, decide which stage of growth it mainly serves. Follow these rules to keep it honest:
Pick one primary stage. Most ministries touch more than one stage, but every ministry has a sweet spot. Ask, "Who is this really built for, and what is it really helping them do?"
Note a secondary stage only if it's real. If a ministry clearly serves a second stage, add it. But don't stretch just to make something look better.
Go by what it does, not what it hopes to do. If your men's breakfast was started to reach new guys but nearly everyone there has been at the church for 20 years, it belongs in a later stage.
Use a "Doesn't Fit" column. Some ministries won't fit any stage. That's okay. Put them there for now. We'll talk about what to do with them in a later lesson.
Count it once. Make sure every ministry shows up in exactly one primary spot so your totals are accurate.
Use the worksheet below. Replace the column headings with your own stage names from Lesson 7, then add one row for each ministry.
Mark the primary stage with a P and any secondary stage with an S. When you're done, count only the Ps in each column for your totals.
A Sample Map
Here's what a finished map might look like for a typical church using the stages Connect, Grow, Serve, and Go:
Notice what jumps out. This church has plenty happening in Connect and Grow, a fair amount in Serve, and almost nothing in Go. The fall festival draws a crowd but doesn't lead anywhere. And the newcomers' class — the main bridge from Connect to Grow — only happens twice a year. Those are exactly the kinds of insights your own map will reveal.
Reading Your Map
Once your map is complete, take a step back and look at it as a whole. Don't rush this part. Set the worksheet in front of you (or your team), pray, and work through these questions together.
Coverage: where is the weight?
Which stage has the most ministries? Is that where your church most needs to be investing right now?
Which stage has the fewest? Is there anything at all helping people grow through it?
Look back at your ministry inventory from Lesson 6. Where is most of your budget and most of your volunteer time going? Does it match where the ministries are?
Bridges: can people move?
Between each pair of stages, is there something that helps people take the next step? Or do people have to figure it out on their own?
Where on your map do people tend to get stuck? Does that line up with the drop-off you saw in your people numbers from Lesson 6?
Surprises: what did you discover?
What surprised you most about your map?
Was there a ministry you thought belonged in one stage that ended up somewhere else?
What's in your "Doesn't Fit" column? How much time and energy goes into those things?
If a brand-new believer looked at this map, would they see a clear path forward?
Write your answers down. The surprises especially matter. They're often where God is getting your attention.
Common Surprises
Every church's map is different, but a few surprises show up again and again. See if any of these sound familiar:
The middle is crowded. Most churches have lots of ministries in the "Grow" stage — classes, studies, and groups — often serving the same core people.
The last stage is nearly empty. Very few churches have much helping people disciple others or share their faith. It's the stage everyone agrees matters and the one that gets the least attention.
Big events don't lead anywhere. Large outreach events often draw a crowd but have no clear next step, so guests come once and disappear.
The bridges are missing. A church can have strong ministries in every stage but nothing that helps people move from one to the next.
Serving is treated as a job, not a step. Volunteer roles get filled out of need rather than as a planned part of someone's growth.
Some favorites don't fit. A ministry people love may not serve any stage clearly. That can be hard to see, and it calls for a lot of grace.
If you spotted some of these in your own map, take heart. You're not behind. You're simply seeing clearly for the first time, and that's exactly what you need before you can make wise changes.
Action Steps
Before you move on to Lesson 9, work through these on your own or with your team:
Set up your worksheet. Copy the mapping table into your notes and replace the column headings with your own stage names.
Map every ministry. Add each ministry and event from your Lesson 6 inventory. Mark one primary stage (P) and any true secondary stage (S).
Total your columns. Count the primary marks in each stage and in the "Doesn't Fit" column.
Answer the reading questions. Work through the coverage, bridges, and surprises questions and write down your answers.
Name your biggest surprise. Write one or two sentences about what surprised you most and why.
Identify your heaviest and lightest stages. Circle the stage with the most coverage and the one with the least. Note where the missing bridges are.
Compare with your team. If you're in a group, have each person map the ministries on their own first. Then compare and talk through any differences.
Pray over the gaps. Ask God to show you how He wants to fill the empty places on your map.
You now have a clear picture of where your church is strong and where it's thin. In the next lesson, we'll start deciding what to do about it. See you in Lesson 9!
