The ReadinessScorecard.
Twelve questions about last December. Score each one 0, 1, or 2. Zero means no, or nobody knows. One means partly, or it happened but nobody owned it. Two means yes, on purpose, with a name and a date. Your score and where to start appear as you go.
Answer it honestly, with the people who will run this year. A low score is not a verdict on the church. It is the finding that makes this December different from the last one.
- 01
Vision
Could most people in the room last December finish the sentence, "next year our church is going to..."?
- 02
The number
Did leadership know, before November, what December needed to produce for the budget to work?
- 03
Sequence
Did people hear the vision and at least one story before they heard an ask?
- 04
The brief
Did every email, letter, and pulpit moment draw from one written page, signed by the Lead Pastor?
- 05
Segments
Did major, mid-level, recurring, and congregation-wide givers receive different messages from different messengers?
- 06
The top twenty
Did every top giving household have a personal conversation with a named person before the appeal went out?
- 07
Recurring givers
Were they thanked before they were asked for anything?
- 08
Christmas Eve
Did the largest room of the year hear one sentence about where the church is going?
- 09
The final 72 hours
Did December 29, 30, and 31 have scheduled messages and a named person on the inbox and phones?
- 10
Thank-you
Was every gift above a set threshold thanked by phone within a day, and every first-time giver by a personal note within a week of January 1?
- 11
The report
Did every giver receive a one-page account of what December made possible by the end of January?
- 12
The debrief
Did the team meet in January, write down three changes, and put next year's dates on the calendar with owners?
Want a second set of eyes on the score?
Twenty minutes. You tell me the number and the lowest three, and I tell you what I would change first.