Parish leaders do a great deal of planning for annual and special events, for Faith Formation, RCIA, special liturgies, for reconciliation services, and even for improvements to parish property. Frequently these plans fail, and those who planned the programs are left scratching their heads and wondering why.

Author Daniel Mulhall has a convincing and easy-to-follow answer: get away from planning for just the event or program ahead and look at the wider, longer view. Switch your planning style from episodic to systemic, and you’ll see your plans take root and flourish because you are looking at how everything you do fits into the wider picture of who your parish is.

Here he offers eight concrete steps, cast in the image of building a house, to help you proceed step by step to effective planning, which applies equally well to ANY kind of planning the parish is doing. These easy-to-follow guidelines are invaluable for effective parish planning.