I’m in the middle of a series of posts this week called “Lessons Learned from Dave,” sharing some of the biggest leadership lessons I’ve learned from Dave Ramsey. You can find the first two posts here and here.

Here is Lesson #3:

Long term success comes with laser-like FOCUS

There are really three sub-lessons to this larger lesson from Dave and his team:

A) FOCUS – Dave Ramsey focuses on one thing: Helping people get out of debt and giving them hope!

Since founding his company in 1988, that has been and continues to be his single-minded focus. The books, the radio and TV show, the live events, the training resources, and everything else that he does comes back to that same focus: Helping people get out of debt and giving them hope!

At The Journey, we’re about “giving the people of New York the best opportunity to become fully developing followers of Jesus.” That’s our one thing.

What is your church’s one thing?

B) ALIGNMENT – Not only is Dave focused, but everyone in Dave’s company knows their mission statement and lines up with it. Here it is:

The Lampo Group, Inc. is providing biblically based, common sense education and empowerment which gives HOPE to everyone from the financially secure to the financially distressed.

Everyone in the organization, and I mean everyone, lines up with this mission. They have set up a long, in-depth hiring process to be sure that every member of their team is on the team.

This alignment means that Dave’s focus is also the focus of their entire organization. And it’s this alignment that allows them to work hard and move quickly..

How can you work for better alignment among everyone who serves at your church?

C) STRENGTHS-BASED – Dave and his team knows their strengths and plays to them.

Dave is serious about doing the things he can do best and leading every member of his team to do the same. They’re so focused on this that everyone has the results of their Strengths-Finder test posted in their cubicle.

Across the board, Dave’s organization does a great job of knowing and working within their individual strengths to better function as a whole (sounds a lot like 1 Corinthians 12, doesn’t it?).

How about you? Are you focused on your strengths? What are some things that you are doing now that could be better done by someone else?

All in all, these three factors hold a key to whether or not our churches will make the Kingdom impact that God intends us to make.

Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

Matthew 28:19-20

P.S. Does your church have a plan to get from where you are to where God wants you?
Take a look at The Strategy Seminar.

© Nelson Searcy. All Rights Reserved.

About Nelson Searcy

Nelson Searcy is an experienced church growth strategist, pastor, church planter and coach, consulting with churches around the world. As founder of Church Leader Insights and the Renegade Pastors Network, he has personally trained more than 3,500 church leaders in over 45 denominations through live events, seminars and monthly coaching. Nelson is also the Founding and Lead Pastor of The Journey Church, with locations across New York City and in Boca Raton, FL. Nelson and his church routinely appear on lists such as “The 50 Most Influential Churches” and “The 25 Most Innovative Leaders.” He is the author of over 100 church growth resources and 18+ books, including The Renegade Pastor: Abandoning Average in Your Life, Ministry and The Difference Maker: Using Your Everyday Life for Eternal Impact, and At the Cross with the People Who Were There. He and his wife, Kelley, have one son, Alexander.