Is your annual report due soon?
Mine was due today, so I just spent some time thinking about the past months and summarizing the music ministry’s growth and direction for the congregation I serve. I also had an annual review a few months ago.
Both my report and review were a bit different because I just started working at the church in June. But they have been great tools to help me evaluate the program I lead, as well as my own skill set.
Here’s how I’m using them:
1. Make Notes on Your Resume or CV.
Even if you aren’t planning on a job search any time soon (if you are, here’s my guide to finding a great church music job), it’s a good idea to keep your resume or CV up-to-date.
Here’s why:
First, so you don’t forget about what you’ve accomplished in the past.
Second, so you have these documents ready when you need them. It’s surprising how often they come in handy. Just a couple weeks ago, I sent my CV to someone as a quick summary of my credentials, and I didn’t have to scramble to put something together or try to remember what I did last year.
2. Evaluate What Is Working and What Isn’t.
Sometimes in churches, we set a program on auto-pilot and don’t think about how it’s going until we pause for the summer.
But the January report can be a great trigger for evaluation in the middle of the program year.
How is your direction? Are there areas to improve right now? Creative approaches to try in the next months?
Similarly, an annual review gives you perspective on what’s working well and what can be improved. Hopefully the outside input complements (not necessarily compliments!) your own self-evaluation of the program and how you’re leading it.
3. Get Perspective On What You’re Good At, So You Can Lean Into Your Strengths.
Both your annual report and review can help you see what your strengths are.
Assuming you already have the basic skills your position needs, I want to make a somewhat radical argument: you should spend most of your energy on building up your strengths, and not trying to improve on the areas you’re just okay at.
For example, are you a really great choir director and a so-so organist? I think that as long as your organ skills are good enough for your job, you should focus on building the best choral program you can, not taking your organ skills from okay to slightly more okay.
Maybe you already have a great sense of what your strengths are, but hearing what other people think can help you decide what opportunities to pursue.
Have you used annual reports and reviews to your advantage? I’d love to hear how!
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