With limited resources of people, funds, and time, how can churches sort through ideas to discover the next step God is inviting them to take? Kenda Creasy Dean uses the “How-Now-Wow” exercise as a framework to sort and prioritize ideas. While “How” ideas are “moonshots,” “Now” ideas are easy-to-implement but with modest impact. “Wow” ideas are the sweet spot for transformative change.
Every new ministry starts with a bank of ideas-some of them fanciful, some of them feasible, some of them remarkable but difficult, some of them ordinary but easy. Just because an idea is new and original doesn’t make it a good investment of time, energy, prayer, and hope. The trifecta for success for any innovation is desirability (do people want it?), feasibility (can we do it?), and viability (will it work?). If any one of these variables is missing, the project sinks.
How
Our moonshot ideas are How? ideas. These offerings would certainly be amazing, but we don’t have what we need to make them happen at this time. Ideas are presently beyond our reach. That doesn’t mean God won’t open a door later, but for now our How? ideas operate as goals, not actual offerings. By definition, moonshots seem impossible-apart from God. But since God just might bring the proper set of variables together one day to make them happen, the best response to a moonshot offering is not “no,” but “not yet.”
Now
Your Now quadrant is made up of “low hanging fruit” ideas easy to offer, though not very original. Now activities may or may not be a good use of your time. If they distract you from your core mission, ignore them. Since lots of other organizations offer something similar, no one is harmed if you take a pass. Sometimes, however, Now activities and products are needed urgently, are on-mission and do not distract from your core offering. In those cases, they can introduce people to your ministry. Ben and Jerry’s, for example, is known for its exotic ice cream flavors (Phish Food, Chunky Monkey, Cherry Garcia), all designed to provide a “euphoric customer experience.” But the first flavor Ben and Jerry’s offered? Vanilla.
Wow
This is your sweet spot, and where you want to invest most of your time and resources. They are desirable but difficult—but they are worth the investment. Wow offerings and activities are your ministry’s signature; people will know you because of them. They are what make your ministry special. God has given you what you need to make them happen, even if you must stretch a little to get there.
Make it work.
If you’d like to put this grid to work, gather your team, brainstorm, and write each idea on a separate sticky note. Once you’re done brainstorming, work to sort each idea into one of the three areas of the How-Now-Wow framework. Some people even add a fourth area called “Ciao” for ideas they’re eliminating. Once you’ve sorted the ideas, narrow them to just three per quadrant and discuss the virtues and drawbacks of the ideas that are left, eliminating at least one more sticky note in each section at a time. When you have your top idea in each area, discuss which one you will focus on first.
This article is taken from Innovating for Love: Joining God’s Expedition through Christian Social Innovation (Market Square Publishing, 2022) by Kenda Creasy Dean. Used by permission. This book is available through the publisher, Cokesbury, and Amazon.
Related Resources
- What Makes Christian Social Innovation Christian? featuring Kenda Creasy Dean — Watch the Leading Ideas Talks podcast video | Listen to the podcast audio version | Read the in-depth interview
- A Way Out of No Way featuring Kimberly Daniel — Watch the Leading Ideas Talks podcast video | Listen to the podcast audio version | Read the in-depth interview
- 10 Questions to Develop Transformative Ministry Innovation by Meghan Hatcher
- Leading Faithful Innovation featuring Dwight Zscheile — Watch the Leading Ideas Talks podcast video | Listen to the podcast audio version | Read the in-depth interview
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