Goals: How to Choose and Achieve

As a church musician, setting music goals for yourself is important to enhance personal growth, improve your musical skills, and ultimately, glorify God through music. Effective goal-setting will help you stay focused, motivated, and committed to your ministry.

In this article, we will look at some ways to choose your music goals, determine different types of music goals, and provide practical tips for achieving them.

Paul says in Philippians 3:14, “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” From his example, we can see that if we are to achieve something for Christ, we must have a mark to reach for.

CHOOSING the right goals starts by knowing where you are in your music ministry or musical abilities and then deciding where you would like to be. Maybe you are the pianist for your church, but you struggle to embellish hymns or you are not confident in sightreading arrangements for an offertory.

Perhaps you are the choir director and always feel frustrated by trying to choose new music for the choir. Wherever you are in your ministry, choosing the right goals starts with knowing where you are.

The final decision of what goals to choose should always come with prayer and the leading of the Holy Spirit. Knowing what direction God wishes you to go will help make prioritizing goals much easier.

The TYPE of goals that you are looking to achieve will be different from everyone else. We are all unique in our positions, skills, and calling. You and the Holy Spirit are the only ones who truly know what the best next steps are for your life.

You should determine if your goals are strictly individual (only involve yourself), or if they are cooperative (involving others) as this could impact how you plan to achieve these goals. Looking to improve your skill level as a singer or musician is a great example of an individual goal. Teaching your choir how to sing parts is a great example of a cooperative goal.

Each goal you set will require a slightly different approach for that goal to be reached.

Practical Tips for Achieving Music Goals

1. Assess your current level.

Evaluating your strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement will give you a firm grasp of where you are and help you see where to go. Never be afraid to receive criticism from those around you because they can see you from an angle that you may not be able to see yourself.

2. Set SMART goals:

Make sure your goals are...

• Specific: If your goals are too vague, you will never see the successes.

• Measurable: You want to be able to see the progress along the way (because every goal takes time, diligence, and patience to reach). subdividing each goal will help you see along-the-way progress.

• Achievable: Do not overreach yourself by setting goals that you know you will never reach. If you are someone who often sets goals and never seems to reach them, then choose smaller goals that will see sooner success. This will help you build goal "strength" so that you can set larger goals in the future.

• Relevant: Be sure that your music goals relate directly to your music ministry. Prioritize goals that will have the largest impact on what you are doing today.

• Time-bound: Set dates by which to have goals reached. This will help you to stay focused and stay on track.

(Also, writing out all of your goals on paper will help you visualize them and help you choose where to begin.)

3. Create an action plan.

Break down larger goals into smaller, manageable tasks. This will help keep your goals doable and measurable. (If you want to learn an offertory by a set date, set and amount of time to practice daily. The goal is the offertory and the daily practice is the task.)

4. Seek feedback and accountability:

Share your goals with a mentor, colleague, or friend and ask for regular feedback and encouragement.

5. Recognize progress:

Always take time to reflect on where you were and see how far you have come. Even if you have not made as much progress as you would have liked to, always remember that progress is movement in the right direction.

Setting music goals as a church musician is a vital step in personal and professional growth. By establishing clear, achievable goals, you can enhance your skills, deepen your faith, and create a more engaging and meaningful worship experience for your church and its members. With dedication and perseverance, you can achieve your music goals and glorify God through your music ministry.

We hope this article was a blessing!

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Jeremy Baxter