By Laura Stephens Reed

When I trained to be an intentional interim minister more than 15 years ago, I picked up many “tools” that have been applicable in a range of ministry roles and settings. There is one tool, though, that I reach for in almost every circumstance in my coaching work with congregations. Asset mapping is a way of taking stock of all available resources, whether they are tangible or intangible, individual or collective: 

• Financial. How much cash do we have on hand? How many giving units contribute to our budget? What money do we have in various kinds of reserves? 
• Physical. What space is available, whether currently utilized or not? How is our property accessible to people with disabilities? What benefits does our location offer us? What items are contained in our physical space (e.g., communion sets, tables and chairs, curricula, art supplies, recreational equipment)? 
• Ministries. How are we caring for and discipling the people in our church? How are we showing Christ’s love to the world beyond our property? 
• Leadership. Who is on our staff? Who are our recognized lay leaders, and who are the informal lay leaders that exert positive influence and generously give their time?  
• Infrastructure. What core documents guide our work? What functional processes and procedures do we have in place to support our mission? 
• Legacy. What is our church’s DNA as determined by our dearly departed forebears and as carried on by us? How has our history shaped us and the world around us?  
• Relationships. Who are our community, denominational and global partners? What is our reputation in the eyes of our neighbors? What are the connections that individual congregants have to organizations and institutions? 
• Talents. What are the strengths of church members— whether or not they get paid for those skills?   

Here’s how asset mapping works: 

On your own or – even better – within a leadership team or the context of your whole congregation, list each resource in marker on a sticky note. (It’s important that each gift is easily readable and has its own note. You’ll see why below.) Those assets you can see or touch will come to mind first. While that is normal, don’t stop with the tangible. Some of your church’s most valuable gifts, like the spirit of your congregation and your name in the larger community, can’t be found on a blueprint, a spreadsheet or a calendar. And be aware that asset mapping can also be done in online meetings. I have used a simple Google sheet (shared on my screen) to record resources as people named them aloud or in the chat. There are apps that integrate with your online platform if you want to get fancier. 

That’s step one. From this point, there is so much more you can do: 

Celebrate. Encourage a Look at the many ways God has blessed your congregation! Often people are surprised by the number and nature of gifts, especially in a smaller church context. They unearth resources they hadn’t previously thought of as such, either by reading the notes themselves or by reading between the lines of the notes. For example, participants may realize that the clarity and reliability of their processes allows them to put most of their energies toward ministry.  Or they may see that their church is financially stable because the majority of the members are older with fixed or secure incomes and relatively little debt. 

Assess. Some of our gifts are being used very effectively, and some could be better utilized. This is true in every congregation, but we tend to use the same resources in the same ways unless we have the opportunity to look at them from a different perspective. Asset mapping offers that nudge. For example, members may see that former classroom that has become a catch-all for tossing old materials, partially-used supplies and out-of-season paraments could have a different use that supports the congregation’s purpose and values. Or they may ask themselves what would happen if they interpreted the use of a particular designated fund in a new way that is still faithful to the spirit in which it was given. 

Discern. What is God saying to us as we consider all our resources? There are suddenly possibilities that we didn’t previously see! Having the assets in an easily movable format like sticky notes or on a screen where cut-and-paste is simple allows asset mappers to combine gifts in new ways. For example, they might see that the unused patch of land behind the church and the gardening skills of members could make it possible to grow produce to meet the needs of their neighbors. Or, the technological abilities acquired during Covid plus the personal experiences of some members could help make a more welcoming sensory environment for neurodiverse people. 

Give permission. We can take these blessings and run with them to do good things! We don’t have to resource ministry teams only with money. Asset mapping reveals that there is a whole array of gifts that ministry leaders can tap. Consider which assets might need approval under your church’s procedures and which ones don’t; then set people free to live into the priesthood of all believers. 

Asset mapping is a helpful tool in a variety of circumstances. I have used it in visioning processes, pastoral transitions, program year planning and even discussions about the sale of church property and possible church closure. In all of these situations, celebrating, assessing, discerning and giving permission emphasizes the abundance that God invites us into rather than the scarcity that our anxiety boxes us.  

That’s the perspective out of which we make faithful – even if sometimes hard – choices. And that’s the grounding that leads us ever deeper into the mind of God, the love of Christ and the boldness of the Holy Spirit.