Article by
Adam Johannes
CEO, ChurchInsight
So the summer is over and you’ve been off for an extended amount of time. Maybe you took a much needed holiday, enjoyed the warm sandy beaches, sun hats, and lazy nights under the stars. But then reality strikes. The kids go back to school, the routines start again, and it becomes time to be household maid, parent, employee, schedules, meetings, practices, dinners, routines, etc. But you can’t come home from a long time away and just jump back into it. You need to plan. And plan you will. Here are some ways to get into the swing of things now that summer is over and people are back attending your church services and in need of assistance.
Plan Some Down Time
I say down time but I really mean time to reflect and plan time. As a church leader, you have to come up with sermons that reflect on the lives of your people, which will touch them in a way that only words can, words that come from the heart, the bible and from experience. You can take this time to focus on what is necessary and the future. This means making a schedule and sticking to it. So even though you are setting your alarm when you are still getting settled you are not allowed to hit the snooze button 87 times. Make sure to get that plan going and get your stuff ready. It’s easier to jump back in when you have had time to plan.
Get Ready to Party!
Okay, maybe not literally party, but you could get excited about the new changes. Church management could become seriously involved in making new changes to what is happening, adding different activities to appeal to the masses, the old masses and the ones that are new and deciding if they want to stay. It’s something that has to be done. As they say If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always got. It doesn’t change so do something new. Be excited. Change the colours (if possible), get excited about social media and evangelism, treat the congregation to something new. It’s possible (have you seen Sister Act?). But getting excited about something new can make everything that much better. Just have something to look forward too.
Have a Get Together
Who doesn’t like planning something fun to do with all the other leaders and volunteers that you haven’t seen in a while? You can easily set something up to get everyone involved once again. This means taking the time to plan something amazing, It could be something like a bring-and-share lunch or dinner where everyone brings something, one of their specialties (even if it’s a microwave dinner, who cares as long as it’s edible) but just something to bring everyone together. You can even talk about work (if you must), but it could be something that leads to more fun in your daily lives.
Coming back from summer holiday is hard on everyone, but it doesn’t have to be. Just take the time to ease back into it and have fun with it. There is nothing worse than being miserable going back because you just didn’t plan. Enjoy the year just like you did the summer. Find the fun in it because it is possible.