Why Momentum in Ministry is Important
For churches, every Sunday is important. Yet there are still a few Sundays that stand out for two reasons: 1) You may see more guests on these Sundays than you would on an average Sunday. 2) These Sundays also bring out a ministry team’s most creative and innovative plans and ideas.
Two examples of these “standout Sundays” are Easter and Mother’s Day. Although Easter is a religious holiday and Mother’s Day is not, both are significant in the life of the church.
For both, I’ve seen churches do everything from having marching bands during worship to inviting high-profile guests to speak to having gifts for the congregation, and even giving away cars.
Along with Easter and Mother’s Day, the Sunday nearest to Christmas would be a third “standout” worship day. But we have a long way to go until December. In the meantime, how can pastors and faith leaders manage the momentum in their ministry? How can they use these two springtime services to propel their congregations through the second half of the year?
Keeping momentum in ministry
To be successful in ministry, leaders need to keep moving forward. Having continued momentum involves juggling the energy and excitement of Christ across all ministry projects.
If there are opportunities that do not have a natural level of excitement or momentum, it would be wise to reevaluate to see if they should continue.
Some of the ministry events that you have always done might not be ones that you need to continue to do. You only have so much energy and the same 24 hours per day.
Giving energy and time to everything may not be the wisest way to use what God has given you. As you evaluate your ministry projects now, are there any that should be discontinued?
For those ministry projects that remain on your church’s activity calendar, how do you keep the excitement level elevated? How can you maintain the momentum?
Here are my thoughts on how to take advantage of the momentum from your Easter and Mother’s Day services.
Stay challenging
During the preparation for Easter Sunday and Mother’s Day, many churches and places of worship challenge their usual assumptions. We look to our standard order of worship, and we reconsider the songs, the videos, and even the preaching formats.
We question what is expected because we feel like it’s a special Sunday, and people expect something different.
What if pastors and faith leaders had this mindset every Sunday — or at least once a quarter? How are you challenging what’s typical each week?
Stay creative
For many churches and places of worship, Easter and Mother’s Day might be the two weekends when we spend the most resources — both monetarily and physically. We’re creative in how we design and promote the service to guests and our communities because we want to see change happen.
However, after these events, that same level of creativity usually disappears. Think about it for a second: You spend all this time and energy bringing in guests and community members with an excellent and creative worship service. But then it’s back to normal the following Sunday or after the sermon series is over.
I understand you can’t do Easter or Mother’s Day every Sunday. But I suggest you be creative to this level on more Sundays throughout the year. Consider creating teams that would be responsible for making sure creativity continues from sermon series to series.
These teams would be tasked with making sure each Sunday stays fresh – and then you won’t burn out any one group of leaders.
How are you staying creative? Are you enlisting the help of your new members who joined your church or place of worship so far this year?
Momentum in ministry all year long
We thank God for the importance of Easter Sunday and what it represents in the life of the Christian. We’re also thankful for the opportunity for generations of families to worship together on Mother’s Day as a way of honoring the matriarchs of their families.
Let’s continue to use the momentum that Easter Sunday and Mother’s Day create and reset our expectations for guests to show up in droves every Sunday so they can be inspired by God’s Word. We have to challenge what we have always done so we can have standout experiences on a more regular basis.
Let’s continue to create momentum in our ministries and move forward.
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