Build A Better Ministry For The Fall

We’re about to head into the home stretch before our summer schedule takes off.  This summer we keep meeting consistently; however, our format is a little lighter.  I want to give leaders a break and small groups the chance to grow by meeting off campus.  By changing the way we do ministry, it frees up time to get ready for the fall.  And while there are million tasks to take on this summer here are three areas to tackle to help you build a better ministry in the fall:

• New Minister Evaluations – We sit down with ministers who have been with us from 3-6 months and ask them to tell us what we do well and what we do that’s confusing.  This helps us see problems that we might have taken for granted.
• Rate Your Calendar – Sit down with key leaders and determine which seasons were tougher than others and discuss why.  Our year is full of message series so we rank which ones were better than others.  Rating your calendar also helps you identify busy seasons you may have missed, so that next year you can anticipate when you need more margin and help than usual.  
• Invest With Rookies And Veterans – Don’t have meetings, just meet up with your new ministers and returning.  If you can’t hit up everyone no big deal, but find time to do something with some of them.  Have a meal, invite them into your house, just spend time with them because the payoff in the fall will be huge.
• Rejuvenate – Take a vacation, go on a retreat, just fill yourself so that you can reconnect with God.  Too many times we fill up our summer with planning, camps and craziness.  My recommendation for a vacation is at least a week, ideally 10-14 days, because it takes a few days to actually relax.  

Again there are many things to do to get ready for the fall and of the three listed above rejuvenating your mind, body and soul are the most important.  Trust me you don’t want to be heading into the fall running on steam.

How do you build a better ministry for the fall?