This is the time to gather.
We have focused so much attention on trying to bring our churches back that we are exhausted. Again.
Easter is no exception. Sunday will be an incredibly special day and for this year will carry the emotion of so much more. The resurrection is the message without any question however, along with the celebration of the resurrection there will be a celebration of community.
I’ll be honest, once Spring Break arrives, I’m totally distracted. I am living summer even though it is weeks away!
A friend once told me that for the church, summer starts at Daylight Savings time (that is this Saturday by the way). You may notice that you are having more trouble vying for the attention of your students. This is normal.
This week I had the opportunity to sit around tables with Student Ministers in our network to develop programming for our summer camp. I opened with the question, “What’s next in your Student Ministry?” and that is all it took. For the next hour and a half, I listened as these ministers shared stories from their life, from their churches and students.
Recently, I have shared that there are 86 days in the year that are optimum times to start something new. In other words, if you missed out on a solid New Year’s resolution, you could still make good up to 85 more times this year. Why do I mention this?
Because next week is March 1 and March 1 is on a Monday. It is a Double Bonus start day!
It started a week ago when we studied the extended forecast and realized we would be in for a challenging week in our church programming leading up to Ash Wednesday.
My morning was interrupted when my wife texted me that she was stuck on Interstate 20, only 10 minutes from our house and 30 minutes from her school where she teaches. For over four hours she didn’t move. Almost immediately I have flashbacks of fatigue. This has been a challenging year in many, many ways. Now it’s one more thing.
It has only been during the later part of my ministry that the Lenten season has taken on such deep meaning. As a young believer, I was aware of Ash Wednesday and of course the high season of Palm Sunday and Easter but this journey of Lent was missing.
It’s a long journey. I learned this the hard way by overcommitting my fast and failing to sustain my commitment until Easter. I would later learn that you don’t really fail, you learn, you listen, and you continue the journey.
Few seasons get by you faster than Spring. If you have been following our information on rhythm, you know from our post last fall that Spring Break is the turning point in the Spring season and we are now only 6/7 weeks from most Spring Break weeks.
We do our best to give you a look ahead into the seasons where you can prepare your ministry calendar, leadership, and communication funnel.
Programming doesn’t have to be complicated and can be done simply when done consistently. Following a routine will help you achieve positive results in developing and managing your Youth Ministry strategy. Work these three practices into your weekly routine and let us know what you learn. You can share your experience on our Youth Ministry page, Horizon Youth Ministry.
