Will the Summer Ministry Slump Lead to a Frazzled Fall?

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The church calendar for many begins anew in the Fall. Due to vacationing members and resultant attendance fluctuation, a number of churches disband Sunday School, small groups, and other normally ongoing ministry activities for the summer months. While ministry leaders certainly can use a break during these times, if not careful the summer ministry slump could lead to a frazzled Fall.

Wisely Use the Summer Ministry Slump to Avoid a Frazzled Fall

Be Wise So the Summer Ministry Slump Doesn't Lead to a Frazzled Fall
Why go into the fall frazzled because of last minute preparations? Enjoy the summer but also use it to prayerfully work ahead in a relaxed frame of mind.

Be wise in making the most of every opportunity (Eph. 5:15-16). Don’t let the Fall creep up on you, causing undo stress and cut corners.

Here are some suggestions for what you should already be working on:

  • Spend time in prayer for God’s wisdom in planning and preparing for His desires to be accomplished.
  • Make sure all curriculum and training materials are ordered and ready to be distributed in a timely fashion.
  • Finalize any staffing needs so you don’t have to put out last minute recruitment pleas.
  • Ask all ministry workers to take time to pray and prepare their hearts for the upstart of fall ministries.
  • Schedule people early enough for them to put it in their calendars rather than leaving them wandering or frustrated but then make sure to provide last minute reminders.

Be wise in how you use the remainder of the summer, remembering the words in Proverbs 6:10-11. — “A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest – and poverty will come on you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man.” — Let’s not take away from potential ministry because we failed to use the summer slump to prepare.

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Starting Point for Training Ministry Leaders

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Someone commented on a previous post about ministry training that they want to train leaders but find it overwhelming on where to start. Though training should be tailored to specific needs in one’s church or ministry, the response given to this comment may prove helpful to all. It suggests a starting point for training ministry leaders applicable to all of us wherever we’re located, whatever the size or makeup of our church or ministry, and whoever the leaders might be.

Make the Big Picture the Starting Point for Training Ministry Leaders

While we should provide training specific to the ministry leader’s area of oversight, it can be helpful to first provide the framework on which to hang the particulars. The big picture lays the foundation for what we do. Here are two factors that should infiltrate and guide all we do as leaders.

1) Our Purpose

Individual ministries will have specific purposes for which they exist which must be understood. But, God provides an overarching purpose that applies to all ministries — to love God with all of who we are and to love people (Matt. 22:37-40). Our purpose to love is so important that no matter how spectacular our ministry might seem, we gain nothing without love (1 Cor. 13:1-3).

The following links will take you to resources for a group of up to twenty-five so you can provide training for all ministry leaders at a greatly reduced cost. They are also available for a single copy.

A Starting Point for Training Ministry Leaders Might Include Our Big Picture Purpose

2) Our Standard

Of utmost importance, is that we learn to do ministry God’s way. He is our Standard. The Word provides overriding principles that should be applied in whatever capacity we might serve. These are principles leaders should apply in their leadership but also should encourage both paid and volunteer staff to pursue.

Resource: Key Elements to Doing Ministry God’s Way

These two factors are important for leaders to effectively oversee their own areas but also to pursue a coordinated effort among all leaders so the whole Church heads in these directions.

Also Provide a Broad Look at Biblical Leadership

Who does God tend to call into leadership positions? How do our spiritual gifts affect the way we lead? How do the basics of our life in Christ affect the way we lead? What challenges might we face? How might we as leaders affect the church’s culture? How do we measure ministry success?

Resources:

Then Help with Training Related to Specific Areas of Oversight

Once again it might be helpful to begin with the big picture for that particular area of ministry. What are some of the specific tasks and needs? Where should the focus be? What is the potential?

Check out the Ministry Manuals Related to the Following Ministry Areas:

Christian Education
Nuts & Bolts, Serving Types of Ministries
Outreach
People Helping Ministries
Prayer Ministry
Shepherding
Staffing
Teaching
Worship

If it seems too overwhelming to provide training for all the different ministry areas, start with the greatest areas of need. As you are able, provide training for other areas. Sometimes you just need to start small and build on that.

Leadership Training Also Needs to be Tailored to One’s Setting and Leaders’ Needs

At some point, you would need to provide training that would be tailored to your specific ministries and leaders’ needs. However, beginning with the big picture, as well as a broad understanding of biblical leadership and specific ministries, often gives leaders sufficient foundation upon which to build and head in the right direction. During that kind of training, specific needs tend to surface, making the next step or direction for further training obvious.

If you’re interested in developing future leaders, go to: Developing Future Church Leaders: The Training Process

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Not Just Knowing About God

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Taste and See, Not Just Knowing About God
A previous post listed 26 attributes of God from A to Z, certainly not a complete list of all the traits we find in the Bible about our great God. While it’s good to know how to describe God, it’s also important we think through the implications of these attributes. The psalmist encourages us to “Taste and see that the LORD is good” (Ps. 34:8). That’s experiential knowledge, not just knowing about God.

Start by Knowing About God

Experiential knowledge of God must be built on a biblical foundation of who God is and what He does. That’s the starting point.

Check out the Our Great God from A to Z Discipleship Tool Download for a better understanding of the attributes of God. This resource provides five different alphabetical listing to help us know who God is. Since knowing God’s attributes is just the beginning, the resource also encourages you to respond.

Also Reflect on the Implications of Who God Is to Your Life

Who God is affects our lives. As head knowledge sinks into our hearts and we “taste and see” who the Lord is, we realize that He is enough, even when we don’t understand.

Think about the attributes of God. Take time to praise Him for who He is. Then think about the implications of His various traits. Perhaps you could say something like, “I praise You, God, for being … because …” Here are a few examples but seek to get even more personal in how it relates to your particular life right now:

I praise You, God, for being eternal,
because reality isn’t defined by my limited, time-based perspective, but by the One who, having always existed, sees the beginning from the end.
I praise You, God, for being faithful
because no matter what I’m going through, I can always rely on you, because having been dependable in the past, I can count on you now.
I praise You, God, for being holy
because you are an absolute standard to whom I can align so I will not conform to this world but rather yield to you to transform my mind so I “will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Rom. 12:1-2).
I praise You, God, for being sovereign
because I can cease striving, or be still, knowing that you are God (Ps. 46:10), the God of gods and Lord of lords (Ps. 136:2-3), worthy of giving full reign of my life to You.
I praise You, God, for being wise
because you’re a Counselor like none other since Your understanding knows no limits (Rom. 11:33-34), making you the first One I should turn to in all situations.
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A Place for Near All Spiritual Gifts in VBS

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Vacation Bible School requires a lot of detailed preparation in the months leading up to it. Then, at the last minute, comes a flurry of activity to set up and decorate. During the VBS program, people enjoy a Bible lesson, games, snacks, crafts and perhaps a general assembly time which all require time to prepare. Afterward comes clean-up and follow-up. With so much to do, certainly there’s a place for near all spiritual gifts in VBS.

An Effective VBS Takes a Lot of Organization and Coordination

Think of all that needs to be done: recruiting, delegating responsibilities, choosing curriculum, promoting, scheduling, planning the most effective use of the facilities and church grounds, working with the budget, etc. — Someone with the spiritual gift of administration can provide the organization needed for this ministry event.

As director of VBS, this person would do well to co-direct with someone having the gift of leadership to help him/her think outside of the box, to see all Vacation Bible School could be. People with the gift of administration could also be ones to coordinate specific aspects like crafts, games, snacks, etc.

A Variety of Spiritual Gifts are Needed to Accomplish All the Details

All Gifted for Effectual Ministry but Some Lack Evidence of Spiritual GIftingOne person, or even a handful of people, cannot do it alone if we want to experience an effective Vacation Bible School. Since spiritual gifts are God’s power for serving, it only makes sense that the more we pull on people’s gifting, the more effective VBS will be. Delegating to a broad base of people according to their spiritual gifting, should increase the potential impact of VBS.

The Ministry Handbook: Spiritual Gifts in Use, includes a page that suggests the spiritual gifts that may best fit the various tasks that need to be accomplished in VBS. The handbook is a helpful tool for determining who to recruit in other ministry areas as well, fulfilling different ministry needs.

The Vacation Bible School Ministry Manual describes some of the staffing needs for an effective VBS along with some tips for recruiting and training these volunteers. The resource also helps with praying for VBS, planning, curriculum, and follow-up.

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Foundation for Family Life Ministry

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We have three holidays in the U.S. within about a month’s time that center around families — Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and National Children’s Day. The Church can use these holidays to acknowledge, appreciate, and admonish people to live up to their God-given responsibilities in these different roles. We must also consider our responsibility as a Church for families year-round based on the biblical foundation for family life ministry. They need more than a once a year shot in the arm.

The Foundation for Family Life Ministry Starts with the Responsibility God Places on Family Members

Foundation for Family Life Ministry
God places responsibility on both children and parents so we must instruct those in both roles to heed God’s Word.

Of Children:

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother. (Eph. 6:1-3)

  • Are we helping children understand that obeying their parents isn’t just about doing what their parents want, but more importantly following God’s desires?
  • Are we encouraging children to honor parents even when they don’t feel like it?

Of Parents:

Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. (Eph. 6:4)

Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. (Deut. 6:5-9)

  • Are we stressing the discipleship role of parents in nurturing their children in the ways of the Lord more than a mere caretaking role? (For Help: Shepherding a Child’s Heart by Tedd Tripp)
  • Are we encouraging consistency between what parents say and do, emphasizing how it begins in their own hearts?

The Church’s Responsibility to Families

Rather than usurping the responsibility of parents for instructing children in the ways of the Lord, the Church should come alongside of them, training them and holding them accountable to do their God-given part. We should also challenge children to do their part, hence encouraging healthy parent-child relationships.

Family life ministry, built on the foundation God laid in His Word for families, can sometimes seem like a daunting task.

Many Christian parents find themselves so consumed in the busyness and stresses of life that they neglect this important responsibility, especially difficult if a single parent. Some parents merely send their children to church assuming we will provide all the spiritual input kids need. And, not all parents know the Lord.

Children have few role models of what it means to submit to, respect, and honor others. And, they’re receiving confusing, mixed messages about what it means to be a family today with the world saying one thing and the church another.

No matter how complex family life might seem, we do have a responsibility to both parents and children to help them understand their God-given roles and to provide encouragement and tools.

Biblical Parenting Resources
Family Life Ministry Resources

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Benevolence God’s Way

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We find so many needs in the lives of those in our Church Body, albeit around the world. As individual believers, a church, or ministry, we certainly can’t meet all of those needs. That, however, shouldn’t discourage us from doing our part in helping those we can. Whether helping one individual or many, lets make sure we do benevolence God’s way.

Four Points to Remember If We’re Going to Do Benevolence God’s Way

Scripture teaches us much about helping people in need. These four objectives just scratch the surface but are good points to remember.

  1. Get beyond merely applying quick fixes to assistance that helps people learn how to do better.

Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. (Prov. 3:13-14)

  1. Address more than people’s felt needs. Help them with core issues.

Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.” At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This fellow is blaspheming!” Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?” (Matt. 9:1-5)

  1. Provide resources but also remember Jesus’ Great Commission to make disciples.

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. (Matt. 28:19-20)

  1. Guard against doing benevolence merely out of duty. Make it about sharing God’s love with those we help.

If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. (1 Cor. 13:3)

Benevolence God's Way Points Listed in Church Purpose Ministry Manual
You’ll find these four points listed in the Church Purpose Ministry Manual with benevolence as one of the ways we show love for God that spills over into loving people.

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