The Christmas season has passed and a new year is upon us! Depending on what type of personality you may be, this will either bring a fresh round of excitement for the beginning of a new season of ministry, or it might bring some of those post-holiday blues that so many feel.
Regardless of how you might be feeling right now, there is a huge opportunity in front of you as a leader. A new year brings so many things. The biggest is an opportunity to remind the people you lead about the mission, vision and values you pursue as a ministry on an everyday basis.
As leaders, it’s our responsibility to be the broken record when it comes to these things. It might seem repetitive to us, but remember, even though we live in the midst of this vision on a daily basis, most of the people we lead do not. They have jobs, families, hobbies and plans of their own that can often drown out the message of what their involvement at church provides.
It might seem repetitive to you, but words of encouragement and intentionality will often be a fresh reminder for the people we serve regarding why their ministry time is so important.
The new year is a great time to invest into your team with words of encouragement and motivation. Everyone is ready to put the previous year behind them and begin looking ahead to what the new year will bring. As you look ahead, we want to give you some thoughts regarding what your team really needs to hear.
1. Celebrate what happened last year.
Stories matter to people. A good story about life-change will gather momentum faster than just about anything. When you gather your team, or send that email, be sure to take a good amount of time to share the successes with them.
This isn’t just about numbers. Build a narrative to present to your team and get specific. Even better, ask some of your team members to share their experiences with the rest of them. This will help create an excitement to do even more in the coming months.
2. Give the team an opportunity to provide input.
Everyone contributes on a team that fires on all cylinders. A great leader recognizes that they won’t always have the best idea. Give your team a real opportunity to share what they would like to see happen in the next year.
Once you have heard this from them, work hard to make some of these things happen. This will help create a team of owners rather than renters.
3. Remind them what is at stake.
If your team stopped doing what they do on a weekly basis, what might that look like? In the monotony of serving week in and week out, losing sight of the importance of the mission can be an easy trap to fall into.
Be sure to remind the team what is truly at stake. It doesn’t have to be doom and gloom, but what you do is important. Show them why!
4. Offer up a vision that is worth connecting with.
My good friend Jim Wideman says, “If the people perish where there is no vision, then they will flourish where there is one.” Live this out in your ministry.
Make sure that the vision you communicate is clear and it comes from a place of love for the people you serve. When you deliver an irresistible vision to your team, they will be excited and ready to get to work.
5. Encourage them to bring others along with them.
It is no secret that an irresistible vision and strong mission takes many hands to make a reality. One person will never be able to recruit enough help to make this happen. Encourage the team to invite others to join them. When the whole team is working hard to bring others into the mix, everyone wins!
We are excited about what God is going to do in your ministry this year! This is going to be a year filled to the brim with life-changing stories and amazing things completed for God’s glory! Let’s do this!
