As you store your Advent and Christmas decorations, what plans do you have for the new year? The coming months offer numerous possibilities and opportunities to consider.
Planning for the upcoming seasons of Lent and Holy Week, volunteer appreciation, or summer can feel overwhelming. This blog aims to offer support and resources to help guide your ministry decisions with practical ideas and plans.
Ash Wednesday and Lent
Does your congregation hold Ash Wednesday worship, Lenten meals, Lenten services, service projects, or classes? Let’s look for ways to enrich or build upon your cherished traditions that your congregation already enjoys. There are opportunities for families and individuals of all ages to come together to learn, serve, and worship.
Additional ideas of worship, learning, and serving: Ash Wednesday and Lent
Lent can be a time to come together as a whole congregation, to learn and serve intergenerationally. Older generations can pass on wisdom and traditions, helping younger members learn from their faith history. Building an inclusive church culture where all ages are valued supports the church’s vitality and strengthens community bonds by preserving traditions and fostering belonging.
Intergenerational service projects (Family service projects)
Intergenerational learning classes (Family Sunday school)
A church family more fully reflects the Body of Christ when generations come together, and everyone brings their unique, God-given gifts.
Easter
Easter holds utmost importance for us, and Easter weekend often features a variety of celebrations. There are many ways to take part; you can select activities that suit your faith community, schedule, and budget. Consider forming a volunteer team to help plan and organize the festivities for the weekend.
Ideas and possibilities for Easter weekend
Volunteer Appreciation
In paid employment, compensation usually represents the job’s worth and its value to the organization. How do we “pay” volunteers for their value and worth in our ministries? We encourage, appreciate, and recognize; that is their pay.
Church volunteers serve our faith communities and are essential to a healthy, growing church. It is not a stretch to say church volunteers are vital. Most ministries could not function without them. Churches need volunteers to do the work of ministry. What are volunteers worth to you? What is their value? Do your volunteers know your answers to these two questions?
Nurturing Volunteers (Volunteer Recognition)
Summer Planning
The thought of summer brings a sense of anticipation and excitement for what’s to come. Have you started thinking about what you want to do or plan for the season?
Summer trips can profoundly impact a young person’s faith journey. With preparation, these trips are rewarding for kids, parents, and leaders, allowing meaningful growth.
Summer is often busy with vacations and family outings, making it challenging for church staff to keep families engaged as regular programs pause and attendance drops. Churches typically offer major events like Vacation Bible School or mission trips that create lasting, impactful experiences but require significant planning and coordination. Small efforts to connect households in faith during the summer matter.
Looking at the next eight months of this new year can be overwhelming with all the opportunities and possibilities. My hope is that this blog can help and support you in choosing and creating what is next in your ministry.
Remember to pray. Remember to breathe.
Grace & Peace
Kirsten Patterson
About the Writer
Kirsten is an educational professional with 28 years of experience in communities of faith, skilled in motivating, teaching, and team building. She has demonstrated expertise in building an arc of faith formation and educational opportunities from age 2 through adult. This has included fellowship, outreach, and intergenerational and age-specific classes. With Spirit & Truth Publishing, Kirsten is happily employed as a writer and collaborator.
This blog post is part of a monthly series of practical advice for faith formation leaders by faith formation and education professionals. Summaries of these posts are sent in a monthly email to email subscribers. Subscribe today!
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