By Carey Nieuwhof: How’s your vision casting lately?

I noticed something recently that surprised and disappointed me: Without realizing it, a few months ago, I stopped casting vision for my team.

Which is really strange, because I’m a visionary, that’s what I do. And I’ve been leading with vision for decades.

But after one more meeting where my (amazing) team was in the weeds slugging out logistics for a new initiative we’re launching, it hit me: I haven’t cast vision for this initiative for months. As a result, we were bogged down in pedantic details that almost everyone finds frustrating.

I stopped the meeting, cast some vision, and then both personally with individual team members and later with our entire team, I apologized to them for not leading with a clear (and inspiring) vision.

Then I leaned back and asked myself “What the heck just happened? How did vision slip and I didn’t even notice it?”

Then I looked around and realized, I haven’t seen a ton of other leaders casting a lot of vision either. 

Having never led through a global pandemic/series of gigantic crises before, my conclusion is that crisis kills vision. Unless you decide it won’t.

In this post, I’ll explain how that happens and how to get it back.

Crisis kills vision, unless you decide it won’t.

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When Crisis Hits, Vision Dies and Survival and Adaptation Kick In

When crisis hits, almost every leader instinctively moves into survival mode. That’s natural and to a large extent, exactly what needs to happen.

When you have no idea what’s going to happen, you need to make sure you survive.

Part of survival is adaptation. You need to adapt to the new reality, and so you move from:

In-person services to online
Dine-in to take out
Pick up to delivery
In-person workouts to online sessions
Working in the office to working from home

If you’re reading this and still in leadership, you’ve done all that. It’s exhausting, but you made it. Congrats.

As the world opens up again, you adapt back, trying to figure out what the new reality will be and adapting to it.

Of course, that’s not the end of the road.

If you’re curious, I wrote more about the 5 kinds of leaders crisis produces here.

Whatever Happened to Innovation?

The stage after adaptation should be innovation. Innovation asks the question: What does this make possible?

And that’s what often starts to sputter at this stage of a crisis. A year in, you’ve made it. Maybe you’re even profitable or growing again, you’re adapting to whatever is next, so the incentive to change is lower.

Any success, by nature, makes you conservative. You risk less. It’s ‘working’, goes the logic, so why innovate?

Even in normal times, the more successful you are, the less willing you are to engage in the kind of risk that brings about breakthroughs.

And as a result, vision dies.

You’ve survived. You’ve adapted. You’re tweaking. But vision…is gone.

Success makes you conservative. The more successful you are, the less willing you are to engage in the kind of risk that brings about breakthroughs.

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5 Things That Aren’t Vision (And 5 Things That Are)

People tend to notice the presence of vision but not the absence of it.

As a result, you could lead well for years, build your organization on vision, then hit cruise control and it might takes months, or in some cases, years for anyone to notice, including you.

To make things clearer, here are 5 things that’s aren’t vision and how to get your vision back.

People tend to notice the presence of vision but not the absence of it.

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1. Bringing People Back

Right now, almost every leader I talk to is obsessing over bringing people back. Church leaders worry about the 20-30% that have disappeared, or getting back to where they were in 2019.

Business leaders are often worried about customer retention and loyalty.

Bringing people back isn’t vision. Moving people forward is.

Leaders who focus on moving people forward will have a much better future.

Bringing people back isn’t vision. Moving people forward is.

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2. Maintenance 

Depending on what you do (think in-person retail), the crisis may still have you scrambling to stay alive.

Scrambling is one thing, but in the long run, keeping the lights on the bank accounts in the black isn’t vision.

Maintenance isn’t vision. Your mission is vision.

Instead, start refocusing now on why you do what you do. Imagine you were starting over (which you kind of are). What’s your rallying cry? What’s the fire that burns in your belly?

Focus on that. Then tell everyone what it is and don’t stop.

Maintenance isn’t vision. Your mission is vision.

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3. Adaptation 

Adaptation isn’t vision either.

If you’ve adapted, awesome.

But the real questions are: What’s next? What’s new? What will 10x or 100x our potential?

What can we do now that will bring us disproportionate results?

In the long run, settling for adaptation will kill your innovation.

In the long run, settling for adaptation will kill your innovation.

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4. What and How 

In any meeting, there are really three questions that leaders continually deal with: what, how and why.

The best of these is why, and why is the first thing to die in a visionless organization.

That’s where I found myself in that recent meeting. I let us get bogged down in the what and how of our new initiative, which as a sole diet, is both demotivating and at times, exhausting.

WHY is the first thing to die in a visionless organization.

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If you’re swinging for the fences (which we are on this new initiative), what and how can be hard.

That’s where why comes in.

Why invigorates. Why motivates. It inspires.

Ask yourself: what’s your internal and external communication focused on? If it’s what and how, you’ve lost your vision, and perhaps your way.

Focusing on why motivates people to make a way when there is no way.

Now let’s take what and why one step further…

Focusing on why motivates people to make a way when there is no way.

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5. What You Want People To Do 

Finally, what you want people to do isn’t vision either.

Like you, I’ve heard an endless sea of retailers urge us to shop local (which I have). I’ve heard preacher after preacher say things like “Watch this” or “Don’t miss this.” Yep, I’m down for that too. And I’ve heard so many online retailers tell me to buy now. Occasionally, I do.

But the real question when it comes to vision isn’t what you want people to do.

The real task of the visionary is to focus on why it matters at all.

For a variety of reasons, it’s difficult to imagine what the world will be like in five years, or even two. Which is why why matters more now than ever.

People don’t need you to tell them what to do nearly as much as they need you to tell them why it matters.

So how do you cast vision when you can’t see ahead?

Well, imagine that Disney was vision casting for your organization.

If Disney created anything for you like this 2019 30-second commercial about a dad whose daughter is going to college, you’d have no problem inspiring people to do something without ever telling them to ‘get in here’ or ‘come back’ or ‘don’t miss this’.  (Parents, grab a tissue. You’ve been warned.)

Do you see how beautifully Disney crafted the why? Why it matters reminds you of what matters. Why shows you what’s at stake, and what you miss if you don’t get in on it.

Because of all the uncertainty crisis brings,  you may not know exactly what your organization will be doing in a year or two, but as a visionary, you do know why you’ll be doing it.

What’s underneath your what? Why does it matter? What value does it add to the people you’re serving?

Focus on that. Remind people of why you do what you do, and you’ll likely have a long future doing it.

That’s vision.

Remind people of why you do what you do, and you’ll likely have a long future doing it.

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What’s Happening With Your Vision?

How has the crisis been on your vision? What’s killing it (if that’s the case) and what’s helping you get it back?

Scroll down and leave a comment.

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3 Habits That Unintentionally Demotivate Staffu2026n And How Your Can Quickly Reverse Themnn

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Ever notice how hard it is to have your staff and volunteers consistently performing at their best?n

It can be a burden knowing that what you do as a leader directly impacts the motivation and performance of your team. And, good or bad, itu2019s not always easy to identify the which habits do.n

Throughout my years in leadership Iu2019ve noticed 3 habits many leaders have that consistently demotivate staff. n

Access my free teaching video to find out what they are and how you can quickly reverse them to get your team members performing at their best. n

Access the free teaching video now!n

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3 Habits That Unintentionally Demotivate Staffu2026n And How Your Can Quickly Reverse Themnn

n

Ever notice how hard it is to have your staff and volunteers consistently performing at their best?n

It can be a burden knowing that what you do as a leader directly impacts the motivation and performance of your team. And, good or bad, itu2019s not always easy to identify the which habits do.n

Throughout my years in leadership Iu2019ve noticed 3 habits many leaders have that consistently demotivate staff. n

Access my free teaching video to find out what they are and how you can quickly reverse them to get your team members performing at their best. n

Access the free teaching video now!n

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The post How the Crisis Probably Killed Your Vision (And How To Get It Back) appeared first on CareyNieuwhof.com.

Source: How the Crisis Probably Killed Your Vision (And How To Get It Back)

The post How the Crisis Probably Killed Your Vision (And How To Get It Back) appeared first on Passion for Planting.

Source: The Moment We’re In and the Mission We’re On

The post The Moment We’re In and the Mission We’re On appeared first on Passion for Planting.

By Dylan Young: Last March, this Kentucky fan could not believe his eyes when he saw the headlines that the SEC and NCAA basketball tournaments were canceled because of some sickness called the Coronavirus. My dreams of watching the Wildcats go on another Final Four run were gone just like that. I honestly could not wrap my mind around the fact that a virus was causing us to cancel events. I mean, viruses have been around forever! Fast forward to January 2021 and my bewilderment is laughable in hindsight. There was much more going on than a canceled basketball tournament.

Raise your hand if you had any personal plans canceled by the Coronavirus in 2020. Now that we all have our hands raised we can agree that we need to start planning differently moving forward. Agility is the key with anything we think through now. Rigid plans have a distinct possibility of failing more than ever. We have to be willing and able to change on the fly.

So what does that mean for us in ministry? How do we make future ministry plans when the future feels so uncertain? Do we just take things week-by-week forever? Of course not. We need to determine which parts of our lives and ministries are non-negotiables and resolve to move forward with those plans regardless of circumstances. Fortunately, the God we serve saw COVID-19 coming and gave us a mission and vision that transcends anything else happening on Earth: The Great Commission.

You know it well already, but Matthew 28:19-20 says, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (CSB)

Evangelism and discipleship do not stop because of a global pandemic, we just have to be even more creative and intentional about doing them. Specifically, in 2021 I hope you will resolve to lead a few men or women in a discipleship group that meets diligently no matter what. Resolve in 2021 that you will lead your group to use whatever means necessary to be consistent in your meeting rhythm. Let them know from the beginning that if there is a time where public meeting places are shut down again you will meet virtually. We have myriad resources to do this now so we really do not have an excuse anymore. And isn’t your spiritual health and maturity worth it?

Resolve in 2021 to bind yourself to the unchanging Word of God. Study Scripture. Journal your thoughts. Memorize it. Not much is certain right now, cling to the One who has been certain, is certain and will be certain.

Resolve in 2021 not to let social distancing excuse you from evangelism. Lead your discipleship groups to start thinking about and praying for the people they need to share Christ with right from the start and don’t let each other off the hook! I’m sure you have other goals and resolutions you’ve made in various areas of life as we begin a new calendar. In fact, I hope you do and I hope you achieve all of them! As you think through all you hope to accomplish this year, make sure you’ve got plans and resolutions for 2021 that could only be stopped by Jesus Himself showing up! Resolve in 2021 to make the Great
Commission your greatest resolution.

Subscribe to the Discipleship.org email list here to get blogs like this delivered to your inbox each week.

By Dylan Young. Used with permission.

The post A Pandemic-Proof Plan for 2021 appeared first on Discipleship.org.

Source: A Pandemic-Proof Plan for 2021

The post A Pandemic-Proof Plan for 2021 appeared first on Passion for Planting.

By Carey Nieuwhof: So, any idea whether your church or business grow after the pandemic?

Will things spring back to pre-COVID levels? Or will you struggle for years to come?

With so much still up in the air, you might think that question is unanswerable.

Well, yes and no.

To be fair, nobody knows exactly how it will go. We could be for a much longer haul than anyone wants. Not to mention the likely instability of the post-pandemic era ahead.

But the question is answerable at much deeper level, because the difference in attitude between leaders who flourish and leaders who flounder predict the future in a surprisingly accurate way.

One of my favorite leadership books is Jim Collins’ How the Mighty Fall,  written after the Great Recession about formerly iconic companies that ended up failing. (Here’s a more complete list of my top leadership book recommendations.)

With the global crisis causing most of us to entertain thoughts and strategies we’ve never embraced before, I find Collins’ insights as compelling today as they were a dozen years ago. Collins’ observations are based on extensive research. Hence, the accuracy.

The principles I’m sharing in this post are taken from Collins’ book and  they serve as both a solid predictor and warning about the kind of organizations and leaders who will thrive in the post-pandemic world and those who won’t.

Quick side note: I first heard about the book when it first came out in 2009 from a mentor who asked me whether I could possibly be setting myself up for failure based on Collin’s insight.

Those are never fun questions to hear…but my friend was right. His correction saved me and the people I was leading a hundred heartbreaks and possible failure.

Yes, the insights are a bit of a gut-punch, but the kind of gut-punch, as I discovered, that ultimately helps.

So with that in mind, here are five signs you’ll flounder, not flourish after the pandemic.

The difference in attitude between leaders who flourish and leaders who flounder predict the future in a surprisingly accurate way.

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1. You’re Pretty Certain Everything Will Spring Back To Past Levels Because the Rules Don’t Apply to You

Collin’s first sign of failure is something he calls ‘the hubris of success’.

Maybe you were highly successful before COVID. Or, even if you wouldn’t call yourself highly successful, you had a system figured out that kept everything running just fine. Good enough, in other words.

Collins says that’s exactly the trap successful leaders fall into.

Hubris will get you believing your success is deserved rather than something that was fortuitous, fleeting, grace or happened against the odds.

As a result, you’ve stopped learning and growing because you’ve got this figured out and people come to you for answers…so, of course things will snap back in your favor.

Sure, you’ve read that 1 in 5 church-going adults left the church in 2020, but you think your current numbers are solid enough and your number are higher than your friends’ or peers’ numbers. So you’re good.

The rules don’t apply to you, you tell yourself.

And of course, the rules never apply to you until they do.

Pride born of past success is the first sign you won’t see success in the future.

Pride born of past success is the first sign you won’t see success in the future.

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2. You’re Obsessed With Growth

Collins calls the second marker you’re heading for a fall “the undisciplined pursuit of more.” It surfs off the entitlement mentality that the hubris of success brings, and leaders who fall prey to this get hyper-focused on growth.

Collins highlights one pharmaceutical company whose CEO said publicly that they were totally focused on growth as their #1 business objective—not on product breakthroughs, drug development, scientific excellence, not R&D or even increasing productivity.

Growth, Collins points out, is usually a by-product of other things.

It’s not that growth is a bad thing. The problems is the undisciplined pursuit of more. More for more’s sake is the issue, or as Collins puts it, addiction to scale is the problem.

When growth is undisciplined, leaders become ready to sacrifice principles, people and integrity to grow.

You’ll reopen to satisfy your ego and thirst for growth rather than do what’s right (I outlined the idiot’s guide to reopening here).

Look, this one hits me hard personally. I love it when things growth. I hate it when things stagnate or decline.

But I’ve already realized that my desire to grow at all costs ultimately sets everyone up to fail. That by focusing on the fundamentals (these days for me, it’s helping people thrive in life and leadership), far more can be accomplished over the long haul than by simply finding growth hacks that will bring temporary wins.

Here’s the irony: Leaders who are obsessed with growth often face futures filled with decline.

Leaders who are obsessed with growth often face futures filled with decline.

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3. You’re Amplifying The Positive and Discounting the Negative

Look, we’re all trying to stay encouraged. I posted about things to be genuinely encouraged about here.

But here’s the challenge: you can’t motivate your way out of a crisis like this. As hard as it is, you have to lead your way through it.

You can’t motivate your way out of a crisis like this. As hard as it is, you have to lead your way through it.

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Collins calls Stage 3 of how the mighty fall “denial of risk and peril.”

In this stage, leaders amplify the positive and discount the negative—you discount or explain away the negative data rather than presume something is wrong with your organization or leadership.

In other words, leaders highlight and amplify external praise and publicly, pointing out the positive and eliminating the negative.

Truth-tellers get dismissed or punished in this stage and team debate grinds to a halt. The leader only allows opinions he or she likes to come forward.

Finally, almost all the factors associated with the challenges get blamed on external forces or other people.

It’s not us, it’s the pandemic.

The real challenge is the economy…

The statistics lie…that’s not what’s happening

Look, as soon as government lifts the lockdowns everything gets solved

If you want to know what discounting the negative looks like in real life, scroll through the comments on this post. This stage is rampant in a lot of churches and organizations right now.

Leaders who can’t handle the truth get angry…and that’s not healthy for anyone.

If you amplify the positive and discount the negative, you’re likely to run into far more negative in the future.

If you amplify the positive and discount the negative, you’re likely to run into far more negative in the future.

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4. You Think You’ve Discovered A Silver Bullet

As the slide down into failure accelerates, meany leaders find themselves grasping for salvation.

In this stage you find yourself announcing that you’ve discovered a silver bullet solution that will change everything. Or if you haven’t found a silver bullet, you’re searching for one, and trust me, that will turn everything around.

Collins points out that when things start to slide in organizations, leaders grasp at straws, making big dramatic moves that they claim will be game changing or truly innovative.

Another tell tale sign is the hype around the silver bullet or new strategy…hype that isn’t predicated on results but instead precedes results.

Think of “this is going to change everything” or “we’ve totally got this figured out” kind of language, before you’ve really done anything.

This is a particular trap for visionary leaders. Just because you think one thing will change everything doesn’t mean it will.

Just because you think one thing will change everything doesn’t mean it will.

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You might push back and say well isn’t game changing innovation required?

Absolutely.

But real innovation is usually more nuanced, deliberate and comprehensive than the grasping-at-straws desperation you get to when you desire growth at any cost but your strategy doesn’t match.

One additional sign that you’re falling prey to this trap is that as soon as your silver bullet doesn’t work, you grow angry, cynical and start flailing in a new (even opposite) direction out of panic a desperation.

What the team needs in a time like this is calm, deliberate action that moves toward a new direction.

5. You’re Capitulating to Irrelevance or Death

A year into the global crisis, some leaders already find themselves at this stage: capitulation to irrelevance or death.

Maybe you haven’t said anything out loud, but you kind of sense in your spirit that it’s over. That it will never be the same. Or that you don’t have the skills to take things into the future.

Collins makes the argument that it’s very difficult (if not impossible) to move yourself out of this stage.

I’ve you think it’s over, it probably is. After all, the vision of the leader determines the vision of the team.

I’ve you think it’s over, it probably is. After all, the vision of the leader determines the vision of the team.

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I agree with Collins (and Les McKeown, who argues a similar point), that this is a very difficult stage to pull out of, but perhaps it’s not impossible.

The remedy, is to go back through points 1-4 and reverse the action.

Stop assuming things will bounce back, or that the rules don’t apply to you, and humbly work with the entire team to develop a new strategy.

Get over your insecurity and obsession with growth and focus on the fundamentals that bring growth.

Welcome truth tellers and embrace the reality that without deep and systemic change, it may not go well.

Stop looking for silver bullets and embrace calm, deliberate action that moves toward a new direction.

If you find that difficult (and it is difficult), as yourself this simple question: five years from now, what will you wish you had done?

Now go do it.

As you know, innovation (real innovation at least) beats capitulation.

Innovation beats capitulation.

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Any Insights?

As I indicated, this post is a bit of a gut-punch. But over a decade ago, it was exactly the gut punch I needed and I’ve occasionally needed since.

Embrace hard truths like these pave the way to a much better future.

I encourage you to read Collin’s book as it gives a much more detailed insight than this 1500 word post does, but I hope this helps.

Curious—any other signs you see that might indicated struggle or decline is ahead in the post-pandemic world?

I’d love to hear your insights in the comments below.

The post A Surprisingly Accurate Way to See If Your Church or Organization Will Flounder After the Pandemic appeared first on CareyNieuwhof.com.

Source: A Surprisingly Accurate Way to See If Your Church or Organization Will Flounder After the Pandemic

The post A Surprisingly Accurate Way to See If Your Church or Organization Will Flounder After the Pandemic appeared first on Passion for Planting.

By unSeminary: Thanks for joining us for this week’s unSeminary podcast. Today we’re talking with Drew Sherman, lead pastor of Compass Christian Church in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Compass has four physical locations as well as an online campus and is one of the fastest growing churches in the country.

The most fruitful seasons of our lives are usually not the easiest seasons. For many people 2020 may have been one of the hardest years they experienced, but it may also be the year they learned the most. Listen in as Drew Sherman shares how to take hold of teachable moments for your congregation, move forward to thrive, and cast vision for the future.

Foster connection. // Churches today must be a “both/and” church, not “either/or.” Online services aren’t any less important than in-person services and the church needs to invest heavily in both. Connect with the online crowd too and bring attendees from both types of services together into one congregation through programs and events, such as outreach in your community. Cast vision for the future. // Compass Christian Church currently has a generosity initiative underway called “Unstoppable”. This initiative was planned before the pandemic and they knew they couldn’t let the coronavirus stop it from moving forward! Right now is the time to cast vision for the future. People are stuck in neutral, just trying to survive, so it’s important to give them a vision for what your church is going to be doing next. Even if some activities may be on hold right now, you don’t have to pause everything. Keep moving forward and your church can thrive.Grow in the hard times. // Generally the most fruitful seasons of a person’s life are not the easiest seasons. 2020 was the hardest year of many people’s lives, but in some ways it might be the year they learn the most. Don’t let the pain of this season be wasted. What is your church, staff, and congregation learning during this time? Rather than looking at 2020 as a throwaway year, think about the many teachable moments for your people and lean into them.Pay attention to your team. // Some of your staff may be better than ever during this season while others may be drained and need coaching and counseling. A lot of this depletion can point back to how over the years we’ve ignored the value of soul-care. Provide pastoral care for your staff, listen to them, and teach and encourage them to care for their souls. Remember that hurry and love are not compatible.Reevaluate and shift. // There’s never been a better time to reevaluate staff and programs and do some shifting. You may have the right people on the bus, but they need to be moved to different seats. If you had a ministry, strategy or event that wasn’t working well prior to COVID, don’t restart it. It’s time to kill those sacred cows. Transition to more of a simple church model that is focused on mission. Eliminate things that don’t support your mission and remember that complexity is the enemy of clarity.Enhance online services. // Don’t become overly focused on getting your pre-COVID in-person congregation back. A certain percentage of people may never return and if you have a solid online ministry, others may stay online. Rather than fighting this trend, explore creating house churches or micro-sites. Ask what a digital disciple looks like. Can you become a fully devoted follower if you’re just committed to online church? Don’t just broadcast your in-person service to serve people online, but create an online experience. Lastly, remember that all the oppression, trials, and obstacles in the book of Acts led to the early church growing and enlarging their circle. Churches today need to think similarly.

You can learn more about Compass Christian Church at www.compass.church.

Thank You for Tuning In!

There are a lot of podcasts you could be tuning into today, but you chose unSeminary, and I’m grateful for that. If you enjoyed today’s show, please share it by using the social media buttons you see at the left hand side of this page. Also, kindly consider taking the 60-seconds it takes to leave an honest review and rating for the podcast on iTunes, they’re extremely helpful when it comes to the ranking of the show and you can bet that I read every single one of them personally!

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Thank You to This Episode’s Sponsor: Carey Nieuwhof

Leadership has felt pretty uncertain and divisive this past year. How do you make decisions when the future isn’t predictable and your team has different opinions?Download the FREE Pivot Ready Cheat Sheet to get help making progress and gaining clarity through rapid change and disruption. It will give you a framework that effective and resilient leaders use to make decisions and take action.

Source: Lessons From Casting Vision & Pushing Forward During the Pandemic with Drew Sherman

The post Lessons From Casting Vision & Pushing Forward During the Pandemic with Drew Sherman appeared first on Passion for Planting.

By: New Life Christian Church

It has been almost 5 months since this pandemic has impacted and altered our way of life in so many ways. That is almost half a year! And, by the look of it, this pandemic will continue to impact us for many more months to come.

At first, it was an interesting challenge to be inside and to watch Church Online and connect with others on Zoom. Now, that has tired. People want to get out and resume some sort of normal life, a life like we once had.

But what if this pandemic was a blessing? What if it was a wake up call that the life we once had was not good enough? What if it was God trying to refocus us on what matters most?

The Bible says in Isaiah 55:6 “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near.” So what does that mean in the midst of this pandemic? How can you stay strong in your faith and encouraged at what God is doing around us? At this time, let’s draw close to God and see what He does in our lives and in the lives of those around us. Here are some ideas:

Pray. Prayers are powerful and make an impact, not just for the situation we are praying about, but for us as well as we give our thoughts and concerns over to God, letting Him take control. Pray that God would provide you with opportunities to minister and serve your community. Also, pray for the Church, both New Life and all the Churches around the world. Take time also to listen to God’s voice as you pray allowing God opportunities to speak to you.

Stay Engaged. Let’s be honest, being online all the time is hard. But in order to stay connected in community, it can still be very valuable to your spiritual growth. Experience Church Online every Sunday or throughout the week here or get plugged into an online prayer or Small Group here. As you feel comfortable, also look for opportunities to stay engaged in person as well. You can have an in person group or experience Church in person each week. These are great ways you can still stay engaged no matter what is happening around us.

Act on Opportunities. As you pray, ask God to open your eyes to opportunities. While some of the old opportunities we had no longer exist, there are plenty of new ones right in your community.  For instance, have you heard about the Neighborhood Champions opportunity? Our Family Minister, Elinor Kinnier, is working on ways communities can come together and support each other during this time, especially as school starts. Find out more about this amazing opportunity by emailing her.

Keep Giving. Even if time is hard and you cannot personally act on some opportunities, stay committed to giving financially. The needs are different now but ministry is still happening. We have all been blessed by God, keep giving sacrificially to the different ministry opportunities happening now and in the future. If you would like to give today, you can here.

Look to serve. Were you serving at New Life in some capacity before the pandemic hit? Even though that role may no longer exist or has changed in some way, that doesn’t mean we don’t need you! It’s simply a new game with new roles and opportunities. Can you hold a camera? Are you willing to learn how to edit video? Would you be willing to serve the homeless population? Can you help collect hygiene products for children in need? Find out where the serving needs are and be part of the solution by clicking here.

While the world has changed, God is still at work and there are lots of different opportunities for you to grow in your faith in the months ahead.

What will you do?

Source: Next Steps You Can Take During this Pandemic

The post Next Steps You Can Take During this Pandemic appeared first on Passion for Planting.

By: Brandon A. Cox

Source: Time Management Matters in a Pandemic More Than Ever

The post Time Management Matters in a Pandemic More Than Ever appeared first on Passion for Planting.

Source: Prayer During a Pandemic – Part One

The post Prayer During a Pandemic – Part One appeared first on Passion for Planting.