Source: Realign, Restructure, and Reopen Your Church

The post Realign, Restructure, and Reopen Your Church appeared first on Passion for Planting.

By Carey Nieuwhof: So it’s been a year now since pretty much every church got online courtesy of the pandemic.

As the world moves slowly but surely into the post-pandemic era, there are a lot of questions about what will happen to future in-person church.

The return to church has been anything but easy for churches that are reopened, and hard even for churches that are located in areas that are almost wide open.

A Lifeway Research survey shows that in January 2021,

31% of churches are still reporting less than 50% of their January 2020 attendance

37% are hovering between 50%-70% and 30% are between 70%-100%

Only 2% report seeing more than 100% of their attendance a year ago.

It’s easy to imagine that all of this is going to reverse the moment society is ‘open’ again, but for a number of reasons that’s unlikely.

First, the reopening of society is by every account going to be gradual and staged.

Second, even when laws allow everything to be wide open (as in Texas), people often behave differently than the law allows them. While some people will run into the future unrestrained and with no limits, others will remain cautious for a while to come.

But even that doesn’t explain what’s about to happen next.

Perhaps the deepest threat to in-person attendance comes from a cultural possibility I’ll say more about below, that we might be entering into a relatively selfish me-centered behavior that might relegate churches even further to the sidelines than they were pre-pandemic. And yes, I know, we were already a selfish culture.

I’m not saying this is good. I am saying for the reasons below, it may be true.

Which leads us to the false debate.

The False Debate Part 1: Think About Online Dating

So what’s the false debate?

Well, search the comments on this site or almost any other church-related social feed and you’ll see many leaders arguing that people don’t want to just do church online.

Those who say that are in part wrong, and in part correct.

It’s nuanced. Let me explain.

The same surveys that show in-person attendance is likely to struggle in the future also show that only a sliver of the population wants to only access church online.

That makes sense.

Think about online dating. About 40% of couples who date these days meet online via a dating app or site.  Not shocking.

But couples who meet online don’t stay online. You’ve never met a couple who said “We’ve been married for six years but we’ve never met in person…”

No, both dating and church online lead to in-real life.

So those who say church online can’t meet the needs of people long term are largely correct. We’re built for human connection.

So you would think, then, that the return to church would be automatic.

That’s where it breaks down.

Couples who meet online don’t stay online. You’ve never met a couple who said We’ve been married for six years but we’ve never met in person… No, both dating and church online lead to in-real life.

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The False Debate Part 2: In-Building v. In-Person

It’s true that real ministry happens best in-person. Theologically, relationally and experientially, people need people. The church is a community…in-person community.

But here’s the flawed assumption:  in-person ministry shouldn’t be restricted to in-building ministry.

To date, too many church leaders have assumed that the only viable option for in-person gathering happens in a building owned (or leased) by the church.

If you define in-person ministry as experiences that have to happen in a building owned by the church, you set yourself up for diminished mission.

In fact, if the size of your vision shrinks to the size of a room you can fill, you’ve missed the church’s mission.

If the size of your vision shrinks to the size of a room you can fill, you’ve missed the church’s mission.

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Sure, there will always be people who gather in a central facility.

It was done that way for years because it was a highly practical, sensible option. Historically, you’ve needed a building so you can assemble at the same time in the same place for a common experience. For centuries, a building was a sensible way to deliver that. It was hard to gather dozens or hundreds of people for a service.

Then the internet happened.

Moving into the post-pandemic era, churches can now gather people in person in a wide variety of ways: micro-gatherings, micro-campuses, home gatherings…all uniting the distributed in-person gatherings through technology.

In my post on 2021 Disruptive Church Trends, many of the trends deal directly with this dynamic and you can learn more there  (there’s also a free PDF Team Application Guide you can use as well).

In the future, don’t limit your understanding of in-person gatherings to in-facility gatherings; the majority of attenders and perhaps your most engaged people may not be in the auditorium.

If you expand your definition of gathering, it’s much easier to genuinely expand your mission.

If you expand your definition of gathering, it’s much easier to genuinely expand your mission.

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To drill down further on why this is so crucial, consider these three things.

1. The Culture Has Become More Post-Modern

Crisis is an accelerator, and as Barna has shown, 1 in 5 church-going adults stopped attending church altogether in 2020.

I’m guessing America and many part of the West became even more post-modern and post-Christian in the last year. Trends that may have taken a decade to cement got accelerated as people were decoupled from their habits.

Among the many characteristics of post-Christian, post-modern spirituality, three stand out when it comes to future attendance trends. Post-modern spirituality is:

self-directed
anti-institutional; and
selective

In other words, people will pick and choose what they want to do. That goes from choosing a favorite preacher to listen to, to deciding to watch from home or on the go, and even (you’ve already seen this) tenets of the faith they are inclined to embrace and tenets they’re inclined not to.

I am not arguing this is good. I’m just saying, as a Canadian who’s ministered in a post-Christian culture for decades, it’s very real.

None of this doesn’t mean it’s over for the church. Far from it. In fact, there’s more opportunity for authentic Christianity than ever.

But if you’re relying on old methods to renew your mission, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment.

Churches that are ready to change their methods in the post-pandemic era will seize incredible opportunities to advance their mission.

And churches that won’t may (as we’ve said here a few times) end up being like malls in the age of Amazon, just waiting  for people to return.

If you change, you’ll advance your mission. And if you don’t, you likely won’t.

If you want more on this, here are five characteristics of churches that will be in decline five years from now.

Churches that are ready to change their methods in the post-pandemic era will seize incredible opportunities to advance their mission.

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2. There May Be A Coiled-Spring of Self-Centered Behavior Ahead Of Us

We were already living a pretty self-centered life as a culture before COVID. As the HBO documentary Fake Famous so clearly points out, we’re really into ourselves and self-gratification.

I wonder if we’re heading into an even more self-centered few years ahead of us as people try to make up for whatever they missed in the last year and a bit: vacations, freedom, time away, and whatever else disappeared from their life.

One leader who leads a church in a pretty much fully open US state told me last week that the 20-30% of people who are not coming back to his re-opened church are still going to theaters, restaurants and other events. But for some reason, they’re just skipping church because “they’re not ready.”

My question was, are they just not ready or just too polite to say they’re no longer interested? Maybe there are many other intriguing things to do with their time…

There is a lot of pent up angst and longing in all of us.

And so much of the pandemic so far as been baffling. The economic and health impact of the pandemic have been so uneven and in many cases, unjust.

Despite the massive disruption, layoffs and decimated industries and cities, housing prices and the stock market have soared. People have been spending on home upgrades, bikes, boats, Peletons and many other things.  Despite all the spending, in North America personal savings rates are at all-time highs.

If you look at history, rather than dealing with the inequities and problems we face, often after a period of deep pain, people often engage in escapism and pursue fun.

The Roaring 20s followed the First World War and Spanish flu. Jazz music, movie theaters, the automobile, flappers, and night clubs gave dominated the Great Gatsby era.

The 50s baby boom, suburban explosion, and prosperity followed the horrors of the Second World War and Great Depression.

Is something like that around the corner for us? It’s too early to tell, but it’s not too early to start preparing.

Doing the authentic work of the church, being active in the local communities that don’t have the economic freedom to escape and being online to mobilize people around the mission matter even more.

If the 2020s end up being like the 1920s, the church needs a better strategy than louder music, more haze and “don’t miss this series.”

If the 2020s end up being like the 1920s, the church needs a better strategy than louder music, more haze and don’t miss this series.

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The culture needs an alternative to itself, not an echo of itself.

You can’t reach a secular culture by being more secular. You can reach it by becoming more authentic.

So be more authentic.

You can’t reach a secular culture by being more secular. You can reach it by becoming more authentic.

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3. Hybrid Church Will Simply Match Reality: Life Is Already a SlipStream Between Digital and In Real Life

None of this is really new.

For years now before COVID, almost every human was living in a slipstream between digital and in-real-life interactions.

You text your friend one second, pivot to a YouTube video the next to get a recipe for dinner, and then meet your family in the kitchen to cut some vegetables for the meal.

For years now, you’ve moved seamlessly between the digital and the real.

Church will be that way in the future too, which is why the hybrid church—offering both digital and physical ministry—is here to stay.

People will be in the building one week, watching solo online the next, and the third gathering with some friends in a home or (better yet) serving in the community to be the church.

Standing in a building resenting everyone who didn’t show up is no way to reach people. So don’t be that leader.

Standing in a building resenting everyone who didn’t show up is no way to reach people. So don’t be that leader.

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And if we are moving into some years where people are heading off to the woods, the mountains, the ocean, tropical islands or their back yard, digital will help you stay connected with them and call them back to a deeper level of sacrifice and commitment to others.

If you really do believe that the essence of Christianity is to be the church, not just go to church, then embracing a hybrid model of church only makes sense.

On the other hand, if you’re limit your digital investment in the hope you can fill a room, that’s a whole other, likely much harder, conversation.

If you really do believe that the essence of Christianity is to be the church, not just go to church, then embracing a hybrid model of church only makes sense.

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A Few Other Thoughts

Before we get to the comments (I would love to know what you think), a few other thoughts.

Having a robust in-person and digital ministry is going to be hard. And no one has really figured the model out yet.

But start here: resource your online presence with the same intensity and resources that you would if you were launching a physical location.

The surprise of course, is that effective digital ministry is much cheaper than launching a physical location, but still. Staff it like you mean it.

Staffing, of course, also involves volunteers.

And because no one has cracked the code yet on micro-gatherings, being a distributed church, or even figuring out what the format online versus for live services will be in the future, feel free to experiment (Mark Clark and I discuss some possibilities here).

Take some pressure off yourself and try some things. Some will connect, some won’t. That’s what innovation is all about.

When it comes to ministry that happens in the facility moving forward, its highest value will likely be for young families who want in-person connection for their kids, student ministry where gathering in person is of high value, people who prefer church in a facility, and of course, new people. You have a whole host of people who are now part of your church online but have never seen or experienced your church in person.

This may likely be the new core of regular attenders for the next few years. I could be wrong, but it seems plausible.

Finally, remember that being the local church is a great thing. 85% of you reading this lead a church of 200 attenders or less. Let that encourage you.

Preachers whose messages are viewed hundreds of thousands of times (sometimes by your people) don’t know your people or your city. But you do.

Along with your team, love them, serve them, reach them.

Nobody should be able to out-local the local church.

Nobody should be able to out-local the local church.

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How Are You Planning?

What are you expecting as you move into the future, and how are you planning for it?

Scroll down and leave a comment!

The post The False Debate Between Online and In-Person Church (How To Plan for An Uncertain Future) appeared first on CareyNieuwhof.com.

Source: The False Debate Between Online and In-Person Church (How To Plan for An Uncertain Future)

The post The False Debate Between Online and In-Person Church (How To Plan for An Uncertain Future) appeared first on Passion for Planting.

In Episode 573 of the NewChurches Q&A Podcast, Daniel and Ed discuss what to do if you inherit a building from a church that is closing.

In This Episode, You’ll Discover:

Evidence to support that this will be an increasing situation moving forward
Considerations when asked to take over a building

 Shareable Quotes (#NewChurches):

“My guess is you will see a significant acceleration in the pattern of church closures.” – @edstetzer
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw doubling, tripling church closures over the next couple of years after COVID.” – @edstetzer
“Schools are not open or theaters, so the number one and number two places where churches met are not functionally available to them.” – @edststetzer
“Less church plants and more church closures I would think.” – @edstetzer
“When a church closes, it usually has years of deferred maintenance.” – @edstetzer
“There is significant risk, but the upside can be good if the facility is appropriate for the size of the new church plant.” – @edstetzer
“A bad building is worse than no building.” – @edstetzer
“Your focus is not a building, it’s a church plant that is connected to people.” – @edstetzer

Help us Multiply the Mission:

Please subscribe
Leave a rating and review on iTunes
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When you’re recording, introduce yourself and your context in about 15 seconds and then record your question for 30 seconds

The post Episode 573: Things to Consider When Inheriting a Building appeared first on NewChurches.com – Church Planting, Multisite, and Multiplication.

Source: Episode 573: Things to Consider When Inheriting a Building

The post Episode 573: Things to Consider When Inheriting a Building appeared first on Passion for Planting.

By Carey Nieuwhof: Finally, it seems like the post-COVID world is finally coming into view.

While different countries, regions, provinces and states will emerge out of COVID at different times, 2021 appears to be the year we will be able to move into a post-pandemic world.

So, as you get ready to embrace the new reality, what should you be focused on?

It’s obviously a tough question to answer because neither in-person church or online church is a panacea. Each has its unique challenges, promises and limits. In-person church attendance has been declining for decades before the pandemic, and online church hasn’t solved all the issues the church is facing either.

That said, there are some guidelines that can help moving forward.

Here are 5 critical mistakes it would be so easy to make right now as a church leader.

1. Taking Your Foot Off the Digital Gas Pedal

There will be a real temptation to once the world moves past COVID to think of digital ministry as an afterthought or something that’s no longer necessary.

You’re certainly free to make that decision, but in many ways that would be a mistake.

Barna research shows that 7 in 10 churched adults agree that, post-pandemic, churches should use digital resources to reach and engage their neighborhoods. In addition, 21% of US unchurched adults are open to watching an online service alone. For those unchurched adults with a high digital openness though, that percentage climbs to 87%.

While in-person church is here to stay, to back off on digital now is to back off on the future and to back off on outreach. If you care about reaching people, that’s a mistake.

While in-person church is here to stay, to back off on digital now is to back off on the future and to back off on outreach. If you care about reaching people, that’s a mistake.

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Hybrid church (churches offering great in-person experiences and digital experiences) will be the future because everyone has lived a hybrid life for years. Once moment you’re on social media, the next you’re having coffee with a friend in real life. .

If you want more on the interplay of physical and digital church in the future, including how your online presence serves as both a front door and side door, I wrote more here.

Treating digital as something interesting or nice to have may have been an acceptable strategy in 2011. But this is 2021.

Treating digital as something interesting or nice to have may have been an acceptable strategy in 2011. But this is 2021.

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2. Allocating Most of Your Staff and Volunteers to Ministry In the Church Building

Not much has changed since I wrote this post last year aruing that too many church leaders will step into the past as they step back into their buildings. The same dynamics are very much in play right now.

While it’s true that most churches feel short-staffed and under-resourced, the pre-COVID habit of assigning your online ministry as one line in a job description to your tech person or creative person is history. Or at least if you want a future it’s history.

As distributed gatherings, micro-gatherings and online ministry continues to grow, dedicating a meaningful percentage of your staff, budget, and volunteers to ministry that happens outside the church building is critical.

The pre-COVID habit of assigning your online ministry as one line in a job description to your tech person or creative person is history. Or at least if you want a future it’s history.

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How much of your resources should be allocated to online and distributed gatherings?

I talked to one leader who said that post-pandemic, 40% of his team, time and energy will go into online.

I think that’s a healthy percentage.

While that might seem like a complete stretch for most churches, gradually increasing the resources you devote to online and off-building ministry is possible for everyone.

Don’t have staff or feel understaffed?

Look for 15-25 year old volunteers to help you with your online presence. They see the future because they are the future. And the present.

Don’t have staff? Look for 15-25 year old volunteers to help you with your online presence. They see the future because they are the future. And the present.

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3. Resuming In-Person Services Exactly As They Were Pre-COVID

The jury is still very much out on what’s going to happen to services once the world is re-opened.

But many church leaders are considering running two kinds of services: in-person and then a separate one devoted to online.

In other words, online will become something other than just a live-stream of whatever is happening in the auditorium or sanctuary on Sunday.

While this presents challenges from both a time and resource standpoint, this approach makes sense for a few reasons.

First, almost every church leader has come to realize that online services are best when they’re shorter.

Second, nobody has really figured out what to do with worship music online. The four or five song set that works in church just doesn’t translate online.

Third, preaching to a crowd is great, but it feels less personal when you’re watching on a device. Direct-to-camera preaching (including different camera positions and even the use of DSLRs) can make the online experience much better.

More than a few pastors I talk to are shooting an online version of their message and service mid-week for broadcast on Sunday and for access on-demand, but then doing a different experience in the room live on Sunday that doesn’t get streamed. By different, it could be the same message, just delivered live (or via video), but more music and other elements that may not translate as well online.

This IS a lot of work. I get it.

If you don’t have the resources for it, and least consider doing something different online that’s direct to camera…something like a 5 minute devotion, talk or something other than just the stream of your Sunday morning in-person gatherings.

I have a full training session and application guide on how to create great online content inside The Leader’s Circle. You can get instant access to a free trial of The Leader’s Circle on-demand training for you and your team here.

Finally, when it comes to your in-person gatherings, make the experience more…personal.

Many re-opened churches that are seeing some traction are making the in-person experience different than online by offering food, coffee, parking lot or side room gatherings for people to connect. And they’re providing kids experiences that provide something other than a carbon copy of what you can get online.

The principle here is clear: if everything your church does in the future feels downloadable, probably all you’ll get is a lot of downloads, not a lot of gathered people. (For more on that, read this.)

If everything your church does in the future feels downloadable, probably all you’ll get is a lot of downloads, not a lot of gathered people.

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4. Posting Every Thought You Have On Every Issue Online

Let’s switch gears for a minute and talk less about how and more about what.

This deserves a post of its own, but it’s becoming clear that one of the reasons people who don’t go to church don’t want to go to church is simple: your social media posts.

According to a recent Barna survey, only 30% of non-Christians have a positive reaction when they see people post things about their Christian faith on social media. (45% don’t have a positive reaction, and 25% indicated they don’t know.)

Only 30% of non-Christians have a positive reaction when they see people post things about their Christian faith on social media.

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I am increasingly concerned about the number of church leaders who feel the compulsion to post their opinion online about everything. From negative rants or arguments on vaccines to politics, to legislation, to climate change, to some grievance against a neighbor or celebrity, whatever else they happen to have an opinion on in the moment, the daily tirade I see on my social feed is exhausting.

You know the world is watching and listening right?

Even if you’re posting from your personal account, you’re leaving an impression on the unchurched who follow you.

Influence takes years to build and second to lose. Church, we’re losing a lot of influence right now.

Influence takes years to build and second to lose. Church, we’re losing a lot of influence right now.

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5. Resenting People Who Aren’t Doing What You Want Them To Do

One truth you’ve consistently faced as a leader is this: people rarely do exactly what you want them to do.

That’s going to get more intense in the post-pandemic era.

People won’t follow the patterns you want them to follow. Maybe people will come back in droves. Maybe they won’t. The early evidence hasn’t been encouraging.

The question is this:

How do you interact with infrequent church attenders who don’t seem to be embracing the mission of your church the way?

I think it’s simple.

You embrace them anyway.

I chose the word ’embrace’ on purpose. Because I know there’s something deep-seated in many of us that wants to reject people if we sense they’re rejecting us. And people who don’t come out to church much on Sunday can feel like rejection if you’re an insecure church leader.

Grow up. Be more secure.

Rather than judging them, why not love them? Judgment is a terrible evangelism study. You run from people who resent and judge you. Why should you expect any different from the people you lead?

Ultimately, people gravitate to where they are valued most. So value people.

Judgment is a terrible evangelism strategy.

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Simplify Staff Training and Save Time With Done-For-You Leadership Development

I’d guess that you know how important team training and development is… but doesn’t it always seem like a scramble to get everything lined up for staff meeting?

You know the drill… every time you have a staff or volunteer training time scheduled, you have to read a book, listen to a podcast, or even go to a conference.

That’s why I’m so excited to introduce The Leader’s Circle to you.

It eliminates the hassle of staff training with carefully curated content that builds essential leadership skills into your team. Every. Single. Month.

Learn more about The Leader’s Circle and the 15 months of development content ready to be accessed.

What Do You See?

Those are some potential mistakes I see on the horizon.

What do you see? Scroll down and leave a comment!

The post 5 Critical Mistakes Church Leaders Should Avoid In the Post-COVID World appeared first on CareyNieuwhof.com.

Source: 5 Critical Mistakes Church Leaders Should Avoid In the Post-COVID World

The post 5 Critical Mistakes Church Leaders Should Avoid In the Post-COVID World appeared first on Passion for Planting.

By NewChurches.com: In Episode 568 of the NewChurches Q&A Podcast, Daniel and Todd discuss what systems are needed for a post-COVID church.

In This Episode, You’ll Discover:

Why you should keep your simplified systems moving forward
How contingency planning now can help you in the future

 Shareable Quotes (#NewChurches):

“We are all going to have a tendency to go back to the same systems rather than take a simplified system forward.” – @toddadkins
“Carry your simplified systems forward.” – @toddadkins
“Think through what we have we learned now so that we can be more flexible in the future.” – @toddadkins
“We all wish we would have had more contingency plans in place in the past.” – @toddadkins
“We do need to make sure that we are thinking about those contingency plans because that definitely will interrupt the regular ebb and flow of what ministry looks like in your church.” – @danielsangi
“We have a cycle where we are planning ministry three times a year.” – @danielsangi
“Five year planning is off the table. We really need to think in the terms of quarter, annual, and three years.” – @toddadkins

Recommended Resources:

Listen to Episode 564: What Established Churches Can Learn From Church Plants
Listen to Episode 566: What Church Plants Can Learn From Established Churches

Help us Multiply the Mission:

Please subscribe
Leave a rating and review on iTunes
Ask a question by clicking Send Voicemail on the right hand side of NewChurches.com
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When you’re recording, introduce yourself and your context in about 15 seconds and then record your question for 30 seconds

The post Episode 568: Systems for a Post-COVID Church appeared first on NewChurches.com – Church Planting, Multisite, and Multiplication.

Source: Episode 568: Systems for a Post-COVID Church

The post Episode 568: Systems for a Post-COVID Church appeared first on Passion for Planting.

By: Carey Nieuwhof

The good news is it feels like we’re entering a new season of leadership and ministry.

Although the coronavirus is still with us, churches and businesses are reopening and things that weren’t possible a month or two ago are now possible again.

That’s the good news.

The bad news is that the new season is perhaps even more complicated than the season of crisis we just left. And it’s way more complicated than having a second wave of the virus (as serious as that might be).

I also realize you’re likely tempted to stop reading right here.

After all, you really can’t handle one more person saying more change is ahead.

I get it. Some days, neither can I.

We’re all more than a little fatigued, frazzled and irritated. And everybody (including me) is long for some semblance of normal.

Everything in you wants to go back to as much normal as you can possibly find. And that would be great, if it wasn’t also deadly.

The good news is we’re entering a new season. The bad news is that it’s likely more complicated than the season of crisis we just left.Click To Tweet

When change is as profound and disruptive as what we’re going through right now, this next season isn’t a finish line, it’s a start line.

Right now, every church is a startup and if you see it that way, you can advance your mission. There are so many people to reach, and an entire next generation in need of the Gospel.

And as hard as it is to hear, the next season will probably require more leadership from you, not less.

But, because of deep fatigue, a longing for normal and a hope that all the problems go away, too many church leaders will default into managing what was rather than leading into what will be— trying to bring the past back, to normalize ministry and to recreate what was lost rather than moving ahead into a new future.

But your work is too important to do that. You know it. I know it.

For all of those reasons and more, it’s just far too easy to blow it in this next season of ministry and leadership.

Here are 8 easy ways to do it.

When change is as profound and disruptive as what we’re going through right now, this next season isn’t a finish line, it’s a start line.Click To Tweet

1. Don’t Take Time off To Restore Yourself

I was going to put this last, but let’s lead with it instead and call an audible.

The reason you don’t want to read this post, let alone act on it, is because you’re tired. I get it. This has been a very tiring season.

And one of the biggest mistakes you can make is to not take time off to restore yourself.

While this isn’t a clinical definition, having burned out years ago, I’m sensing three levels of weariness in myself and amongst other leaders right now:

Tired

Fatigued

Exhausted

Tired responds quickly to cause and effect. You put in a long, hard day, you eat well, get some exercise and get some sleep, and soon you bounce back. If not the next day, then shortly thereafter.

Fatigued is a level of weariness beyond just tired. Fatigue will respond to stimulus (sleep, rest, diet, exercise, prayer) but it just takes longer. You’re not burning out, but there’s a slow drain going on that you really can’t ignore.

Exhausted is a place you find yourself in where you’re more than just tired or fatigued. The recovery is longer, harder and you need more time for restoration. It can easily lead to burnout if you let it (here are 11 signs you may be burning out).

Again, those aren’t clinical definitions, but I hope they’re helpful definitions.

The point is regardless of which stage you’re at, you need time to truly restore yourself this summer. The more tired you are, the more intentional your plan for recovery should be.

Leaders, the more tired you are, the more intentional your plan for recovery should be. Click To Tweet

So what’s your plan? If in fact you’re going into a prolonged season of uncertainty and dislocation, you need stamina for the long haul.

Maybe the best thing you can do as a response to this post and the challenges ahead is to book some downtime and then figure out a sustainable pace that will take you through the next few years.

I share the strategies I use to find a sustainable pace here.

If self-care is important in normal times, it’s 10x more important now.

And please hear me…the work you’re doing is so important, and you want to be well and stay well for the road ahead.

Because, as you know, the work is both important and challenging.

Which leads us to the second way to blow it in the next season of leadership.

If self-care is important in normal times, it’s 10x more important now. Click To Tweet

2. Let Your Fatigue Drive Your Decisions

Your level of fatigue as a leader impacts more than you and your family. It also impacts your organization.

Why? Well, it can be so easy to let your fatigue drive your decision making. You avoid the hard decisions, take the complicated things off the agenda and go into robot mode or stick with what you know because it’s just, well, easier.

Don’t let your fatigue drive your decision making.Click To Tweet

So how do you counter that?

The best way to gain energy for the decisions you know you need to make is to simply your model of ministry.

If you only do a few things and do them well, you’ll be able to put most of your energy into the things that need it most, rather than diffusing it across a dozen things.

Think about it this way: Doing the right thing, even if it’s the hard thing, ultimately energizes you.

Taking the path of least resistance ultimately drains you when you discover you’ve lost ground and grown irrelevant and ineffective.

Hint: in leadership, the right thing is almost always the hard thing.

So get some good rest, and then rally the team and do the things you know you need to do.

In leadership, the right thing is almost always the hard thing.Click To Tweet

3. Play The Short Game

Another easy way to blow it in leadership is to play the short game.

The short game right now probably looks like this: get back to normal as quickly as possible with in-person services and pick up where you left off or recreate what you lost.

What’s even more challenging is that for a meaningful percentage of churches, online attendance is up and so is giving, or at least it’s steady.

That kind of success or stability will keep your focus on the short game while you ignore the tectonic shifts happening in culture.

The long game is about preparing your church to reach unchurched people in the future. (For more on that, see this and this.)

And that’s as complex and challenging as it sounds.

So many of the methods the church has used broke long before COVID. Trying to resurrect them isn’t going to resurrect your church for the long term.

So many of the methods the church has used broke long before COVID. Trying to resurrect them isn’t going to resurrect your church for the long term.Click To Tweet

4. Ignore Volunteers

Because most churches were staffed and programmed for in-person ministry, one of the thing that went dormant almost instantly was the volunteer corp at most churches.

When church went online, what used to take dozens or hundreds of people to run suddenly only took a handful.

As a result, many churches have dozens (or hundreds or thousands) of volunteers who haven’t served in months.

Many early indications are that many volunteers, worried about the virus and having swapped a 5 hour Sunday commitment for a 1 hour Sunday commitment, like many others, might not return.

Connecting with your volunteers, encouraging them to serve in their community and remobilizing them even before you need them will prepare you for a strong future.

Many early indications are that many volunteers, worried about the virus and having swapped a 5 hour Sunday commitment for a 1 hour Sunday commitment, like many others, might not return. Click To Tweet

5. Assume Families are Just Fine

I realize it’s been a crisis, so it’s understandable that many leaders haven’t had the bandwidth to think about volunteers. But there’s another group that probably needs your attention: families.

Families will likely not be the first to return to in-person services because of a variety of factors, not the least of which is the lack of kids ministry upon re-opening in many cases.

Frank and Jessica Bealer, who have served at several mega-churches, including Elevation Church, have some very powerful and insightful ideas and strategies about how to come alongside families who attend in person and those who attend online in these unusual times.

You can listen to the conversation they had with David Kinnaman and me here.

Just know this: ignoring families tends to produce less effective ministry than serving them does.

Ignoring families tends to produce less effective ministry than serving them does.Click To Tweet

6. Don’t Reposition Your Staff

The staffing structure you had heading into the crisis is likely not the staffing structure you need heading into the future.

Why? Well, when things change, you need to change too.

Most churches are currently staffed for in-person ministry, and that’s about it. As complex as in-person ministry is right now, online church is probably a big part of the future.

And if that’s the case, how are you positioned for it?

Tagging it onto your creative team’s job description or handing it to a 19-year-old volunteer is probably not a great long term strategy.

Further, it’s probably going to require a skillset you may not have on your current team. So recruiting volunteers and staff around that is wise.

So is allocating some of your budget. Most churches spend 99% of their budget on in-person ministry.

If everyone you want to reach is online, you may want to rethink that.

Most churches spend 99% of their budget on in-person ministry. If everyone you want to reach is online, you may want to rethink that. Click To Tweet

7. Put Online on Autopilot

Most churches have made significant progress with their online ministry: either they’ve started one or seen the existing online outreach and ministry grow.

That’s incredible.

And right now, the big temptation is to leave all that on auto-pilot as assume it will grow automatically.  Which of course, as soon as you say it out loud, you realize won’t happen.

When you invest in digital ministry, you’re investing in the future and in reaching the world.

When you invest in digital ministry, you’re investing in the future and in reaching the world. Click To Tweet

8. Put All Your Focus On Sunday

In the early days of the crisis, churches were trying all kinds of things online.

Maybe you’ve noticed too. Almost everyone has pivoted back to focusing only on Sunday.

For all the reasons already listed in this post (especially fatigue), that’s understandable. It’s also a mistake.

For the first time in history, online ministry allows church leaders to come alongside people 7 days a week in an easy, accessible way.

I’ve written about this extensively elsewhere, but church-in-a-box was already past its expiry date.

Returning your focus to one day—Sunday—and taking your eye off of all the other opportunities positions your church for the past, not for the future.

Here are some ideas on the future church.

In the future, churches will shift their focus from Sunday to every day, because people need to find faith and live out their faith every day.

In the future, churches will shift their focus from Sunday to every day, because people need to find faith and live out their faith every day. Click To Tweet

If You Want a Simple Framework For Change, This Is It

Yes, there’s a ton of change happening right now.

Some organizations will survive, some will thrive, and others won’t make it.

I’d love for you to be one of the thrivers.

Who will thrive in the new normal? The future belongs to the pivoters.

How well-positioned are you for future pivots?

My brand new online training, the 30-Day Pivot, will show you how to develop your agility as a leader and as an organization to position yourself for growth.

The 30-Day Pivot is a simple 3-step process you and your team can utilize every as often as every 30 days to respond to the change around you and capitalize on it.

In the 30-Day Pivot, you’ll learn:

A simple 3-step process your team can use to arrive at your next pivot in 90 minutes or less.
An approach that fosters team-generated innovation.
An implementation and evaluation framework that will help your team move quickly and accurately.

I’ve led teams through multiple pivots, and in the 30 Day Pivot, I show you the strategy and framework you need to make quick, accurate and responsive moves that can position your organization for growth, even in the midst of deep uncertainty and change.

Some organizations and churches will thrive in the new normal.

Others won’t.

While the future is uncertain, yours doesn’t have to be.

You can learn more and gain instant access to the 30 Day Pivot here.

What Do You See?

I realize how tiring all the change ahead can be. So please, get some meaningful rest and find a sustainable pace.

I hear you. I’m with you.

But you know this, as leaders, truth is our friend.

And just because you don’t like something doesn’t mean it isn’t true.

The future is unkind to the unprepared, so I’m grateful we get to think through this together.

What else are you seeing?

What other things can catch us off guard in this season?

Scroll down and leave a comment!

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Source: 8 Easy Ways to Blow It In This Next Season of Ministry

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