5 Ideas to Maintain Easter Momentum
Once Easter is over, and you are like me, Monday is"crash day." Easter is mentally, emotionally, and spiritual exhausting, but you have to maintain the momentum Easter brings.
What are you doing this week to follow up with your visitors and your twice-a-year visitors? One thing I learned while pastoring is that maintaining momentum is critical. Below are five things you can do to keep the momentum going!
Communicate your Easter morning wins.
Communicate what God did on Easter Sunday! How many salvations? Did you employ a photographer for Easter service? If not make a note for next year. You don't have to hire a photographer if you don't have the budget -- I never did. Instead, ask someone in your congregation, who is talented, to serve. Feature photography and video from Easter on social media and in the next few Sunday's service(s). People love to see activity, ministry, and movement of the vision. I know God did some amazing things!
Communicating wins keeps people enthusiastic about the progress you are making. Wins show what you are "doing" and not just "saying." Communicating wins also invites new participation -- people like to be on winning teams. When you communicate your wins, don't always do it though the voice of leadership. Invite team members and volunteers to share their testimony of how God has changed them and the people your vision has reached. Wound't it be crazy awesome to have someone, who was not a part of your church but who was touched by the church, come and share how God made a difference in their life?
Celebrate Testimonies. Approach visitors, regulars, even kids, and ask them for a quick video interview they would be comfortable having viewed on a Sunday morning. Salvations or rededications provide a powerful look into what God is doing and how people are being transformed. Ask a couple of people to share their testimony on a Sunday from the front. You might use an "interview" format so you can help them along and control the time it takes.
Follow up with visitors. This seems obvious, but you HAVE TO HAVE a follow up plan in place. Invest time and resources to make your follow up significant. Social media connections, visitor cards, phone calls, follow up post cards, free coffee cards on their next visit, home visitations, etc. are important. This post isn't about how to create a follow up plan, but just make sure you have one and execute it. This isn't about capturing numbers; it's about capturing hearts!
Recast vision as a follow up. The old saying that "vision leaks," is true. After Sunday there is a swell of enthusiasm for the church. People catch a glimpse of your vision. Why not present a Sunday message that captures the move of God from Easter, one that weaves itself into the overriding vision of the church.
Maintain balance. Point four is a nod to margin. Enthusiasm about vision is good, but obsession is not. The current campaign you are launching is not all there is to what God is up to in your church. In addition to balance in your church culture, make sure you are personally getting rest and refreshment. An exhausted leader is an ineffective leader. Yes, Easter was tiring, and while you are also stoked about God's move, if you are married make sure you never loose the preciousness, closeness, and attention your spouse needs. If you are single make sure you are getting the mental, emotional, and spiritual rest and refreshment you need to continue pushing forward.
Recognize and Reward. This point lands alongside celebrating wins. Your Easter teams worked hard. Your Sunday School teachers outdid themselves on those crafts! Innate to each of us is the need to know we are making a difference. It is important to recognize the contribution your leaders are making to the cause. Consider ways to creatively lift up those who have given so much of their time and energy. By now you should know your leaders well. Listen for what they like -- maybe you know Bill loves coffee, why not give him a gift card to his favorite coffee shop, or an iTunes card for Chelsea who is always plugged into her phone. If you listen carefully, you'll pick up on what leaders would be blessed by.Celebrate Easter by celebrating how lives were transformed and the tireless contribution of your entire team!
Creating momentum is not a passive endeavor; it takes works and purpose. In the long run momentum is what will push you past the finish line, and crossing the finish line is the goal. Consider "maintaining momentum" a leading subject for one of your next leadership meeting.