Allow me to make the understatement of the day: the local church experienced disruptions in 2020.
In the church where I serve as Lead Pastor, we’ve seen and felt a lot of disruptions. I know you have seen and felt disruptions in your church. But my optimism is high right now for 2021. Why? First, I know the biblical truth that the church will continue no matter the opposition (Matthew 16:18). Second, I am seeing a hunger and desire from those inside my church.
While we are not fully out of the pandemic yet, the trajectory is going in the right direction. As my optimism believes this trajectory is going to bring us to our new normal quickly, I sat down with my church leadership team last night to discuss how we prepare for this new normal. We came up with three areas where our church saw the most disruption. It’s these three areas that I believe need the most preparation now.
Volunteer Reengagement
We lost a lot of volunteer roles during the pandemic. A lot. Since we are a normative-sized church, the impact was greatly felt. And that was to be expected. It makes sense that people would have concerns about serving on our Welcome Team or in our Kids Ministry.
As we begin to enter a new season as church, we want to reengage our volunteers. Here are some quick steps we plan to take:
- Communicate the need and vision for serving.
- Make sure we have safety in mind for each volunteer role.
- Ask volunteers individually if they are ready to serve again.
- Ask volunteers where they are comfortable serving right now.
- Find/create new roles for some volunteers that are not in direct contact with others.
Assimilation Refocusing
The way we did church was disrupted (which inherently wasn’t a bad thing) last year. Our process of assimilating new people into the life of the church took a major backseat. We are refocusing our assimilation process and it won’t look the same as it did before.
The one major change we are seeking to initiate is moving from a process-driven focus to a person-driven focus. We want to make sure each person that comes into our church doesn’t flow through a process but gets a direct connection to someone already in the church.
Outreach and Evangelism Renewal
Here’s one thing for my church that I know: our new normal isn’t going to include “business as usual.” I am dedicated to see our new trajectory include a renewal in sharing the hope of Jesus. As it stands right now, we are going to begin praying for our neighbors this spring and summer. We plan to launch a version of Pray and Go. It just makes sense to pray for our neighbors in a contactless way right now.
We’ll reach a new normal. My optimism says sooner than later.
How is your church preparing? How is your church reengaging, refocusing, and planning for renewal? Don’t wait to prepare. Be ready now to share the hope of Jesus to a world that desperately needs it.
Posted on February 19, 2021
Jess Rainer is the co-founder of Rainer Publishing. As co-author of “The Millennials”, Jess provides insights into the next generation of leaders.
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