The Monday Morning Debrief: Annual Teases

This past week, Pat Forde from ESPN.com posted a list of the College Football teams that are Annual Teases.  By teases he means that these teams have a lot of hype leading into the season and then often fail to perform on the field – coming in below expectations.  For a list of the teams and reasons for their underperformance click here.  As a big Penn State fan, I was relieved that he didn’t have them on that list – Go Lions!

So how does this apply to ministry?

Every fall we can hype up the program really well.  You know how it goes – based yearly evaluations and comments, you make changes to the program and promise people, “this fall is gonna rock” or “I know things weren’t great this spring, but this fall, we are doing some major changes that are going to rock”.  Those are great words but unfortunately, sometimes the end results don’t live up to the hype we give.

Some here are a few tipsI have found to NOT be a Tease this fall to your constituents:

1. Be planned out.  That’s right, if you are hyping that this fall is going to be different, then start off with the basics – PLAN.  Plan out your fall curriculum and activities well in advance of your kick-off.  Now planning does not automatically guarantee success.  However, if you plan well enough in advance or give it a lot of time and focus, you are more likely to be successful than you normally would.  By planning ahead, you also allow yourself to run your thoughts by others (especially your leaders) for their input.  That doesn’t mean you have to talk all their thoughts and suggestions, but it does give you the opportunity to get additional insight into your plan.  Planning ahead also gives you plenty of time to gather the necessary “stuff” you need to make an activity or lesson amazing.  I have had no worse feeling than thinking of a great talk illustration or extra attraction to a program, realizing that I didn’t have enough time to pull it together.  When you plan ahead you give yourself plenty of opportunity to not miss that last great touch. 
   
2. Get your leaders on board.  That’s right, if you want to move into a new “era” of your program, you have to have your leaders on board with the direction you are headed.  If not, you are going to slowly but surely frustrate and ultimately lose them.  By getting the leaders on board, you are cluing them in and hopefully giving them a chance to offer feedback or input in what you would like to do.  If the leaders are on board and feel part of the process, they are going to be just as excited as you are in promoting this new direction, program or emphasis you are putting on in the fall.
3. Keep on building relationships.  With a new crop of incoming students coming into your program that means that there is a great chance to start and develop more relationships.  Also it gives you a fresh start to get them to “buy in” to your program and what you all offer as a ministry.  The reality is these students come into your program with a lot of excitement. They are pumped to be there and feel apart of what you are doing.  So why not bring in your best stuff and really keep them excited (that is where planning comes in).  Lastly, make sure you and your leaders are investing in and developing relationships with them.  The more you can do that, the greater the chance they get to see and experience Christ and hopefully their lives will change.