Avoiding of the trap game

It happens every year in college and pro football..the “trap game”. The trap game is the game right before or right after a big game. It’s a trap because teams tend to overlook “inferior” teams as they either prepare for a bigger game or just get finished with a big victory in a very important game.

For instance, college football analysts were saying all week that Va. Tech were facing a trap game this week.  Just last week, they had a big victory last week over Ohio State, but this week faced ECU, a lesser opponent.  If they were not prepared well enough, they would lose.  And, guess what?  Va. Tech lost 28-21 at home.

They failed in their trap game and if these college football teams aren’t ready, here are other trap games this year that could hurt teams championship dreams.

So what do trap games have to do with ministry?

You may have a big event coming up. It may be a big outreach or discipleship event that you put a lot…a mean a TON of energy and hours into to make it perfect. It goes off great but then you fall into your trap.

How?  See, you’ve focused so much of your time on that one big event that you forget about what is next. Therefore, things that you are normally focused on slip through the cracks, the next event or service is not as strong and you have a let down.  Then, any positive momentum you have gets crushed because you weren’t ready.

So how do you protect yourself and your ministry against the trap game?

1. Don’t lose sight of the overall plan. Your big event is just one event in the course of lots of other events.  It’s important, yes, but it’s just one event.  You can’t get too high or too low from it.  Therefore, make sure the rest of  what you have planned is epic as well.
2. Make sure you are covered. By that I mean, keep your “regular” helpers and volunteers focus on what is next (i.e. church service making sure it is just as good) while recruiting new people to help you with your special event.  It’s a great way to get new volunteers helping by asking them to help you with your special event.  But it’s also keeps people focused on what is next so that next event can have the attention and detail given to it so that it succeeds as well.

Those are just 2 things you can be doing to help you avoid the trap game in ministry.  What are ways that have worked for you int he past?  Share below.