Just like our personal calendars, our church calendars have a rhythm to them. Ecclesiastes 3 teaches us that for everything there is a season and some seasons are for planting and preparation, while some are for harvesting. Summer is the perfect season to focus on a rhythm of discipleship in preparation to engage new leaders and new guests in the fall.
Less Calendar Competition
Depending on where you are located, it can SEEM like a lot of people disappear for the summer months. Weekend attendance can become more inconsistent. More and more time is spent at the lake, campground, or amusement park. For many professional and family schedules, however, summer is actually a better time to commit to something important. Schedules are less crowded by extracurriculars, youth sports, and schoolwork. Vacations are pre-scheduled. For many, there are fewer competing calendar conflicts during the summer months than at any other time of year. This makes summer the perfect time to offer a 10-week Rooted Experience. In fact, for some in your church, summer might not only be the best option, but the only option to fit their schedule.
More Leadership Development
Church leaders are always in search of more volunteers to facilitate discipleship environments, serve within ministry teams, and care for the church community. Summer is a great season to invest in your current and potential leaders because ministries tend to be less hectic than in other seasons. In the fall, churches often launch programs and events for kids, students, groups, and other areas. How great would it be to invest in the spiritual lives of your leaders in the summer, setting them up to lead well in the fall? The longer days and lighter schedules can allow you to be more relational and less rushed in your time with leaders.
Many churches facilitate pilot sessions of Rooted in the summer in preparation for a fall church-wide launch. Others, already facilitating Rooted regularly, offer a facilitator-only session of Rooted in the summer. Leading a group of future facilitators through the Rooted Experience in the summer prepares them to lead their own Rooted groups throughout the year. The goal is to help leaders be healthy and have enough leaders ready to facilitate in the fall.
Increased Ministry Focus
By focusing on discipleship and discipleship preparation in the summer, you can equip your people to be ready to give their energy to welcoming, serving, and discipling in the fall as new people and families visit services. Guests often check out churches in the fall, and by focusing on discipleship in the summer, you can equip disciple-makers to be ready. The Rooted Experience and the Rooted Network Deep Dive series are great resources to accomplish this type of investment in your people during the summer months; priming people to help others pursue Jesus in the upcoming season.
Summer can be a powerful season of preparation; a time when seeds planted with care yield bountiful harvests. Take advantage of this opportunity to prioritize spiritual growth, cultivate community, and prepare for the fruit to come in the fall.
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By Chad Cronin, Rooted Network Coach