Day 7 of “12 Days Of Weekend Service New Year’s Resolutions!” Today’s resolution is “Don’t Compete With Yourself.” Our culture is inundated with marketing that says more is better. It’s not, in many cases – including church events. There comes a point where there are so many things going on in a church that the church is competing with itself. Here an example… First Church Of Mayberry becomes successful and starts adding staff and services – the staff are passionate about their areas of ministry, so they start pushing for special events to enhance their effectiveness or to support/highlight what they do. So the schedule expands to include classes, concerts, seminars, conferences, etc… Eventually support staff are overwhelmed and volunteers are burnt out – plus, there are so many events that they start being less successful. Here’s why… Let’s say our First Church of Mayberry, in the name of ministry options, schedules many, many events – however, because they haven’t been strategic, they have a Middle School family event, a parenting class and a marriage seminar, all on the same weekend. Three events aimed at least partially at the same demographic [Middle School parents], all at the same time, competing with each other for the same people…
Congregational burnout is also a very real danger. Church events and activities are like eating – you need to have some food [ie weekend services] regularly, and life is much more enjoyable when you have a night out or celebration every so often [ie special events, like the Chris Tomlin concert in the photo]. However, if you eat too much, you become uncomfortable and it may even make you sick [or at least sleepy]. Better to plan a schedule that is realistic and healthy for both church staff and the congregation.
Remember, more is not always better – better is better.
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