Focused and simple Ministry during social distancing

Focused and simple ministry is difficult to acheive. The temptation that every minister faces is to do too much ministry, not too little. Good ideals are driven by perceived parental expectations and our own self-pressure to minister to families in this time of stress and anxiety. Before long, the most well-intentioned minister might be spinning their wheels and nearing burn-out. Unknown to them, families are ignoring their bombardment of text messages, emails, social media posts, and porch side packages. Too much communication, too many activities, works against your ministry, not for it.

So, let’s be clear, there is nothing that you and I can do to stop the spread of the virus outside of slowing down, staying home, and practicing good social distancing. That’s it. That’s all we’ve got.

Healthy spirituality requires some of the same principals. We are called to slow down, stay in one place, and seek times of solitude (or near solitude with our families). Awareness of God’s presence is dependant on our own ability to let go of the clutter in our mind and spirit. Let’s be cautious to not rob families of this slowing down experience. We need to work with it!

How? I’m glad that you asked. Over the next few days, I will share new ideas about children’s spirituality and how you can come alongside parents in the spiritual formation of their children.

But, first, let’s talk about what you are already doing and how you are feeling about those activities. Let’s work towards focused and simple ministry during this time of social distancing (and any other time, really).

Is your ministry focused and simple?

In order to determine how you can create a ministry that is sustainable over time, you need to assess your plans. Let’s start with an activity.

First, grab a piece of paper and a pencil. Fold it in half and write on each column …

1) What am I doing each week to connect with children and their families?

2) What do I hope to do each week to connect with children and their families that I’m not already doing?

Now, fill up those columns as fast as you can go. Don’t forget to number each item.

Done? How many items do you have on your list? Three? Five? Ten? More than 10?

Second: Take a moment to consider everything that you wrote down. Sit in stillness with God as you reflect on your list. How do you feel about your commitments? And, how viable are they if social distancing extends into weeks or months?

Stay Focused On Your Ministry Vision

A ministry vision should be specific enough to give direction to your ministry, with assessable outcomes, yet broad enough that a multitude of ministry programs might serve to fulfill that vision. A ministry vision should never be a program or a particular set of activities. A program, or activities, are tools used to successfully implement your ministry vision.

Thanks to a virus, our ministries suddenly look different. Our context changed, literally overnight. It is no longer in a building on Sunday mornings but over the internet, open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The creative options are unlimited. But, are you connecting those creative options to your ministry?

How you do ministry must fit why you do ministry.

And, this is where it gets hard, as a minister you have a new opportunity to be creative. It feels as if the sky is the limit. But, it’s not.  Your time and energy, your spiritual, emotional, and physical health depends on your everyday choices.

Choose only the best activities that support your ministry vision

Staying Connected: Keep It Simple

I received an email from a ministry leader earlier this week. They several daily points of contact with children and families, so, about 10-15 items each week. In addition, they plan to send Bible class resources to the families, the church has on-line worship services, and they plan on regular social media posts.

This minister is not the only person to create such a list of activities to stay in touch with parents. Many have posted these lists on-line accompanied by statements such as, “I’m tired already.”

Keep it simple. What is your vision for ministry? How do you plan to accomplish it?

If you don’t already connect with the families in your congregations several times a day, every day, there is really no reason to do it now.

Make every communication with your church families count!

On a former ministry team, we talked often about the difference between eating at a buffet and enjoying a high-quality steak dinner. A buffet line typically offers a lot of low to mid-quality food. But, a steak dinner, now that is an offer that most of us will not refuse.

Make your ministry efforts the offer that parents cannot refuse. Unless you can create a five-star buffet of ministry connection points with the parents in your ministry, choose the opportunities that count.

Simple and Focused Community

Above all, now is the time to emphasize the vision of nurturing relationships with your church family. Talk regularly with children and their parents. Marco Polo and FaceTime, or other similar apps, seem to be the go-to choices. Let children tell you about their quarantine experiences. Invite parents to share their joy and frustrations. Find out if anyone in their circle is ill and ask to pray for those people. If you lead a large ministry, split up the list of families between your paid and volunteer staff. Don’t forget to create a follow-up protocol that refers to significant needs and concerns to someone on the ministry staff or provide counseling service information.

Stay focused and simple in your plans and your confidence will soar.