The health of a team is often shaped in moments like these, before pressure enters the room.
You did it. The new year is well underway, and the Christmas service crunch is behind you. I hope your Christmas services went well and that you’ve had at least some opportunity to rest and reset.
I’m also aware that Easter is probably your next thought. Even though it’s a bit later this year, it’s not that far away, so I’d like to offer some wisdom on how to make the most of the time you have before your Easter services are upon you.
First, take a breather if you can.
Easter isn’t until April, so hopefully you’ve still got a little margin in early February to take a breather before starting Easter prep in earnest. Take advantage of that time.
Preparation without urgency creates clarity.
Obviously, you have a job, so you’re not just going to sit around, but this would be a good time to deep clean some booths, reorganize your backstage area, or tinker with something new you’ve been thinking about. In the Church Production world, those are the activities that are life-giving.
It’s also a great time to check in with your team. Get coffee or breakfast with some team members and see how they’re doing. Ask them about their personal lives and offer some pastoral comfort. After all that, ask how they’re feeling about the production team and see if they have any ideas for improvement.
Second, start at the end and work backwards
When it comes time to start prep, have whatever meetings you need to have to capture the vision of your Easter services. Once you know what the final product is, you can then start working your way backward, week by week and day by day, until you’re at “today.” Now you know your first step to accomplishing the goal.
With that, schedule your Easter team early. You’ll want the right people locked in, so reach out to them early and save yourself the stress of not having the right team members in the right places for such an important service.
Third, give it away
This is probably the hardest part for most of us because we take extreme ownership of our work, but we need to understand the fundamental call of our work. Perhaps surprisingly, it’s not simply that we need to produce great services. The Apostle Paul said it a little differently:
“...he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ…” (Ephesians 4:11–12).
Quiet seasons are easy to dismiss and costly to ignore.
We are called to give the ministry away whenever we can. The world might call this “delegating,” but for us it’s passing on that spirit of ownership to trusted people on our team.
So ask yourself who on your team is ready for more ownership and then support them. Bless them. Commission them.
Even now, months beforehand, I pray your Easter prep and Easter services are stress-free and full of joy, because that’s what Easter is about—rejoicing in the new life that God has given us through the resurrection of Jesus.
