It seemed like it would never come, but it is finally here. Downtime. Our two biggest events of the year, Christmas and Easter are finally behind us, and we are now faced with several months of ease and luxury. OK, maybe that's an exaggeration. In fact, it probably doesn't even feel much like downtime at all. This is when we try to recover, but we know we still have a bunch of mini-events to prepare for: Mother's Day, Father's Day, Independence Day, summer events and let's not forget those regular weekend services that tend to come around with surprising regularity.
I have found that downtime doesn't really happen unless you make it happen. Although I am sure that you still have plenty of things to occupy your time over the next several months here are a few ideas of things that may be worthwhile for your ministry.
Equipping Volunteers
Hopefully you were able to pick up a few extra volunteers over the holidays, but even if you were unable to now if a good time to host some training. Training tends to get neglected during the busy seasons of our calendar. Volunteers tend to jump in and just learn on the job, while that is a great way to get them involved they can end up missing out on some critical pieces of the puzzle.
This is also a great time to show appreciation to your team. This can be as simple as sending them all a postcard thanking them for serving or maybe you could break out the grill and cook up some burgers and dogs and have a time of fellowship with your team during these warmer months.
Spring Cleaning
Hopefully you are more organized than I am. If I get a new piece of equipment during a busy time of the year I tend to wrestle it into place and get on with more “important” things. As a result, wires are left dangling, manuals are strewn around, and the system looks like it was assembled by a baboon.
This is a great time to go through your system and make sure everything is neat and tidy. Replace old and worn cables, label things that should be labeled, dust off those control surfaces, and make it look like we actually know and care about what we are doing. Depending on the complexity of your system this can take anywhere from a few hours to several days, but it will be rewarding to see everything neat and in its proper place.
Seek God
The last two suggestions that I made are fine, but probably the most important thing that you can do over these upcoming months is to seek God for direction in the future. Did you know that God knows everything there is to know about technical ministry? Just ask him! Ask for guidance and wisdom and He promises to give it to you.
Matthew 6:33 (NIV) But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
How are your personal disciplines going? Things like prayer, Bible reading and fasting. Did they get neglected during all of the hustle of the holidays? Now is time to make those things a priority. Set aside a few minutes each day for prayer and reflection on Scripture. Commit to reading at least a chapter of the Bible each day.
Consider fasting a meal or even a whole day every week.
You will be more effective as a production director when your life is aligned with this King that we have been celebrating. It is easy for us to forget that this risen Lord is not just for the congregations that we serve, but He is also for us.
