Work in Season

Farmers know the seasons of nature - there are planting seasons, growing seasons, harvesting seasons, and sometimes  the lull of the time between seasons.
Churches have seasons as well - seasons of natural growth, seasons  of little growth and even seasons of decline.  These seasons, like the farmer's natural seasons, often come on a regular cycle - like Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter.  Learn your church's seasons and learn to work within them.
Here are our typical seasons (if we can establish typical in 4 years):
Winter = Growth.  Usually starts mid-January and runs through late Winter.
Spring = Plateau.  
Summer = Decline in Early Summer.  We lose most of our Mercer students and families begin their vacations.
Summer II = Growth in Late Summer.  By the end of summer vacations end and we usually grow enough to make up for the Mercer students we lost in Early Summer.
Fall = Big Growth as school starts back and college students return.
Fall II = Plateau with December decline as students head home for the holidays.
and then we begin again!


Plan according to your seasons.  Plan sermon series starts that take advantage of newcomers - like Fall or Winter.
Plan events or a sermon series that may help to prolong seasonal growth - we're doing the Real Marriage series right after Easter to tray and capture or maintain our Winter growth and perhaps push through Spring's normal plateau.


Here's a BIG one - PLANT in the right season!  If you are sending a group out and desire growth at the established location and the NEW location, plant in a good growth season.  For us that is early Winter or Fall.
We did this when we planted in Warner Robins... planting with the start back of local schools and colleges.  The result?  Our established site, downtown, sent out 50 to Warner Robins and gained almost that many back the very next week.


Know your seasons.  Work in the right seasons, doing the right seasonal things!