Episode 198: Preparing for a Storm   Here are some thoughts on how to be weather aware and prepare your facility and people.   Checking roads who does this? how long before the service? Leadership who decides if service is cancelled? Communicating closure What places do you communicate Social media/texting Local TV Local Radio Send out robo call Website designate one person to do communication   Cancelled if School cancels   in case of snow do this: clearing sidewalks greeters and helpers mop to dry up water on the floor   in case of rain do this: have umbrellas handy for greeters to help people from cars mop to dry up water on the floor   In case of tornado do this: does the church have a designated shelter? do teachers and leaders know where? Communicate to families that everyone is ok   For wind do this: some places have high winds from time to time and need people stationed at doors to hold on to the door.

We all work differently, but some of the things I have done:     1. A Word for the year     In October, I begin praying God would give me a "word" for the coming year. For instance this year was "design." I knew God was leading our association in a new direction. Just as God designed the world with intentional purpose, we need to set up our association with a deliberate design. In the past, the word has been "discipleship" or "trust." The word sets the tone for the year. For me this year is "construct." We are in the process of building a new associational model based on our new design.     2. A vision series     As a senior pastor January was a month where I would always take a Sunday to lay out a visionary message for the church. From the time I sensed I had my "word" from God, I had opportunity to examine the Scripture more closely. Since the word usually arose from my own study, that process was typically natural, but sometimes the word would lead me down a pathway of study that challenged me and surprised me. The most important part in preaching a vision series is that you can share what the church should look like at the end of the year. A vision sermon might be one week, but most of mine ended up being two to four weeks.     3. Personal Development     What are you going to do to grow yourself over the next year? Many pastors don't have an intentional plan of growth. One example I can remember is a sense where I needed to grow a bigger desire for international missions. I registered for a February conference across the country held by a church passionate about missions. By Easter, I had taken a trip to Lebanon, and my church was joining me in developing a greater passion for missions. Books, Conferences, accountability groups or cohorts, seminary or certifications...what are you going to do to develop your skills? (As the churches of DTBA, we are here to help you in this.)     4. A Challenge to be addressed     In ministry, we all grow frustrated with the infrequent attendance issues of our congregation. One year, I challenged our church to address this issue. I asked them to consider their attendance patterns and challenged them to see if greater faithfulness made a difference in their lives. For many it did. We reaped the benefits, we also felt the challenge as it was a year the enemy really attacked our church. That year I saw the benefit of addressing challenges directly. Because we were learning to face obstacles, we were able to overcome them more easily.      Contact Alan: [email protected] Contact Trent: [email protected] Facebook Website