About The Episode
In this episode, we explore the power of intentional church calendar planning to build momentum and maximize impact in your ministry. Your church calendar can be one of your greatest assets, but too often, we miss out on growth opportunities by failing to plan ahead or aligning our teams with our strategy.
Welcome to Episode 030 of The Unfair Advantage Podcast with Mike Hickerson and David Hibiske.
Insights From David
- Natural Church Growth Seasons: Learn how to identify natural peaks in attendance and engagement—like January, Easter, and back-to-school seasons—and harness them for growth.
- Creating New Growth Seasons: Discover how to create new momentum moments with special events like “At The Movies” or block parties.
- Principles for Calendar Planning:
- Stack the Dominoes: Align events and sermon series to build momentum from one to the next.
- No Dead Ends: Ensure every event leads to the next step, creating a clear path for your congregation.
- Strategic Sermons: Plan your sermons intentionally around attractional, growth, and doctrinal needs.
- Leverage Dates for Progress: Use key dates as deadlines for projects and goals.
- Practical Calendar Planning Steps:
- Know your community’s school calendar to plan around natural rhythms.
- Create a “Big Rocks” calendar that includes outreach weekends, key events, and ministry launches.
- Plan message series that meet felt needs during strategic times of the year.
- Integrate comeback events following every growth season.
- Strengthen your church’s connections and assimilation systems to retain growth.
By paying attention to your church calendar and aligning your team, you can move from stress to success. Start planning now to finish the year strong and step into the vision God has for your church.
Episode Links
- UA28 – Align Your Ministry Plan to Your Vision
- UA23 – Setting the Tone for a Great Weekend Experience
Do ministry together! Three gatherings, nine planters, one cohesive journey. Check out the Ascent Leader Church Planter Cohorts. Get more information today at: https://theascentleader.org/cohorts/
Who Is David Hibiske?
David Hibiske is the Pastor of Strategic Ministry Initiatives at Saddleback Church, located in Lake Forest, CA. He’s a husband, dad of three amazing kids, and on his time off he loves backpacking and exploring outdoors. Prior to Saddleback he was able to be a part of two church plants, and is passionate about helping ministry leaders reach their potential.
Sponsors
Thanks to our sponsor: Generis.
A generous church is a healthy, growing church. So, if you’re ready to advance your mission, visit Generis.com/getstarted today!
Our goal with the Ascent Leader and our church planting cohorts is to help church planters win early and finish strong. We want to resource you so that you can avoid common pitfalls and simple mistakes. Being involved in a community of leaders like our church planting cohorts is one of the best ways to wrestle through these questions. We’re here to help you, if we can be of assistance to you please feel free to reach out.
Contact our team: ops@theascentleader.org
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