Calendar Priorities
Recognize the fact that a church calendar reflects its priorities and its strategies. If we say that worship, community and service are important, then the things we do and the events we schedule will reflect that back to our church and community. That’s where strategic planning gives ways to calendar planning.
5-5-2 Rhythm
Settle on a ministry planning schedule that matches your church and community context. In most situations, it makes sense to plan and strategize around the school year—or “ministry year”—since this rhythm matches the practical realities most families experience with kids, schools, vacations and work schedules.
The natural follow on is thinking incrementally and cyclically about ministry year strategy. Consider a 5-5-2 planning calendar:
- Fall Growth Cycle – 5 Months, August-December
- Spring Growth Cycle – 5 Months, January-May
- Summer Season – 2 Months, June-July
Fall Growth Cycle
Experience and observation validate the typical trajectory of church attendance over the yearly cycles. Strong lead-in months in the Fall and Spring gradually fade to less-strong months at the end of cycle.
In the Fall, August is back-to-school month and marks the usual kick off of new plans, events and initiatives. September and October are strong months before the holiday season arrives in November and December. This 5-month cycle is the first major opportunity for significant numerical growth.
Spring Growth Cycle
The second opportunity is the Spring Cycle, once again starting with New Year’s Resolutions and the “halo” effect in January and February. This gives way to Easter in March or April, followed by an end-of-school exclamation point in May. Once again, this 5-month cycle has potential for significant quantitative growth.
The last two months of the ministry year are also important for church growth, but in a different way. This period often corresponds to a wide range of NextGen camps, retreats and outreach events like VBS. The summer months offer an important window for qualitative spiritual growth and discipleship.
Recognize the wisdom of dovetailing growth initiatives and strategy to match the natural rhythm of the calendar. Use these calendar synchronization tools to plan growth cycles, map theme Sundays and outline milestone events that contribute to a defined growth strategy and match the rhythm of the calendar.