This month we are blessed to be joined by Pastor Adam, DCE Kyla Rodriguez, and Poet Tanner Olson. We enjoyed a conversation about life in ministry, especially during the holiday season where many professional church workers are extra busy. During this season of hope, church workers need to hear and live this message as much as those we minister to need to hear that message. Yet, as Tanner notes, the Advent and Christmas seasons can be a time of heaviness for many people, because the recent past doesn't look like years before COVID. There is a lot of unknown and uncertainty living in 2022.
For the Rodriguez family, planning for the holiday season at their church in Wisconsin started in October. Their planning is an early Christmas celebration of the season among the staff and is a time where they seek to intentionally focus on the quality and quantity of communication coming from the church that is both in person and digitally. The Advent and Christmas seasons invite joy, and they have found that it's an opportunity where people are more open to hearing the saving message of Jesus Christ. The Rodriguez family involve their young children, tell them the reason behind their service in ministry, and invite their children to help.
With added activities during this time of year there comes stress for professional church workers and their families because of the time involved. In the Church we want to celebrate and share the Christmas message, because we are the John the Baptists of the Christmas story who prepare the way for that celebration. To help with this stress, Kyla pointed out that the activities and their success (or not) are not a reflection on you as a child of God. You can pull back because you don't have to know and do everything. Try to think about how to create stress free and low preparation activities that balance fun and the preparation/celebration. Some of these may involve volunteers who are looking for ways to serve that they may not participate in during the rest of the year. In all, lean into God and know He will give you a time to regroup and recharge after the busy rhythm of holiday ministry is over when you trust and rely on Him.
