5 Key Post-Easter Strategies to Keep Your Tank Full
Congratulations. You survived another Easter! Does the picture on the left resemble how you feel right now? I get my pictures through a service, and I typed in “exhausted,” and this picture came up. I immediately thought, “If anyone is reading this on the Monday after Easter, this is probably what they look like, or at least they feel like this! Easter can be exhausting, leaving you with an empty tank.
This Coach is thus entitled 5 Key Post-Easter Strategies to Keep Your Tank Full. The tendency after Easter is to pass out on the couch in order to rest up. Yet, if you want to keep your giving tank full, you need to continually be thinking about your generosity plans. To that end, let me share with you my 5 key post-Easter strategies.
Post Easter Strategy – What do you do the Monday morning after Easter?
Rejoice. Take a breath and simply thank God for what happened. Forget about the numbers. Forget about the stress. Focus on what you can rejoice over. What can you take away from Easter as a positive experience to rejoice over? If you can’t think of anything to rejoice over, at least rejoice that you survived!
Seriously, I want you to think of four to five things that happened over the Easter weekend that you can be thankful for and rejoice over. Don’t compare what happened to your friend across town. Did you do what God led you to do yesterday? Were you faithful to execute the call of God upon your life? Rejoice that you had a chance to represent God on what is our most important day of worship. I believe all of us can find something to rejoice over. Rejoicing is a pathway to finding new refreshments for the future. There is a future, so next…
Reflect and Review. What went well this weekend? What needs improvement? Don’t beat yourself up over mistakes but learn from them to better yourself next time. Reflecting and reviewing your Easter immediately after Easter while things are fresh in your mind is imperative.
Reach out. I know you will be tired but let me encourage you to do one last Easter offering-related thing, thank your donors. I believe you should thank your faithful donors for continuing to support the work your church is doing. Without their generosity, you would not have been able to hold the Easter you did. Is there someone who needs a personal word of thanks? Reach out to them. For more thoughts on this, see the Bonus Section.
Reboot for summer. Easter is over. Now is the time to start planning out your summer giving initiative. You know summer is always a challenging time for giving, so plan ahead of time so that you can be fully funded.
First and foremost, good summer giving plans are built around a vision. What is the vision of your church this summer? What missions and ministry will you be doing that members will want to support financially? How best can you tell your story so that people will WANT to give to support that story? The bottom line is you need a plan of action if you are going to be fully funded.
Relax. Get some rest and relaxation. The best always know how to rest and relax. Your year is not done, and there is a lot more work to be done. There is another sermon to preach, another committee meeting to attend, another…
You can’t be at your best if you are worn out. Jesus often withdrew from the crowd, so why don’t you? Turn off the cell phone. Don’t look at your email. Disconnect. Take a walk with your spouse. Go play golf or hike the mountains. My point is that you need to relax.
You can’t replay Easter. You can only keep moving forward. These five keys can and will help you navigate the week after Easter. When you are ready, I will be here to show you your next steps toward being fully funded.
One more thing, I leave to visit my daughter’s family in Germany on April 12th. I will return on the 22nd.
Get some rest, pastor. Summer is right around the corner, and we need to get ahead of the summer giving curve that will be heading your way. Your mission is too important not to be fully funded!
Mark Brooks – The Stewardship Coach
mark@acts17generosity.com
Missions and Ministry Moment (aka Offering Talk) – To access my Offering Talk Vault, go to https://acts17generosity.com/. Look for the Free Offering Talks link at the top and follow the directions. This week’s talk can be accessed afteryou register at: http://acts17generosity.com/simple-file-list/Offering-Talks/2023-53-Talks-for-53-Sundays/April-16th-Showers-of-Blessings.pdf.
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