900 words - less than 3 minutes
(Part one of a four-part series on the issue of time.)
Those attending the legacy series of webinars (see notice below) will know that there are two types of time in any change initiative. Chronos, think hours and calendar, and Kairos, the intangible and qualitative aspect. In two weeks, I will write more about these distinctives.
Why does this matter?
Breaking out of monthly and quarterly thinking can be a challenge for many boards and congregants, but figuring out your church's seasons and planning towards those periods will yield a better result.
When working with church leaders in my Storycrafting for Church Strategy Process, we address how the church functionally looks at calendar time in a given year.
Every church has 52 weeks, though 2023 will have 53 Sundays. Lead Pastors tend to think in terms of those 52 Sundays.
Most large businesses think in terms of QUARTERS. There are reports due, taxes to file, and initiatives in 13-week segments. That thinking can also infiltrate churches. Many curriculums, Volunteer assignments, and programs can be divided by quarterly emphasis. My experience is that for churches, that can get clunky.
Some churches organize on a September to August cycle, roughly equivalent to a school year. In these places, church officers, children's program promotion, and finances organize on that cycle.
Businesses and MOST churches think in a different season cycle. Most have three or four seasons, but they don't correspond to the business calendar.
(Illustration By Meinolf Wewel - Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22032475)
Why is this important?
A proper understanding helps leadership teams frame their other components well to focus their planning, energy, and focus for each season.
THREE season churches operate roughly into:
"Winter/Spring" – January through Mother's Day or Memorial Day – Roughly equivalent to an academic semester. Some "kick-off" the second January Sunday, and the end is a bit flexible. This is the season in which churches are focused on the spring things. It includes Lent and Easter. For some, it ends with school-ending rituals.
"Summer" – begins either the Sunday after Mother's Day and ends with school starting in the fall, which varies by region, or Labor Day. This season includes outreach events such as Children's Bible School, Summer camps, Seniors trips and has a high priority of events targeting younger constituents. It also includes mission trips, mission activities focus.
“Fall" is the season between school starting and the end of the year. For some churches, it begins in mid-August. Others it is the Sunday after Labor Day weekend. Many churches start new initiatives and program cycles.
School systems have a similar calendar. Small service businesses and some seasonal businesses do as well, though they often shift datelines.
What about a Four-Season Church?
FOUR Season churches insert a short emphasis season in the above pattern.
The most popular option is the Christmas/Advent Season. For church planning purposes, that season begins in mid-November and runs until the end of the year. The ministry program looks different than any other season. There are outreach events, mission experiences, musical events, and focused programs that would occur in no other season of the year. This can be a significant season for many churches. We plan and prepare for it differently than the "fall" season.
With proper planning, this season can include a break in "regular programming" but a big emphasis on outreach via events and ministry.
Option two is for those with a particular JANUARY season each year, such as a 21 day or 28 days fasting and prayer season. In these churches, there is an everyday focus on casting vision for the new year through prayer and fasting. There is no other programming except daily calls to prayer and weekend experiences in some.
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Article continues….
Are their Five-Season Churches?
A few churches do the Advent short season and the January short season, stretching the program thinking to "five seasons." Or combine the two windows into a fourth distinct season.
If you follow the thinking between three and four seasons above, one notes that the number of weeks looks slightly different each year. Each season provides some unique opportunities that sync with other parts of the cultural context. This article is for U.S. readers, but other readers can adapt to their context and national holidays.
When we do plans in the Storycrafting Process – we want to outline our emphases, initiatives, and tactics to how the church's natural seasons are often arranged. This usually means changing staff evaluation, budgeting, and other administrative details from a calendar/corporate mindset to a season mindset.
It also impacts a church when I work with them on Senior Pastor Smart Succession. We want to sync certain activities and announcements, when feasible, to the church's natural seasons and context.
When we carry this thinking through, we begin to consider ideas like the best seasons to onboard new staff, conduct significant change projects, campaigns, and even schedule vacation time!
Application:
What are our natural seasons here at our church?
What will they be like next year if we put specific dates on them?
Are there any organizational issues that will interfere with the season or seem out of place?
In part two, we will look at Series, Sprints, and Campaigns and how they fit with seasons.
P.S. I know some of the seasons thinking has resonance with those that follow the liturgical calendar with seasons like Lent, Advent, Ordinary Time, Pentecost, and other seasons. For many traditions, these work well. They are meaningful and relevant. However, they seem anachronistic to those not raised in those traditions and systems.