Things at the church have really been taking off lately. There is so much going on I feel like I can hardly keep up. There are more Bible studies getting started, the work with the homeless is expanding, the trustees are taking on more major repairs at the parsonage, and our Katrina Mission team decided they wanted to try and raise $42,000 so they could sponsor an entire house next year when they go to do more work on the gulf coast.
It has been a full spring. Rewarding. But very full. As we look ahead to the Katrina concert, which we hope will host at least 3000-4000 people, but could host up to 17,000 based on space availability....we have a lot of work to do! Coordinating the concert will be a feat in and of itself, but we also need to coordinate after-care for any folks who attend who don't have a church home or who are looking to get involved in mission themselves or who need a small group or Bible study, or prayer, or....
All of that work is a major task. Hopefully we can do it and do it well. But to be quite honest, I feel like I am in WAY over my head! I've put on "big" events before....but that was for 300-400 people....never more than a thousand, let alone 3000 or 4000 or more! Fortunately, RS is on board and has done this multiple times, so he's helping our church chair to do the coordination....so technically I am not putting on this event. I'm not even on the committee! =) But, it is still at my church and so I need to be involved and the after-care aspects are seriously up to me to decide and coordinate.
For my clergy covenant I had said I wanted to have at least 4 new Bible study and small group leaders in the next year...not a bad goal in my mind, but if we have the potential for serious new numbers....4 is not going to cut it! So, we are doing some serious praying and planning and asking to try and get more folks on board.
It is weird to try and prepare though because I have no idea what the actual effects will be. We could have 5 new people come to the church, or we could have 500....how exactly are you supposed to make plans for that? We want to have everything ready and in place right away so that people don't have to wait for a call or a way to get involved, but that's a lot to have ready to go but on hold at the same time.
And I fear that if we don't do it well that people will fall through the cracks and we will miss major opportunities, which isn't what I want either.
On the practical side of the planning there have been quite a few planning glitches. Those are to be expected with an event this big, but they can still be quite frustrating. First was not getting the band we wanted, second was getting the band we wanted on board only to be harranged by a local promotion company that wanted in on the deal and dictated they would get 30% of the proceeds, third was moving a band we don't know and appeals to a very different generation--good, but not as excited about the music itself, fourth was having to change venues, fifth was finding out our key date at the new venue was a no-go because of a local marathon, sixth was finding that the alternative date would in no way work for me because I will have just climbed the tallest mountain the contiguous USA...so needless to say we are on plan F and still moving forward!!!
I am really excited about the concert, especially because it will be the biggest thing our church has done in a single event...ever! And it can be an amazing opportunity for us to expand current ministries and start new ones. But the next few months are going to be CRAZY as we make our way there!
Wish us luck! And send up some extra prayers!!
No comments:
Post a Comment