TOP TEN WAYS TO SPARK MOMENTUM

“Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”
—Romans 12:11-12 (NIV)

One of the issues we talk about in our network on a regular basis is momentum. Paul tells us to create and keep momentum, zeal, fervor in our ministries. It’s not a suggestion, it’s a responsibility. The direction the ministry takes—regardless of the circumstances—is the responsibility of the leader.

At a recent Church Planter Cluster Karl Roth did a great job of defining momentum: “Momentum equals the attitude of the leader plus the atmosphere of the organization plus the accomplishments of the people.” (I’d suggest you contact Karl for his notes.)

But how does momentum get started? How does momentum happen? We can feel momentum. We can even see it. In a ball game one team is cruising along, all of a sudden the momentum shifts, and the other team has the hope. We see it in a relationship. Things are pretty bland between two people. Then boom, something happens and they start dating and they are an item, they are on a roll. An organization or church is rolling along harmlessly, stagnating, maybe even declining. Then it turns. All of a sudden it has this incredible energy behind it.

What happened? What created the momentum?

It’s really not very complicated. Momentum begins or changes because one simple thing happened: Somebody made a play.

An interception, a homerun, a three-point basket--someone makes a play and momentum is sparked.

Okay, someone has to make a play. But how do we do that in the church? What are the plays we can make that turn things around? I’ve been ruminating on that question for a while and have come up with my top list of plays for sparking momentum in a church:

1. Hold a Major Giving Emphasis
“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
--Luke 6:38 (NIV)

The number one way I’ve seen momentum come to a church is through some sort of giving promotion. The pattern is: God moves, we move, God moves. God has already blessed us with a ton, but when we give back to him, he opens the floodgates. I’ve been involved in numerous giving campaigns, vision times and most recently, an “everybody tithe day” and God seems to move amazingly after each faith and financial commitment we make.

2. Plan a Big Day
“Jesus replied with this story: ‘A man prepared a great feast and sent out many invitations.’”
--Luke 14:16 (NLT)

Putting together some big event--at the church, on a Sunday (or whatever day you meet) is a great way to spark momentum. Advertising, invitations, special guests and big-time promotion can turn momentum in your favor. There are some natural big days: Easter, Christmas Eve, maybe Mother’s day, but we can also plan big days at other time that ignite momentum.

Sure, attendance will drop from the big day numbers, but we most certainly will be ahead of where we were. I suggest always having that next big day event on the calendar.

3. Multiply Leaders
“And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.”--2 Timothy 2:2

When we expand our leadership base, we expand our potential and expand our momentum. Bringing on a new staff member can encourage enthusiasm. Even adding leaders to the depth chart in any ministry can generate hope.

(Note: We offer a one-day conference that focuses more in depth with these top three keys to momentum called, “Excellerate.” The next “Excellerate” event is scheduled for September in Hunstville, Alabama--stay tuned to the GHC website for details.?

4. Find a Better Location
“Then I said to them, ‘You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins and its gates have been burned with fire. Some, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace. ..They replied, ‘Let us start rebuilding.’ So they began this good work.”—Nehemiah 2:17-18

Moving to a better meeting location can be an enormous boost to momentum. The key is “better location.” Moving to a similar or worse location doesn’t help! Research suggests we have six weeks in the new location to show folks that it is better than the old one…But this can make a giant difference in the life of the church.

Building a new worship center can immediately cause a 20-30% spark in attendance as well.

5. Add a Service/Site
“Jesus said, ‘As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.’”—John 20:21 (NIV)

Adding a second service will generally add at least a 15% increase in attendance. It is similar for adding an additional site. Of course, issues like critical mass and staffing are critical when expanding services, but this is a great play for momentum.

6. Celebrate Wins
“And he said to them, ‘I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.’”-- Luke 10:18 (ESV)

When Jesus sent out his disciples, he gathered them together again to celebrate what God had done through them. Often we are so focused on the next thing that we haven’t stopped to celebrate the victory.

Here are a couple ways to celebrate wins: 1. The Team Party (See last month’s article) 2. Frequent Testimonies. We try to have at least one testimony--usually in an interview format--each Sunday at our church. God is moving, we can miss it if we don’t stop and celebrate.

7. Have a Baptism
“One day when the crowds were being baptized, Jesus himself was baptized.”--Luke 3:21 (NLT)

There is something amazingly powerful that happens in a baptism service. I cannot explain it. But momentum happens. So the more public the baptism--the more people we can get to see it, the more powerful the enthusiasm.

8. Hold a Prayer Emphasis
“The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.”
--James 5:16 (NLT)

When we get a lot of people praying that something good would happen, typically something good happens. Some of our GHCN Church Plants are incredible at holding church-wide prayer and fasting campaigns of 21 days or 40 days. We have done major prayer emphases in our church during our giving campaigns. James says prayer prodices wonderful results. It is a great play.

9. Launch a New Ministry
“See I am doing a new thing.”--Isaiah 43:19 (NIV)

Sometimes starting a new ministry in the church: youth, children’s, small groups…can be the play that sparks momentum. We use Grand Openings every time we move, start a new service or even start some new ministry. We have found that people in our culture like Grand Openings. People who would never buy a new car go to the Grand Opening at the new car dealership to get the hot dogs and free stuff. Openings work.

10. Community Outreach Events
“Making the most of every opportunity.”—Ephesians 5:15 (NIV)

Doing something for the community: buying backpacks for everyone in the local elementary school, serving at a city festival or parade, opening your doors to alternative sentencing folks, providing uniforms for a local sports team can often be the spark the church needs. Being outward focused--giving--leads to God giving us positive momentum.