But that isn’t all. You must also lead your leaders in these practices, modeling how to do them together and seeking to become of one heart and mind.
If you are able to lead a small group of influential people in your church toward having regular encounters with God, the effect will become contagious. Spiritual enthusiasm and vigor will begin to appear where there was once apathy, movement and growth where there was once stagnation.
2. Celebrate the Wins, Big or Small.
As has often been said, what gets celebrated gets repeated. And what gets repeated becomes part of the culture. If you feel like a majority of the people in your church express apathy toward the things that are most important, find a way to celebrate them, highlight them, and demonstrate how God works through them. And commit to doing it over and over again.
On a continual basis, you should share stories about how serving, giving, praying, and Bible studying are changing the lives of the people who are doing these things. Be specific, and call these things out often. Always be on the look out for stories that illustrate how God is moving. Encourage your key leaders to do the same, and constantly ask them to share what they have discovered.
Every time your church has a baptism, even if it’s November and it’s the first baptism you’ve had all year and only one person signed up to be baptized, celebrate it like it’s the best thing in the world—because it is!
Whenever you hear about or see someone sharing their faith, inviting someone to church, or starting a new Bible study with friends, remind your entire church that this is the work of ministry to which every believer has been called.
Don’t be afraid of repeating yourself. Chances are, it’s only about the time that you grow tired of saying the same thing over and over again that your church finally begins to hear you.
Be excited about the things that you want your people to be excited about, and tell them why. Eventually, they’ll be excited too.
3. Appreciate This Season of Your Church for What It Is.
In the life of every believer, there will be seasons when you are absolutely on fire and enthusiastic about everything pertaining to scripture, prayer, and serving the church. However, if you’ve followed Jesus for any length of time, you know that these seasons are just that—seasons.
In between these seasons of inspiration and enthusiasm can be long periods of time when you are no less faithful—in fact, you may become even more faithful and diligent to obey all that Jesus has commanded—you just don’t have stars in your eyes or an emotional rush of passion in your heart. And that’s okay.
The same goes not only for individuals, but groups as well. Not every Sunday is going to be the best Sunday ever. And not every month is going to be the most spiritually thrilling time in the life of your church.
As a pastor, you should be okay with that too.
