This week I posted a thread about the importance of pastors taking time to work *on* the church and not just *in* the church.

What does that mean? It means that there must be focused time on making the church better, solving long-range problems, and setting the church up for the future. That is working *on* the church. Working *in* the church is the day-to-day grind of meetings, counseling appointments, sermon prep, and service planning. These things happen continuously and often grow in number.

Taking to time to work *on* the church brings so much fruit.

That’s the focus of this week’s newsletter.

Actions for Different Seasons

Different seasons in the life of our church have required different times of focus from me. There have been seasons when I needed to fight for our unity and resolve conflicts that were brewing. Other times, I need to develop and add leaders to our team who could help us reach and disciple more people.

We are in a season right now that requires me to take an active approach in generating more dollars for the ministry. I meet with donors and business leaders regularly to help cast vision for our church.

1 Actionable Tip

Set aside time a few times per year to ask the question: What is the most important thing the church needs me doing right now?

The answer to this question will vary by season. It could be necessary for you to spend more time fundraising for the church. Perhaps you need more leaders developed. It could be the church needs more direction about the future.

Every pastor at each church could have different answers to this question. We share many of the same day-to-day activities and focus. But each church needs something specific from their pastor that will help them move forward.

Taking time to ask and answer this question, followed by action, propels churches forward. Find time to do this soon.

Opportunities for Next Steps

If you want help working through items like we discussed today, reach out about leadership coaching.

1. Personal Coaching. If you are a pastor interested in personal leadership coaching, reach out to john@kjmin.org and he can detail out the process and opportunities.

2. Student Minister Leadership Lab. We are excited about pouring into student ministry leaders with a practical workshop style event. Join us in Nashville August 3-4^th for coaching and practical help for leading an effective student ministry. Register here.