While the holidays are the most wonderful time of year for some, others on our teams enter this season with fatigue and frustration from how the year unfolded.<\/p>\n
Disappointments vary from person to person. Maybe your church planting team or leadership team didn\u2019t meet their goals, or the person they have been sharing the gospel with is still indifferent to Christ. Perhaps the year was relationally hard, or they\u2019ve had a season of spiritual dryness.<\/p>\n
Regardless of the scenario, at this point in the year, our leaders usually need reminding of their value and unique contribution to our church and the Kingdom of God.<\/p>\n
Here are five simple ways to care for your leadership team this Thanksgiving and holiday season:<\/strong><\/p>\n Mix up your weekly or monthly rhythm, and instead of having your meeting, host a Thanksgiving meal for your team. Provide space to enjoy one another\u2019s company and reflect on what you\u2019re thankful for each team member.<\/p>\n Take a few minutes to individually thank each of your team members in a way that fits your personality. Whether it\u2019s a thank you note, text message, email, video message or phone call, your team members want to know they are valuable and the work they do for the church and the kingdom matters. A simple gesture of gratitude goes a long way.<\/p>\n Everyone loves to eat, and the holiday season is known \u2014 sometimes notoriously \u2014 for its sweet comfort foods.<\/p>\n Showing up at a team meeting and being greeted by a plate of cookies or everyone\u2019s favorite snack goes a long way. If baking isn\u2019t quite your thing or you have leaders who work at home or commute to an office, have a treat or snack delivered during the day through a third-party service.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong>Support a local coffee shop or restaurant by buying gift cards for your staff. This is a great way to encourage your team to support small businesses and to get to know business owners in your community.<\/p>\n The church planting journey holds various peaks and valleys. It takes intentionality to pause and reflect on what God has brought you through as a church and where he has led you.<\/p>\n To commemorate the year, gather pictures from major church milestones throughout the year, and create a booklet for your leaders that walks through your year as a church.<\/p>\n What were defining moments? What did God do in the life of your church as a result? This is a great way to remember God\u2019s faithfulness \u2014 and reflect with thankfulness \u2014 before the new year begins.<\/p>\n Showing any form of gratitude requires time and intentionality, but you won\u2019t regret making the extra effort to show care.<\/p>\n No matter what you do, a little bit of gratitude goes a long way. Don\u2019t underestimate how much some form of \u2018thank you\u2019 can mean to your team this Thanksgiving.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" At this point in the year, someone on your team likely needs encouragement. Here are five simple ways to care for your leadership team this Thanksgiving.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":5607,"template":"","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"content-type":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"tags":[],"channels":[],"topics":[200,240,176],"languages":[],"class_list":["post-5606","resource","type-resource","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","resource_type-article","topics-best-practices-church-planter-care","topics-care-feature","topics-church-planter-care"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n
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