NATILIE Moments II

On summer vacation I read Jim Collins book The meaning of a life. Collins introduces a simple concept he calls NATILIE moments. The acronym stands for: Not All Time In Life Is Equal. In leadership we can delve this statement by understanding the general season we experience, knowing the rhythm of our year and then knowing the rhythm of our days and weeks.

In the last Tom’s Take, we looked at seven seasons of leadership. Knowing our season helps us know our assignment. In this blog, we are going to look at the rhythm of our year in the parish and what it tells us about our assignments.

Not all times throughout the year are equal or the same. Even though there are 52 weekends in a year some are more important than others. Below are some important weekends and dates to keep in mind. They are important milestones in the year.

Fall Kickoff

Choose a weekend when summer ends and kids are back to school to kick off the year. It helps set the tone for Fall and reignite people’s interest and investment in the parish after the summer months. Use this weekend to remind families about your kids and student programs. Tell small groups to start getting back together again. Encourage volunteers who have taken the summer off to start serving again. On this weekend you want to create energy and have some fun: inflatables for kids, corn hole, sweet treats you give away. Pump up the energy on your campus.

The weekend you choose for kick-off will depend on your community. The biggest factor for most places will be when kids go back to school. Schools in the South start in August so kickoff should be sometime in August. At Nativity, we always do our kickoff the weekend after Labor Day.

Stewardship Weekend

Each year have a Stewardship Weekend in which you celebrate your parish and invite members to make a financial commitment in the year ahead. Celebrating your parish and sharing its impact is just as important as asking people for a commitment. You want to make people feel good about the parish and what is being accomplished. The whole staff should be present and invest into this weekend since giving funds their salaries. Create some fun elements to this weekend as well. We usually create a fun video and treats we give away.

Christmas Eve

I understand this is an obvious one. However, it is important we look beyond just managing the crowds, but looking at it at an opportunity to reach unchurched and de-churched people in our community. We motivate the people in our pews to make invitations and to serve to create a welcoming environment for the many guests and visitors we will have.

Pre-Lent Spiritual Campaign Kickoff

In January/February you need a weekend where you get your parish on board for your Lenten journey. Easter and therefore Ash Wednesday (February 10, 2027) falls very early this year.
We already have it scheduled for the weekend of January 9 and 10. On that weekend we will be launching small groups and giving out a free copy of our book Jesus, the Rich Young Man and the Meaning of Life. We would love to have you join us in this Lenten plan. It is going to challenge the people in your pews to grow as disciples and plant seeds to grow in giving.

We have created homily drafts, small group videos, a campaign guide and other resources to help you use the book for your parish’s Lenten journey. You can get a free chapter of the book at rebuiltparish.com/book and check out free resources at rebuiltparish.com/richyoungman.

Lent brings the biggest attendance of the year and our best opportunity to go deeper in their faith.

Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday is bigger than Holy Week and the Triduum. Easter Sunday morning is your biggest opportunity to reach unchurched people in your community. It is the most important message we have. The mortality rate is 100 percent. Everyone will die, but everyone connected to Jesus will rise.

Mother’s Day Weekend

One last opportunity is Mother’s Day. Again, it is a great opportunity to celebrate moms and to reach their unchurched families. We do little things on Mother’s Day to both honor moms and to reach their kids.

In some ways, focusing on these important dates each year can maybe sound like a lot, but I hope you see these as milestones in the year that mark progress. It’s about getting up for these big moments. Do the work and the preparation for these moments and it will move the needle in your parish in a big way this year. And the goal for these moments is not that you have to go from 0 to 60. Just get better at these special weekends. Do them well. Put a little extra, or if motivated, a lot into those weekends and you will see the difference in your parish.

There is one other important date to put on your calendar: May 3 and 4, 2027. Come to the Rebuilt Conference and get personally restored and refreshed. Bring your team!

Our staff and volunteer ministers will pour into you in ways that no one else will. You will feel love and noticed in a way no other conference does. Full Stop. Over the last year I have been to three different conferences and none of them have poured into me the way I know our volunteers and team pour will into you.

You will also connect with other parish leaders. The conference is by parish leaders for parish leaders. Iron sharpens iron. There is no other conference where you will have the chance to talk with likeminded people who love their parishes and want to succeed. At the conference you will learn from others - and they will learn from you.

You can register for the conference at rebuiltconference.com

Rooting for you,
Tom