Celebrating Wins: Reflecting on the Season’s Impact

Have you ever wondered why we often rush from one event to the next without taking a moment to pause and celebrate? It's a common cycle, especially in ministry, where Christmas services seamlessly transition into Easter planning. Join me, Todd Rhoades, as we explore the untapped power of celebrating victories, big and small, during the hectic holiday season. Discover practical ways to cherish these moments, drawing inspiration from biblical wisdom and the simple act of gratitude. Let's break the cycle and learn how to reflect on the incredible impact our efforts have, while acknowledging the divine presence in our work.

In this final episode of our series on navigating the Christmas ministry marathon, I invite you to take a step back and truly treasure the season's wins. Whether it's gathering your team for a heartfelt debrief, sharing stories of God's work, or simply sending a thank-you note, recognizing accomplishments can invigorate your ministry. We'll talk through the importance of celebrating personal milestones, too—like stepping out of your comfort zone or conquering a challenging task. Let's commit to savoring these precious moments and remind ourselves, and our teams, of the why behind our hard work. Tune in and be inspired to celebrate the journey as much as the destination.

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:08

Hi there, welcome to the Healthy Church Staff Podcast. My name's Todd Rhodes. I'm your host. Thanks for joining me today on this final episode in our series on navigating this Christmas ministry marathon. We've been talking about how not to burn out, how to remember our why, how all of the busyness has a purpose, and today we're going to wrap up by talking about something I think we need to do more often. I've mentioned it often on this podcast, and it's celebrating wins, how to reflect on the season's impact. After all the hard work and the planning and the late nights, it's easy to move on, and we do this all the time in the church. It's easy to move on to the next thing without taking a moment to appreciate what's been accomplished.

Speaker 1: 0:53

Today, I want to encourage you to pause and reflect and celebrate the wins, big and small, from this Christmas season. If we're honest, once the Christmas services are over, it's a huge temptation just to breathe a sigh of relief and pack up all the decorations and move on to planning the next event. We usually take a week off and then start Easter plans right according to when Easter hits, but if we don't take the time to reflect and celebrate, we miss out on seeing all the ways that God was at work. One of the most rewarding things about ministry is watching how God uses our efforts, even the smaller ones, to make a big impact. Maybe you saw some new faces at your Christmas services. Maybe you heard a story from a member about how a message resonated with a friend that they brought. These types of things are worth celebrating and taking time to acknowledge and making them a great way to remind your team about the why. We talked about the why yesterday, of why you do what you do. There's a really beautiful moment in Luke 2, verse 19, where it said but Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. I love that she didn't rush past the moment, she took it in and she reflected on it. And that's what I'm encouraging you to do as the season wraps up in a few weeks. Before you move on to the next big thing, take a moment to treasure what happened, what God did, to reflect on the ways that God showed up and to celebrate those wins with your team. So here's your bottom line today and here's the beautiful thing you don't have to wait until after Christmas to do it.

Speaker 1: 2:38

Christmas is not the be-all, end-all. There are things that God is doing right now in your preparations. As you dig into all of your Christmas plans, you're going to find some wins. Take time to celebrate those wins. Gather your team, share stories, acknowledge the impact, how God's working what you've accomplished together Doesn't have to be big, doesn't have to be a formal event. Just have it be a quick debrief, maybe meeting, maybe a few thank you notes, maybe a simple group email highlighting some of the things that have been accomplished and some of the things that God is doing, even in your preparations leading up to Christmas. And don't forget to celebrate your personal wins too. Maybe you pushed through a particularly stressful moment. Maybe you checked a big thing off of your Christmas to-do list. Maybe you stepped out of your comfort zone to try something new during this season and this preparation time. Those are worth celebrating as well.

Speaker 1: 3:30

I'd love to hear about your wins at this Christmas season and what your plans are. What are some of the highlights that you're celebrating? Shoot me an email. Podcast at chemistrystaffingcom. Share your story. I'd love to hear those. They're always an encouragement and an inspiration to me.

Speaker 1: 3:45

And if your church is looking a lot of churches at the end of the year new budgets, new year, looking at different plans for bringing new staff on or building into their current staff. If there's any way that I can help you in my work at chemistry staffing, I would love to do that. We are here to help you build a strong team and if that means finding a new staff member, if it means helping build health into your current team, I'd love to talk to you about ways we can partner together. Again, you can reach out to me anytime at podcast at chemistrystaffingcom.

Speaker 1: 4:20

Thanks for spending some time with me today and this week as we've looked at this busy season. I hope it's been at least a small part of encouragement and support to you this week during this busy season. Remember your hard work is not getting unnoticed, it's making a real difference. So take a moment, celebrate your wins and let yourself enjoy some of the fruits of your labor and the things that God is doing in your midst. Thanks so much. I appreciate you. We'll be back here next week, right here on the Healthy Church Staff Podcast. Hope you'll join me.