Well, as much as we may have been excited to flip the calendar away from 2020 to 2021, we can all admit that 2021 has just been an extension of 2020! I do believe, however, that as we are about to flip the calendar into 2022, many pastors and churches are settling into the new normal, and ready to put their best ministry efforts forward.
As you are planning your 2022 calendar, we’ve noticed the New Year season to be one of the most popular seasons for launching and running a 40-Day Challenge. And while we have three incredible challenges to offer, we really believe Being Challenge is positioned incredibly to start the year with. Here are five great reasons to implement Being Challenge at the start of 2022!
1) People are open for change at the beginning of the year
Let’s face it! A lot of people set new goals and resolutions as a new year begins.
There are no better goals, resolutions, or habits to put into place than what Jesus calls us toward. The success behind accomplishing NY goals and resolutions (which Jon Acuff, author of Finish, says is only 8%) is those that can have just enough discipline to create new habits. Being Challenge is a book centered on discipling its readers through the 5 keystone habits of Jesus. As people are thinking about the new year and bolstering their faith, there is no one greater to learn habits from than Jesus Himself. The habits that those in your church will learn are 1) Committing to Community, 2) Studying Scripture, 3) Prioritizing Prayer, 4) Seeking Solitude, and 5) Choosing Church. Being in relationship with God is the primary target of a follower of Jesus, and so why not invest 40 days into helping give people real answers for how to grow in their relationship with God?
2) Nothing brings unity like Jesus!
The last couple of years has been ripe with division. Whether it’s due to opinions on the pandemic, masks, or vaccines, or rising racial and political battles, it’s been a challenge to stay unified. I recently heard thought leader Carey Nieuwhof say that only 9% of pastors reported no division amongst their churches in the last 18 months. As we’ve all had to learn how to cope and live in the midst of a global pandemic, it’s easy to say that this recent period has been the most divisive, polarizing time that my generation has ever experienced. The answer for how to cut through division is Jesus. Being Challenge is a study that will dive deep into the life and habits of Jesus. As we study the life of Jesus, people will find themselves immersed into not only a great model and teacher, but a great Savior and Lord. The more people experience Jesus, the more unified your church will be.
3) Bring the Energy Back into the Room (And/Or into the Zoom)
Church has gotten more complicated with many not just creating a great atmosphere to worship God in their buildings, but also creating some form of an online service as well. Being Challenge is meant to not only make your Sunday services great, but also will tie your physically divided churches together during the week with ready-made small group materials. In addition, each day will feature the same reading and offer a challenge to complete. Churches of the future will be looking for resources to not only help them have a great experience on a Sunday, but that can live with their people Monday-Saturday as well. In fact, the number one word we have heard from pastors that have completed a challenge in Covid times is “unity.”
4) A Turnkey Resource for the Whole Church
That’s right! I have a heart for helping pastors. I want each of the 40-Day challenge resources to be as turnkey as possible so that pastors can continue to give their all in other matters. Included with our 40-Day Challenges are FREE sermon manuscripts and videos, small group materials, kids curriculum, graphics package, etc. In addition, there are kid’s workbooks available to help kids not only learn, but be challenged in their faith as well. We’ve even created training videos for FREE for you to help you learn how to implement a 40-day challenge in your setting (Insert link).
5) These 40 Days will Produce Results All Year Long!
Being Challenge will teach and challenge its readers to grow in their relationship with God by instilling the 5 keystone habits of Jesus. We’ve heard countless stories of people who have completed a challenge in our books that will then go on and continue to implement the same challenges after the fact. So what can you expect? There will be people in your church as a result of this study that will commit to community (they’ll join a small group for the first time), study Scripture (they will commit to reading a Bible plan), they’ll prioritize prayer (they will start their day by praying), they’ll seek solitude (they’ll plan intentional time to spend with God), and they’ll choose church (they’ll make it a regular practice to attend the assembly of God and serve the local church). These practices will not only help each individual grow in their relationship with God, but they will transform your church.
Remember that all of our doing flows from our being! Let’s get so transformed on the inside at the start of the year that it spills over into everything we do on the outside for the rest of the year!
What are you waiting for?
Take the next step. If you are a pastor, you can request a FREE copy of Being Challenge at this link here and we will mail it to you. No strings attached. And if you decide to move forward with a church challenge, we’d be honored to work with you. We have some ready-made church packs ready to go at this link. We’d love to partner with you!
Let’s start the year 2022 bringing people back into relationship with the incredible God that we serve!
