Stress & Christmas

Expand Your Impact ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ If you cannot see images, please [click here]( [Shop CTA Products]( [Shop CTA Products]( [Women's Ministry]( [Men's Ministry]( [Children's Ministry]( [General Ministry]( [CTA Advantage]( November 2021 [Stress & Christmas]( By Kristin Schultz For ministry leaders and their teams, stress and Christmas go together like ugly sweaters and parties. While December will always be busier than other months of the year, you can prepare now to better identify and handle known—along with any unforeseen—Christmastime stressors. So what is it about Christmastime that seems so much more stressful than other times? [Read More]( [Shop]( tips & trends While you cannot eliminate all the stress that you and your team face this time of year, there are some strategies you can implement to help mitigate the effects of anxiety. Communication - Evaluate your meetings and ask staff members if meeting schedules need to be amended during December. Resist the urge to cut back too much. Consistent, clear communication is key but combining meetings or scheduling quick one-on-one updates will make more effective schedules. It may seem counterintuitive, but more meetings may be beneficial during this busy time. Daily ten-minute morning meetings can keep everyone in the loop and alert everyone to potential problems. Simply go around the room and let each person share what he or she is working on that day to anticipate forthcoming challenges. - Ask staff members and leaders how they are doing outside of work. If they don’t want to share, that’s fine. You may be surprised how much they appreciate that you would take the time to check in on them as individuals and not just focus on their workplace output. - Consider a software tool for group communication. A group text could work for your team, or consider a business communication platform with instant messaging and video chat. Many of these tools come with services you may already subscribe to for email and word processing. Many of these tools are free! Planning and Scheduling - Before the Christmas season even begins, look at the December calendar. Compare it to last year’s. With all of the changes that COVID-19 has brought about, is your current slate of Christmas events still an effective use of time? Consider how your congregation has changed—grown, shrunk, people participating only by virtual methods, and so on—and make sure that the programming is appropriate. If your Sunday school program is still on pause or if children are wearing masks, is a Christmas program even possible? Use this exercise as an opportunity to identify and plan the things that will truly impact your community and do away with events that are no longer relevant. - Everyone enjoys a fun staff Christmas party, but for the sake of everyone’s stress level, postpone your Christmas party until after Christmas. Look to see what other events could be postponed until the new year. Christmas in a church is the ultimate team sport. Unfortunately, we can’t eliminate December stress. With preparation and thoughtful communication, you can help minimize stress for your leaders as they share the good news of the Baby born in Bethlehem. You are welcome to copy this article for one-time use when you include this credit line and receive no monetary benefit from it: © 2021 CTA, Inc. Used with permission. bonus And now for a little something extra. . . From articles to devotions to activity ideas and how-to lists, CTA Blog has useful resources to help you and your ministry. [Read More. . .]( [End-of-the-Year Evaluation: Are You Experiencing Burnout? by Gail Marsh]( [Read More]( [Read More. . .]( [5 Time-Management Tips for Pastors by Alison Zeller]( [Read More]( [Women's Ministry]( [Men's Ministry]( [Children's Ministry]( [General Ministry]( [CTA Advantage]( CTA, Inc. 1653 LARKIN WILLIAMS ROAD, FENTON, MO 63026, United States customerservice@ctainc.com []( This email was sent to {EMAIL} because you've subscribed on our site or made a purchase. [Unsubscribe]( | [Edit preferences](