The end of the year comes like a full stop. So how do we grow ministries that build on the hard work and momentum from the previous year into the next year?

I ask this as we move to the warmer season, Christmas decorations are in the supermarkets and people are already counting down the weeks and even days till holidays. Australia really is a land where we have a clear end to one year, a good summer break and then begin again.

The problem is that this also happens in church. I am aware that God keeps working on his people and changes us by His Spirit in so many ways but much of the good work begun as we minister together is forgotten and sometimes lost when we go through the holiday period.

Just think about church weekends away. If they are held early in the year the congregation feels they know each other better and relationships develop more rapidly. The congregation can be united, working for the same goal and receive their 'marching orders' for ministry.

Weekends away at the end of the year are usually a good time with each other of relaxation, but bear little observable fruit into the new year. (I assume this is why it is hard to book accommodation up until the end of April).

So how do we carry the benefits from life together in one year through to the next year?

One simple suggestion is to recognise that in Australia the nearer you are to the end of the year, the less likely any of us are to think beyond Christmas. That being the case we need to structure our time together in preparing for what we will do together in the new year. It means we must consciously work toward a goal. Sometimes church staff or ministry teams such as Sunday School teachers go away late in the year and the time away is a great benefit because they look back and give thanks for the year, discuss what has been learnt and then look forward to, and prepare for the year to come. This preparation helps overcome the 'full stop' that the end of the year brings.

Another suggestion for approaching the tail end of the year is that as a group (church, congregation, small group) we plan and pray for a ministry we will do together next year.

I was at a missionary conference last weekend here we heard of young people joining for short term mission in a difficult country in the middle of the next year. Our group was urged to pray for, recruit, care and give now toward this goal. It is because we are committed to this task that the unity of purpose we felt at the end of the weekend will help us as we begin the new year.