Leadership Tools 5- Yearly Calendar

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It's a new year and I love thinking about all the possibilities for my life, my family, and the ministry.  
You may be thinking...Hmmm it's January why am I thinking about planning now!?! 
For me this is a great time because I have just seen how the first part of the year has gone, how the students are responding, and have a good feel on the flow of things.  I will probably make a few changes for the upcoming calendar, but thinking about next year's lessons right now helps get the creative juices flowing.  If I begin designing the calendar in the summer, when attendance drops at least in my area, then I can't get feedback from my students and my leaders are harder to get a hold of.  Everyone is on vacation and so those regular gatherings don't happen as much.  Many ministries give their volunteers a month or two off and by the time you regroup then you only have a month before you kick off the new year.  
Beginning now may seem ridiculous, but honestly I find it relaxing.  I have time to create a flow for the year, see how it all fits together, get feedback, and start gathering ideas or stories for each message.  Then the summer I can spend a week or two hunkering down and crafting messages and pulling those ideas from the last 6 months together.  It may not work for you, but it really helps me.  
My Calendar is Split into two sections.  1st section is all about Invitation.  The beginning of the school year should be about inviting and welcoming people.  As the year goes on the messages go a little deeper and in the second half of the year we move to Challenge.  These are messages that hope to move the group into some kind of action.  Does that mean that these are Solely Challenge and Invitation?!? Nope... Obviously there is a bit of both throughout the year, but that means its a main focus.  
We also ensure all of our messages flow through out the year.  We do one theme for each month and then approach it from three different perspectives. How does this relate to God? (UP) How does this relate to my small community (church, family, friends)? (IN) and How does this relate to the outside world? (Out).  Each message is different but thats how we create our focus. 
WHAT ARE THE BIGGIES?
Lets be honest, there are some things we will probably preach every year.  So below are our big ones for High School Mnistry and then in the attached document you will find how we planned the last year out.  Some of our topics we rotate out and bring in new ones.  And please please don't just recycle the same sermon every year.... Trust me my students know and so will yours.  
  1. Purpose/Identity
  2. Friends/Family/
  3. Gospel Message (Christmas)
  4. Sex/Dating/Relationships
  5. Choices
  6. Sharing Faith/Apologetics/Outreach
  7. Calling (May- great for your graduates)
HOW to THINK ABOUT THE CALENDAR
There are some usual spots to preach certain topics. Beginning of the Year is always about purpose or Identity that's what kids are struggling with the most particularly your incoming freshmen.  Christmas is all about the Gospel message please don't do sex during this time and ruin the Christmas Spirit.  Sex/Dating is in.... February.  Good job now your getting it.  And one's calling is always in May/June (depending on when your group ends) because students are graduating and summer is around the corner so don't make it super heavy but make it challenging.  What are you going to do in the next 3 months... 
Some other questions... 
What does my community rythm feel like?
Am I going to have a lot of guests for this series or is this a slow time on the calendar?
What else is happening on the calendar? 
Can I pair up a lesson with an event? (Ex Mission trip with Sharing Faith or Service Series)
What Holidays or Major community events are happening and can I incorporate them?
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