{"id":27001,"date":"2020-06-07T14:04:53","date_gmt":"2020-06-07T18:04:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/briandoddonleadership.com\/?p=27001"},"modified":"2020-06-07T14:04:53","modified_gmt":"2020-06-07T18:04:53","slug":"short-term-solutions-vs-long-term-strategies-to-relaunch-your-church","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/briandoddonleadership.com\/2020\/06\/07\/short-term-solutions-vs-long-term-strategies-to-relaunch-your-church\/","title":{"rendered":"Short-Term Solutions vs Long-Term Strategies to Relaunch Your Church"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspengroup.com\/cs\/c\/?cta_guid=45c38569-da92-4f3d-9917-6288f4123b81&placement_guid=96fda265-b946-48ae-903a-e26201376d72&portal_id=288364&canon=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.aspengroup.com%2Fblog%2Fpreparing-leaders-to-relaunch-church&redirect_url=APefjpFQ0PDCZy9ySbo1x-ftTeV0Htm6gQ4MM-RI5yS_PBdof9RHvmv368qdS4oyraXBHtd4zcCi6k-QR3HZkLgqWATFmr_kYUCIWaU51Cvg9WIBLkBYIbLhNocVvSoIq_0qNc6pHKHYbSU1dq5_EiYKCGnWaIJMwEsskN5qk9-ifLxq0Zg68R5Iu7mX6yX4W_rTCn54IF_dWe_4ZfWXKlfQmr1cYwmylsdXd8cLjZeXSsM3m1fFvGYMAt-C3FLSQMaJKj21zejzS0Fcg0u3dQh7jDV76NGDfXUgGWXiwVuKiMoaMNdUN4BloeTZ-FY5t93Ey5fzHQkrx1bmMhsp9CWVa6BrBJ5xGQxg6HisugR7Qh6kDNsWtnLboFiFH624Cklud8YALDvpgWJRt7mhLEPXjnSRxR9ylw&click=9f0bc9d4-6122-41f7-8275-4e188686d19c&hsutk=839c028eb67be80e87c536a42956f4ae&signature=AAH58kGtfxH3eKbON2y9L-ObisNxGeduOg&pageId=28377795207&contentType=blog-post&__hstc=18490982.839c028eb67be80e87c536a42956f4ae.1586717937028.1586717937028.1587299572422.2&__hssc=18490982.1.1587299572422&__hsfp=1961845037\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-26625 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briandoddonleadership.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/rc-key-qs-680x510-1.jpg?resize=300%2C225&ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briandoddonleadership.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/rc-key-qs-680x510-1.jpg?resize=300%2C225&ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briandoddonleadership.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/rc-key-qs-680x510-1.jpg?w=680&ssl=1 680w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>During these turbulent and uncertain times churches are facing, I am so happy we have trusted voices we can turn to. \u00a0One such voice is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspengroup.com\/church-design-builder\/our-team\/brad-eisenmann\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Brad Eisenmann<\/a>, president of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspengroup.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Aspen Group<\/a>.<\/strong> \u00a0When it comes to church building and design, there is no other group I recommend more.<\/p>\n<p>When asked about <strong>the most rewarding aspect of his job<\/strong>, Brad recently wrote, “Seeing what a truly remarkable group of people who care passionately about the work and each other can accomplish with God\u2019s blessing.” \u00a0God has certainly blessed Brad and this organization. \u00a0If your church is looking to build, renovate, or reimagine space, click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspengroup.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">HERE<\/a> and start a conversation with their team.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Recently, Brad also wrote an incredible article entitled “<em>Short-Term Solutions vs Long-Term Strategies to Relaunch Your Church<\/em>“.<\/strong> \u00a0The content was so helpful I want to share it with you. \u00a0Now onto Brad’s thoughts:<\/p>\n<p>In March 2020 when COVID-19 hit the U.S., church leaders faced the unexpected and overwhelming challenge of closing their doors. In a previous <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspengroup.com\/blog\/preparing-leaders-to-relaunch-church\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">blog post<\/a>, I touched on the <a href=\"https:\/\/forge-leadership.com\/blog\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">three stages of crisis management<\/a> that disaster response expert and founder of <a href=\"https:\/\/forge-leadership.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Forge Leadership Consultancy<\/a>, Simon Barrington, noted:<\/p>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li>Response: fast-moving, high burnout, focus on basic needs. This was primarily the stage the church was in for for the first few weeks after Coronavirus came to the U.S. We wrote about the need for churches to move into Phase 2 of the response stage of the COVID-19 crisis in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspengroup.com\/blog\/is-your-church-ready-for-a-covid-19-response-plan\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">previous blog post<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Leaders are preparing to relaunch church in their facilities. We want you to be ready.<\/h2>\n<div><strong><a id=\"cta_button_288364_0d7cdd70-f573-4c55-851b-ac696626855c\" class=\"cta_button \" title=\"Download Free PDF Now\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspengroup.com\/cs\/c\/?cta_guid=0d7cdd70-f573-4c55-851b-ac696626855c&placement_guid=161c4ccd-03f8-4a89-805f-f2933db286db&portal_id=288364&canon=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.aspengroup.com%2Fblog%2Fshort-term-solutions-vs-long-term-strategies-for-relaunching-your-church&redirect_url=APefjpEJNxXauE7NltrPE72ooc89meFU5me_6gSgE07NBRKq-BmHAf1v9TDu1Ttmh1nlZZwYJyNQFqTxknCkjqsTBaO4V5mtc9DKd_13wTcd5IhfccY-te71hd97wy76gm-0SZzlAF74V6rsGV-bQOaDhBWu-NdNmDxMR2xFuAkkkMrOysOKAONeDCcS7AU-iyJhhXKB7mMuHyMJiYI1Ay4R27RHZi-WxwrEyN_Ad5r-bMQJW6fcLfXew8A20nmoy2natP_X8_PkdRHP6G8_zdGv0bm69iniLz8URyK7AR3lXwRiBrL1M7C9Fsg_ZB4K-HfhZL0LsUuQhskS7_yz4x1XKp4tAhUM_hu_LYWK-5IBHCT4W6AdRTg&click=f301140a-3058-4d11-b8aa-909feb76e07e&hsutk=b705ab74fe48440d71fec242b1f24310&signature=AAH58kFb_998GlSXdbbQrMTkAZF72DU6jA&pageId=30133593846&__hstc=18490982.b705ab74fe48440d71fec242b1f24310.1590695129842.1591046084230.1591552376439.3&__hssc=18490982.1.1591552376439&__hsfp=2638343726&contentType=blog-post\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Download Free PDF Now<\/a><\/strong><\/div>\n<p> <\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<\/div>\n<p> <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Recovery<\/strong><strong>:<\/strong> slower-moving, higher anxiety related to trauma, grief, lack of confidence. Barrington noted, the recovery phase can actually be more stressful than the response stage. A second wave of trauma and grief often hits us after the initial phase of responding to the crisis. Proverbs 22:3 captures this dilemma: \u201c<em>The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it\u201d (Prov. 22:3).<\/em><\/li>\n<li><strong>Reconstruction<\/strong><strong>:<\/strong> Disaster mitigation (planning to ensure this doesn\u2019t happen again), retainage decisions (what we will continue doing after this is over). As the church moves into this stage, we\u2019ll need to pivot again to meet the needs of people in a post-COVID-19 world.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It\u2019s hard to know for sure exactly where churches are in the process of managing the COVID crisis today. Most are probably toggling between recovery and reconstruction. One thing is for sure\u2014leaders are overwhelmed, whether they\u2019re in the response, recovery, or reconstruction phase.<\/p>\n<p>In recent weeks, Aspen has presented several webinars on the topic of \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/info.aspengroup.com\/key-questions-to-prepare-for-a-new-season-of-ministry\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Key Questions to Prepare Churches for a New Season of Ministry<\/a>.\u201d We asked webinar attendees, \u201cWhich feels more daunting\u2014leaving the building abruptly when the COVID-19 crisis first broke out or preparing to relaunch your church as COVID-19 restrictions ease?\u201d More than 90 percent of those nearly 500 people informally polled said relaunching church is much more daunting.<\/p>\n<p>This makes sense. Churches didn\u2019t have a choice whether or not to close their doors. They had to quickly figure out how to stream services and move ministry activities online.<\/p>\n<p>By comparison, leaders say they\u2019re far more overwhelmed as they develop plans to reopen their buildings for in-person gatherings. Faced with myriad details\u2014how to manage traffic flow to keep people socially distanced, where to find hand sanitizer, how to receive the offering and share communion without spreading coronavirus\u2014churches are mired in determining short-term solutions to reopen their doors in ways that are safe, sanitary, and socially distanced.<\/p>\n<p>At the same time, churches need to lift their eyes, look out at the horizon and ask, \u201cWhat have we learned about our church in this crisis that can help us prepare for a new season of ministry?\u201d This is the driving question that prompted us to develop the resource, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/info.aspengroup.com\/key-questions-to-prepare-for-a-new-season-of-ministry\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Key Questions to Prepare for a New Season of Ministry<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Before churches jump into the reconstruction process and focus solely on short-term solutions to reopen their buildings, we want to help you think through long-term strategies to relaunch your church for maximum ministry impact.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cKey Questions for a New Season of Ministry\u201d provides a framework to help churches \u201cdeconstruct\u201d their facilities before they embark on the reconstruction process. Advising churches to deconstruct their ministry space before determining how to relaunch church facilities may sound counterintuitive coming from Aspen Group. (We are a design-build-furnish firm, after all!) Let me explain.<\/p>\n<h2>Reimagining Church<\/h2>\n<p>As we think about this crisis shifting into a new phase, it\u2019s human to simply long for a return to the regular, familiar patterns of life and connection. Regardless of what we envision as a \u201cnext normal,\u201d coronavirus has affected all of us in too many ways to ever go back to what life was before this disease hit. For churches, this means there will not be a return to ministry as usual.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s been said, \u201cNever waste a good crisis.\u201d Churches will need to think creatively and with an eye toward innovation if they are to extract every ounce of learning and new insights gained during this season of COVID-19.<\/p>\n<p>Asking curious questions is always the best place to start when reimagining a new future. And having a guide to help you process your questions will help you move from short-term solutions for reopening your church to long-term facility strategies for relaunching your church for a new season of ministry.<\/p>\n<p>Aspen’s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspengroup.com\/church-design-builder\/our-team\" rel=\" noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">team<\/a> of architects, construction experts, interior design professionals, project developers, and support staff have the tools and training to help guide you through this process.\u00a0 At the same time, we can help you develop and execute a strategy to relaunch your church to create space for ministry impact for the long-term.<\/p>\n<h2>Navigating What’s Next<\/h2>\n<p>In the days, weeks, and probably months ahead, your church will have a lot of difficult decisions to make in the midst of competing demands and conflicting opinions. To vastly over-simplify the Bible, the Old Testament teaches rules (the letter of the law), while the New Testament emphasizes principles (the spirit behind the law). In so doing, we are brought to a new and better place, a place of life. A place of heart, and of love.<\/p>\n<p>The Apostle Paul put it this way: \u201cOur sufficiency is from God, who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life\u201d (2 Cor. 3:5-6).<\/p>\n<p>This prompts us to operate from a posture of grace and respect for every church as you move into a new season of ministry with so many unknowns. Aspen stands ready to wrestle hard questions, explore options, and help you navigate this incredible era of disruption.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re ready to help you evaluate your church facilities and create design solutions to adapt your ministry space according to your local government\u2019s COVID requirements and, most importantly, in a spirit of caring for one another.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post--single-cta\">\n<div class=\"post--single-cta-desktop blogcards-palm-visuallyhidden\"><span id=\"hs-cta-wrapper-96fda265-b946-48ae-903a-e26201376d72\" class=\"hs-cta-wrapper\"><span id=\"hs-cta-96fda265-b946-48ae-903a-e26201376d72\" class=\"hs-cta-node hs-cta-96fda265-b946-48ae-903a-e26201376d72\" data-hs-drop=\"true\"><a id=\"cta_button_288364_45c38569-da92-4f3d-9917-6288f4123b81\" class=\"cta_button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspengroup.com\/cs\/c\/?cta_guid=45c38569-da92-4f3d-9917-6288f4123b81&placement_guid=96fda265-b946-48ae-903a-e26201376d72&portal_id=288364&canon=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.aspengroup.com%2Fblog%2Fshort-term-solutions-vs-long-term-strategies-for-relaunching-your-church&redirect_url=APefjpHrf_e-IIsD2UHI5sk6l-H2ppEuwodjjJn3sB-zCejMrpdLyvQJWBuRuzIYIn2AXvIhJbrOp98DDTVpIgabthcZmSXdyxHMdcNc4TX97rbrhi6zR1P3cahD1wwC5BwO-mEgAbTGlLCJO65fAZhAfcLeg7_tdrHUAWSPLKP3qedVvBkQ3KJXFX5tribxXEt7hJYnLmKVOv3h-4IiwTh4qrstiuLXa4T-wElS06cMXePEHBsq7aERR0kcacJzF1I5Qrw54esQY_KPDLGe6zF7JCOb1KrC5mwjY4hJGWhZKe3iRzjThIT7GMWMbW6ukAawtQWVhwIATRbwClDnDXxa6Arvso4D6_SQFM4-6Lt0Rep7I6QlGpI&click=fdeb84c3-93cc-41ad-8644-0f053ecf6665&hsutk=b705ab74fe48440d71fec242b1f24310&signature=AAH58kHwl3W3turr7_dCH54rcWtPbnIrKA&pageId=30133593846&__hstc=18490982.b705ab74fe48440d71fec242b1f24310.1590695129842.1591046084230.1591552376439.3&__hssc=18490982.1.1591552376439&__hsfp=2638343726&contentType=blog-post\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"hs-cta-img-96fda265-b946-48ae-903a-e26201376d72\" class=\"hs-cta-img \" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.aspengroup.com\/hs-fs\/hub\/288364\/hub_generated\/resized\/84bb3b5b-70b7-48db-95fc-dc937b7aa823.jpeg?ssl=1\" alt=\"Relaunch Church Key Questions to Prepare for a New Season of Ministry\" \/><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>During these turbulent and uncertain times churches are facing, I am so happy we have trusted voices we can turn to. \u00a0One such voice is Brad Eisenmann, president of Aspen Group. \u00a0When it comes to church building and design, there is no other group I recommend more. When asked about the most rewarding aspect of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26625,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"nf_dc_page":"","iawp_total_views":4,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[902],"class_list":["post-27001","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-church-leadership","tag-aspen-group"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briandoddonleadership.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/rc-key-qs-680x510-1.jpg?fit=680%2C510&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/briandoddonleadership.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27001","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/briandoddonleadership.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/briandoddonleadership.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/briandoddonleadership.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/briandoddonleadership.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27001"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/briandoddonleadership.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27001\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27003,"href":"https:\/\/briandoddonleadership.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27001\/revisions\/27003"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/briandoddonleadership.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26625"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/briandoddonleadership.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27001"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/briandoddonleadership.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27001"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/briandoddonleadership.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27001"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}