How to Start Your Ministry Year Well

A Blueprint for Spirituality and Administration

September has arrived; can you believe it? I don’t know about you all, but I am so ready for that fall weather with cool, crisp mornings and a hot cup of coffee. Of course, living in the Phoenix area, we’ll probably have to wait until November for that to kick in!

In any case, with September comes the kickoff of the new year for many people in ministry. I have a lot of friends right now who have either started the 2026-2027 year within the last week or who will be launching this coming weekend.

Knowing this, I couldn’t help but ask myself: “What would it look like to start off a ministry year well?”

Today, we are going to stop and address two foundational pillars: spirituality and administrative organization. Honing in on these two areas will set the stage for your ministry’s execution. As we dive in, please remember that what I am sharing are possible avenues. The paths you map forward are uniquely yours. God has a plan for you, and I hope this serves as a helpful tool you can place in your tool belt.

Rooting in Spirituality

Depending on the ministry we are involved in, maybe one that utilizes curriculum, music, the liturgy, or all three, every program will look different. But some things are true across the board. The first thing, as always, is prayer.

We need to root ourselves in prayer. We are in the current work and season of our lives because we have been chosen by the Lord to be an instrument of His will. Not to use us or abuse us, but to be an instrument that elevates our dignity, even when the work is humbling. God desires to work in us and through us, but this can only be accomplished if we are open to a constant dialogue with Him.

Auditing Your Prayer Life

Take a moment to ask yourself: What are some ways that I am currently connecting with God through prayer?

• Are you rising early to spend time in His Word?
• Are you frequenting Jesus in the Eucharist during Adoration?
• Are you reflecting with the Lord at the end of the day?

If you already have practices in place that protect your time with Jesus, that is wonderful. If your prayer life is a bit more sporadic, that is okay too. Whichever the answer, the next question becomes: How can I better the quality of the prayer time I share with the Lord?

You might have Eucharistic Adoration plugged into your schedule once a week, but are you doing more talking than listening? When you prayer journal, are you also checking your phone for messages, or are you turning off all distractions? We want to ensure we are truly present so that our time with the Lord is a dialogue, not a monologue.

Discerning the Needs of Your Ministry

In praying for the ministries we have been entrusted with, we want to open ourselves to the possibilities of what God desires for the people within it. Try bringing these questions to your prayer time:

• “Lord, what are we doing together this year?”
• “Father, how do You desire to move in the lives of the volunteers, the youth, the families, the adults, the clergy?”
• “How do You desire to move in me? Jesus, I am open, show me the way.”

Ask yourself what areas of spiritual hunger and unrest your volunteers and parishioners are facing. Constantly bring this into question: “Lord, do I know what they desire? Or am I projecting what I desire onto their needs?”

Sometimes we get an answer right away; most of the time it takes a while as the Lord brings the answer together over the course of events; through a profound question from a coworker, a specific scripture passage, or a deep stir within us.

The Administrative Roadmap

Now that we have established our spiritual compass, we need the administrative roadmap that will get us there. Let’s jump into the logistics.

From my own experience as a youth and young adult minister, I found it ideal to begin mapping the new ministry year out in January prior to the year in question. Yes, I know it’s September and not January! Think of it as me giving you a huge head start on how you might want to approach planning for the 2027-2028 year.

Once you have your preset framework, like the liturgical calendar for a Director of Liturgy, or your standard Friday night 6:00-7:30 PM sessions for youth ministry; you can start breaking down the logistics. Here is how I like to approach it:

• Volunteer Meetings & Retreats: When is the ideal time to train your team? I suggest inviting volunteers to provide feedback on their availability. I found that meeting on the same day that sessions were hosted was beneficial, as volunteers had already set aside their Sunday. For retreats, the end of June or July often allowed our teams time to process the weekend before we met to cover new plans.
• Navigating Major Holidays: Keep Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, and President’s Day in mind across the board. Families tend to travel, which affects volunteer availability and event turnout. You can still plan events! For example, host a Superbowl watch party at the Church where people come for Mass, followed by a Knights of Columbus flag football game and grilling. Just keep in mind that numbers might naturally fluctuate.
• The 6-8 Week Promotion Rule: Once your timeline is mapped out, work backwards. I found that 6-8 weeks in advance was the bare minimum to promote an event to get a really good response, factoring in holiday or weekend interruptions.
• Choosing the Right Communication Channels: Who are you trying to reach? For the elder generation, church bulletins, emails, and Facebook might be best. For the youth, lean into Instagram, TikTok, and personal invitations. (Pro tip: Keep using Facebook and email for youth events because you are also appealing to their parents!)
• Organizing Material Supplies: If you are asking parishioners for donations or ordering materials for Faith Formation, organize them upon reception. Group them by lesson plans in a storage closet so they are ready to grab the week before the event.

The 90-Day Triage: For the Overwhelmed Minister

Now, if you are reading this and feeling completely overwhelmed because it’s September, you just got hired, and you have nothing to go off of; take a beat.

Working backwards is one of the best ways to lay the groundwork. Look at the overall year, mark the session dates and holidays, and then break off a chunk: just the first 90 days.

What is possible and realistic in the next 90 days? Pin the rest of the year for later (like during a fall school break when you aren’t hosting sessions). Ask yourself:

• Can we greet parishioners after Mass and invite them to our next session?
• Are we able to speak at the ambo or record a social media video with the pastor?
• Can we find at least three dedicated volunteers who can also find one more volunteer each?
• What are the core events between now and Thanksgiving?

If you map out just those 90 days, you will have the catalyst to create time you wouldn’t have had if you tried to plan the whole year all at once.

Creating a One-Stop Resource

Once you have your curriculum, dates, and volunteer meetings anchored in prayer and mapped out, how do you unify this information? You create a one-stop resource.

When I found myself expecting my son, I knew I would be MIA for three months in the middle of the ministry year. Creating this resource went from an option to a necessity. I highly recommend making both a digital document (via Microsoft or Google) to share with coworkers, and a printed binder to place in a shared storage closet.

We will be diving deep into exactly how to structure and use this one-stop resource in our next post!

Leaving Room for God

Voila! We have just empowered ourselves to kick off the next ministry year on a strong foundation.

On a closing note, as you execute everything you’ve put into writing, remember to leave room for God. If anything goes off the rails (and believe me, it does), take it in stride. The Lord knows what He’s doing, and we can always recalibrate along the way. See you soon!