The crunch time for ministries many times occurs around holidays. As a manager in ministry, I must also remember that a holiday can also be a crunch time in the personal lives of my team. The prospect of traveling, having company, putting on a special meal, buying presents, decorating, and sundry other things related to a holiday make this time especially hectic. Remember that your ministry may also compound the crunch time by adding meetings, parties, deadlines, programs, and fundraisers all connected to the holiday. Following are a few things to remember around holidays:

Family is important—help your team enjoy their family.
Nobody has a normal family—your team may have specific burdens in regards to their family. Talk about it.
Everybody eventually needs a break—holidays are a great way to take a break.
Don’t forget the purpose of the holiday—many holidays have specific goals that can easily be forgotten in the hectic pace of the holiday.
Be flexible with your ministry schedule—don’t be afraid to cancel something like a monthly meeting in order to make room in your team’s schedule for the
holiday. Not everything has to be “made up.”