UECF logoUnited Evangelical Christian Fellowship Church (UECF)130 Ferris Pl, Westfield, NJ
Chapter 22 of 40

Today’s Mission

Today’s Mission

smileyDay 20

The Magic in the Middle

Drudgery is the touchstone of faithfulness.

OSWALD CHAMBERS

As of today, you are two-thirds of the way through your thirty-day experiment. You have done some heavy lifting up to this point, and we’ve thrown a lot at you.

Here’s the good news: today you will not be adding anything new to your task list for this project. Instead, you will continue to work the process. We call it “the magic in the middle.” Seth Godin calls it “drip by drip.” The magic in the middle comes only after the novelty has worn off and you simply continue your “long obedience in the same direction” (thanks, Eugene Peterson).

Though there’s nothing particularly fresh or exciting about the tasks you’ll be doing in these middle-magic days, managing them well will secure the trajectory of change that got you into this thirty-day adventure in the first place.

So when you start to feel discouraged or bored with repetition, keep reminding yourself that the magic is what happens in the middle. Though novelty may be the controlling value for most people, you’re going countercultural—not doing anything new, not chasing after the latest quick fix, not adding anything to your list.

Today, you will make a little slow and steady progress.

Enjoy the magic.

Today’s Mission

  • Continue your recruiting and follow-up work:
    1. With your master recruiting documents (your needs list and your ranked pool list) in front of you, check your email to see if anyone has responded to your invitation and reply to those emails immediately.
    2. For those who have said yes, make sure their names are written in black ink on your master list.
    3. For those who have said maybe, send an email suggesting a meeting time and place for you to talk further about what you’re looking for.
    4. Hold any scheduled meetings with potential volunteers.
    5. For those who have said no,
      1. Move their names to the bottom of the pool list, under the section called “No.”
      2. Beside each name, write what role each person has said no to.
      3. Remove their names from the needs list.
      4. Place new names in the blanks left by those who have said no.
    6. Send your standard invitation email to the people you have added to your master recruiting list.
    7. Send a follow-up message to any potential volunteer who hasn’t responded to your last message in three days or more.
  • Take one more step for each of the five leader documents below, either working on the document yourself or checking in with the person responsible to complete the document in the next eight days.
    1. youth leader directory
    2. major event calendar
    3. youth directory
    4. child protection and screening forms and policies
    5. job descriptions

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