We hear a lot about momentum in ministry. But do we really understand what we’re hearing? To really harness the power of something, you must understand it. To harness the power of wind for sailing, you must understand principles about how a sail works. In the same way, in order to harness the power of momentum, we must first understand what it is.

I have experienced momentum in my ministry, only to let it slip away and vanish. I didn’t harness it because I didn’t understand it. Yet even though I didn’t understand it, I could “feel” it. I know you know the “feeling” of momentum too; it’s tangible.

When a sports team begins to score points and make up the deficit – they have momentum. And everyone – players, coaches, and fans – can feel it. When your ministry team experiences a big win, there is a sense of momentum. You can “feel” it. But what are we really feeling? What is momentum?

Momentum is the shared experience of a vision becoming reality.

We set goals. We have a vision. We work towards them with our teams. And when we achieve a victory in this process, we share an experience – the experience of momentum. It’s the moment in time when everyone in your organization realizes that you are actually moving towards your desired end. Everyone sort of looks in each other’s eyes with the thought “hey this is really happening! Right now. Let’s finish it!”. So football teams with momentum go on to score and win. Executive teams with momentum move their companies to the top. Ministry teams with momentum accomplish amazing spiritual goals.  A shared experience of a vision becoming reality. That’s momentum.

Understanding what momentum is can help us harness it. When I experience the “feeling of momentum” with my team, I know that it is a shared experience – they are feeling it too. And I understand the feeling is coming from the fact that we are achieving our goals. So how do you keep momentum going? How do you harness momentum?

1) Acknowledge the achievement – help them understand that the feeling comes from achieving the vision

2) Re-cast the vision – use the moment of confidence (we actually did this!) to move the group forward to continue achieving

Doing those two things intentionally will help your team harness the power of momentum.

What about your team? How do you harness momentum for them?