A few years ago our team attended a conference at Elevation Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. The preaching was fantastic. The breakouts were hit and miss. But there’s one idea that we came away with that we really liked and continue to use today.

It was this idea of a pre-service huddle. Now this may not work for every church, but I think there are more than a few out there that this could benefit.

First, let me explain what it is. The huddle is a short meeting involving a small group of people who share information.

My church has three huddles every Sunday morning that happen at relatively the same time before services begin. One involves the pastor and worship team, one involves the kids’ ministry leaders, and one involves the guest services leaders.

You could set yours up however you want.

The purpose of the huddle will help you decide who needs to be a part of it. It has three parts.

• Vision – Sharing vision is one of the most important things you and your leaders should be doing. In every huddle we share stories of what God is doing in and through our church. When we’re creating the content for the huddles, we ask three questions.

1. What do we want them to know?
2. What do we want them to feel?
3. What do we want them to do?

• Information – After we share a story that communicates the vision, we share information about the day ahead and any important events coming up. In the worship huddle, they’re covering the service lineup, when the pastor wants the band to come back up at the end, and those types of things. In guest services they may be covering something unique that we’re asking the ushers to hand out that day. In the kids’ huddle, they may be talking about a baby dedication coming up. The main thing is making sure everyone is on the same page.

• Prayer – After all the information is covered, we share prayer requests and pray together for the service and team.

The huddle meeting only takes between 5-10 minutes, but it has become so important to keep our leaders aligned with the vision.

A word of caution, if you choose to begin a huddle, you will get some pushback at the start. People aren’t always crazy about arriving an extra 10-15 minutes early for a meeting.

Don’t let that stop you. Keep at it, and hold people accountable. It won’t take long for them to see the value in it.

What are you doing to share vision in your church? Do you think it’s working? Leave a comment, and let us know. If I can ever help you, please reach out through my contact page. I’d love to chat.