Launching Something New (Without Losing Your Mind)

Starting something new in ministry isn’t just about creativity. It’s about clarity, timing, whether your energy can carry it past the first few weeks — and, yes, probably a whole lot of committees.

In this month’s expert-led Caffeinated Church workshop, Easton Davis, Canon for Communications & Evangelism in the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta, walked us through a framework for launching new initiatives — newsletters, short-form video, podcasts, seasonal campaigns — without overextending ourselves or quietly resenting the whole thing six weeks in.

For members, here are the recording and slides. But here are a few things that stuck with me.

1. If You Can’t Say Why, Don’t Start Yet.

Before you design a logo, choose a platform, launch a fundraising campaign…Can you say — in one sentence — why this needs to exist? Easton shared how Bishop Wright’s long-running devotional, For Faith, shifted its social media campaign from a static image to short-form video. Not because the original was bad, and not because they were bored, but because the algorithm had changed and the message wasn’t reaching people the way it once had.

The why clarified the what.

2. Perfect Is Expensive.

In church spaces especially, we are very good at polishing things into oblivion. We tweak. We wait. We run it through another layer of feedback, and we call it discernment.

One of the most freeing reminders of the workshop was this: if it meets your quality check, it can go. Refinement can happen in motion. Which is a lesson straight out of the best textbook I’ve ever had — my 1999 Counselor Training binder from summer camp — on the Spiral Process of Learning.

Learning doesn’t happen in a straight line. You try something. You reflect. You adjust. You try again. That’s launching. Failure isn’t the thing that didn’t go viral; it’s not paying attention to what you’re learning.

As Easton put it: Launch ➡️ Reflect ➡️ Adapt ➡️ Repeat

4. Sustainability 🤝 energy

Every new initiative costs something, including time, focus, and both literal and emotional bandwidth, so sustainability has to be a part of the conversation from the start:

• What rhythm supports longevity?

• What are you willing to let go of in order to do this well?

• What pace protects creativity instead of draining it?

The question isn’t, “Can we do this?” It’s, “Can we do this without burning out?” And sometimes, that answer changes six months in. That’s okay.

☕Are we launching this from anxiety — or from intention?

If you’re thinking about starting something new — a short-form sermon clip, a seasonal devotional, a redesigned newsletter, a podcast you’ve been mulling over for two years — I’d encourage you to watch the recording and download Easton’s slides.

Then ask yourself:

• Why does this need to exist?

• What would make it sustainable?

• What would “good enough to ship” look like?

• What are we willing to learn?

If the Spirit is inviting you to try something new, let it be an experiment rooted in clarity, paced with wisdom, and open to learning.