The start of spring ushers in a great opportunity for churches to do some much needed “spring cleaning.” I have been part of a local church for almost 40 years, and the paper and digital files that we have amassed over the years has been overwhelming. I have only recently been involved in the administration of the ministry again, and it is amazing the amount of data that we have been keeping. Many are reticent for fear we might need it, but I am here to tell you … it is time to purge! Here is some guidance that has helped me to begin paring down the mountain of information that we had in our possession.

During early 2019, my home church was getting ready to celebrate our 40th church anniversary. As one of the earliest church members, I was asked to put together a church history. At first I was really excited about the challenge ahead. I had this vision of assembling a comprehensive, chronological history that included pictures and all of the notable milestones along the way.