I sometimes wonder whether the concept of "breeding season" might not be a piece of the pastoral metaphor we should adopt. In my observation, churches seem either to treat every Sunday as having an evangelistic thrust (probably influenced by the Second Great Awakening) or to ignore evangelism all together in terms of a call to personal faith and commitment. Would it be wise for us perhaps to consider that certain times of the year or special events are for "birthing," perhaps then followed by a specialized focus on nursing and then weaning the newborns, and so on. I'd be interested in hearing more about models of church life that are intentionally seasonal and rhythmic.
I like the idea of "birthing season" I thin that many churches focus on the birth but the focus is to SMALL. I think that a persons conversion experience should be celebrated in the same way a their physical birth is celebrated but even greater. The Jewish have great celebration of coming of age and becoming a man or woman in the temple. We should celebrate a person coming to faith or conversion in a great way.
In addition I think that the growth process for most church is lacking. Often times the birth is emphasized and the growth is not given much attention. We need to strongly encourage the "newborns" to become invested in the flock. As shepherds we need to encourage people to find a place where they can be mentored and grow as they become part of the flock. Often as a shepherd I think we can lose sight for the total process of growing the flock. We must help newborns grow in order for the reproduction to continue.