RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

For most children's ministries, it is also time to decide how you are going to spend your budget money for the new year. 

This is not about how large or small your budget is. It's about what percentage of your budget you will invest where.

Whether you have a large budget or a small budget, you must decide how you are going to allocate the budget money you have been entrusted with.   

What will you spend your ministry budget on this coming year?  Programs?  Events?  Outreach?  Milestones?  

Here's what I believe about this and what I do with the budget I have been given. 

I spend a large percent of my budget on volunteers.  I believe the wisest investment you can make with your budget is in your volunteers.  

Here's why.

Without volunteers, you have no children's ministry. The success of your children's ministry rises and falls on the strength of your volunteer team. Plain and simple. That's a fact. 

If volunteers are a high priority for you, then your budget should reflect this. 

A couple of weeks ago, I gave all of our volunteers a handwritten Christmas card with a Starbucks gift card in it. It ended up costing several hundred dollars. But it made a statement to my volunteers.  I value you.  I honor you. I care about you as a person. I believe you are a difference maker.  I thought of you. 

It was the best ministry investment I could make during the Christmas season.  

Remember this...where you spend your budget money reveals what you think is valuable and important.

Spend your budget money getting ministry shirts for your volunteers. 

Spend your budget money giving your volunteers small gifts at strategic times in your ministry calendar. 

Spend your budget money feeding your volunteers well at training meetings. 

Spend your budget money giving your volunteers a small gift on their birthday. 

Spend your budget money having coffee with your volunteers. 

One of best team members I ever had was one of our nursery coordinators. Every time I went to the nursery to check on things, I saw smiling, happy volunteers. Every room always had volunteers in place. I asked the coordinator what her secret was. How was she building such a strong volunteer team?

Her answer? She saw herself as an airlines stewardess. She went room to room encouraging and checking on each of her volunteers while they were serving. She brought them drinks and snacks.  And not just any snacks. She had a list of her volunteers favorite snacks and she cooked these and brought it to them.  She also gave her cell phone to all of her volunteers and told them to always feel free to call her if they needed anything.

Of course, I was thrilled with how she was spending her budget money.  

Any money you spend on volunteers is a win. 

What will you be spending your budget money on this coming year?   

2026 is just around the corner. I am sure you have started preparing your calendar for a new ministry year. 

Here are some tips that I use to plan my ministry calendar. 

Buy a big desk calendar. 

Spread out the months of the calendar on a table or other flat surface. This will enable you to see a physical copy of the whole year that is coming. 

Go through and start writing in ministry dates on the calendar. 

What do you need to write on the calendar for January?  February?  March?  

Write in recurring program dates like mid-week programming, Sunday morning Bible studies, etc. 

Next write in the dates for your milestone events such as salvation classes, baptism classes, parent and child dedication, etc. 

Then write in your big events like camp, vbs, trunk or treat, etc. 

More tips:

Make sure you are collaborating with the other ministries in your church. Show them your calendar and make sure there are no events on the same day. You don't want to have two big, competing events on the same day. An example would be avoiding a VBS volunteer training on the same date as a women's ministry event.  Plan together with other ministries to avoid silos when it comes to calendar planning.

Remember that less is more. Don't over plan your calendar.  You can do a few things with excellence or you can do a lot of things mediocre. Sometimes the best thing you can put on your calendar is eraser marks.  

Stay open to change.  The calendar shouldn't drive your ministry.  The ministry should drive your calendar.

Just because you did something in the past doesn't mean you should be doing it now. Take a hard look at everything you are doing.  Is it effective?  Are kids and families attending this (people vote with their feet)? Is it helping you reach and disciple kids and families?

Don't get stuck in the past. Be willing to change things that are not working. 

Plan out your entire year. You should always strive to be a year ahead on your calendar. Of course, there are occasionally a few exceptions to this that are out of your control, but the goal should be to stay a year ahead.

Start with the end in mind.  Where do you want to see the kids at spiritually when the year ends?  Your calendar should provide steps to seeing this accomplished. What do you want the kids to know about God and His Word at the end of the year?  Your teaching calendar should take them to that.

These simple steps can make your ministry calendar planning a lot less complicated and less stressful. It will also help your ministry be more effective. 

Your turn. How do you do your ministry calendar planning?  Share your thoughts and insight with us in the comment section below.

You've probably heard this before.  

"Everything rises and falls on leadership."

It is so true. 

Do you want to have more leadership influence with the team you lead?

Do you want to see the ministry you lead grow and flourish?

Are you looking for someone who can help you get to the next level as a children's ministry leader?

​Do you want someone who will personally invest in you and your ministry?

​Are you looking for someone who can help you navigate the challenges and struggles you are facing?

​Dale Hudson, one of the leading voices and leaders in children's ministry, can help you grow as a children's ministry leader. Whether it's your first year or fifteenth year in ministry, he can help you and your ministry get to the next level.

​Much, if not, most of ministry wisdom and knowledge cannot be learned in a college classroom. Dale's coaching is grounded not in theory alone, but in proven, hands-on leadership experience. For the past 36 years, he has personally built and led some of the fastest-growing, largest children's ministries in the country.

​ADVANCE Children's Ministry Coaching includes:

• 6 months of coaching. Next available session runs January to June of 2026.

• Monthly group coaching call. Live, one-hour sessions on the important topics listed below. Each session includes teaching and group discussions. You will have the opportunity to ask questions and discuss the topics with Dale and the other leaders in the group. Sessions are also recorded so you have access to them later.

Teaching includes...

• Self Leadership

• Leading Staff and Volunteers

• Leading through Changes and Challenges

• Keys to Growing a Ministry

• Creating a Dynamic Children's Ministry Culture in Your Church & Partnering with Parents

• Staying Relevant in Children's Ministry

Personalized growth plan: Personal one-hour phone session with Dale to help you identify areas of growth and development. From this, Dale will help you create a one-year growth plan in those areas. Includes identifying your personality traits, strengths, weaknesses and blind spots. Plan includes developing a personal mission statement, key books to read, guided growth conversations to have with key people in your life, action steps, setting goals and helping measure progress. There is also a one-hour follow-up phone session at the end of the year to access and celebrate your growth.

Copy of 8 of Dale's books: ($114 value)

• If Disney Ran Your Children's Ministry

• Leading Well in Children's Ministry

• The Formula for Building Great Volunteer Teams

• Fertile Soil...see kids' faith grow and flourish for a lifetime

• 52 Devotions for Children's Ministry Leaders

• Be Our Church Guest

• Legacy...Leave Your Mark On This World  

​How can you be selected to be a part of Advance? Complete the application at this link.

Upon acceptance, Dale will contact you with the next steps.

Spots fill up fast. Apply today. Deadline to register is January 15, 2026.

More questions? Email me at dale@buildingchildrensministry.com.

Hi.  I am Dale Hudson and I'd like to ask you some questions. 

How do you want to be remembered after you are gone?

Do you want the impact you had to continue helping and blessing others in the years and decades to come? 

We all want to leave a legacy of some kind. We want to know that we have made a difference in the short time we have here on earth.  We want to know that our time and efforts helped those who crossed paths with us. I'm sure we share this in common.  We want to be able to put a stamp on the future.  We want to know that our serving investment made a difference in the lives of others.

The older we get, the more we begin to think about this. We begin analyzing our life and seeing if our priorities are reflecting this.

I want to leave a legacy.  I want to invest in and help those who are coming behind me and those who are currently surrounding me to be successful.  We only get to live our life once, so we must be intentional if we want to leave a legacy. There are those who live their life casually and then there are those who strive to leave a legacy. 

Do you want people to talk about you and your work long after you have finished your course?

Do you want the impact you had to continue helping and blessing others in the years and decades to come?

Do you want God to use you to help other people grow and flourish?

Do you want your legacy to resonate for generations to come?

        If that’s you…then I wrote this book for you. Step by step we will discover how to leave a legacy.  You don’t have to be rich or famous to leave a legacy.  In fact, most people who leave a legacy are just ordinary people who make the decision to live their life with purpose.

Yes…you matter.  Yes…who you are matters.  Yes…what you do matters.  Yes…you have the potential to leave a legacy. Are you ready to leave your mark on this world?  Then let’s get started. I want to set you up to be a difference maker.  God is ready to use your life to do something incredible.  Get your copy today and watch what God does in your life. You can order your copy at this link.