RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

Looking for some pre-service games that will help kids connect and have fun while they're waiting for service to start?

In a recent article, we talked about the trend of using more hands-on, old school games instead of video games for this. 

Kids love simple, interactive games that help them connect with the leaders and each other. 

Here's 8 fun games that we're using for pre-service fun.

CHECKERS

DOMINOES

FOOSBALL

GIANT STACK CUPS

HULA HOOPS

CONNECT 4

JENGA

CHALK ART

What pre-service games do you provide for kids?  Share some ideas with us in the comment section below.

What causes a leader to stop growing?  In this infograph, we share 10 reasons.  Are any of these currently hindering you from growing?
If you'd like a copy of this infograph as a .jpg, you can email me at dalehudsoncm2@gmail.com.

In a recent article, we shared that only 20% of parents are actually engaged in their child's spiritual growth.  This is based on the assumption that it parallels parent's involvement in their child's academic growth at school.

Here are the percentages of engaged parents.

• 20% engaged
• 57% indifferent
• 23% disengaged 

Let's look at 5 more keys to engaging parents in their child's spiritual growth and seeing the 20% increase in your ministry.  These are based on another study that asked parents what would motivate them to get more involved.

Key #1 - Leadership
Parents are looking for leaders who are in touch with the needs of their family and can provide them with helpful pathways and resources.  How can you find out what those needs are?  Ask them.  One way to do this is to regularly host a parent focus group.  You can get more information about this here.

Key #2 - Commitment to Teaching God's Word
Parents are seeking churches that are committed to teaching their children God's Word.  They want their children to be challenged to grow spiritually.  When parents see their child is excited about what they learned at church, they're be more likely to engage with them at home.  Think about ways you can more effectively communicate with parents what their child is learning.

Key #3 - Safety and Security
Seems an odd one for this list, doesn't it?  But in an era when 30% of parents worry about their child's safety, parents are focused on this.  Parents are more likely to engage when they feel confident their child is safe and secure in the environment.  Think about ways you can more effectively communicate and demonstrate the safety and security measures you have in place.

Key #4 - Personal Relationships
Parents are looking for a children's ministry where the staff and volunteers know their child individually.  When a child is connected to a caring leader who knows them personally, not only does the child become more engaged, but the parents as well.  Cast vision with your volunteers about this.  Help them see the vital role they play in engaging parents and provide them with pathways to do this.

Key #5 - Communication
Communication must move beyond an occasional email or newsletter.  Parents want meaningful communication.  They are looking for feedback about their child.  Feedback that invites them to become actively involved in the child's spiritual growth.  Think of ways you can provide parents with a "spiritual report card" so-to-speak for their child.
 
Research shows when you do at least 1 of these 5 keys well, 58% of parents become fully engaged.  When you do all 5 well, 84% of parents become fully engaged.  Consider each of these keys, work to improve them in your ministry and you will see an increased percentage of parents engaged in their child's spiritual growth.

Have you noticed how Jesus walked toward the messiness of people's lives?

He walked toward the messiness of Zacchaeus' cheating.

He walked toward the messiness of the broken marriages of the woman at the well.

He walked toward the messiness of the immorality of the woman who was about to be stoned.

He walked toward the messiness of Peter's betrayal.

He walked toward the messiness of the publican's sinfulness.

He walked toward the messiness of Saul's hatred and unbelief.

When the Pharisees asked Jesus why He walked toward the messiness, He replied by saying...

“It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.  But go and learn what this means: I desire mercy, not sacrifice.  For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”  (Matthew 9)

If you truly want to minister like Jesus, you will have to walk toward the messiness.  You will walk toward the messiness of couples living together unmarried.  You will walk toward the messiness of people struggling with addiction.  You will walk toward the messiness of people ensnared by immorality.  You will walk toward the messiness of people in financial upheaval.  You will walk toward the messiness of couples going through divorce.  You will walk toward the messiness of unbiblical worldviews.  You will walk toward the messiness of people who have made terrible decisions.  

The church is meant to be a spiritual emergency room...not a museum.  An emergency room is messy.  An emergency room is chaotic at times.  An emergency room can be intense.  An emergency room goes through life and death situations.  An emergency room constantly pushes you out of your comfort zone.  An emergency room is not for the faint of heart.

But it's where healing happens.  It's where hope is found in the midst of heartache.  It's where lives are saved.

The Pharisees criticized the messiness.  The Pharisees condemned the messiness.  The Pharisees walked away from the messiness.  That's why they got so upset with Jesus.  He walked toward it.  Join Him.  Walk toward the messiness.  That's where the miracles happen! 

Did you know that families today take on average, a week less of vacation than they did in 2000.

42% of Americans say they have not taken a single day off in the past year.

22% of parents admit it's been over a year since their last family vacation.

39% of parents have unused vacation time available.

85% of parents say they could take off more time to spend time with their family if they would.

Americans are working 11 more hours a week than they did 36 years ago.  That adds up to roughly 3 extra weeks of work per year.

And our kids are noticing.  Our "always-on" habits are reshaping our children's lives.

75% of children say their parents don't fully disconnect from work when they are home and over 80% of kids have noticed their parents bringing work stress home with them.

Kids with parents who check in with work most days are twice as likely to say their parents come home from work in a bad mood compared to kids with parents who never check in after hours.

Parents who regularly check in with work after hours are also more likely to have stressed-out kids, by about 20 percentage points.  About one in five kids say their parents do after-hours work from home almost every night.

Does this mean parents are spending less time with their kids?  Not necessarily.  But it's what they're doing with the time that is concerning.  Much of the time is spent in front of a small screen called a smart phone.

Interestingly enough...a study of Disney parks was done to figure out what kids found the most absorbing at the parks.  Was it Mickey?  Cinderella's castle?  Splash Mountain?  No.  It was their parent's smart phones.  Because their parents were always staring at them, the kids wanted to as well...even while surrounded by all the sounds, sights and attractions of a Disney park.

It's not just how much time parents spend with their kids, but what they do with the time as well.  Staring at the screen of a smart phone won't have the same result as doing something together with the smart phone put aside.

Kids also notice when their parents miss important events.  60% of kids say their parents have missed events like school plays, sports games and awards ceremonies - even major holidays - for work.  58% of kids can detail the last activity their parents missed.

Yes, a busy parent might say that today's kids seem to have an endless number of award ceremonies and that many schools don't seek to accommodate parents' work schedules.  But...we must keep in mind the stats of the available days off that are not used. 

The tension...we're not only telling our kids by example that working all the time is acceptable, we're creating a new norm for the next generation.  And it will only get worse.

So what should we do?

Encourage parents to use their vacation time.  And finances doesn't have to be a determining factor.  Kids don't have to have an all-expenses paid trip to the Caribbean.  When surveyed, the most popular activity mentioned was simply joining their school field trip.  Kids just want to spend time with their parents.

Encourage parents to put down their smart phone when they're spending time with their kids. 

"Get off the grid and spend time with your kid."

Encourage parents to put down their phone and make something happen.

Encourage parents to use some of their vacation time to be part of events in their child's lives.  Don't let vacation days go unused when you can use them to attend school events, field trips, award ceremonies, plays, sports events and more.

The time we miss out with our kids can never be reclaimed.  Let's make it count.

Jony Ive, Apple's design chief, worked closely with Steve Jobs.  The two execs were very close both professionally and personally.

Jony said Steve would ask him the same question every day.

The question was...

"How many times did you say 'no' today?"

Ive says much of Jobs' success was due to the fact he stayed fully focused on whatever he was working on.  In Jobs' opinion, the more "no's" you said, the better.  Jobs taught him in order to have extreme, laser-like focus, you have to be willing to reject a lot of opportunities, even if they sound great.

The discipline to turn your back on something you believe in passionately so you can apply yourself to what's at hand is really remarkable.  It's a deeply uncomfortable but really effective thing to do.  -Jony Ive

Jobs followed this very advice himself back in 1998 when he shrunk Apple's product line from 350 to 10.  So instead of creating 350 crappy products, or 200 mediocre products, or 100 good products Apple focused on creating 10 incredibly designed products.

People think focus means saying yes to the thing you've got to focus on.   But that's not what it means at all.  It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are.  You have to pick carefully.  I'm actually as proud of the things we haven't done as the things I have done.  Innovation is saying 'no' to 1,000 things.  -Steve Jobs

It's easy to fall into the "yes" trap in children's ministry and fill up your calendar and plans with a lot of good things.  But if you don't say "no" to those things, it can keep you from saying "yes" to what you really need to focus on.

How do you determine what to say "no" to?  In this post, I share questions that can help you decide.

If your ministry is struggling, one reason could be you're not saying "no" often enough.  

One of the most critical areas of your ministry is guest services.

People decide in the first 8 minutes if they will return or not.  This means you have to make a good first impression quickly.

Here's a FAST way you can help guests feel welcome in the first 8 minutes.

Equip your guest services team with this simple tool and you'll see more guests return and get connected to your ministry.


If you'd like a copy of this as a .jpg, feel free to email me at dalehudsoncm2@gmail.com.

Here's a list of the 20 largest children's ministries in America for 2015.

Though size and growth are not the only signs of spiritual health, they are important indicators.  Anything that has life grows.  God tells us to go out and compel people to come so His house will be full.  You can't reach empty seats.

There is much that can be learned from these children's ministries.  I would encourage you to click on their links and check out their websites.

Though these churches are reaching tens of thousands of kids and families, they're just scratching the surface.  There are still millions of people across the country who need Jesus.  That's why every church, no matter the size, must go all out to reach kids and families.

1. Waumba Land, Upstreet and Kidstuff at Northpoint Community Church
2. Highland Kids at Church of the Highlands
3. KidSpring at NewSpring Church
4. Amazing Kids at Gateway Church
5. Promiseland at Willow Creek Community Church
6. Saddleback Kids at Saddleback Community Church
7. Southeast Kids at Southeast Christian Church
8. CCV Kids at Christ Church of the Valley
9. Crossroads Kids Club at Crossroads Church
10. CFKids at Christ Fellowship Church
11. Kid-O-Deo and Elevate at Eagle Brook Church
12. Second Kids at Second Baptist Church
13. Planet Kids, Gravity, The Edge and The Ride at Woodlands Church
14. Summit Kids Ministry at Flatirons Community Church
15. eKIDZ at Elevation Church
16. Kids' Ministry at 12 Stone Church
17. Port Mariner's Kids at Mariners Church
18. Kingdom Kids at Mt. Zion Baptist Church
19. Family Christian Center Kids at Family Christian Center
20. Rock Kids at Rock Church

*This list is based on the 2015 Largest Churches in America report by Outreach magazine.

Congratulations to Lisa Whisnand.  She is the winner of the New Storybook Bible for Kids.  Lisa is the Children's Ministry Coordinator at Bethel World Outreach Church in Olney, Maryland.

Thanks to everyone who entered the drawing.  We will be giving away more resources soon.  Stay tuned.

Do you need more volunteers in your ministry? 

If so, you're invited to attend a free online conference that can help you build a dynamic team.

Join me on Monday, October 26 at 3:00 pm (GMT) for the live session "10 Simple Secrets to Building a Dynamic Volunteer Team."

In this one-hour session, I'll share 10 principles that
can help you build the volunteer team you need.

These are proven principles that work.  We've used them at our local church to grow our volunteer team from 300 to over 2,600.  These principles will work in any size ministry and help you grow your team. 

You can register for the conference at this link.  Space is limited, so register today.

How old does a child need to be before they can enter a relationship with Christ?  Is there a specific age?

While there's not a specific age that a child must be to become a Christ-follower, there are some key indicators that can help you discern if a child is ready or not.

Does the child understand abstract concepts?  Normally a child can understand abstract concepts around the age of 7.5 to 8.  In other words, the average four-year-old will think you mean a real bridge when you say Jesus is the bridge back to God.  But when a child understands abstract concepts, they will grasp this as simply an illustration and will connect it to spiritual truth.  

Does the child understand what sin is and realize they have sinned?  Some call this the "age of accountability."  The child must clearly understand that they have sinned and are need of a Savior.  Before you can be "saved" you must first understand you are "lost" without Christ.  The age of accountability is different for each child.  For some kids it could be at age 6.  For other kids it could be at age 9 or 10. 

Does the child understand what Jesus did on the cross?  The child should have a clear understanding of why Jesus came and the price He paid on the cross for our sins.  The child should move beyond just "Jesus died on the cross for me" to understanding that Jesus died on the cross to pay the price of the sin bill we owe.

Does the child understand how one enters a relationship with God?  The child should understand that we enter a relationship with God by asking Jesus to be our Lord and Savior.  They should know we are saved by grace through faith and not by works.

Is the child persistent?  A good sign that God is working in a child's life is the child initiating conversations about it.  The child will begin bringing it up without being prompted.

Want vs. Need.  Do you sense the child "wants" to make a decision or "needs" to make a decision.  There is a difference.  "Want to" can come from being coerced or by seeing other kids make a decision.  "Need to" comes from a sense of the Holy Spirit's drawing.

Instead of doing large group "salvation prayers" invite kids to a class where you have time to clearly explain the Gospel and can talk with them individually.  Have parents attend the class with their children.  It is vital to partner with parents during this process.  And the cool thing...as you do this you will see parents come to Christ as well.

We have created a class called Starting Point that we use for this.  We have seen hundreds of kids and parents go through the class and make a solid decision to follow Christ.  It is available for your ministry at www.buildingchildrensministry.com.

When a child begins asking questions about following Christ, it's an exciting time.  What a privilege we have to share Jesus with children.  But we also carry a responsibility to help children understand what that means.     

Family Ministry...it's been a buzzword in churches for well over a decade.  It's restructured the way many churches staff, caused conferences to spring up, birthed curricula and books, created apps and caused countless churches to shift their programming to a new paradigm.

The family ministry philosophy has influenced churches to turn more of their focus on equipping parents to lead their children spiritually.  And that's a good thing.  It's Biblical.  It's strategic.  It's much needed.

I'm a big proponent of the family ministry model of ministry.  In my local church, we champion this and go all out to help parents make the hours they spend with their kids during the week a time of intentional discipleship.  We also provide experiences inside and outside the walls of the church for parents and children to grow in their faith together through teaching and serving opportunities.

Lots of tools and resources are being used by churches to encourage parents to lead their children spiritually...but the nagging question that we all think, but seldom ask is this.  Is it working?  Are parents actually using the tools and resources we're working so hard to create?  Are the take home papers ever actually used?  Do the apps ever get opened on parents' phones and tablets?  Are parents really being influenced to have spiritual conversations with their kids during the week?

As far as I know, a definitive study has never been done.  But there is research that I believe can give us the truth.  And it's found in how parents engage with their child's school world.  You see, I believe that parents' engagement in their child's school world parallels their engagement in their child's spiritual world.

I know it's an assumption, but I believe it's a very valid assumption.  Bottom line...parents' engagement in their child's school world reflects their involvement in their child's other activities as well.

That being said...let's examine the facts.

One in five parents are fully engaged with their child's school.  That's 20%.  Correlate that with parents' engagement with their child's church experience and it means about 20% of parents will engage and use the tools and resources you provide for discipling their kids.

When it comes to parents engaging in their child's world across the board, there are 3 categories they fall into.  

• Fully engaged parents are emotionally attached and engaged with their child's church experience.  They extend what their child learned at church into the home during the week.  They are the ones who use the materials and resources you provide.  As stated above, this group represents 20% of parents.

• Indifferent parents are emotionally and rationally neutral.  They lack the positive energy that is found with fully engaged parents.  You might see them occasionally engage when you offer a big family event or special program, but that's the extent of it.  They rarely use the weekly resources and tools you provide.  This group represents 57% of parents.

• Actively disengaged parents are emotionally detached from their child's church experience.  Spiritual growth and conversations are quarantined to Sunday morning and not mentioned the rest of the week.  The extent of their spiritual engagement is no more than dropping off and picking up their child at the classroom on Sunday.  This group represents 23% of parents.

Though it may be frustrating that such a low percentage of parents are fully engaged, parental engagement is not fixed.  It is something that church leaders can intentionally measure and improve over time.

And it is worth our time and effort.  Drawing from the school parallel, we know that children whose parents are fully engaged will experience more meaningful spiritual growth.

So the big question we must ponder...how do we move parents from the actively disengaged category to the fully engaged category?

First, we must emphasize the spiritual benefits.  We must help parents see that when they invest time in their child's spiritual growth, the impact is exponential.  This means constantly casting vision for the positive results of parental involvement.

Secondly, we must set expectations.  No...we can't force parents to move up in the categories listed...but we can communicate expectations.  Parents won't meet expectations that we don't set in place.  We must consistently encourage parents to become more involved in their child's spiritual development.

Thirdly, we must provide clear steps.  We must guide parents to specific steps they can take to lead their child spiritually.  Parents, can't take steps they can't see or don't understand.

Fourthly, we must communicate effectively so parents can hear us.  Parents are bombarded with information all day long...just as you are.  If your message is not brought to the forefront, it will quickly be drowned out by the noise of the hundreds of other messages coming at them.

How can this be done?  The starting point is asking the question, "How do parents communicate?"  The answer is technology.  Let's again glance into the parallel of parents involvement in their child's academic world through technology.

Studies show that most parents use technology to check their child's grades and academic progress.  This enhances parents' communication with their child and with their child's school.  Studies show it also improves children's performance and grades.

Let's follow this logic into the church world.  What if parents could use apps or other technology to access reports about their child's spiritual growth and progress?  Would this result in online spiritual growth tools actually being used by parents during the week?  I believe it would. 

For this to be a viable option, parents would need technology that is simple and easy to use.  A short training video tutorial to introduce and explain the tool to parents would be immensely beneficial and greatly increase participation.

Who will step up and create this technology for the family ministry world?  I believe it can be groundbreaking.

Fifthly, we must invite parents into their child's world at church.  Parents can't extend into the home what they don't understand or know about.  When you involve parents into their child's world at church, you open the door for...

• Strong relationships between parents and church leaders.  When parents know that a real, breathing person cares about them and their child, they will be more likely to engage.  A piece of paper can't look a parent in the eye with love, encouragement and support.

• Clear understanding of what their child is learning and needs to focus on.  When parents see and experience what their child is learning, it provides common, fertile ground for spiritual conversation seeds to be planted in during the week. 

This can be done by asking parents to attend their child's class a few times a year and by provided shared worship / teaching experiences on a regular basis.

Concluding thoughts...
Family Ministry is an essential ministry philosophy that is vital to seeing kids and their families grow spiritually together.  After a decade of different strategies, we continue to search for tools and resources that are actually used by parents and are effective.  Tools and resources that will help us move parents out of the 80% category into the 20% fully engaged category.  

The floor is yours.  What are your thoughts about family ministry?  Is it effective?  Not effective?  What is working for you?  What is not working?  How do we engage parents more effectively?  What ideas do you have for tools and resources that could be groundbreaking?  Share your thoughts with us in the comment section below. 

We live in the age of "selfies."  Everyone feels the pressure to promote their own personal "brand."  But when it comes to leadership...does the selfie model work?  Or does a "usie" model work better?

Did you know the experience you give guests on their first visit is the single most important factor in seeing them return?

Let's define guest experience.  Guest experience is the sum of all the interactions a family has with your ministry.  It includes everything from the family's first awareness that your church exists to the totality of their first visit.  The critical moments during this time are touchpoints.  The touchpoints all add up to create the family's guest experience with you.

Here's 3 keys that will help you create an amazing guest experience for families.

Key #1 - The guest experience is everyone's responsibility.  Everyone the family interacts with is part of the guest experience.  Their experience will not only be shaped by the greeter at the door, but also by the person at the classroom door and everyone else they encounter along the way.

If you want to give guests a great experience, train not only your greeters and check-in team, but your people at the classroom doors and other key people guests will encounter as well. 

Disney has developed a great strategy for this that can be summed up in this statement.

While no one owns the guest, someone, in every case, owns the moment.

Everyone must be made aware of this and own the moments they interact with the guest.

Key #2 - The guest experience is shaped by everything the guest encounters.  You can have a great first-time family check-in process, but if they encounter a smelly, dirty bathroom it will negatively affect their experience.  You can have great hallway signage, but if the pick-up line is long, it will again cast a shadow on their experience.  Look at your guest experience holistically. 

Key #3 - Understand your guests.  If you want to meet the needs, wants and emotions of your guests, then you must know what they are.  Be intentional about identifying these and then create a blueprint for meeting them.  When you truly understand your guests, then you can truly give them a great experience.

I am often asked by younger leaders, "How do I lead people who are older and more experienced than I am?"

Now that I'm in my late 40's and have been leading for over 26 years, I don't face that situation quite as often.  But I can definitely relate to it.  Seems just yesterday, I was a young leader interacting with people who had been doing ministry longer than I had been alive.

Looking back, here's some tips I wish I'd known.  I trust it will be a help to younger leaders who are reading this as well as older leaders who want to encourage the next generation.

Create teamwork through collaboration.  Since you are younger and less experienced, people will not always trust your ideas and opinions.  The key to overcoming this is collaboration.  Don't just shove ideas and initiatives down from the top.  Instead, gather ideas and opinions from people, work through them together and then move forward with what rises to the top.  Collaboration will help you create the teamwork you need in place as a young leader. 

Gain knowledge through feedback.  Your lack of experience will naturally lead to people questioning your expertise, skill and knowledge.  Make this an advantage instead of a disadvantage through feedback.  Be intentional about asking for feedback about your performance and seek ways to digest and implement it.  Older leaders will not think less of you for this.  In fact, it will cause them to respect you and follow you. 

Build trust through integrity.  Older leaders will struggle to see you as a role model since you don't have a proven track record.  Start building a track record people can trust by walking your talk, keeping your promises and being honest. 

Deepen relationships through care.  Older leaders will not open their heart to you because of your title.  They will open their heart to your leadership because they know you care about them.  Show them you care by taking an interest in them personally and investing time in them.  Show them you care more about them as a person than about what they do.

Encourage through inspiration.  Sometimes older leaders struggle with complacency, discouragement and even burnout.  As a young leader, you can tap into the excitement and energy of your youth to inspire them.  Help them break out of the box they may be in and help them stretch for more.

Honor the past while pointing to the future.  Older leaders tend to reflect on the past.  This will be heard in statements like "we've always done it that way" or "we tried something like that and it didn't work" or  "we don't like change" or "remember how great it was when."

If you disregard or refuse to honor the past, older leaders will not follow you into the future.  The future is built on a foundation of gratitude for the past.

The floor is yours. 
Are you a young leader?  
What are you thoughts?  
What other questions do you have?
Are you an older leader?  
What other advice do you have for younger leaders?  
Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

A few weeks ago our kids brought over 150 of their unchurched friends to church in one weekend.  This was the result of an intentional strategy which is illustrated below.

Were the kids in your ministry fidgeting this past weekend?

If they were, it's not because they're irreverent or rebellious.  They were fidgeting because they're wired to move and you weren't giving them enough opportunities to do so.

You can go with kids' natural wiring to help them learn and engage or you can force them to sit still and be quiet.  Force them into a prolonged sedentary state and they'll feel like they're in "time out" and will soon dread coming to church.

Am I saying that kids should never sit and listen quietly?  No.  I believe they should...but in small doses.  If you want kids to experience times of "being still and quiet" before the Lord, then balance it will lots of time for them to "dance" before the Lord.

Honor kids time to move and they will honor the time you ask them to be still and quiet.

Active learning has been proven to be more effective than quiescent learning.  Make sure your programming reflects this.  Here are five expectations we go over with the kids at the beginning of every service.

Talk when it's time to talk.
We give kids lots of opportunities to talk, discuss and interact with each other and their leaders.

Sing when its time to sing. 
We encourage kids to engage during the worship songs.  2 of the songs are upbeat and very active.  1 is a slower, more reflective worship song.

Listen when it's time to listen. 
When someone else is talking up front or in their group, show respect by listening.

Play when it's time to play.
There are lots of interactive learning activities and games.  We encourage kids to get involved.

Have fun.
We encourage a culture of fun.  We want their experience to be engaging, relevant and enjoyable.

Notice the percentages of the expectations listed above.

• Moving, interacting and talking - 80%
• Sitting still, being quiet and listening - 20%  

The 80% enables the 20% to be effective.  Take a look at your percentage.  If the kids are fidgeting, it's probably because the sitting still and being quiet percentage is too high.

Your children's ministry facility has areas that are broken, messy, in need of repair and not working.

Your programming has areas that need to be tweaked and adjusted.

There are areas of your guest services and follow up process that need to be improved.

There are aspects of your children's ministry that are out-of-date and need to be updated.

Guess what?  It's the same for the ministry I lead as well.  Why?  Because the ministries we lead have blind spots.  We can't see the blind spots because we're too close and too familiar.

Familiarity naturally leads to blind spots. 

They call them blind spots for a reason.  You'll never be able to see them by yourself.  If you could see them, they wouldn't be blind spots.

You can't fix what you can't see.

The key to seeing blind spots is bringing in people who are unfamiliar with your ministry.  Ask them to be a "mystery shopper" and take a close look at everything from programming to processes to facilities.  They will have the ability to see things that you cannot see simply because they have fresh, unfamiliar eyes.

This can be someone from another department of your church or someone in your church who doesn't normally come in the children's area.  Another idea is to partner with another church in your area.  They can evaluate your ministry and you can do the same for them.  It should be someone who has a keen eye for detail. 

It's easy and comfortable to go along like everything is fine and stay oblivious to what's not working.  But if you want your ministry to grow...if you want your ministry to improve...if you want your ministry to go to the next level, then you've got to uncover the blind spots and fix them.  And that takes help from someone else.

Divorce affects kids for a lifetime.  In this video, adults share how their parent's divorce has affected their life.

As leaders in children's ministry, we must remember that we are called to impact not only kids, but parents and marriages as well.

Did your parents divorce when you were a child?  How has it affected you?

What are some ways you help strengthen the homes of the families in your church?

Share your thoughts with us in the comment section below.

We live in a unique time in history.  The next generation knows more than their parents and grandparents in some areas of life like technology.

Great leaders know this and not only learn from their elders, but from the next generation as well.

It's important to learn from those who have walked the path before you, but when it comes to learning about the future, you need the help of the next generation.

Reverse mentoring can be informal but takes intentionality.  You must spend time with the next generation and ask lots of questions.

What music are you listening to?

What technology are you using?

What movies are you watching?

What toys are you playing with?

What social media are you using?

What games are you playing?

Where do you spend time online?

Engaging in reverse mentoring has many benefits. 

• It's a shortcut to staying relevant to the culture.
• It helps you understand the next generation.
• It helps you connect with the next generation. 
• It makes your ministry more effective. 
• It extends your ministry.  

How do you connect with the next generation?  Share your thoughts with us in the comment section below.