How to Lead Team Members Well ~ RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

There is something ironic about leading in children's ministry. It's this - children's ministry is just as much, if not more, about the adults and students who serve the kids, than it is about the kids themselves. As a children's ministry leader, your primary role is to equip the adults and students who serve directly with the kids. This may not be the case if you're a teacher who serves with one class. But as soon as you assume a role like Children's Pastor, Children's Director, Ministry Leader or whatever you call the person who oversees the ministry, your role quickly switches to spending most of your time investing in the leaders who serve with the kids.

Being a leader in children's ministry takes leadership skills almost equivalent to a lead pastor. Think about it. You are leading babies, preschoolers, elementary kids, middle school students who serve, high school students who serve, college students who serve, adult volunteers of all ages, young couples with babies, middle-aged parents, grandparents and even great grandparents. I'd say that's a big demographic that you're responsible for leading.

Leading staff and volunteers must be a top priority for a children's pastor, director, etc. It's not about what you can do, it's about what you can empower others to do. Bringing other people into the picture makes the picture better. I often tell people when they ask about leading in children's ministry this statement:

"The success of your ministry rises and falls on the strength of the team you build."

I also tell young leaders who are getting started in children's ministry this:

"If I had to choose one thing to be good at in ministry, it would be building teams."

Great teams are built by great leaders. And I've had the privilege of serving with some great pastors over the years. I've watched and learned as they led churches with tens of thousands of people. I've watched how they've led staff teams with hundreds of team members and volunteer teams that numbered in the thousands. What I've learned from these high-profile leaders has been life-changing for me.

Here are some of the things I've learned about leading well.

LEAD WELL BY BEING A SERVANT LEADER

LEAD WELL BY VALUING PEOPLE

LEAD WELL BY MOTIVATING PEOPLE

LEAD WELL BY GOING THE SECOND MILE

LEAD WELL BY NOT GIVING UP OR QUITTING IN THE FACE OF ADVERSITY

LEAD WELL BY INSPIRING LOYALTY & LONGEVITY

Personal Questions:

How can I be more of a servant leader?

Am I using volunteers to build the ministry or using the ministry to build volunteers?

How can I be more effective at building volunteers?

Who are 3 people I am going to invest in?

How can I personally become better at gathering feedback?

How can I inspire loyalty and longevity in my team members?

This is an excerpt from my new book - Lead Well in Children's Ministry. It contains over 300 pages of insight to help you lead all aspects of children's ministry. You can get the book at this link.