RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

This past week, I was talking with a potential volunteer.  He was a great prospect to serve in children's ministry. I knew he could make an impact if he joined our team. 

But after talking with him, I encouraged him to NOT serve in children's ministry.

Why did I tell him no? 

Did I think he wouldn't pass the background check? No.

Did I think he is not gifted to influence children? No.

Does he have a negative personality? No...in fact, it is the opposite. He has a dynamic personality. 

The reason why I told him not to serve in children's ministry was the answer he gave me to this question.

"What is your dream role at church?"

He paused for a minute to think about this and then told me that his dream role was to work with young adults. That was his passion. 

My red flag went up. I told him he shouldn't serve in children's ministry. I encouraged him to pursue serving in our young adult ministry.  In fact, yesterday I talked with our young adult pastor and he is going to get him plugged into serving in our young adult ministry. 

Is it easy to not pursue a great potential children's ministry volunteer?  No...of course not. I would have loved to have him on our team.  But I would have been doing him a disservice. 

Think with me about this. When you ask a potential volunteer where they want to serve, they will often say "wherever you need me."  The temptation is to put them where you have a need...even if it's not the best fit for the person. 

Don't place potential volunteers where you need them.  Rather, place them where they need to be.

Where do they need to be?  In a role that aligns with their passion and calling. Their dream job at church. 

One of two things will happen when you place a volunteer in a role that is not their sweet spot. 

They will burn out and quit or they will continue to serve in that role out of character, but they will not enjoy it.  

I remember I received the name of a man that wanted to serve in children's ministry. He had responded to someone telling him we needed some more small group leaders.  I was excited to have another man join our team.  We had many boys that were from single parent homes and a male role model and mentor could really make a difference in their lives. 

As I was meeting with him to finalize his role in children's ministry, I knew I still needed to ask him the question. 

What is your dream role here at church? 

He paused and then he said, "I really love working with high school students. But I know you have some openings in children's ministry so I can serve there." 

The easy thing would have been to get him serving in children's ministry. But I would have been shortchanging him.  

I said, "no....I don't think you should serve in children's ministry. Let's walk down to the high school ministry and I will introduce you to our student pastor so you can serve in student ministry."

Remember this... 

Don't use people to build the ministry...rather, use the ministry to build people.

When you help people find their "sweet spot" in serving, they will thrive. 

Serving shouldn't be about what we want from people. It should be about what we want for people. That's why you have to say "no" sometimes to someone serving in children's ministry.  

Here are a couple of resources that can help you with this. 

Volunteer Interview Questions -free of charge. You can get it here.  

My book - The Formula For Building Great Volunteer Teams. You can get it here. It has been called the best book ever written on the subject. 

A new family walks in the door. How exciting!  You do your best to make them feel welcome...but then you never see them again. How disappointing! 

How can you see guests return? 

Let's talk about this. Here are some steps you can take to increase the percentage of families who you see a second time. 

Don't make them wait in line.  

People hate to wait in line. Have a separate check-in area for guests. Give them the VIP treatment. Make checking in as easy and quickly as possible.

Give them a great first experience. 

A first impression truly is a lasting impression. 

You only get one opportunity to make a first impression so make that first visit count. If a guest family has a poor first experience...they are not going to come back no matter how many times you call them, write them and invite them to return.  

Use their name.

You want to make their first visit as personable as possible. Train volunteers to use a first-time guest's name often. Guests love to hear their name spoken and it makes them feel special.  Obviously make sure they have a name tag on. Indicate on their name tag that they are a first-time guest.

Send them a hand-written post card. 

In the day of digital communication, a hand-written post card is golden. Kids love to get mail. Sit down and write them a personal post card.  

Offer an incentive to return. 

Give first-time families a gift when they return for a second visit. One of the things that has worked well for me is to give guests a t-shirt on their second visit.  Have your children's ministry logo on the t-shirt. Often they will wear the t-shirt in the community and to school. This not only blesses the family, but it also helps spread the word about your children's ministry. 

Call them. 

On the Tuesday or Wednesday after they visit, call the parents.  Make the phone call brief unless they ask questions and you can tell they want to talk longer.  Simply thank them for coming and let them know they are welcome to come for a second visit. 

Take these simple steps and I promise you that you will begin to see more guests return. If you can get them back for a second visit, then there is a good chance they will become a part of your ministry.  

Do you have a copy of my new book "Be Our Church Guest?"  It contains lots of ways you an improve the first time experience of guest families. If you want to see your guests' experiences go to the next level, then this book is for you. You can get it at this link. 

How does your church view your nursery and preschool ministry?

Sadly, for many churches, nursery and preschool ministry is looked at and even called child care.  They view it as babysitting. 

Let's set the record straight. Ministry to babies and preschoolers is not child care. Rather it is caring for children at the most important time in their life. 

The pathway of children is largely determined by their early years. Those early years are critical.

Research shows that the first five years are particularly important in a child's development with the first three years being the most critical. Early experiences provide the base for development and functioning throughout life. Children learn more quickly during their early years than at any other time in life. 

What happens in the nursery and preschool rooms is just as important as what happens in "big" church. Churches that truly want to reach the next generation will make nursery and preschool ministry a top priority. 

How soon should churches start caring for children enough to teach them about Jesus? The answer is found in 2 Timothy 3:15.

From INFANCY you have known the Holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 

Look what it says in 2 Timothy 1:5.

I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and I am persuaded now lives in you also. 

Timothy became a great Christian leader because his mother and grandmother made spiritual investments in his life from infancy. 

Does your church view your nursery and preschool ministry as a big spiritual investment opportunity?

If you want to shift the perception of nursery and preschool ministry in your church from child care to caring for children, then here are some steps. 

Empower your volunteers to know that when they teach infants, it makes a difference in their life. Yes...you can teach infants about Jesus. Here are a few examples.

Play music that points them to Jesus. 

Quietly pray over the babies as you hold them. 

Quote Scripture over the them.  Put a Bible promise verse on the wall in your nursery and preschool rooms. Encourage volunteers to quote the verse over them when they are with you.

p.s. Share the verses you are quoting over them with their parents so they can do the same at home.  

Hold up the Bible and tell them it is the Word of God.

Show them a picture or video image about a Bible story and share it briefly with them. 

Show them a picture of Jesus and tell them Jesus loves them. 

Share with the entire church the importance of nursery and preschool ministry.  If you will cast the vision for this, your church can shift from child care to caring for children enough to make sure they know about Jesus who loves them. 

Which reminds me...Jesus paused "adult" ministry and made time to care for and bless children. He wasn't a happy camper when the disciples tried to prevent this.  It became a teachable moment for the disciples and Jesus helped them understand how much ministry to the little ones matters.

Take inventory...how does your church view ministry to babies and preschoolers?  Is it time to make a shift from doing child care to caring for children enough to teach them about Jesus from infancy? 

p.s. Have you gotten your copy of my book "100 Best Ideas to Turbo Charge Your Preschool Ministry?" It contains 100 ways you can care for and invest in babies and preschoolers. You can get your copy here.  

Do you want to see your ministry grow and impact more kids and families?  

Do you want to add more volunteers to your team?

Do you want to equip parents and help them become the primary spiritual influence in their child's life?

Do you want to dramatically increase the excellence factor of your ministry?  

Do you want to uncover factors that are holding you back from growing?

Good news. I can help you. 

In one weekend, I can help you increase your impact. 

Here's how...

Friday Night Parent Seminar

• A one hour seminar that will equip parents to be the spiritual leaders of their children. 

• Practical, hands on training that will encourage parents and give them practical parenting tools.  

• A great opportunity to set your ministry up to successfully partner with parents. 

 Saturday Volunteer Training

• Bring your volunteers together to be equipped and empowered to take your ministry to the next level. 

• Volunteers will be encouraged and recharged to serve kids and families. 

• Your volunteers give a lot...use this time to give back to them and invest in them.  

• I will work with you to tailor fit this time of training to meet the unique needs of your volunteer team. 

Sunday Consultation

• I will observe your ministry in real time on Sunday morning (secret shopper). 

• I will meet with a group of your parents to get their feedback and input on how you can improve the ministry (focus group). 

• Sunday evening - I will create a detailed list of ways you can improve your ministry based on my observations and input from parents.

• Monday morning - We will talk about the list and together brainstorm for ways you can improve the ministry.

This opportunity is available for all sizes of churches.  I am committed to helping your ministry thrive and grow. I do not have a set fee for this. I can work with your church no matter what your budget is. I have a 36 year proven track record of growing ministries and leaders.

Ready to increase your impact?  You can reach me at dale@buildingchildrensministry.com. I will then contact you for a free consultation and talk about how I can serve you and your ministry. 

What are you waiting for? One weekend can be a difference maker for you and your ministry. Increase your impact in one weekend.