RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

Do you need more volunteers?  You are not alone. I've never talked with someone who didn't need more volunteers in a local church setting.

That's why I am really excited about the upcoming live webinar "Building the Volunteer Team That You've Always Dreamed About."  

Four proven leaders will share how they build and lead volunteer teams.  

Brian Dollar, is a veteran children's ministry leader at First Assembly of God Church in Little Rock.  

Brian will be sharing how to lead volunteers. It takes strategic leadership to not only build a team, but to keep volunteers engaged and growing for the long-term.  

Bryan Cheney leads the children's ministry at Willow Creek Community Church.  He will be sharing how to lead and built a volunteer team even in post-turbulence.  Just like the rest of us, Bryan has led through some turbulent times in the last few years.  Like the majority of ministries, Covid caused some of his volunteers to step away from serving.  But through this Bryan and his team have continued to build their volunteer team and enlist people to serve in the days of post-turbulence.

One of the big factors in expanding your volunteer team is building up volunteers who can lead other volunteers.  This is the next level and can be a challenge to see happen.  Heidi Hensley, a veteran children's ministry leader, has led in some of the greatest churches in the country.  She will share how she creates layers of volunteer leaders which is a big key in seeing your team grow.

I will be sharing three small tweaks that you can make that will help you build a great volunteer team. These are tweaks that I used to build and lead a volunteer team of over 2,000 in a local church.  These three tweaks can be a game-changer for you and your ministry.

And yes...there will be Q & A time in each session so your specific questions can be answered. 

We have churches joining us from across the country and from several other countries.  Register today and save your spot.  

Can't make it for the live webinar due to a schedule conflict?  No worries.  When you register, you will receive access to the webinar on demand so you can watch it whenever you want. 

As an added bonus, I am giving everyone who registers a copy of one of my books - The Formula for Building Great Volunteer Teams or 52 Devotions for Children's Ministry Leaders. 

You can register at this link.  Join us for this great time of equipping and empowering.

Building a volunteer team...it's one of the most important aspects of leading in children and family ministry.  

Your success in ministry will be based on the strength of the volunteer team you build.

While building a volunteer team is vital...it can be very challenging.  Right?  

I am excited to announce I will be hosting a live webinar on Thursday, March 30.  

We will be sharing about "How to Build the Volunteer Team You've Always Dreamed About."

A lot of people talk about building volunteer teams but have never actually built a great volunteer team themselves. We have a great lineup of children and family ministry leaders speaking. These are proven leaders who have walked the talk and built great volunteer teams in churches. 

The cost is only $19.99 and includes a copy of one of my books (your choice). You can pick either "The Formula for Building Great Volunteer Teams" or my newest book "52 Devotions for Children's Ministry Leaders. This devo book is great for personal devotions, pre-service huddles, newsletters, staff meetings and more.

If you have never read my book "The Formula for Building Great Volunteer Teams," you need this book. It has been called by some the greatest book ever written on the subject. 

I will be sharing a few, crucial, game-changing tweaks you can take to help you build a great team. These are seemingly small steps, but they will propel your volunteer team forward in a big way.  I will share how I used these steps to build a volunteer team from 300 to 2,400 in 9 years at a local church.

Brian Dollar will be speaking about "How to Lead Volunteers Well."  Brian has been the children's pastor at First Assembly of God in Little Rock for 24 years.  He will be sharing about how to lead volunteers well.  You will gain wisdom and proven ways to lead your volunteers well.

Bryan Cheney will be speaking about "Building a Team Post Turbulence."  Bryan is the children's pastor at Willow Creek Community Church in the Chicago area.  Just like all of us, he lost some volunteers due to Covid. He has also faced the challenge of building a team in the midst of a lead pastor transition due to moral failures. He will share how to build a team even during the most challenging of times.

Heidi Hensley will be speaking about "Building Volunteers Who Can Lead Other Volunteers." Heidi is the Next Gen Pastor at Skyline Church in the San Diego area.  Heidi will share with us how to create layers of leaders so you have volunteers leading other volunteers.  This is one of the most challenging parts of building a great team. Heidi will share key steps you can take to accomplish this.

Can't make it in person?  No problem. We got you. All sessions will be recorded and made available on demand for everyone who registers.

Join us for this great time of encouragement and equipping. You can register at this link.

No matter where your volunteer team is currently, this time together will inspire and equip you to build the volunteer team you've always dreamed about. 

Is your children's ministry healthy?  Here are 10 signs of a healthy children's ministry.

1. Volunteer team. 

The success of your children's ministry rises and falls on the strength of your volunteer team. A healthy children's ministry has a solid volunteer team. 

2. First-time guests.  

A healthy children's ministry will have first-time guests on a regular basis.  Most often it is because kids are excited about their church and are consistently inviting people to come with them. 

3. Guests return.  

Guests will consistently return because of the great experience they had on their first visit.  The national average for guest return is about 7%.  But a healthy children's ministry will have 20-30% of guests return for a second time. 

4. Engaging teaching strategy.  

The lessons are engaging.  The lessons are relevant.  The lessons have a specific learning pathway that disciples children at their age level (check out Connect12 curriculum for a discipleship pathway).

5. A solid parent connection.  The ministry recognizes that parents are the primary disciple makers.  They spend as much time investing in parents as they do children.  They create ways for the lesson and teachings to be brought into the home during the week.

6. Good ratios. Here is what that looks like:

Infants - 1 to 2 (1 to 1 ideally)
Crawlers - 1 to 3
Toddlers - 1 to 4
2-year-olds - 1 to 4
3-year-olds - 1 to 6-8
4-year-olds - 1 to 8
5 year-olds through 5th grade - 1 to 8

7. Smiles.

You see lots of smiles. Volunteers are smiling. Parents are smiling. The kids are smiling. You feel a sense of warmth when you are around them.

8. Growth.

Anything that has life grows. A healthy children's ministry is a growing children's ministry.

9. Spiritual growth.

There is evidence of personal spiritual growth among the kids and parents. They are being challenged and equipped to have their own personal walk with Jesus and they are stepping up to the challenge.

10. The children's ministry is impacting the entire church. Its influence is felt throughout the church. It is helping the entire church grow. The church is becoming known as the place in town for kids and their parents.

How healthy is your children's ministry?

As you have read through this list, have you been challenged in any of these areas?

Now is the time to take some steps and help your children's ministry get healthy.

When I first started out in children's ministry, I thought the secret to success was having great programs that helped reach and disciple kids. 

Over time, I realized that this was not the ultimate secret of children's ministry.  

One week, when I was trying to run a program by myself, it dawned on me that I needed to enlist volunteers to help reach and disciple children.

Yes...the ultimate secret of children's ministry is having a great volunteer team. 

I often say this.

The success of your children's ministry will rise and fall on the strength of the volunteer team you build.

Remember...it's not what you can do...it's what you can empower others to do.

The Bible makes it very clear in Ephesians.  Our role is to equip volunteers for the work of the ministry. We must be equippers instead of doers. 

You can be the most amazing children's speaker, but without great volunteers your services will fall flat.

You can be the best kids' worship leader in the country, but without great volunteers the worship service will be bland.

You can be the best Bible teacher, but without great volunteers your effectiveness as a leader will be diminished.

You can have the coolest children's ministry building, but without great volunteers kids won't be excited about coming. 

You can have the best curriculum ever, but without great volunteers to teach it kids won't grow deeper in their faith. 

You get the point.  The ultimate secret of children's ministry is VOLUNTEERS.

Volunteers must be your first priority. 

Enlist them.

Equip them.

Love them.

Thank them. 

Invest in them.

Empower them. 

Encourage them.

Take good care of them. 

Pray for them.  

I love what Walt Disney said as he was preparing to open Disney Land many years ago.

You can design and create, and build the most wonderful place in the world. But IT TAKES PEOPLE to make the dream a reality.

Want to unlock the greatest secret for your children's ministry?  Create an excellent process in place that brings new volunteers on the team. And then ask, ask, ask, ask, ask, ask, ask, ask people to join your team.

Want to grow your ministry?  Make equipping new volunteers your top priority.

You can get more great tips for building and leading a volunteer team in my book "The Formula for Building a Great Volunteer Team."  It has been called the best book ever written on the subject.  The book is available at this link. 

Unlock the power of the ultimate secret of children's ministry and watch what happens. 

As we continue to navigate through Covid-19 many of our activities have been put on hold.  

But there's one thing that we can't afford to put on hold and that is training for our volunteers and staff.  

It's crucial to keep investing in our team members so they can continue to grow, learn and be inspired...especially during this pandemic.

Many children's ministries have faced the reality that some of their volunteers will not come back due to fear of being exposed to the virus.  And we get that.  

But with fresh training and inspiration, you may be able to keep that from happening and can see your team excited about the ministry.  

It can be costly to bring a guest speaker / trainer in or to attend a conference.  Especially when your ministry budget may have been cut back. 

But here's the good news.  You can have a live, online training for a fraction of the cost.   

I do live online training for churches and ministries.  Here's what you get for your team:

• Customized training to meet the current needs of your team.  Training can be specifically for your staff or key volunteers.  Or training can be for everyone your team.
  

• You pick the day and time.
  

• Live online training time.  (30-40 minutes of teaching and 15 minutes of Q & A)

• Video copy of your training session so you can share with those who could not attend.

• Handouts for the training so people can follow along and take notes.
  

Churches and ministries across the states and internationally are using this for their teams. 

A fresh infusion of passion, energy and vision may be just what the doctor ordered for your ministry.  Dale shares about all of these and can help you get your team fired up about fulfilling your children's ministry's mission.  

Sometimes it just takes hearing it from someone else to reinforce what you've been saying.  One of Dale's goals is to help you get fresh energy for your team and your mission. 

Having helped build and lead some of the largest children's ministries in the country, Dale has over 31 years of experience.  He has served in churches of 20 to churches of 28,000.  At his last church, he helped the volunteer team grow from 300 to 2600 in 8 years. He understands your situation and can help you navigate for future growth.

You can get more information and schedule an online training at this link. 

Your ministry will only be as strong as the team you build to lead the ministry.  I can help you build up your team. 

Contact me.  Let's talk.