RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

Great ministries are built week by week.  It's the consistent things you do each week that over time compound for great results.  There are 5 phone calls you should be making every week. 

#1 - Call first-time guests.  When you call, simply thank them for coming, ask if they have any questions about the ministry and let them know you're glad to help in any way they may need.  The call should be made within 48 hours after they visit.  Some ministries even make this call the same day of the visit. 

#2 - Call a potential volunteer.  Great volunteer teams are built by personal asks.  We built a volunteer team of over 2,000 people in the ministry I led.  How?  By personlly inviting people to serve every single week.  After years of doing this, we looked up and we had 2,000 people volunteering.  Have a list of people you want to invite to serve and invite at least one of them every single week. 

A great place to get names of potential volunteers is your church's new member's class.  I always asked for these names and was able to enlist hundreds of new volunteers by calling these people.  You can get more great ideas for building your volunteer team by attending the upcoming webinar - "Building Volunteer Teams."  Here's more info.

 #3 - Call a family who was absent.  Studies show families are attending church less frequently.  And if a family misses more than 5-6 weeks in a row, you may lose them altogether.  Keep attendance records and connect every week with a family that has been missing.  Many times God will use your phone call as a gentle reminder of how important it is to be connected to other believers.  The phone call should be made from a heart of love and not a heart of scolding. 

#4 - Call a current volunteer.  Call at least one volunteer each week to simply thank them for serving and to let them know how valuable they are to the ministry.  65% of volunteers say they have not heard the words "thank you" in the last year.  Don't be that leader.  Consistently thank your volunteers.

#5 - Call a parent whose child has indicated they want to begin a relationship with Jesus.  As you share the Gospel with kids and invite them to respond, it's crucial to involve the parents.  Rather than praying the salvation prayer with the kids when they respond, I recommend you invite them to a class with their parents where you share what it means to follow Jesus.  This gives parents the great opportunity to lead their children to Jesus and gives you more time to make sure the child understands the decision.

I can promise you this.  Make these  5 phone calls each week for a year, and you will see great things happen in your ministry!  

I started out in ministry hearing "it's better to burn out than to rust out."  I made the mistake of taking that to heart for awhile and ended up burning out.  You can read more about what happened to me here.

Long story short.  I found out the hard way, that it's not better to burn out than to rust out.  They both end up badly.

We shouldn't be a ministry martyr.  At least not in the traditional sense.  The type of martyrdom I'm referring to is not brought on by someone else, it's self-induced.  It's caused by an unhealthy work/life balance that eventually causes you to crash and burn. 

You shouldn't be a ministry martyr because it is rooted in narcissism.  Do you find yourself either thinking of saying one or more of these statements?

• No one else can do the work while I’m away.

• I have to show everyone how dedicated I am to the ministry by how hard I work.

• I'm not replaceable.

• I feel guilty when I am away or take time off.

It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking the ministry is all about you.  Often because of own personal insecurities and self-esteem struggles, we try to find out self-worth through our ministry work.  We like being the center of the ministry, we like having everyone depend on us, we thrive on the recognition we receive when the ministry is doing well.  It leads us down the road to a deluded sense of grandiosity.  Studies show narcissism is on the rise.  In the 1950's, only 12% of high-school students perceived themselves as an "important person."  But the 1990's, that had grown to 80%.  

But we have to remember that it's not about us.  We can't save the world, that job has already been taken.  No one is irreplaceable.  Even the president of the United States has a vice president who can step in if needed.

Balanced, healthy leadership comes when you realize your self-worth is not rooted in what you do for Christ, but from who you are in Christ.  And it comes from realizing that the ministry is bigger than one person.  It's about the mission God has for your church.  What you are part of us is bigger than the part you play. 

You shouldn't be a ministry martyr because God has provided a better way.  Ephesians 4 shows us what our job is as a ministry leader.  We are to be an equipper rather than a doer.  As we equip and empower others to do the work of the ministry, it not only releases others to carry the ministry, it also releases us from the burden of trying to do it all by ourselves.  When we follow God's plan, we are able to be gone and everything runs fine without us.  When we follow God's plan, we are can step back into the shadows and shine the spotlight on others.  When we follow God's plan, the ministry will grow and thrive.  

You shouldn't be a ministry martyr because you will accomplish more if you go the distance.  Our goal should not be to be successful.  Our goal should be to be faithful.  Find a pace that you can maintain for a lifetime and run at that pace.  The best way to be successful in ministry is to stay in ministry.

We live in a work culture that is now fully connected.  Work is always with us through our smartphones which makes it difficult to "leave the office" and say "I'm done for the day."  But we must learn to put work aside and rest if we are going to go the distance.  Take your day off.  Use your vacation time.  Pace yourself.  Finish strong.  Don't be a ministry martyr.