RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

Are you feeling burned out in children's ministry?  Here's some signs your tank is on empty.

• You feel that every day at work is a struggle.
• You feel emotionally exhausted much of the time.
• You have very little joy or interest in your work.  You may even feel depressed by it.
• You feel overwhelmed by your responsibilities.
• You feel hopeless about your life or work.
• You experience physical exhaustion.
• The stress from work causes sleeplessness.

Burnout won't go away on it's own.  You have to be proactive to beat it.  Here's some steps you can take.

Identify why you are experiencing burnout. 
Is it working too many hours?  Conflict with another person?  Unrealistic expectations?

Start keeping a log of what causes you stress.  Look for patterns and incidents that stand out.

Make some changes based on what you discovered.
It may mean delegating more, having a conversation with your boss, resolving a conflict or saying no to some things.  In this article, I share how to decide what to say no to.

Check your physical condition.
Are you getting enough sleep?  Are you exercising?  Are you eating well?  How you take care of yourself physically is a big factor.

Take some time off.
I know, that means you'll have to work more up front and afterwards just to be able to take the time off.  But it's vital to get away on a regular basis.

And don't be pulled into work while you're on vacation.  With smartphones it's hard, but disconnect while you're away.

Reassess your responsibilities. 
Burnout can occur when your responsibilities don't line up with your passion, giftedness, or calling.  Take a look at your job description.  Are you excited about it?  If not, it may be time for a shift.

Check your thought patterns.

Every Monday morning, I ask our children's ministry team 3 questions.

#1 - What is one thing that went well in your area this past weekend?  I ask this question to find out what's working.

# 2 - What is one thing you saw that you can improve in your area?  I ask this question to find out what needs to be tweaked, changed, or dropped.

#3 - Is there a story about a kid's or family's life that was impacted this past weekend?  I ask this question to remember "why" we do children's ministry and to celebrate life change.

The answers we get are vital in helping us move the ministry forward and celebrate what God is doing.  We use them to plan, pray, and share with our senior leadership.

• Acknowledge each other's strengths and weaknesses. 

• Engage in conversation that leads to great communication.

• Correct in private.

• Be open to other people's ways of achieving goals.

• Resolve disputes quickly.  Go directly to the offender and address the issue.

• Discuss new ideas frequently.

• Suggest solutions instead of complaining.

• Ask for feedback.  

• Offer feedback after you are asked to give it.

• Help each other succeed.

• Compliment each others successes.

• Share the limelight.

• Learn to relax. 

• Have a party and celebrate.

• Get to know one another.

• Be prepared to scrap ideas that aren't working.

• Forgive one another when mistakes are made.

• Keep in close contact with each other.

• Designate roles.

• Listen to words....spoken and unspoken.

Have you looked lately at the demeanor of your volunteers?  Are they happy?  Smiling?  Laughing?  Energized?

Or are they just going through the motions?  Frowning?  Complaining?  Irritable?  Burnt out?

The mood of your team is a key indicator of team health.  And no matter how happy or unhappy your team currently is, things can improve. 

Here's 7 steps to creating a happier volunteer team.

Be happy yourself.  It's contagious.  Everything rises and falls on leadership.  You set the happiness tone for your team.  If you're team isn't happy, take a look in the mirror.  Start smiling more.  Don't take yourself so serious.  Have fun. 

Make time for jokes and pranks.  Purposefully build in time during your meetings and get togethers for jokes and pranks.

Place people in their sweet spot.  Nothing will make a volunteer more unhappy than placing them where you "need" them instead of where they are gifted.  When someone is in their sweet spot, they will go home smiling and energized.

Emphasize the "why" of serving more than the "what" of serving.  People are looking for purpose.  They want to be part of something bigger than themselves.  Constantly remind them why they are doing what they are doing. 

Encourage people to use their creativity.  When creative people are not allowed to use their creativity, they will be unhappy.  Provide avenues where they can express their creativity. 

Make time to celebrate.  Set aside time to throw parties.  No agenda but fun, food, games, and hanging out together.  Celebrate off-site at a park, someone's home, or other location.

Share the God stories.  Your volunteers want to know they are making a difference.  When you hear a story of God working in a child or family's life, share it with the team.  Don't just tell them they are making a difference, show them the evidence.

What are some other ways you help your team have a happy mood?  Share your ideas and thoughts with us in the comment section below.

What do volunteers really want?  A position?  Applause?  A place to connect?  

What volunteers really want is purpose.  They want to know what they are doing truly is significant.  They want to know what they do really does matter.      

Invite them to the purpose.  Move beyond just inviting them to a program...invite them to the purpose.  Before you invite them to a role, invite them to the purpose.  Precede the invite to a task with an invite to the purpose.

People are starving for a purpose.  Invite to the purpose and you will assemble a dynamic team fueled by the purpose.

Infuse the purpose continuously.  Put the purpose in writing so everyone can see it.  Talk about the purpose when you have training.  Keep the purpose at the forefront of everything you do.  Keep refilling the purpose tank...keep it topped off. 

Include stories.  Share stories that demonstrate the purpose is being accomplished.  Celebrate evidence of the purpose being fulfilled.