RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

What does it take to lead a children's ministry?  Here are some words that come to mind.

Leading Children's Ministry = 

Passion
Having enthusiasm for the next generation that rubs off on others.

Vision
Looking beyond what is and seeing what can be.

Courage
Stepping out of your comfort zone.

Perseverance
Continuing when things get tough.

Patience
Giving kids and volunteers room to make mistakes and learn from it.

Fun
Making church something kids look forward to.

Commitment
Being sold out for the mission.

Excellence
Doing your very best with what God has placed in your hand.

Humility
Knowing it's not about you.

Boldness
Taking risks rather than playing it safe.

Collaboration
Bringing others into the picture to make it a better picture.

Trustworthiness
Creating a track record of trust.

Focus
Knowing what is really important.

Authenticity
Practicing what you preach.

Empowerment
Equipping others to succeed.

Creativity
Bringing fresh ideas. 

Dedication
Going the second mile.

Inspiration
Getting others excited about the mission.

Graciousness
Showing thankfulness to God and those who've helped you.

Compassion
Taking other people's hurts into your heart.

Love
Reflecting the heart of God for people. 

Accountability
Gathering people around you who will bring out the best in you.

Your turn.  The floor is yours.  When you think about leading children's ministry, what other words come to mind?  Share your thoughts with everyone in the comment section below.

Child Dedication.  It is one of the greatest opportunities you have to make an impact in a family's life.

It's important to have a clear pathway and strategy for maximizing the opportunity.  Here's our pathway.

Parents fill out an application.  
Here is the link to our application.

We review the application and invite them to a parent child dedication class.

Parents attend the class.
In the class, we cover what the dedication is about and how to raise your child to love Jesus.  The dedication is primarily about the parents committing to raise their children according to God's ways.

This is a key time when parents are open and welcome spiritual advice.  We will be making our class materials available beginning sometime this summer if you'd like to see them.

Parents sign-up for a dedication time.

We meet with parents 30 minutes before the service they are dedicating their child.
In this meeting, we go back over logistics for the dedication, give them a dedication certificate, a Bible for their child, and a gift from the church.

We also have a professional photographer on hand who takes their picture.  We email the picture to them the following week.

The dedication takes place during the service.
The dedication involves making a verbal commitment to raise their child according to God's ways and a time of individual prayer for each child.

We send parents a link to a video of the service so they can download it and share it with others.

What is your process for child dedication?

What are some special things you do as part of the dedication process or event?

We'd love to hear your ideas and insight.  You can share in the comment section below.

We have a great team of volunteers.  I am thankful for each and every one of them.  Their dedication and commitment to the next generation inspires me.

They make our children's ministry successful.  In fact, without them we wouldn't have a children's ministry.

Over the last 6 years, we have built our children's ministry team to over 2,000 volunteers.  If you're wondering how we did it, I'm going to tell you.

First...we prayed.  Jesus told us to pray for laborers for the harvest.  We believed He would give them to us if we asked.  

Secondly, we didn't try to build a team of 2,000 volunteers.

Thirdly...we simply invited people to join our team.  Week in and week out, we invited them...one person at a time.  We put our arm around people and asked them to join us in reaching kids and families.

One day...after 6 years of asking people one at a time...we looked up and there were 2,000 of those "ones" who had said "yes" and joined our team.

How many volunteers do you want God to give you?  Ask Him to send them.  Then forget about the number and start asking people to join your team...one at a time.  Not occasionally...not just during a ministry fair...but every single week.

Do that faithfully and one day you will look up and have the number of volunteers you asked God for.