RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

Delegation is key to accomplishing your goals.  We talked about this in a previous post.  But there are some things that you shouldn't delegate away.

Vision
As the children's ministry leader, it's your job to cast vision.  Others can help the vision walk, but you've got to articulate it.

Philosophy of Ministry
What are the principles that will guide your ministry?  It's your job to spell them out clearly so the team will know the base for decision making.

Passion
Your team will never be more passionate than you.  You have to lead the charge forward.  You must be the thermostat not the thermometer.

Enlisting Volunteers
You should always be bringing people onto the children's ministry team.  You can't do this alone, but you must lead by example.

Appreciation
Write thank you notes.  Personally walk through the ministry and thank people for serving.  People need to hear it from you. 

Want to get more done?  Here's three simple steps that will increase your productivity. 

Pick up the phone instead of sending an email. 
If the email is more than a short paragraph, it needs to be a quick phone call instead.  Stop writing email "books" and take care of it with a quick phone call.

Eliminate some meetings. 
Don't meet just to meet.  When you do meet, don't spend half your time "shooting the breeze."  Take care of business and dismiss.

Spend your time on big impact items.
The bigger the impact, the more time you want to spend on it.  The less the impact, the less time you want to spend on it.

Pour your time into the things that will produce the biggest results.  Small details matter, but delegate them to others.

Remember the goal is not to be busy...but to be effective.  They're not the same thing.

Your turn.  What are some other simple ways to get more done?  Share with us in the comment section below.

Mistakes are opportunities to learn.  But it's better to not make the mistakes in the first place.

Here's 10 common mistakes Children's Ministry Leaders make.  How do I know?  I've made them all.

Not providing feedback. 
When you don't provide your staff and volunteers with feedback, you are depriving them of an opportunity to improve.

Knowing how to give feedback properly is an art that can be learned.  Read about how to give effective feedback here.

Not making time for your team.
It's easy to get so caught up with the "tasks" that must be accomplished, that you don't make time for people. 

Spend time with the people on your team.  Listen to them.  Pray with them.  Invest in them.  Great leadership is about people first.

Being too "hands off."
In an effort to avoid being a micro-manager, many Children's Ministry Leaders pull away too far and don't provide clear direction and guidance.  Find the balance of empowering others while providing leadership.

Not defining goals and wins. 
When your team doesn't know what they're working toward or what success looks like, they'll lose purpose and passion.  Define clear goals and wins for the entire team as well as for individual positions.

Trying to lead by title.
People don't follow a title.  They follow someone they love and respect.  Don't assume just because you have a title you will be effective.  Forget the title and love, care for, and invest in people.  People will then be drawn toward your leadership.

Being a thermometer instead of a thermostat.
Don't measure the spiritual temperature of your team.  Set the spiritual temperature for your team.  Everything rises and falls on leadership.  Lead.

Not "walking the talk."
Your team doesn't expect you to be perfect, but they do expect you to sincerely practice what you preach.  And when you blow it...admit it, shoulder the responsibility, and ask for their forgiveness.  Their respect for you will grow.

Not delegating.
Delegating does take more work up front, but it pays huge dividends.  It's not what you can do, it's what you can empower others to do.  If you don't learn to delegate, you will become the lid that hinders your ministry from growing. 

Not developing your "people skills."
Ministry is about people.  If you don't learn how to interact with people, navigate conflict, and get along with people....you will struggle in Children's Ministry.  Good people skills will help you build long lasting relationships with your team members.

Making change a surprise instead of a process.
People don't like change...especially if they don't see it coming.  Many zealous Children's Ministry Leaders make changes too quickly and their ministry implodes.  Effectively making change is a process.  It takes skill and wisdom.

Your turn.  What are some other common mistakes do we make as Children's Ministry Leaders?

Share your thoughts with us in the comment section below.

Ever find yourself wishing there were more hours in a day?

You're not alone...we all struggle at times with being so busy with the "ministry minutia,"  that what should be our main focus, gets crowded out.

As a children's ministry leader, our day job should be...

• Seeking God and casting His vision for our children's ministry.

• Creating strategies to more effectively reach and disciples kids and families.

• Evaluating the effectiveness of current programs and processes and making changes and adjustments as needed.

• Pouring into people and raising up leaders of leaders.

But don't these things often get replaced with small tasks, issues that suddenly rise, meetings, preparation for special events, trips to pick up supplies, standing in front of a copier, etc.?

The big question is...how can you free up significant time....so you can focus on what should be your day job...the responsibilities that really matter the most.

Here's some tips that will help you focus on what should be your "day job."

• Keep track of how you spend your time.  Spend a week writing down what you do every hour of your work day.  This is the first step in choosing effectiveness or busyness.

• Eliminate or delegate smaller tasks and replace them with value adding ones.  Delegating work is easier said than done.  We instinctively cling to tasks that make us feel busy and thus important...even when they should not be our primary focus.  Studies show that the average leader spends about 41% of their time on work that could be handled competently by others.  

• Cut some of those meetings.  Don't meet just to be meeting.

Your turn.  What are some other ways we can focus on what should be our primary "day job?"  Share your comments with us below.