RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

Routine is a children's ministry leader's best friend.  Effective leaders follow a schedule and are very intentional about how they spend their time.

Morning time sets the tone for the entire day.  How you spend your mornings will largely determine how productive your day is going to be.

Here's 7 things effective children's ministry leaders do every morning.

1. Get up early.  Effective children's ministry leaders get an early start.  You will rarely catch them hitting the snooze button.  

2. Spend time with God.  They start their day by connecting with God through prayer and Bible reading.  Their ministry is an overflow of their relationship with God.

3. Eat something healthy for breakfast.  They realize that the first meal is the most important meal of the day.  They fuel their body with healthy food choices.

4. Read to learn.  Whether it's a book, blog, news feed or website, they make time to grow as leaders.

5. Make a do list.  They make a list of tasks they want to accomplish that day.

6. Block time to check email.  They check their email and respond where needed.  Instead of being controlled by email throughout the day, they have set times to check it. 

7. Tackle the big tasks first.  They prioritize their tasks and work on the most important ones first instead of procrastinating.

Your turn, share with us in the comment section below.
What are some other parts of your morning routine as a leader?
What are some other morning practices you have observed in effective leaders? 

Want to know if you're on a terrible Children's Ministry Team?  Here's 10 signs things aren't healthy.

10.  Children's Ministry is seen as "childcare." 

9.  When conflict arises, instead of being addressed in a Biblical manner, it's pushed under the rug and simmers.

8.  Kids are constantly asking, "When is the service going to be over?"

7.  You often hear, "Can you please stay over and serve another service?  We really need you for another hour."

6.  Your feedback is not received or listened to.

5.  You haven't heard the words "Thank you" in a long time.

4.  Change is resisted...especially where it's needed the most.

3.  The church calendar is so full that you find yourself at church more than you are home.

2.  You are kept in the dark due to lack of communication.

1.  Instead of being placed in your area of giftedness, you were asked to serve where there was a "need."

Your turn.  What are some other signs you're on an unhealthy Children's Ministry team?  Share your thoughts with us in the comment section below.

P.S. Do you find yourself on a terrible team?  Here's some help. 

A healthy children's ministry team makes time to reflect and refocus through feedback.  Feedback is a vital part of team growth.  This includes giving feedback and gathering feedback.

Why it's important to give feedback to your volunteers...

• It helps them grow as disciples. (Hebrews 10:24, Philippians 4:9)
• It helps them live out the mission of your ministry.
• It helps them become self-motivated learners.
• It helps them feel valued and affirmed.

How to give feedback effectively...

• Privately
• Ongoing
• Takes the person toward a goal
• Based on relationship
• Ask for permission
• Use the word "and" instead of "but"

Example:
Wrong way - "You did a good job teaching, but your voice was monotone."
Right way - "You did a good job teaching and I think you can be even more effective if you vary your voice levels.")

How to gather feedback...

• Build in a healthy rhythm to gather feedback from volunteers.
• Gather feedback after events.
• What went well?
• What was missing?
• What needs to be changed?
• What needs to be added?
• What needs to be dropped?
• What will make it better?
• Gather feedback from parents through focus groups.  See more about this here.
• Gather feedback from guests through new family surveys.  See more about this here.
• Gather feedback through online surveys. (www.surveymonkey.com)
• Gather balanced feedback.  Use a diverse group of people such as new families, families that have been in the church a long time, single parents, etc.

What to do with feedback...

• Don't take it personal.  Everyone says they are teachable until there is a lesson to be learned.
• Listen to it.
• Thank them for it.
• Work through it with your team.
• Implement what will be helpful.
• Use it to cast vision and redirect.  If you get feedback that goes against the vision or core values of your church, use it as a time to share with the person why you do what you do.
• Loop back and let people know what you did with the feedback and any changes you were able to make.

With millions of people watching world-wide, a 12-year-old girl named Julia Dale, recently sang the national anthem at the NBA championship game.

Normally at a game of this magnitude, a famous adult singer would have been chosen.  But not this time.  This time, it was a 4 ft. 3 in. little girl stepping into the spotlight.

There is much the church can learn from this.

God has given children gifts...and they can use them now.  Yes, kids have gifts.  And they don't have to wait until they are adults to use them.  In fact, now is the time to help them begin to discover and cultivate the gifts God has given them. 

Children are not just the church of tomorrow.  They are the church of today.  There is no "Jr. Holy Spirit."  Kids are just as much a part of the church as adults are.  A healthy church family is made up of grandparents, parents, and children.

God can use children in amazing ways.  Throughout the Bible, we see God using children.  Samuel, Naaman's handmaid, the children praising Jesus in the temple, David, and the boy with five loaves and two fish are just a few examples.  God wants to use children today as well.  He's just waiting for us to give them the opportunity. 

Children can lead the way.  I have seen children lead the way in giving, serving, prayer, and more.  I have seen God use children to bring an entire family to Christ.

But how many times do we tell children to "sit still and be quiet?"  And then we wonder why they are "sitting still and being quiet" when they become adults.  It's time we empower kids to lead.

Involve children in the life of the church now if you want them to be in the church when they are adults.  We've all seen the stats of how many kids drop out of church when they graduate from high school.

Could it be because they never felt connected to the church body as a whole?  Could it be because we isolate them as children and students?  And when they graduate they can't relate to the rest of the church and drop out?  We must find ways to involve and include them in the entire life of the church.

So there's the big picture.  If you'd like specific ways we are empowering kids to do the above, feel free to leave questions in the comment section below and we will be glad to share.