RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY: keys

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7 Keys to Keeping Your Children's Ministry Safe

7:38 AM Dale Hudson

Making your children's ministry a safe place must be a top priority.

The first reason is to protect the children God has placed in your care. Not too concerned? Go to www.familywatchdog.us and put in your church address. You'll change your mind very quickly.

Secondly, to protect the ministry of your church. The evil one would love to hurt the cause of Christ and see the reputation of your children's ministry destroyed in the community.

Thirdly, is for parents to feel safe leaving their kids in your care. If parents don't feel their children are safe, they will not return. Your children's ministry will not grow because of this.

Here's 7 keys to making your children's ministry a safe place.

Key #1 - Background checks on everyone before they are approved to serve. Please, please, please don't skip this step. You can't afford not to.

Key #2 - Personal interview with everyone before they start serving. Sit down with each person and have a list of questions you ask them. This includes questions like, "Is there anything in your past that we need to know about that would make it questionable for you to serve with kids?"

Key #3 - Never allow anyone to be alone with a child. Do not open rooms until you have at least 2 volunteers present. This must be a non-negotiable.

Key #4 - Have a window so you can see in every room. There should be a window in the door or wall so people can see in the room at all times. (if possible also put a camera in every room that records the activities - there will be times when you will need to go back and watch the tape to see what happened in an incident)

Key #5 - Have "kid-only" restrooms. Adults should not be allowed in the bathrooms the kids use.

Key #6 - Have a check-in system that provides matching security tags for kids and their parents. Parents must have the matching tag to pick up their child. No exceptions. This is another non-negotiable.

Key # 7 - Only approved volunteers are allowed in the children's rooms. They should wear a name tag, shirt or badge that identifies them as an approved volunteers

One of these keys alone is not enough. The more you have in place, the safer your children's ministry will be. When you have all 7 in place, it creates a solid wall of protection.

What are some other steps you take to keep the kids in your ministry safe? Share with us in the comment section below.

12 Keys to Equipping Your Volunteer Team (Kidmin conference notes - pt. 2)

5:53 AM Dale Hudson

Here are the notes from the second session I taught at the Kidmin Conference. It covers 12 keys to equipping your volunteer team.

How to Build a Volunteer Team (video)

7:24 AM Dale Hudson

In this short video, I share some keys to building a great volunteer team. We've seen it work...we've added over 1,200 new volunteers to our team in the last 4 years.

These are principles that any ministry can use, no matter your size or situation, to build a thriving team.

11 Keys to Effectively Leading Volunteers

5:35 AM Unknown

“To lead people, walk beside them… As for the best leaders, the people do not notice their existence. The next best, the people honor and praise. The next, the people fear; and the next, the people hate …When the best leader’s work is done the people say, ‘We did it ourselves!”

Lao-Tsu

Key #1 – Lead by serving. The Bible reminds us in Matthew 23 that effective leadership is found in serving others. Great leadership is not measured by how many people are serving you, but instead by how many people you are serving.

Key #2 - Lead by relationship. People do not follow a title. They follow someone they love and respect. This does not happen overnight, but as you take time to build relationships with people.

Key #3 - Lead by following. To be an effective leader, you must first be an effectively follower. This means following the vision and direction of the Pastor and church you serve. This means not becoming a ministry silo, but instead coordinating with the other ministries in your church.

Key #4 - Lead by encouraging. 65% of workers say they have received no recognition or appreciation in the past 12 months. Be an intentional encourager. Walk around and personally thank your volunteers each week for serving. Keep a stack of note cards by your desk and discipline yourself to write thank you notes regularly.

Key #5 - Lead by learning. Effective leaders are always in school. They listen to their volunteers. They ask their volunteers for input and feedback.

Key #6 - Lead by equipping. An effective leader is an equipper. They realize their priority is to equip volunteers for the work of the ministry and they are constantly helping others reach their potential. They pour into others instead of trying to do everything themselves. They can step back into the shadows and everything will run smoothly without them.

Key #7 - Lead by praying. Nothing of eternal value is ever accomplished without prayer. Let your public leadership be a reflection of the private time you spend in prayer.

Key #8 - Lead by growing spiritually. You cannot take people where you have not been. An effective leader has a growing relationship with Jesus. This includes spending time in God’s Word on a daily basis. Each week you should have a fresh truth from God’s Word to share with your volunteers.

Key #9 - Lead by having character. Character means keeping your word and delivering on what you promise. It means having integrity and honesty. It means being trustworthy and reliable.

Key #10 – Lead by putting others in the spotlight. They would rather see their volunteers shine than themselves. They are quick to give others the credit for the victory and quick to take the blame for failure.

Key #11 – Lead by humility. The Bible reminds us again in Matthew 23 that an effective leader is someone who is humble. If you think you’re a great leader…then you’re not. Pride will drive away volunteers, while humility will attract them.

I don’t know about you, but I have a lot of work to do in all of these areas. Let’s strive to become more effective leaders for Christ.

Posted by Dale Hudson