RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

Twice a year, I take our children's ministry staff on a retreat.  One is held in January as we prepare for a new year of ministry and one is held in the summer as we prepare for the fall season of ministry.

We just finished up our 2016 summer staff retreat last week.  The word God had given me for this retreat was "Thirsty" from Isaiah 44:3 that says, "I will pour water on him who is thirsty."
We talked about staying thirsty for God to move in our personal lives and in our ministry.

The retreat featured 5 sessions plus a fun team building activity in the afternoon.  Today I'll share the notes from the first 3 sessions and share the final two tomorrow.  

Session 1 - Thirsty for Personal Growth

James & Lisa Duvall
(James is the the Executive Director of Ministries at our church and Lisa is the Director of Women's Programs)

• Take care of yourself physically.  Your physical body is connected to your spiritual body.  If we are not physically strong, we will be emotionally and spiritually weak.
• Read - leaders are readers.
• Stay curious.  Ask why.
• Just like Jesus kept growing, we need to keep growing. (Luke 2:52) 
• Spend more time on your character than on your gifts and talents. 
• Be the best version of yourself instead of trying to become someone else.
• Nothing changes if nothing changes
• Grow in your favor with others. 
• Be a note taker.
• Growth is painful but always worth it.
• If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.  Not planning is a plan itself. 
• Don't become complacent in your comfort zone. 
• Stay teachable. 
• Make peace with people right away. 
• Expect pain.  It's part of growth. 
• Work on being likeable.
• Strive to be a peacemaker. 
• Become good at being a conversation starter.
• Grow in favor with God through reading His Word and prayer.
• Work on your spiritual disciplines. 
• Challenge yourself daily.
• Commit to excercise. 
• Don't take offense at every little comment. 
• Learn to be still. 

Session 2 - Thirsty for Volunteers

Frank Bealer
(Director of Ministries at Elevation Church)

• Follow up with volunteers when they miss and let them know you missed them.  This includes when you know they are going to be gone (example - vacation).
• High retention of volunteers is centered on making it personal.
• Have your coordinators take snacks to the volunteers in the room.
• Take good care of staff and volunteers' kids. 
• Contact at least 3 volunteers a week.
• Communicate the ministries' values to volunteers and have them memorize them. 
• When the lines between staff and volunteers is blurred, you have become effective. 
• Identify leaders you can call up to lead other volunteers. 
• Provide every volunteer with a clear job description.
• Encourage volunteers individually.
• Schedule random times to thank volunteers.
• Give your volunteers a voice.  Provide them with ways to give you feedback.
• Embrace your limitations.
• Your core values should guide your decision making.
• Thank your volunteers when you don't have to.
• Get to know your volunteers personally.
• People want to be known and loved. 
• Meet with your volunteers when you don't need anything from them. 
• Help your volunteers see why they are doing what they are doing. 
• Send your volunteers a text message to let them know you are thinking about them and don't ask for anything. 

Session 3 - Thirsty for Outreach

Allyson Evans
Next Gen Director at Life Church

• Make sure you are personally reaching out to people and inviting them to church. 
• Keep a commitment to excellence.
• Tell stories.  Develop a story-telling culture.
• Keep your relationship with God fresh.
• Treat every weekend, every service, like it's your first. 
• Don't seclude yourself.
• Stay refreshed in Jesus.
• Put people over tasks by giving the tasks to people.
• Every weekend is your Super Bowl.
• Remember why and when God called you into ministry.
• Our role is to put people before ourselves.
• No matter how large your church is...it's just a micro percentage of the number of people who are still lost.  Be a micro church with a mega vision.
• Keep your eyes open to people's needs. 
• Write down what God is teaching you and reflect on it. 
• Pay attention and listen to what God is doing around you.
• Replace yourself.
• Walk slowly through the crowd and connect with kids and families.
• Be intentional about finding and telling stories. 
• Identify what you can give away.

Stay tuned for sessions 4 & 5 tomorrow.  Have a great day. 

One of the best ways to get ideas for your children's ministry is by studying other children's ministries that are getting the job done.

Conferences are great, but I believe visiting, observing and studying other children's ministries is just as helpful.  Many of the things our children's ministry does were sparked by something we saw other ministries doing successfully.

Below are 10 children's ministries that are doing a great job reaching kids and families.  In other words, they've got it going on!  They're not just talking about impacting kids, they're actually doing it.

North Point Church has been a leader in children and family ministry since it's inception in 1995.  Reggie Joiner is a pioneer in family ministry (I actually call him the godfather of family ministry) and led the team at North Point to reach thousands of kids and families.  Reggie then left to begin The ReThink Group and help other churches reach families.  Kendra Fleming and the North Point team have continued to bring innovation, leadership, and great creativity to children's and family ministry.  If you're serious about reaching families, study what North Point is doing.

Team Kid is the children's ministry of Second Baptist Church of Houston.  They are reaching thousands of kids and families in their city.  From an amazing preschool ministry to their JUMP kids' worship services, they are highly effective in reaching kids.  At Christmas, they do an incredible Christmas family show that reaches thousands of kids and parents.

Kids' Club is the children's ministry of Crossroads Church in the Cincinnati area.  The ministry is led by my friend, Kim Botto.  They are doing an amazing job reaching kids.  They are also producing some amazing resources including songs and videos.

Church on the Move has been a leader in children's ministry since it's beginning days.  Lead Pastor Willie George has always had a heart to reach kids and has used the Gospel Bill TV show to reach kids around the world.  My friend and one of my heroes in children's ministry, Jim Wideman, led the ministry there for years.  Kids on the Move continues to produce incredible worship songs, curriculum, videos and other resources you can access.

Life Church is a leader in multi-site children's ministry and is reaching kids across the country.  Their children's ministry is called Life Kids.  Life Kids produces amazing curriculum that they share with other churches for free.  Check it out here.  They are also a leader in using technology to share God's Word.  The Bible app for kids is helping thousands of kids discover God's Word.

Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas has always made children's ministry a top priority.   This is evident in their programming, facilities and staffing.  The result - they are reaching thousands of kids in the Dallas metro area.  One of my heroes in children's ministry, Sondra Saunders, led Prestonwood Kidz for decades.  Now my friend, Diane Pendley, leads the children's ministry.  She has an amazing staff and team of volunteers who are committed to reaching the next generation.  

Fellowship Church in the Dallas metro area is impacting thousands of kids each week.  My friend, Mike Johnson, leads FC Kids.  He and his team are highly creative and produce incredible resources for other churches.  They are the masterminds behind Elevation Curriculum.  And...Mike has the coolest children's ministry office on the planet.

Gateway Church is another church in the Dallas metro area that is making a huge impact.  Ken Jackson leads their children's ministry called Amazing Kids.  Amazing Kids has exploded with growth.  Not only are they impacting kids in their city, but also churches across the country through their worship songs for kids.  Check out their worship music.

Saddleback Church in California has been a national leader in children's ministries for years.  My friend, Steve Adams, leads Saddleback Kids.  Their commitment to children's ministry is reflected in everything they do.  They produce amazing curriculum and resources that impact kids' lives.  They set the bar for what children's ministry should be in the local church.

eKidz is the children's ministry of Elevation Church in the Charlotte area.  They have exploded with growth and are on the cutting edge of children's ministry.  You can access their amazing, free curriculum and resources at this site.

What are some other churches that we can learn from?  List some more for us in the comment section below.

Are you looking for tools and techniques that will take your children’s ministry to the next level...and impact kids' lives like never before?   I wrote this book with my friend, Scott Werner from Life Church, to share 100 sure-fire "how-tos:"

You'll discover how to...

• Equip volunteers to love serving and stay for the long haul
• Develop a dynamic ministry area that kids love and bring their friends to
• Rev up your vision and get your team excited
• And much, much more!

You can order your copy at this link.