Showing posts with label mistakes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mistakes. Show all posts
15 Worst Mistakes You Can Make as a Children's Ministry Leader
7 Bad Behaviors That Will Hurt You as a Children's Ministry Leader
#1 - Unwillingness to change. Just because it worked yesterday doesn't mean it will work tomorrow.
In my own personal life, I have found it's easy to change things that someone else started, but it's more difficult to change something I started or initiated. Do you struggle with that as well? If you are unwilling to change, it will hurt you.
#2 - Pride. Pride says you've arrived. Pride says you've learned it all. Pride says you don't need help from others. Pride makes you unteachable and that's a dangerous place to be as a leader.
#3 - Inflexibility. "My way or the highway" is a road to dysfunction. If you are unwilling to give and take with the people you serve with, you may think you are "winning" battles, but in reality you're losing.
#4 - Not taking the blame. Great leaders always take responsibility for their actions instead of trying to place the blame on someone else. They acknowledge what they did wrong and make it right.
#5 - Disorganization. If you are disorganized, you can "wing it" for awhile, but it will catch up with you. Volunteers will only tolerate disorganization for so long. If you are not naturally an organized person, don't hide behind that excuse. Organization and planning can be learned.
#6 - Not being self-aware. If you don't know your strengths and weaknesses, you will tend to overlook important flaws in your life and not correct them. Gather people around you that will speak into your life and help you identify and fix your blind spots.
#7 - Not learning from your mistakes. Mistakes are part of learning. If you can't identify your mistakes, you won't grow much beyond where you currently are as a leader.
The floor is yours. What are some other mistakes that will hurt you as a children's ministry leader. Share your thoughts with us in the comment section below.
The Top 10 Mistakes of New Children's Ministry Leaders
I share these in the hope that it will help someone else avoid making them.
1. Not focusing on learning to lead adults just as much as you focus on learning to lead kids. You can be amazing at leading kids, but if you can't lead adults you will have a hard time in children's ministry. Spend time learning how to lead adults.
2. Trying to do it by yourself.
Try to be Super Children's Director and do it all by yourself. You'll last about two months. It's not what you can do, it's what you can empower others to do.
3. Thinking busyness equals effectiveness.
You can run your hardest all day on a treadmill but you'll stay in the same spot. Focus on a few things and do them really well.
4. Talking more than you listen.
When you're first starting out, you think you have all the answers. Success comes when you reverse that and have all the questions.
5. Making changes too quickly.
Change should be a process not a surprise. If you're entering a new ministry, make changes slowly.
6. Not building bridges to other ministries inside the church.
Don't be a silo. Reach out to the other leaders and ask how you can partner with, serve and support them.
7. Not making sharpening your people skills a priority.
Ministry is all about relationships. Get good at navigating them. Especially when it comes to dealing with conflict.
8. Trying to build a team with need instead of vision.
People are drawn to vision. Appearing needy has the opposite effect.
9. Forgetting about parents.
Parents are the biggest influence on kids. Always think parents. How can you partner with parents and equip them to disciple their kids?
10. Not being self aware.
Get to know yourself. Especially find out what your blind spots are by asking others. A better you = a better ministry.
What are some other mistakes new children's ministry leaders make? Share your thoughts with us in the comment section below.
20 Easy Ways to Increase Volunteer Teamwork
- Acknowledge each other's strengths and weaknesses.
- Engage in conversation that leads to great communication.
- Correct in private.
- Be open to other people's ways of achieving goals.
- Resolve disputes quickly. Go directly to the offender and address the issue.
- Discuss new ideas frequently.
- Suggest solutions instead of complaining.
- Ask for feedback.
- Offer feedback after you are asked to give it.
- Help each other succeed.
- Compliment each others successes.
- Share the limelight.
- Learn to relax.
- Have a party and celebrate.
- Get to know one another.
- Be prepared to scrap ideas that aren't working.
- Forgive one another when mistakes are made.
- Keep in close contact with each other.
- Designate roles.
- Listen to words....spoken and unspoken.
25 Game-Changing Ideas for Your Children's Ministry from Disney (pt.1)
It's written by Marty Sklar. Marty is a Disney legend and Imagineer. I am picking up so many great ideas from this book about connecting with children and families. Here's the first 25...
Know your audience. Identify the prime audience for your attraction or show before you begin your design.
Wear your guests' shoes. Insist that your team members experience your creation just the way guests do.
Organize the flow of people and ideas. Make sure there is a logic and sequence in your stories and in the way guests experience them.
Create a visual magnet. Create visual targets that will lead visitors clearly and logically through your facility.
Communicate with visual literacy. Make good use of color, shape, form, texture - all the nonverbal ways of communication.
Avoid overload - create turn-ons. Resist the temptation to overload your audience with too much information and too many objects.
Tell one story at a time. Stick to the story line; good stories are clear, logical, and consistent.
Avoid contradictions - maintain identity. Details in design or content that contradict one another confuse an audience about your story or the time period it takes place in.
For every ounce of treatment, provide a ton of treat. Educate people, but don't tell them you're going to do it. Make it fun!
Keep it up! Maintain things. Everything must work. Poor maintenance is a poor show.
Create and maintain a climate of trust.
Be responsive and make decisions - that's what leaders do!
Empower your teammates - it takes many hands to bake success.
Create opportunities for new birds to fly.
Remember - experience is not a negative.
Make sure yours is not the only voice you are listening to.
Celebrate diversity and different points of view.
Never rest on your laurels - the next at-bat is your most important.
Take a chance. Support risk taking.
Provide plenty of blank paper.
Creative people thrive on "yes if."
One of Walt's strengths in his relationship with talent was that he made it clear he cared about us.
He taught the team concept by his own actions. Everyone was equal in a story meeting - Walt just rolled up his sleeves and was one of the group.
Walt was open to everyone's thoughts. He was a referee.
Disney makes many mistakes; what artist doesn't? But when we fly, we really fly.
Stop by tomorrow for 25 more ideas.
Why You Need to Be an Inspiring Children's Ministry Leader: The 10 Key Steps
As a children's ministry leader, it's vital that you have the ability to inspire others.
When we talk about being "inspiring" you may be thinking it has to be someone who is extremely gifted, has a charismatic personality, is a people magnet or can give dynamic, soul-stirring speeches.
If that's not you, don't worry. That's not what being inspiring is really all about anyways. Anyone can be inspiring if they take the right steps and work at it.
Here's 10 key steps you can take to become an inspiring children's ministry leader.
Inspiring leaders collaborate.
Do you want to inspire people? Then include them. Inspiring leaders don't bark down orders. They gather people and create something together. When people have a part in creating something instead of just being handed something, they are inspired.
Inspiring leaders develop people.
When you are intentional about pouring into people...when people know you are committed to helping them become a better person and leader...when you call people up instead of calling them out...it inspires them. They will be drawn to you.
Inspiring leaders empower people and then get out of the way.
Inspiring leadership and micromanaging aren't compatible. Inspiring leaders empower people and then give them room to lead, fail, and learn from their failures.
Inspiring leaders ask the right questions.
You don't always need to have the best answer. Just learn to ask the right questions to draw out the best answer from the team. Lead with questions just as much or more than you do with answers.
Inspiring leaders admit their mistakes.
Be quick to admit your mistakes. Be the first one to apologize. Humility and transparency inspires others.
Inspiring leaders lead by example.
Go the second mile and when you ask your team to go the second mile, go the third mile. Inspiration is caught by example more than it is taught by words.
Inspiring leaders build relationships.
Inspiring leaders don't lead by title or position...they lead by relationships. Love people for who they are instead of for what they can do. When people know you really care about them, their hearts will be drawn to you. Inspiration is created through relationship.
Inspiring leaders give away the credit for wins and take the blame for failures.
It inspires people when you put them in the spotlight instead of yourself. It also inspires people when they know you've got their back and when something goes wrong, you take the ultimate responsibility.
Inspiring leaders continually fill people's vision tank.
Constantly share the "why" of what your team does. Realize that vision leaks, so keep the vision front and center. And you don't have to be an "inspirational" speaker to do this. This is done just as effectively in small gatherings or individually.
Inspiring leaders are faithful.
There is something about long term faithfulness that inspires people. You will find the longer you are in ministry, the more inspiration potential you will have. Time and experience are two of your best inspiration allies. Stay the course.
What are some other traits of inspiring leaders?
What are some traits in leaders that have personally inspired you?
Share your thoughts with us in the comment section below.
10 Mistakes Children's Ministers Make
- They use the word "need" when trying to recruit volunteers. People are drawn to vision, not need.
- They think Children's Ministry is only about children. It's just as much about adult volunteers and parents as it is about children.
- They fail to raise up leaders of leaders. It's not what you can do, it's what you can empower others to do.
- They think small details don't matter. Excellence is found in doing the details well.
- They bring problems to their pastor instead of bringing problems and possible answers.
- They let working for God overtake being with God.
- They target the youngest child in the room in their teaching instead of targeting the oldest child in the room.
- They equate a full calendar with success. Think outcome, not activity.
- They program for the extremes instead of the middle. Don't program for your most conservative families or the ones who could care less about anything you're doing. Program for your average family.
- They think head knowledge alone equals spiritual growth. Spiritual growth comes from a balance of knowledge, community, and serving.
7 Deadly Mistakes You Can't Afford to Make in Children's Ministry
Allowing someone to serve who has abused or molested a child in the past. If a person has ever abused or molested a child, they should not serve in Children's Ministry...period. Yes, God forgives and perhaps they can serve in another ministry in the church...but not in Children's Ministry.
Being disloyal to your Senior Pastor or Senior Leadership. If you can't follow the vision and direction of the church, then leave quietly.
Immorality. Put personal boundaries in place for you and your staff. If you are married, one boundary would be to never ride alone in a car with a member of the opposite sex.
Allowing a volunteer to be alone with a child. Never allow anyone to be alone with a child. There must be two volunteers present at all times.
Not having a check-in and check-out security system in place. This is a non-negotiable. If you don't have computer check-in, then use peel and stick name tags with matching numbers.
Not running background checks on everyone who wants to serve. Do they cost money? Yes. But you can't afford NOT to run background checks.
Not reporting abuse. You are a mandatory reporter of abuse. Have steps you take before reporting, but when it's to the point where you need to report...then report!
Are You Making These Mistakes In Your Children's Ministry?
Here are 7 mistakes you can't afford to make if you want to see your Children's Ministry impact kids and families.
Having too many programs.
Are you trying to do too much? Are you spreading your volunteers too thin? Are you trying to keep ineffective programs propped up? Are you doing a lot with mediocrity or a few things with excellence?
Trying to get volunteers through pulpit and bulletin announcements.
Public pleas for help can push people away from serving instead of drawing them toward serving.
Not following volunteer-to-child ratios.
If you are consistently violating volunteer-to-child ratios, you are making a mistake. The band-aid you are putting on a bigger issue such as lack of space or lack of volunteers is hurting instead of helping.
Not maximizing the first 8 minutes.
People decide in the first 8 minutes if they are going to return to your church. If you're not working hard to make those first 8 minutes the best experience for new families, you are severely limiting how many will return.
Not having a security system in place.
If you don't have a check-in / check-out system in place, you are putting children at risk.
Not running background checks on everyone who serves.
You can't afford not to run background checks on everyone who serves with children. If you are not doing this, you are endangering the children and setting your church up for a lawsuit.
Having training that no one attends.
Why are you continuing to hold training meetings that only a small percentage of your volunteers are attending? Is it time to adjust your training and try something new?
Posted by Dale Hudson
