RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

You can make a big impact as a children's ministry leader.  But think about the impact 3 of you could make.

It can happen, if you are intentional about multiplying yourself.  What if you started thinking...

"Who can I invest in?"

"Who can I teach to do what I do?"

"Who can teach this lesson with me and eventually teach by themselves?"

"Who do I see potential in?"

If you are going to multiply yourself as a leader, you should always have someone with you that you are showing how to do what you do.  Or you have strategically placed them with someone else on the team that will teach and model what their role entails.

Let's think together how we can help you multiply yourself.

1. I'd say the first step is to simply make a decision that you're going to multiply yourself.  Multiplying yourself is a mindset.  It has to be a strategy that you adopt and immerse yourself in.

Good leaders are powerful.  Great leaders are empowering.

It's a mindset that says "This is not about me.  It's about equipping others to be even better than me."

True success comes from helping others succeed.

Multiplying yourself is a mindset that compels you to work yourself out of a job by teaching others to do what you do.  Do it right and you should be able to sit back in the shadows and the ministry never misses a beat.

For this to happen, you have to leave your ego at the door and pick up "we go." 

2. Decide who you are going to invest in.  You should love everyone on your team equally, but be selective in who you choose to invest in.  Some character traits to look for are...

• teachable spirit

• passion for reaching the next generation

• faithfulness

• spiritual gifts are evident

• committed 

Your decision about who you are going to invest in, should be based on these things.  It's not the time for a charity case.  Choose people who you see potential in.  Your goal is to enhance and bring forth the gifts and character traits they already possess on a smaller scale.  And yes, you can multiply yourself in more than one person at a time.  But I recommend not going over 3 people at one time.  Example - inside the 12 disciples Jesus had - there were 3 that He really poured himself into - Peter, James and John.

So, who are those 3 people for you?  Who are your Peters, James and Johns?

1. __________________________

2. __________________________

3. __________________________

After you're got your list of 3 people, explain to them that you see tremendous potential in them.  And because of this, you'd like to personally mentor them in some areas you both agree on.

3. Plan it out.  Create clear steps for your people.  Some things to think about as you make plans...

• What area(s) of ministry are you going to teach them about?  Work with them to discover what area(s) of ministry they are passionate about. 

• How long will your investment be with them?  3 months?  6 months?  A year?

• Make a list of specific skills you want them to be efficient in as a result of their time with you.  

• Have ministry roles with increased responsibility that they can step into after their time with you. 

4. Realize it's ongoing.  Multiplying yourself is not an "one and done."  You should always be filling those 3 spots with new people.  You will always need more volunteers who are leaders rather than just doers.  As you continue to work these steps, you will see the multiplication accelerate, as the people you have invested in, begin to invest in 3 leaders as well.

You can get more great ideas to grow and multiply your volunteer team in my book "The Formula for Building Great Volunteer Teams."  It's availabe as an ebook and paperback at this link.

Time is your greatest investment and there's no shortage of things vying for it, is there?  That being said...where are you investing your time each week? 

Where you choose to invest your time will determine your effectiveness in children's ministry.

There are 3 areas that I believe are the best places to invest your time as a children's ministry leader.

INVESTMENT #1 - YOURSELF
I recently shared this quote from Rick Warren and I believe it is so true.

Years ago I stopped worrying about how to grow our church and instead focused on growing me.  As I grew me, our church grew.

First and foremost, invest in yourself each week.  Yes...we are supposed to put others before ourselves...except when it comes to our own spiritual health.  Proverbs reminds us what our #1 time investment should be.

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.          Proverbs 4:23

Everything flows from your relationship with God.  Everything.  Stop investing in yourself spiritually and you'll have nothing to invest in others.  Oh...you may keep going through the motions...but it will be a shallow, empty facade.  Don't fall into the trap of being so busy working for God that you don't have time to spend with God.  Spending time with God is the best investment you can make with your time.

INVESTMENT #2 - LEADERS
Remember...it's not what you can do...it's what you can empower others to do.  Spend time pouring into your volunteers...especially your key leaders.  I talk more about this in THE LAW OF THE FEW.  This will enable you to reproduce yourself and accomplish so much more than you could accomplish by yourself. 

Which one of your leaders will you have coffee with this week?  Which one of your leaders will you give feedback to this week?  Which one of your leaders will you hand a book to this week?  Which one of your leaders will you write a personal note of encouragement to this week?  Which one of your leaders will you email a great article you read this week?  Which one of your leaders will you meet with and give teaching tips to this week?  Which one of your leaders will you pray with this week?  Which one of your leaders will you give more responsibility to this week?

INVESTMENT #3 - FUTURE TEAM MEMBERS
The success of your children's ministry rises and falls on the strength of the volunteer team you build.  This means one of the top investments you can make with your time is inviting people to serve with you.  Week in and week out...asking people to join your team.  When it comes to building a volunteer team, there is no magic formula.  It's done one ask at a time...one person at a time.

Check your calendar.  What is it saying about your time investments?  Your time is precious.  Invest it wisely.  Invest it in yourself, your leaders and building your team.  

Your turn.  The floor is yours.  Share your thoughts about this with us in the comment section below.