Lead Well

I've been asked recently what I would consider a successful children's ministry, especially when it comes to parents. There are a lot things to do in kids ministry.  Sunday morning programing, Wednesday night, VBS, Egg Hunts, fall outreaches, small groups and so much more. It's easy to get overwhelmed with what you need to do next and what needs to be the top priority. These three things are not an exhaustive list, but if you can do these 3 things repeatedly over time, you will have a successful ministry regardless of what programs your running. Safety. In today's world safety has to be your top priority.  I'm one of the ones that thinks the best in people and truly believes that nothing is really going to happen.  That may be naivete, but I do know that not everyone thinks this way, especially moms.  They're first question, especially if their leaving their children with you is "Are they going to be safe?"  They want to know that everyon...

I have set out to write this post several times. It has been difficult to put into words all that Evangel means to me. When I started this journey with you seven years ago, I was eager, young, and fresh. I was starting my dream job doing what I know God had called me to do. I didn’t know exactly what that looked like or the path I would eventually take, but I am thankful for where I am today. As I say goodbye, the hardest part is saying goodbye to all the relationships that I have built over the past years. To Pastor Mike, and my fellow pastors, Pastor Bill, Pastor Chris, and Pastor Devon, you have been great friends as we’ve pushed each other to grow. To Lawana who has always had a listening ear and encouraging word. To Connie who we always joked that we missed each other over lunch. It’s not a joke anymore. To Crystal my sister from another mother. You’re leaving at the same time I am, but for great joy. I will miss your infectious laugh, you impatient proddi...

What is the chief end of man and how does that apply to my life? I had the privilege to share the answer to the first question from the Westminster Catechism on Sunday at Evangel Church.  Watch it below.

A few months ago, I was challenged by the folks at Orange to do a parent survey to find out how the children's ministry is connecting and partnering with parents.  Through their product Weekly , they made it super simple by giving all the necessary templates to create my survey in Survey Monkey and launch it out to my parents. I got about 24% of all parents from birth to 5th grade to answer this survey by emailing about once a week to ask them to take the survey. It gave me a lot of great insight and a snapshot of how the ministry is doing. Since I asked parents outside of normal weekly email to them, I was able to use Mailchimp's powerful list tools to remove the people who either didn't open my email or didn't click the survey link.  This allowed me not to spam my parents who are engaged and minimized people taking the survey more than once. A  big boost to participation for this survey is I made it worth their while by promising to put them in a drawing ...

Working in a smaller church as a kids’ pastor can be really tough. Yes, I have fewer kids than most of the larger churches, but I also wear a lot of “hats” in addition to children’s ministry director. These responsibilities can include building maintenance, pastoral care, event production—the list could go on and on. With all these other responsibilities, focusing on children’s ministry can be difficult. I’ve heard many first-year children’s pastors ask the question, “When do I actually get to work with kids?” The truth is, within a 40-hour work week, you may work with kids anywhere from 2-6 hours per week, depending on how many services your church runs. That’s about 10 percent of your time spent in doing what you love. Over the years I’ve dealt with this problem, and discovered some strategies that have helped me maintain ministry excellence while also getting everything else done. Below are some of these strategies: 1. Set your priorities. Sometimes I ask people, “What are your...

This year, was a much different list of books than I've read before.  I've learned that reading all non-fiction all the time can get boring and tedious.  So, I read more fiction than I've read since probably High School. It's a nice mini-vacation. In addition, I started writing book reviews for the AG Kidmin blog, which means I read a lot more children's ministry and spirituality books than I normally would have.  Here's my list: Smart Money Smart Kids by Rachel Cruze  Growing young by Kara Powell  The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson  Asohka by E. K. Johnston  The Daniel plan by Rick Warren  Framework Leadership by Kent Ingle  Well Versed by James Garlow  Do Over by Jon Acuff  Spreading the Fire by Scott Wilson  5 Levels of Leadership by John Maxwell  Foundations of Children's Evangelism by Dick Gruber  Clear the Stage by Scott Wilson  Rebel Rising by Beth Revis  Finish by Jon Acuff...