Lead Well

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash VBS is one of the most complex ministry outreaches in children’s ministries. It takes 3-6 months to put on a one-week event for tons of kids and a major part of the kidmin annual rhythm. One of the more complex yet essential parts of VBS is the schedule. It answers the question, “How are you going to get multiple groups of kids to multiple rooms throughout your campus all at the same time, not lose anyone, make time for bathroom breaks, and still get all the content covered?” While most curriculums have their own suggested schedule based on their proprietary structure, I’ve found most of them follow the same model. I’ve used the same basic schedule template for the last 20 years and today, I’m sharing it with you. Click here to download your VBS Schedule templates. Whatever you use for your schedule there are 5 essential questions you need to ask when creating it. 1. Is this a Day or Night VBS? The first question you have to answer is what tim...

Photo by Edu Lauton on Unsplash It's January and that means it's time to start working on VBS. I know it’s 6-7 months out, but there are a few high-level decisions you need to make now to set you up for success in the coming months. One of the first questions that is asked is, "What VBS curriculum should my church use? The truth is there are a lot of great curriculums out there, and while I have my preferences, I won’t advocate for any of them in this post. When picking out a VBS curriculum there are so many things to consider. Theme Cost Content Structure Strategy Music Volunteer needs So much more While you will need to answer all those questions, I think there are three main questions you need to answer before any others. Three Questions to Ask Before Picking a VBS 1. Strategy (Why are you doing this?) For me this is the most essential question to answer.  If you don't take the time to think through your strategy, you're just throwing a dart at the wall ...

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash Family services. Love them or hate them, they have their place. I'm an advocate for family services because I believe children’s ministry needs to be more than a ministry held in another room never to be seen or heard from. These services can be a great tool for emphasizing ministry to the next generation, highlight the great things that are happening, and give your volunteers a much needed week off. Some churches do them great and others never have them. The churches that I’ve served in have been on both sides of the spectrum and somewhere in between. Here are 6 Steps to a Great Family Service.

Photo by Adam Winger on Unsplash One of the biggest questions I see in the Kidmin world is what curriculum do we use? Which one is better? 252Kids ? High Voltage ? Bible Engagement ? Open Church ? Write your own? The curriculum options out there are endless, and you can spend a lot of time, energy, and money trying to find the right one for your ministry. I’ve tested a lot of curriculums over the years and even tried to write my own. It’s a daunting task. I searched for over a year once, and all I really wanted was someone to tell me which one to do. Fortunately, no one did, and I’m not going to tell you which one either. However, I will give you four questions to help narrow it down and pick a curriculum that works best for your church and ministry.

Photo by Jesus Loves Austin on Unsplash If you’ve been doing small groups in your kids service for any length of time, you may be asking what is the best way to split the kids up? Do we do it by grade? Gender? Favorite candy? Random? The truth is there is no perfect answer and depending on the size of your ministry and how many kids show up per service the answer will be different. I’ve studied churches like Northpoint Community Church and Church of the Highlands and asked them what they do. In addition, I've spoken with several Orange Specialists on what are the best practices for small groups. Here’s what I’ve found.

Photo by  Tegan Mierle  on  Unsplash Milestones are a marker for how far we’ve gone and how much further we need to go. You can call them goals, or behaviors, or events, but they’re things that we celebrate as the people we minister to develop an authentic faith that lasts a lifetime. I track these milestones for each person, and they’re what I report and celebrate at volunteer and parent meetings. These are how I show that the ministry is successful and mean so much more than having a big event or a great service. I originally wrote and used these for my children’s ministry, but now that I’m working youth and adults, I can see how they also apply to these age groups as well. The biggest difference is that the older demographics may not be starting at square one, while kids most likely are.

VBS was 5 days away. I’ve been working on it for weeks. There was a booth in the lobby, an announcement in the bulletin, posters in the children’s hall, volunteers recruited, and supplies arriving every day. It was on my own social media channels including the kids Facebook page, but I needed it to be said on the main church social channels. I created the content and sent it over to the social media manager. He said he loved it and would get it cued up for sharing. The he asked, “When is it?” “Monday.” Face palm. To be fair, the guy was new and didn’t have kids. He knew it was coming but hadn’t paid attention as to when. Parents and volunteers are sometimes worse. You can talk about the event or program over and over again. You put up posters, make slides, and make an announcement from the stage, and you get crickets. Or even worse, the week after your event, someone asks you when it is. I hope your story isn’t like this, but mine has been. It’s frustrating ...