Lead Well

I have led vacation Bible school (VBS) almost every year of my ministry and had participated in VBS for as long as I can remember. When I first heard about MEGA Sports Camp (MSC), I was resistant, because I was very happy with the curriculum I was using. I had systems and procedures in place to put on a large VBS without having to reinvent the wheel every year. However, over the past few years, I’ve seen a shift in my area. I was doing some well-known VBS programs, and our church was just one of many churches in my town doing those same programs. I also kept seeing the same kids from other churches come to our VBS without experiencing any real life change. I knew I had to try a different curriculum. A ministry of my church takes place at a private school that serves kids from six weeks old to twelfth grade, and that has all the sports facilities and equipment I needed for MEGA Sports Camp. Hosting the camp seemed almost like a no brainer, so I decided to give it a shot this sum...

Designed by Freepik This year was full of big changes.  In October, I accepted a new position at Church of Hope in Sarasota, Florida and said goodbye to all the friends we made in Montgomery.  With that change came a lot of stress.  As a result, I read a lot more fiction this year, than I have in a long time. My favorite book this year by far was The Road Back to You  by Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile.  If you didn't hear about the Enneagram this year, you may be living under a rock, but I can say that it is so much more than a personality assessment.  It's about understanding the why of who you are and finding spiritual renewal as you search for health.  I have to say this book has impacted the way I look at life and how I interact with others second only to the Bible.  If you haven't read it yet, you should. So here's my list for 2018 in no particular order: The Bible The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson It's Just a Phase 3 by...

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...