Lead Well

When I first started working in children’s ministry as a part-time bi-vocational pastor, I was so excited to finally work with kids every week. I looked forward to the fun we would have and the lessons we would learn as we explored the Bible together. Alas, I learned quickly that this is not always the case. If you’ve been full time, part time, or even a volunteer leader in children’s ministry, you know exactly what I’m talking about. A typical week is spent planning, recruiting, organizing, scheduling, and juggling more balls than we care to count. It’s a tough job, and no one should do it alone. What you need is a team and a plan. Our kids are our future, and we can’t take that lightly by using a few puppets and adding baking soda to vinegar (again) to make our point. The problem is that many children’s workers I’ve met don’t know how to lead an organization. This was my challenge, and I’m sure many of you lack these skills as well. Framework Leadership by Kent Ingle gives

"We don't know!" That's what a Rainbow exclaimed Wednesday night during the Mpact Award Ceremony when asked what their club colors are. It provided a great laugh and little bit of embarrassment for the parent and his teacher. It reminds me of a truth about working with kids that you know if you've been working with them for longer than 6 months. They'll say just about anything and tell you they remember nothing. It's a problem for teachers all around that brings frustration and sometimes laughter, but that doesn't mean we should just give up. On the contrary we should keep working because the message does get through...eventually. The truth is, as we all found out shortly after the Rainbow's proclamation, is that the kids did know their colors and what they mean. If you're working in children's ministry, you're training kids to have a life-long faith. Sometimes we think it's going to be this big meaningful thing we've p

We’ve been doing Orange for about 2 years and made the transition to small groups 5 years ago. Growing up in the traditional children’s church model of Sunday School and Large group, it has been an uphill battle understanding what it takes to lead a quality small group that focuses on relationship over content and teach others to do the same. One of the hardest principles of Lead Small is Partner with Parents. I know it’s a great idea, and I use the tools that 252 provides for take homes, but I wasn’t confident that my SGL’s were connecting with their few or their parents outside of Sunday morning. One of the things I love about Weekly is their weekly to do lists. I don’t do everything on the list, but it’s great to get some ideas. Recently, they listed a small group leader focus group. I loved all the questions and how it gave me a plan to get a pulse on what my small group leaders were thinking. I’ve learned that unless you put something on the calendar it won’t happe

Eight years ago my lead pastor said something I will never forget. He had just cast the vision to go multisite and had received approval from the board. I was ecstatic for the upcoming challenges and the “prestige” of becoming a children’s pastor of multiple campuses. As we were walking to the children’s area, I started to share with him my plans for the ministry when he abruptly stopped me. He said, “David, I’m not planning on you being the children’s pastor of both campuses. You have to grow in leadership before I can trust you to do that. You will probably just be here at this campus.” I’ll be honest. That knocked me down a couple of pegs. I was devastated to say the least, but the dream was born. It was big. It was scary. It was roaring at me like a 500-pound lion. I didn’t know what to do or where to go, but I knew I had my marching orders. What is your 500-pound dream? What is the one thing you know God has called you to do? Does it scare you? If so, good. Is it risky?

When working with other leaders, the question I hear often is, “How do I lead up?” They may not use that phrase exactly. It usually comes out like, “Why won’t my leader do this?” or “How can I get them to see it my way?” This is a common theme among any leader who must submit to the authority of someone else.       Every leader who must submit is faced with two options: They can sit on the back row and criticize every move their leader makes, or they can move to the front row and bring about the change they know needs to happen.    The thing is, it’s always easier to sit in the back. You don’t have to do anything but criticize and talk about how much better it would be if they would just do it “your way.”  Back-row leaders get a certain joy out of seeing their leaders fail and convince themselves that they know the right way. Back-row leaders are ultimately poisonous to the organization because of their negativity. They do bring change, but unfortunately it's usually t

This year I set out to read only 10 books.  I guess I went a little overboard and read 18 instead.  I became a parent in early 2015 and started leading a parent lifegroup in 2016, so I spent a lot more time reading parenting books than I ever have before. I've also gone all in on the Rethink Group's ministry philosophy of Orange, so I read a lot of those books as well.  Here's the list with links. Talk Now and Later by Brian Dollar  The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson It's Just a Phase by Reggie Joiner and Kristin Ivy The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey Creating A Lead Small Culture by Reggie Joiner, Kristin Ivy, and Elle Campbell Children's Ministry Leadership by Jim Wideman  Good or God by John Bevere Strengths Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath One and Two by Reggie Joiner and Kristin Ivy Connect with Kids by Jim Wideman  Don't Miss It by Reggie Joiner and Kristin Ivy Parent Chat by Matt McKee The 3 Big Questions for a Frantic Family b

When Junior Bible Quiz (JBQ) season ended earlier this year at my church, I wasn't sure if it would be able to continue. With only one confirmed member returning, starting the new season in August seemed near impossible. But with God all things are possible. The ministry coordinators and I started to pray for God to send 3 new families into the ministry so we could continue this important ministry where kids learn God's Word like nowhere else. When August rolled around, God came through. Fast forward to this weekend and we have a bigger team than we've had in years, and to top it all off we went undefeated in our division.  Something we also haven't done in years. Thank you to the families and volunteers who dedicate their time to teaching these kids about God and the Bible. It's all working toward training our kids in the way they should go so that when they grow old they will not turn from it. This is just one example of God coming through and answ