Take Time to Be Thankful . . . Say & Show It!

Yes, when it comes to Children's Ministry there are many things we pray about, many things we ask of others and many things we receive; all of which we can be thankful, but how often do we take time to express our thankfulness? While it is important for our ministries to be ones where we are quick to pray, they also need to be ones characterized by a spirit of genuine thankfulness as well. consider the following . . . 

• God absolutely wants us to be people who pray. He promises to hear, listen, answer and pay attention to our prayers. We must be people who are serious about praying when it comes to our Children's Ministries. But, we also must be people who are serious about thanking God. 
• I love holding a prayer walk before the Fall ministries begin where we invite people to visit classes and pray for the volunteers, children and ministry which will be taking place over the coming year. I also think it is equally as important to hold a Thanksgiving Walk, where we invite people to revisit the classrooms and take time to thank God for how He has and continues to answer our prayers.  
• Be sure to follow up prayer requests with information about how God is answering prayers.
• Consider focusing on one thing you are thankful for each month and involve children, parents and grandparents in joining with you to express your thanks to God.
• Be sure to show and say your thanks to volunteers - all year long! This includes saying thank-you when you see volunteers. To this point, do NOT have a "canned" "thank you" . . . like saying; "Thank you for your service." and then moving on. Thank people for serving and then take time to ask them what they are most enjoying about serving and how you may pray for them. Do not just say a canned thank you. Be genuine, sincere and personal in your thank yous.
• Plan special expressions of thanks . . . such as in the Fall, give each volunteer an apple with a tag which says; "Praying for a fruitful year of ministry. Thank you for being part of our Children's Ministry team!"
• Plan big thank yous . . . Holiday Open Houses, Spring Dinners . . . opportunities to hold your volunteers up and thank them in a big way.
• Be focused upon sending a personal note when someone gives your Children's Ministry something. 

These are just a few ways to show your thankfulness. Be known for being a person who is genuinely thankful and who takes the time to say and show it!

How do you show your thankfulness?