Don't Betray Others

The title of this post may have gotten your attention, and while I did want to get your attention, I also want you to stop and think about the following questions -

• Why is it in children's ministry - and in the church - we are often so quick to betray, marginalize and wound those who serve alongside us?
• Why do we use "shame" to further our own agendas and church politics to move people out of our way?
• Why do so many people end up deeply hurt in our churches?

I've served in churches where it was an absolute delight to do so! I've also served in churches where church politics and using people as "pawns" resulted in people feeling betrayed, wounded, feeling alone and marginalized. While the sad potential certainly exists for church politics to "rear it's ugly head" in any area in the church, I've noticed it shows up often in children's ministry. I've wondered why this happens, and think it may be for some of the following reasons -

So . . . A Few Thoughts About Why We Should Dream a Little!

I've been writing about dreaming a little . . . encouraged you to think about what you'd do if you weren't limited by money, time, space and staffing, gave you some affordable . . . and in some cases free . . . ideas of ways to see some of your "dreams" come true in your ministry and encouraged you to involve others in your church and larger community in seeing those dreams come true. I'd like to give you a couple additional things to think about when it comes to dreams . . .

Dream a Little - Part Two - Get Others In On the Dreaming!

In my earlier post, Dream a Little!, I encouraged you to dream about what you'd like to do in and with your ministry if money, time, space and volunteers were not an issue. I'd like to take this thought a little farther and encourage you to dream, but when you do, let others in on the "dreaming" with you!

Dream a Little!

It can be easy to get so involved with all we have to do with Children's Ministry . . . recruiting, training, teaching, etc . . . we find ourselves focusing on those things and don't ever take a moment to dream. 

Certainly we want to be sure we are taking care of the things we need to do, but we also need to make time to think about what we might like to see happen in our ministries as well. If money, time, space and staffing were not an issue, what would you like to be able to do in and with your Children's Ministry?  

Take the Blinders Off!

Okay - today I'm writing about something I care so very much about . . . Children's Ministry. Some of you who read this need to know, what I'm writing doesn't really apply to your Children's Ministry . . . but before you read a bit further and decide your ministry isn't the ministry I'm talking about, read the whole post and ask God to remove your "blinders" and help you honestly evaluate to see if there might be at least some of what I say which applies to your ministry.

I don't have horses . . . the one time I rode a horse the entire camp laughed about it all summer long (I was a counselor at a camp and they thought it would be nice for the counselors to have an opportunity to ride the horses . . . I just couldn't get my horse to go straight and we kept getting "stuck" in the bushes - it was an experience!) However, even though my personal horse experience is limited - and not highly successful - I do know about "blinders". They are put on some horses to help keep them from being distracted by the things around them. Blinders can be good, but I think in Children's Ministry they can also keep us from being effective.

Far too often we don't know what we don't know. We think we know what we are doing and we move forward, but when we look back for results - children and families with changed lives - we see our youth ministries still ended up being a "salvage ministry", because we really missed the mark in our Children's Ministry. So, what can we do to keep from "missing the mark"? Consider the following -

Treasure Your Volunteers . . . Do They Really Feel Treasured?

We may think we "treasure our volunteers", but our volunteers may not actually "feel" very treasured. Consider the following situations where a volunteer might not feel treasured . . . 

Treasure Your Volunteers . . . "Notice"!

Do you treasure your volunteers? Volunteers are a gift from the hand of God . . . it is completely appropriate for us to appreciate these "gifts". As we finish the month of June, we'll look at a variety of topics related to how we treat our volunteers. Today I want to focus on some things we might do to "notice" our volunteers so they know - beyond a shadow of a doubt - they are most sincerely appreciated! Consider the following ideas -

How Do You Measure the "Success" of Your Children's Ministry?

Is your children's ministry successful? Are you sure? Do you really know for sure how your children's ministry impacts the children and families in your church and community? How do you know?    

If we want our ministries to be genuinely effective and successful, we need to regularly ask questions to help measure where we really are and how effective we truly are. If we do not regularly ask the "hard" questions of everything we do, there isn't a way for us to truly tell how effective we are. 

Consider the following questions and if you are, or should be, asking them -

Are You Certain Your Children's Ministry Communicates the Message You Think It Does?

When you are a Children's Ministry director or pastor, you practically "live and breathe" children's ministry. It is your focus, your passion. It is what you think about. While you may have designed a children's ministry which is very effective, because you are so "close" to your ministry, there could be things you "miss", or just do not "see". Consider the following ideas for how you may be certain your children's ministry communicates the message you think it does -

Do Not Be Afraid!

What are you afraid of? Well, if you are like me the first thing you think of is spiders! I do not like those hideous creatures at all! In fact, I firmly believe the only good spider is a completely dead spider; so one of my rules when my kids were growing up was, "kill all spiders and then kill them again!" And just so you know, there is no such thing as a "small" spider!

Well, beyond the obvious things, like spiders, what are you afraid of? More specifically, what are you afraid of when it comes to your ministry? Are you afraid you won't be able to find enough volunteers? Are you afraid the children and families won't be reached? Are you afraid of church politics? You may say you aren't "afraid" of these things, but how much time to you spend thinking - or even worrying - about them? These are all legitimate things to be concerned about, but we do not have to be afraid.

Let Them Hear & Read God's Word, Too!

I have personally read through the Bible many times in my life – as you have likely done as well, however; I recently came across a verse which I'm sure I must have read before, but just truly "noticed" . . . .

What Inspired You to Become Involved in Children's Ministry? What Inspires You to Continue in Children's Ministry?

Many churches, this time of year, look at the Summer and pretty much, "roll up their sidewalks" in regards to their Children's Ministry. At a time when they could go all out to engage children who are not in school and who are often times looking for something to do, many churches do not even offer Sunday school.

It isn't because they do not care, but most often because they have a very difficult time getting the volunteers they need. So, during a time which can be discouraging to those who serve in the Children's Ministry, I have two questions for you. What inspired you to be involved in Children's' Ministry and what inspires you to continue to do so.

For me, more than 40 years ago, when I was in high school, I was involved in my church's bus ministry. My senior year in high school I was the captain of one of our bus routes - my senior year I also worked as a teacher's aide in a First grade class in our local elementary school. One of the boys from my class also rode my bus with his five brothers - they never missed a Sunday! His name was Juan. When he smiled his eyes twinkled! On our bus I told Bible adventures on the way to church and on the way home. We sang songs, learned verses and had fun contests! The Sunday School Bus was "THE" place to be! The last Sunday of my senior year I was thinking about graduation later in the afternoon and wasn't going to tell a Bible adventure on the way home, but God really laid it on my heart to do so. After the adventure, Juan prayed and asked Jesus into his heart!

What Do You Want the Families in Your Church to Know?

Today is June 1st and it is the day those families who are using Generations Quest to be intentional about passing on faith to the children they love will begin a study in the life of King Josiah and learn about what it means to love God's Word. It will be a great month of learning and important faith conversations for sure!

If you have not made the decision yet to encourage the families in your ministry to use Generations Quest, consider the following . . .