I coach 7, 8 and 9 year old boys on a tackle football team.  Go Wolfpack!  I love working with these boys.  One of the great things about football is that it takes every player on the field knowing and doing their job on every play to be successful.  It’s the ultimate team experience.  Too often boys and their parents think it’s all about the quarterback, running back and receiver positions. They think the “glamour positions” are what counts.  People involved in Children’s Ministry can fall into the same mentality.

You know what I mean.  The Large Group communicator is one of the “glamour positions along with the Large Group worship leader.  We forget about the guy at the sound board until something goes wrong – it’s like being an offensive lineman – nobody knows your name until you miss a block and the QB goes down.

At the very first Parent Meeting with our football team I begin communicating the idea that our team cannot be successful unless every boy takes pride in his position and knows his responsibility on every play.  We will do the same thing with our first Leaders Meeting of the fall with our CM team.  Every team member needs to know their position, know their responsibilities and know what a win looks like.  It’s funny to me how after the game concludes one of my little guys will come up to me and ask “Coach did we win?”  Occasionally I catch myself thinking “Dude, weren’t you’re here?”  Sometimes I think our CM leaders could have the same question they’re just afraid to ask.

So, have you clarified the “WIN” for your team members? Here’s an example for the Tech Guy (Offensive Lineman J):

*Arrives on time making sure the audio and video equipment are set up and ready to go by the designated starting time for the rehearsal.

*Executes a flawless service flow.

*Knows how to troubleshoot technical problems quickly and calmly.

*Works well with all team members involved with the Kid’s View Theatre service.

At the end of the service this guy/girl knows if they won, they don’t have to ask.

The next step is the celebration of the Win.  One of the best moments of a close game is that final drive when the offense scores to win a game or the defense prevents the opponent from scoring preserving the win.   My little guys have experienced both and the celebration is electric.  Do your leaders ever have that same feeling?  Do you celebrate with encouraging words and high-fives?  Try it!

Take some time to write out the Positions you have on your team.  Describe in detail the qualifications, the time commitment, the expectations and the WIN.  Creatively plan some celebrations for both individuals and the entire team.  Now take the field and move the ball!

Technorati Tags: Children’s-Ministry, Family-Ministry, Youth-Ministry, Kids-Ministry, Sunday-School, Children’s-Church, Football, Children, Kids, Family, Pastor, Youth, Religion

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What does your Sunday morning look like? During the summer Sunday mornings for us look quite different. For our fall season we have a Small Group – Large Group – Small Group format. Here in Phoenix when schools out for the summer everyone begins to find ways to escape the heat and head for the mountains or the beach. On any given Sunday as many as half of our leaders will be out of town. With that in mind our goal is to offer a quality experience with a limited number of staff members required. So we have moved to spending 90% of our Sunday morning time in large group.

So what does that look like?

Our Sunday morning staff:

Greeting Team – meets the children and their parents at the door, receives the check-in slip, directs the children to the appropriate area of the room

Room Leaders – engages children in fun Pre-show activities, participates fully in all of the activities of the morning

Host – the “up-front” personality that welcomes the kids, leads stage games, closes the program

Worship Leader – selects and prepares music, trains and leads dance team

Storyteller – presents the opening and closing for our Video

AV Tech – responsible for operating the computer, sound board and projection system

Our Sunday morning schedule:

Pre-show Music

Video Countdown

Opening Music Set – 2 songs

Welcome & Guest Recognition

Crowd Breaker Game

Worship Set – 2 songs

Offering

Bible Story

Theme Song

Game

Wrap Up – Closing

Dismiss Students to Classrooms

Exit Music

Following the conclusion of the program our children are dismissed by grade to their classroom. In the classroom leaders draw a child’s name for “Parent of the Week” (see previous post for details), hand out and explain our “take home” materials. Parents return to pick up their children using our matching receipt system. So, what does your summer program look like? Let me know.

Technorati Tags: Children’s-Ministry, Youth-Ministry, Family-Ministry, Kids-Ministry, Ministry, Sunday-School, Childrens-Church, Religion, Christianity, Church, Youth

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• June 29, 2009 -- Looking for A Few Good Men

Today two of the leaders in the Children’s Ministry Internet Blogosphere released Extreme Makeovers of their sites. If you’ve been involved with Children’s Ministry for any length of time Jim Wideman and Karl Bastian should be on your radar. These two men are pioneers in utilizing the web to extend their impact in the world of Children’s Ministry.

So what’s NEW?

At www.kidology.org there are a number of upgrades that make navigating the site much more user friendly. If you’ve never been to Karl’s site you need to make visiting a priority. “Kidology is a non-profit organization that exists to equip and encourage those who minister to children.” Quoting the website says it all. Karl and the team at www.kidology.org have done an incredible job of providing valuable resources to Children’s Ministry leaders around the world. So what’s new at Kidology? So glad you asked.

At Kidology “we’ve recently undergone some redecorating to spruce up the place a bit, added new features, and created a framework “under the hood” that will help facilitate innovative tools and development down the road.” Kidology gives you access to both FREE tools and Membership Only access. I have found that the nominal cost of a Kidology membership is an incredible value. There is a Discussion Zone, a CM Garage Sale, a Podcast, & so much more.

The name Jim Wideman is synonymous with Children’s Ministry Leadership and his website www.jimwideman.com has much to offer. “Jim Wideman is an internationally recognized voice in children’s and family ministry. He is a much sought after speaker, teacher, author, personal leadership coach, and ministry consultant who has over 30 years experience in helping churches thrive.” I personally have benefited from Jim’s leadership via conferences and his very own tool “The Club.” “The Club” is a monthly audio leadership resource designed especially for children’s ministers. Again the cost for this resource is well worth the investment of both dollars and time. Visit www.jimwideman.com and I guarantee the visit will benefit you and your ministry.

Technorati Tags: Children’s-Ministry, Youth-Ministry, Family-Ministry, Sunday-School, Kids-Ministry, Children, Family, Youth, Kids, Religion, Church, Christianity, Ministry, Leadership, Resources, Training

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• June 25, 2009 -- Rewards & Bribes

Let’s take a look at a couple of definitions first:

1. Reward – something given or received in recompense for worthy behavior; Psychology The return for performance of a desired behavior; positive reinforcement.
2. Bribe – money or any other valuable consideration given or promised with a view to corrupting the behavior of a person

I know this can be a controversial subject when we begin talking about Children’s Ministry – that’s what makes it worth discussing. First, let me say that I don’t believe I have the definitive answer, just one voice on the subject. Next, let me say that each individual needs to make their own decision and then let others decide what works for them concerning this one issue.

Now, let’s take a look at just one verse that mentions the idea of rewards:

Hebrews 11:6
”And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

Yes, we are promised rewards in scripture yet that is not what motivates me to serve our Heavenly Father. Often the question is asked of me, “What if they are only doing it for the reward.” Well if you can help a child develop the habit of “Quiet Time” with a simple reward seems like a fair trade.

We use points in competition between teams too. We give points for bringing your Bible, knowing the memory verse, and completing Bible Study with your parents. Points are FREE and FUN. Kids love competition and competing for the right stuff is again something that’s hard to fault. Think about how many of your kids invest incredible amounts of time to win a football game, baseball game, soccer game, etc. They do it just for the joy of winning. Rewards and Points are just a couple of ways to help influence a generation to know God and His Word.

Technorati Tags: Children’s-Ministry, Youth-Minsitry, Family-Ministry, Kids-Ministry, Sunday-School, Religion, Christianity, Ministry, Children, Family, Youth, Kids, Rewards, Bribes

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