Leadership is a common theme at LifeChurch.tv.  It’s a significant part of our staff culture.  Look at my book shelf in my office and you’ll find a plethora of books with a leadership theme.  Check out my Google Reader and it’s loaded with leadership blogs to follow.  Though there is no official leadership training in our organization, it clearly shapes me and my role within LC.  I value the leadership investment I’ve received in the past 8 years.  Yet I’m in a season where I notice a trend in my leadership.  Understanding the value of leadership, I will  tackle hard conversations head on… dig into challenging situations.  But my pastoral approach isn’t where it could be.  This an area I want to grow in this year.

So… acknowledging that what I read strongly influences how I grow, I want to focus on pastoral care materials for a season. What pastoral care books do you recommend?

In-roads.  On-ramps.  Avenues.

I can be creative with the term.  When it comes down to it, the goal is the same.  Create an entry point to my ministry inserting the participant on a journey.  A pilgrimage toward loving the Lord their God with all their heart, mind and strength… and loving others more than they love themselves.  If I’m honest I’ll be on this pilgrimage for as long as I draw breath.

The process has been on my mind a lot lately.  Grasping a God-sized vision for families in my ministry… in my community.  What are the entry points that will attract their attention, capture their imagination, then engage them on a journey to willingly and deliberately live their lives differently?

My current hook is Child Dedications.  I’ll share some of my thoughts over a series of scattered posts.  (I’m not trapped by linear thinking )  They’ll all fall under the category titled Child Dedications, so click on the category link and you’ll be up to date.

Yesterday I talked about strategy.  If you missed, read it here.

Here’s a strategy we’ve put in place for February and the events that pertain:

• Missions – LifeReach (entire month)
• Youth – Big SWITCH (11 & 18)

What is the purpose of each event?

Big SWITCH:  To bring in kids that don’t have a church home.

LifeReach – To engage attenders in acts of service within the community

How can the events benefit each other?

Big SWITCH -  Kids attend initially out of interest.  Retention is determined by relationships.  Relationships occur in small groups.  Small groups naturally spawn from mission events.

LifeReach – Provides an avenue for local mission events where Youth small groups can participate.

This is a win-win scenario.  Youth gains an opportunity for kids to connect with a small group while Missions gains more people participating in a local mission event.

It’s crazy.  Ministry, in general, is crazy in January.  Why?

Holidays are over.  Schedules open up a little.  Renewed commitment to church.  etc etc

Historically, we have a variety of events that hit at the beginning of the year to capitalize on the momentum.  New classes begin, membership opportunities, etc, etc.  My question is… how strategic are you being with your ministry?

I’m not just talking about your ministry (i.e. kids, youth, adult) but how strategic is your church ministry?

Look at it this way.  Your individual ministries are like players on a football team.  Your church mission is the football.  Everyone knows the goal is to get the ball into the end zone.  The question is… how are you going to do that?

You can all run around the field, executing your own plays, fighting for possesion of the ball and ultimately wearing yourselves out.  Or you can put some X’s and O’s on a dry erase board and come up with a way to play together.

I would argue that ministry leaders need to become experts in strategy.  If we can execute an effective strategy then our mission statement becomes more than just words on paper.

Tomorrow I’ll share some strategies we’ve put in place for the month of February.

The Family:

How do we meet their needs?

My best strategy for helping this family is:

• Open communication – I make sure mom/dad know that open dialogue is welcome and necessary.
• Flexibility – our ministry divides kids (primarily) by age.  However,  many kids with special needs are not developmentally consistent with their physical age. I like to work with mom/dad to find the best option for their child.
• Follow Up – I’ve found that mom/dad are hesitant to move their child up.  Especially if they are doing well in the room they’re in.  However, I’ve learned that often mom/dad need that gentle nudge encouraging them to allow their child to eventually move to a new room with a new age group.  9 times out of 10 mom/dad are surprised at how well their child does.  So I set a reminder on my calendar to follow up with mom/dad anywhere from 6 to 12 months to visit this question.

Here is my philosophy:  If I believe there are no accidents.  If I believe God is the Orchestrator and the Creator of all things, then He crafted this family… one for the other.  This child was crafted (special needs and all) to bring glory and honor to God.  This child was created to love the Lord with all their heart, soul, mind and strength.  Then I want to figure out a way to let the children come to Him and not hinder them. (Matthew 19:14)

Fostering an environment where kids learn about Jesus can be a challenging task.  Introduce a child with special needs to the mix and the task can get a little more complicated. Some churches find themselves without a plan and (therefore) without a solution when this family arrives at their church.

I’ve been in kids ministry for a brief time, but in that time I’ve encountered a variety of special needs kids and their families. The most common things I’ve witnessed are…

• Parents – They need to know their child is welcome, loved and accepted.  Period.
• Volunteers – They need as much support and information as possible.
• Kids – They need consistency (and ditto bullet #1)

Each one is necessary for any family and their child but are vital for a child with special needs.

What is your ministries approach to special needs?

Talking with some parents this past weekend I asked them where they were plugged in and serving.  They shifted a little and mentioned getting involved with our Host Team as a greeter.

I understand that.  Their desire to plug in as a greeter is largely due to the fact that it doesn’t require a weekly commitment and if you miss here and there (or everywhere ) you’re not really missed.

But you don’t know what you don’t know… ya’ know?

How do you get a parent to consider plugging into kids ministry?  Talk about the benefit to them personally.  Do they have an elementary-aged child?  Then that child is likely tossing out spiritually-charged questions that are challenging to break down in a way they will understand.  What’s the best way to equip mom/dad?

Plug into the elementary experience and serve.

I know that sounds simple.  And I don’t pretend this is an epiphany that no one else has ever stumbled upon.  Don’t be ridiculous.

But I can only speak from my own experience.

My 9-year-old has established a habit of asking questions that baffle Kyle and me.  Though we may know the answer, trying to frame it in a way that he can comprehend is challenging.  So dismiss the presumption that b/c I’m a Children’s Pastor this stuff comes naturally to me. It doesn’t. In fact, sometimes Kyle and I stumble over ourselves so much Keegan ends up more confused than where we began.  Like a zit… the more you pick at it, the worse it gets. Yet it always seems that somewhere in the midst of the conversation I remember something in Toon Town that addressed the very topic.  I remind Keegan of the character, the circumstance and how they ’shaped’ their explanation.  Then it sinks in… the light bulb goes on… and all is well with the world.  Keegan runs off to play and Kyle and I sink into the couch feeling as if we just ran a marathon.  Sad, really.

But my point is this…

I don’t write the curriculum that is taught to my son in Toon Town. I am exposed to it simply by being in the experience for one hour per week.  By being exposed to it, I’m equipped to have conversations with my kids on levels they can understand.  By hearing it presented in an age-appropriate manner, I’m better equipped as a parent to take that and elaborate on it at home.

I am equipped as a parent to lead my child spiritually simply because I’m exposed to what and how they are taught each week at church.  That’s rich.

So, when you look at it…

We don’t have to recruit from the premise that we need parents to serve in kids ministry.  Parents need kids ministry to serve in so that they may be better equipped as parents… as spiritual leaders of young followers of Jesus.

Call it continuing education…  On-the-job training… whatever.  Either way you slice it… engaging in kids ministry as a volunteer is a worth an hour of your week. Thoughts?

So, last week I asked the question we all ask at one point in our ministry.

What level of commitment do we ask of our volunteers?

Responses varied.  But Kenny’s summed all of them up very well.

For us it depends on what role. We expect our small group leaders to serve every week. We have multiple services, so they don’t have to miss the adult service. Leaders (people who are leading other volunteers) generally serve every week as well. However, most volunteers serve every other week. I’ve found that volunteers who can only commit to one weekend a month generally are not dependable. They often forget and rarely value the commitment. Some of the people I really respect in ministry really encourage moving all teams toward a serve every week model. I’m in love with the idea and I understand that you’ll need less people to pull that off, but finding people willing to commit to that schedule is HARD to do! 

So let’s talk nitty-gritty.  

The majority of those that commented all lead kids ministry and all agree that the every week commitment is the preference even if it isn’t the practice.  The majority agree that an every week commitment fosters an environment that is best for the child… which is our focus.  We could spend a lot of time there.

But someone I respect immensly shifted my focus recently and it has dramatically changed the way I recruit.

Most of the time we recruit from a mindset that we need the parent in order to make our ministry work.  That is true.  We need adults to execute the ministry on a weekly basis.  No argument.  

But is it possible that parents need to serve in kids ministry in order to grow as parents?  

hmmm… that’s a thinker

I speak best from experience mostly b/c I’m hard-headed.  I’ll share more on my personal experience tomorrow.

The phrase ‘Return On Investment’ is a key player in todays economy. No one wans to waste their resources.

We use MapQuest to find the most efficient route because we want to maximize our time.

We brag over bargains, drive an extra mile for a better gas price, and steal our neighbors Bed, Bath and Beyond coupon out of their mailbox in order to maximize our money.

(i can neither confirm nor deny the theft of any BB&Y coupon from said neighbor’s mailbox. that would be illegal. that’s not how i roll.)

Bottom line…

We want the best return for our investment.

If that is true, then why in the world do churches continue to disregard the kids church experience?

Here’s where I’m coming from…

A friend of mine traveled back home to visit family.  While there, they made the traditional trek to church on Sunday morning. Her two children ended up sitting in adult church with their parents b/c children’s church was cancelled. Why? Because the woman teaching was sick.  

That is sad.

So, the long and short of it is…  this church was not prepared for a great opportunity.  They weren’t positioned to get the most out of their time.  Why?

Of the 50 people sitting in the church pews that morning, there were 10 people with the greatest potential to say yes to Jesus… 10 people with more opportunities lying ahead of them to share Jesus… 10 people with the most potential to see more people come to faith in Jesus than walked on this earth a century ago.  Those 10 people happened to be from 6 to 12 years old.  

But who is the message geared toward? The 40 half-way-to-the-finish-line adults? Or the 10 just-past-the-starting-line kids?

Time is a commodity you can spend but never recover.  So, in this scenario… what’s the better return on investment? 

The same old worship experience for the adults?  Or a tweaked experience that incorporates the kids… one that ensures they understand the teaching?

Are you a small church without the resources for a full-blown kids ministry?  That’s okay.  It just means you do things a little differently.  You don’t have to look like every other church out there.  In fact… maybe God doesn’t want you to look like every other church out there.

Look different.  

Be different.  

The majority of churches in America are not exactly producing fully sold-out rock-your-face-off Christ followers.  

Maybe we need to quit telling parents how to raise their kids to follow Jesus and show them what it looks like.

Maybe we need to turn the church experience into an actual, hands-on workshop.

Maybe we need to shake things up.