As a children’s minister, your first year in the position can be both exciting and overwhelming. You have the opportunity to impact the lives of young children and their families, but the responsibility of leading kids to Jesus can be weighty. You want to do it right because communicating God’s love to kids is life-changing […]
The Dos and Don’ts of Your First Year as a Children’s Minister Read More »
A myriad of qualities are needed when it comes to running a children’s ministry, but these five are key. 1. Great Leaders are In Love with Jesus. It might seem obvious that someone leading children and their families should be in love with Jesus, but we can’t take this quality for granted. It can become easy to fill our time doing things for Jesus and miss out on being with Jesus. If we desire to lead well, we must lead from a place of love. We need to know how deeply Jesus loves us and reflect that love toward those we lead.
5 Qualities that Make a Children’s Minister Great Read More »
Ministry can be challenging work. There is always a lot to manage. Despite our best intentions, we can find ourselves tired, depleted, and overwhelmed. If you’re in this spot, we want this article to be an encouragement to you. When we don’t find the right rhythms, keep boundaries, or have people to go with us, ministry can knock us down or, unfortunately, take us out.
5 Points to Ponder when Your Soul is Overwhelmed Read More »
If you’re new to children’s ministry you might be wondering: What do I do first? You’ve either received training or been handed a ministry handbook and are now left to put on a ministry to kids, whether you have done it before or not. And if you’re brand new, you might feel a little overwhelmed.
What to Do When You’re New to Children’s Ministry Read More »
There is something about ministry that can leave us feeling like there are fewer hours from one week to the next: events, midweeks, meetings, discipleship, programs, curriculum, and Sundays. And just when you think you’ve got a rhythm figured out, you find your week upended and wonder how you’re chasing the clock again. Time management in ministry can be tricky, to say the least. And setting boundaries can lead us to feel some discomfort, self-doubt, and worry about whether things will get done between Sundays (or done to your liking, but that’s a different article about different boundaries). It can also leave us uncertain about where to draw the line between working and serving, or if there is a line at all. That’s why we need to learn to set boundaries, maintain balance, use discernment, and create habits that last.
Finding and Maintaining Life-Leadership Balance Read More »
Every leader wants two things for their ministry: growth and stability. They want the ministries they lead to increase their impact and remain stable amid adversity. Understanding what brings these goals about is both easy and elusive. It’s easy because we know that the stability of any ministry is founded on the solid rock of God’s unfailing word and is grown through the Spirit’s life-changing work. It’s also elusive because it doesn’t come by sitting idly and doing nothing.
Cycles of Growth: The Key to Stability in Ministry Read More »
I love Orlando in January! It’s the time of year that I get to go to the Children’s Pastors Conference (CPC). From the moment the confetti falls at the end of CPC, my heart longs for the next time I can reunite with friends who have become family. I work throughout the year to grow new friendships that I formed while at CPC.
CPC Learning: How to Implement New Ideas Read More »
You’re only a week away from Christmas Eve and Day services, with events in between.
And the last thing you need is to feel overwhelmed. But, let’s face it, you probably are.
You’re might be stress-eating cookies in the break room and downing your 4th cup of coffee of the day to stay on top of the events that will welcome old and new kids to church for maybe the first time ever or in a long time.
Christmas services feel like the stakes are high! And they are. This could be an opportunity for a kid to meet Jesus for the very first time.
A Reminder to Rest for Leaders Read More »
All of us have pain in our lives. As children’s ministry leaders, some of us avoid dealing with our own pain because there is so much other pain that we see that needs to be healed.
We might feel we don’t have the time or energy to deal with the pain.
Maybe we feel hopeless thinking that nothing can take away the pain that we experience from our childhoods, family members, or the world.
Redemption Through Pain: God Is Shaping Us Read More »
A good leader knows a lot. A great leader grows what they know through a lifetime of learning. As a children’s ministry leader, you know a lot. You know how to captivate a room full of children. You know how to manage behavior and social issues. You know how to take a shoestring budget and run a VBS that knocks the socks off your community.
Leaders are Lifelong Learners Read More »
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