• Pacing the Race
Pacing Your Race: A Lesson from the Energizer Bunny?
Children’s Ministry is not a sprint, it’s a marathon race. There are those “all or nothing” types, that impress you with their quickness and gigantic plans, only to run out of gas in short order. Those that enter into this profession, must be prepared for the long haul and pace themselves for the distance to be traveled…that is a life long commitment to following Jesus to reach the lost lambs. If you have not seen one of these jackrabbits, you will recognize them because when difficulty comes they disappear off the scene or move on to something else. For them children’s ministry is a mere “stepping stone” to something else.
• Program Priority
What is a Program Priority in Church? From my vantage point it has been my observation that many churches have what I call a Program Priority. Basically, it is that program that seems to characterize a church. A church can become known for this priority, i.e., a Missions Church or a Youth Church. Two things tend to drive this priority: the vision and focus of the leadership (often the pastor) and/or allocation of funds in the church budget. This is an observation taken from where the money goes.
When you are new to a church, one is wise to assess whether there might be such a program priority…music, worship, preaching, outreach/ evangelism, discipleship or maintenance of the facilities and grounds. The image of a landmine seems appropriate. Things could explode, if you unknowingly step on it. So failing to discover your church’s Program Priority must just be a landmine that might cause you some serious adjustment. Think about it!
• The Coaching Partnership
The Coaching Partnership
The coaching relationship is a partnership between two equals. My relationship with my protégé’s is based upon the belief that they are smart, mature, and capable people who want support in articulating and achieving their goals. It seems to me that I provide support in at least four basic ways.
• Leaders: Self Correcting
Leaders: Self Correcting
After watching numerous hours of professional tennis, I have observed how the pros seem to be able to “adjust their game,” as their game develops. It is like they find “another gear” to raise the level of their performance. The opponent tries to a find a weakness to exploit. The defender raises their level of play to counter this attempt. When what they are doing fails to work, they make a correction to the game plan, while they are playing. This is a bit like trial and error, but it works. This reminds me of…
• Role of Lingering
The Role of Lingering
One of the ways to get return engagements is to “linger” after you finish your performance. Lingering is not “loitering” or wasting time, as in being lazy. It is rather, deliberately waiting, not rushing away. It is involves making “yourself available” for something. For me, it is tarrying for some opportunity to minister and/or make some relational connection.
• Light Reveals, Shadows Define
Light Reveals and Shadows Define! Take a lesson from Photography, too much light is hot, too little light becomes drab, too much light has no shadows, proper balance of light and shadow defines the character of an object. Thus, adjusting your camera settings for proper balance renders any object interesting to observe or enjoyable to view. So what?
• Theme Experiences are “IN”
Theme Programming is Still “HOT!” Dressing up in a costume, developing a character, or creating a set on the stage is still HOT. Check out a few Children’s Church programs and you will get the idea…creating a cool learning environment.
I was considered quite “odd” forty years ago, when I decided to wear a Barrel into a meeting to present the gospel to children. Well, I was “odd.” However, this barrel (worn) with a long tie became my “signature” outfit for all outreach programs. However, now theme programming is here to stay. Almost all publishing houses have produced VBS programs that require theme development. Over the years, I have collected a number of theme costumes to compliment these various themes. I probably have a dozen outfits now. Here is another one…
• Add a Spoonful of Fluff
It is easy to be tempted to add some “marshmallow fluff” to our programs. Marshmallow Fluff is a real product, it has been around for almost a hundred years. It is made of marshmallows, kind of whipped into a cream. It is mostly air and sugar, not really much substance. It can be a fun additive to ice cream, or even a Hersey Bar and Graham Crackers sandwich, like a smore. You know, it’s like a topping, one of the the extra things you can add, that betrays your lack of substance.
This reminds me that we might want to intentionally add to the quality and substance of our ministry to children. Instead, we add some sticky sugar, that is, just being willing to help them occupy their time, to keep the kids busy doing the mediocre, rather than really adding something substantial, that counts. It is just too easy to add “a spoon full of fluff” for kids.
It is too easy to substitute fun, entertainment, games, silliness, trivia, and humor for Bible content, life application, discussion of questions about spiritual things, prayer, using the Bible, or even good worship music. This is not always easy to discern, but as you really look at your ministry are you willing to just “get by” with your ministry. Or are you willing to prayerfully evaluate what you are really doing that is substantive? Why not add something that influences the children to make changes in their lives on a weekly basis? Hopefully, with your prayerful intervention there will be more “substance” than there is “fluff.”
• Cutting Evangelism
Cutting Evangelism? I have noticed that when a church experiences financial troubles the first areas to get cut is evangelism and advertising. I see this as a impulse reaction. Instead of asking “how much?” We should rather ask, “who can we target to reach?”
We do know from Church growth studies that churches that target young families with young children seem to experience the fastest growth. So to cut back on “fishing” for young families with young children is counter-intuitive to me.
Rather than “cutting,” we should be “concentrating” on these target families even in hard times. These families represent giving units and the new building blocks for growth that have the potential to solve our financial crisis. Let’s double our efforts to reach families when things get tuff, plus they need our involvement too.
• India Playgrounds Shipped
This Playground will be going to Gugurat, India
This Playground is going to the Disabled School in Kerala, India
Good News, two used playgrounds like the ones above were shipped to India on Wednesday, May 26th. The larger Playground will be built in Kidana Mission School in Gujarat, in northern India. The smaller playground will be built at the Disabled School in Thiruvalla, Kerala, in southern India. Both playground will be shipped into Cochin, in Kerala, and trucked to their appropriate places.
A Total of $44,500 was raised in two phases: the first $30,000 was raised 2 years ago and the later $14,500 was raised in May, 2010. This container also includes training materials for forty churches for a two-day training event. Each of these churches will receive enough curriculum to last for one-full year.
In addition to these playgrounds and training materials, they rest of the container was filled with 192 boxes of 24 Bibles to a box for a total of 4,608 Bibles for the people of India. Estimated value of all the items in this container, new, would be well over $100,000.
