6. Invest your time in others. The time you spend in others is never wasted. You cannot develop leaders without investing your time in them. Discipleship is taking someone who is Christ like in an area and let their Christ-likeness rub off on others.
7. Believe in them. Give them a chance to do ministry. Let them learn by doing. But Jim, they’re not as good as me, there was a day you were not as good as you but you learned by doing, now it’s time to return the favor.
8 Encourage others. Everyone I know could use a little encouragement. They not only respond well to it but they flourish. Here’s a great habit to develop, catch people doing things right! In fact have your key staff write three thank you notes each week this practice will change your ministry.
9. Be a coach. Coaches motivate, they teach, make corrections, they maintain team spirit, and they point their team to the next level both corporately and individually. Even the greatest athletes in the world have a coach.
10. Ask for commitment. The greater the commitment the sweeter the victory. Every time I’ve asked volunteers for a greater commitment those who rallied and said yes were the best volunteers I ever had. Rotating workers might be a quick fix but it doesn’t produce long time volunteers.
Here are six warning signs that you are burning out in your children’s ministry.
1. Your companions in the ministry become competitors.
2. You live with a “I must succeed” mentality instead of “I must be faithful” mentality.
3. You experience physical fatigue. This creates a lack of enthusiasm and energy.
4. Teaching and programming responsibilities in your ministry become a drudgery.
5. Your sense of purpose in ministry is lost.
6. You become a negative person. Others begin to wonder what’s going on in your life.
Check back and I’ll share the number one reason children’s pastors burn out and what do about it.
Once you’ve located them and qualified each candidate here are twenty things I believe you need to do to cultivate volunteers that stick in your ministry.
1.Start volunteers slow, don’t dump them in a class with a Sunday school quarterly and say tag you’re it. If you’re a dumper, word is out on you. Start new recruits out watching and add responsibility slowly. This is also the time to teach them your church’s way of doing things. Train them in your policies and procedures, these should answer the questions: “What do you want me to do, and “How do you want me to do it?” Continue reading ‘Volunteers that stick…part 3′
I had the opportunity to do a KidzMatter Seminar at Mariners Church in the San Fransisco area yesterday. This is a really cool church with a great children’s pastor, Len Banks. It’s amazing that whenever I go to a church to teach, I always come home with a long list of ideas and things I have learned myself. I am going to attach some pictures at the end of this post, but here are 8 things I wrote down on the plane last night flying home. Continue reading ‘Lessons from San Fransisco’
I am a quote nerd. I am simply one of those people that could just spend all day staring at a book full of quotes. When I go to Starbucks, the first thing I do is look at the quote on the side of my cup. I write down quotes during speeches. I visit quote websites. I know, I’m a nerd.
I’d just like to share a short little quote with you:
“The great use of life is to spend it for something which will outlast it.”
-William James
As you go into your Sunday morning, you may feel exhausted. You may feel like it’s more exhausting than it’s worth. But it’s not just about what you’re doing today. The work you do today is impacting these kids today, absolutely. Kids you touch today influence today. Those same kids also form the future. Who knows? Maybe that nerdy semi-socially secluded boy will know something that would be of use to you, and might just get a calling to minister to children. He might end up just like someone who happens to write a very good blog you read.
You can’t develop people until you locate them. Here’s how I find and identify potential leaders. Get on the offensive. If I want to recruit children’s workers I look for parents who like kids. I’m always on the lookout for people who show interest in their own kids, chances are they’d be willing to help with others’ kids as well.
Encourage your team to recruit others. Jesus allowed his team to recruit two of the twelve. I should have to say this to people in the ministry but be touchable, available, and friendly. I’m on the lookout for potential workers at church, special meetings, Starbucks, Sam’s Club, if fact I’m on the lookout for workers everywhere I go.
Identify giftings you are looking for and be watchful for people who display them. Look for people who vocationally manage people. Look within your organization for people to promote, your answer to your need for workers isn’t always someone from the outside. Pray team members in. Philippians 4:6 says “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Be specific- Make a list of what you need and want. If people were no problem where could you use a worker? Make sure you qualify all candidates. I require potential volunteers to complete an application, submit references, allow us to do a criminal background check if they are working with minors, and conduct an interview.
We have a winner in the Way We See It Blog’s first-ever giveaway! Also, we’ve got a special discount for those who didn’t win the contest. All of that right after you click the link below…
Continue reading ‘Drumroll please…’
If your 30 or under and in full time ministry you can get theClub monthly audio leadership resource at no cost.
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On any given Sunday it can be heard from thousands of pulpits in churches of every size, “We need workers, we need workers, we need workers, we need workers, WE NEED WORKERS!” Wouldn’t it be nice if recruiting workers were like a game of red rover? You remember, “Red rover, red rover, send workers right over!” It’s would be nice if it was that easy. I have had the privilege of working at some wonderful churches of different sizes and the one thing they have all had in common was I was always on the lookout for more workers. The truth is the bigger the vision the more people serving and helping it takes to make that vision reality.
Three Dog Night taught me something valuable years ago “One is the loneliest number that you’ll ever do!” The ministry was never designed to be done by only a select few. Our mission found in Matthew 28:19 says “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” That’s a big job that calls for great team. Jesus had the Spirit of God without measure the Bible says yet the first thing he did when He started His earthly ministry was to recruit help. If Jesus needed help, you and I need truckloads of it.
Paul wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:2 “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others also.” In this verse we see four groups of people taking the message of the gospel to others. Paul taught Timothy, Timothy taught reliable men, who were to teach others also. In thirty years of building teams of volunteers this is what I’ve realized “People need to be needed more than you and I need the help.” Raising up volunteers that stick is a win, win for the local church and for the individual!
1. Don’t have any rules.
You have to set some rules or you’re setting yourself up for disaster. Decide in advance if the kids are allowed to get a drink, go to the restroom, talk without raising their hand, etc. Once you decide, be the Rock of Gibraltar and don’t budge. Here are two good rules for small group time with kids: Raise your hand to talk and respect each other.
2. Be a stiff.
Small group time is a time to loosen that tie and be a kid yourself. Have fun and let the kids know that this is the hi-light of your week.
3. Don’t let all the kids share.
When you ask the kids a question, let it go the whole way around the circle before you cut it off and go to the next question. Give each kid a chance to answer every question.
4. Talk about yourself.
This isn’t your chance to preach to a captive audience of kids! It’s not your chance to tell one story after another about yourself or your kids. You have two ears and one mouth and now is a chance to use them proportionately. Take time to listen.
5. Go real fast.
If you whip through your questions as fast as you can so you can get back to the big group time, you are missing the point. Small group time isn’t a marathon.
6. Don’t give it any thought in advance.
If you try to wing it week after week, you aren’t going to be effective. What if your pastor winged the invitation week after week? Take time to carefully consider what you will say and how you will say it.