4 Things Kids Pastors Wish Their Lead Pastors Knew
In my last post, I wrote about how different things look from the lead pastor's chair. While much of the work is familiar, there are some important differences that most lead pastors never fully see. That's the genesis of this two-part series.
This week I'm speaking from my own experience as a kids' pastor, along with some honest feedback I gathered from several kidmin Facebook groups. Next week, I'll flip the script and share what lead pastors wish their staff, and specifically their kidmin leaders, understand.
5 Things I Learned My First Year as a Lead Pastor
In about a week from this writing, I'll mark one year as a Lead Pastor. It's been a long road to get here. I spent 15 years as a kids' pastor, then served at two more churches as an executive pastor before God called me to this role.
Now that I'm in the big chair, I can say with confidence that things look different from here. I'm just as busy as I was in kidmin, but the scope, the worries, and the challenges are bigger. From what I've observed in other leaders at this level, I know I'm just getting started. Still, I wanted to share five things this first year has taught me
How to Safely Divide Your Kidmin Preschool Rooms
So, you have a bunch of kids in your kidmin under the age of five. How do you divide them up safely, securely, and happily? By age? Birthday? Ability? The third Sunday in October?
3 Ways to Survive VBS Without Burning Out
Over the last few weeks I've seen a lot of people expressing frustration about VBS. Specifically, they feel like the rest of the staff isn't supporting them, and many are on the verge of burnout.
I get it. I spent many summers working 70-hour weeks back to back just to pull off this one event. As much as I love VBS, it puts a serious strain on your time, resources, and volunteers.
But there are things you can do to keep from hitting the wall before VBS even starts.
3 Difficult Conversations with your Pastor and How to Have them
There will come a time in your ministry career when you have to have a hard conversation with your boss. What I've learned over the years is that the longer you put it off, the more room there is for discontent, bitterness, and church hurt to take root. So bite the bullet and have the conversation.
How to Build a VBS Kids Worship Team
One of my favorite parts of VBS is the music. I may say goodbye to the decorations and theme when the week is over, but the songs stay with me and the ministry for months, sometimes years, afterward.
4 Ways to Partner with Other Churches for VBS
We're not in competition with the churches around us. We're all working toward the same goal: reaching people in our communities for Jesus. Making your VBS stand out can seem antithetical to that ethos.
But I don't see it that way. We want to run excellent events, and excellence is what makes them stand out. That doesn't mean we can't also cheer on what other churches are doing and work alongside them.
How to Handle VBS Registration
One of the biggest administrative tasks of VBS is registration. You have to collect each child's name, birthday, grade, gender, contact information, emergency contacts, allergies, and medical notes. Then you have to make all of that information easily accessible to the right people at the right time.
And that's just the beginning.
6 Real Questions to Evaluate Your Events
After our church's Egg Hunt this Easter, I sat down with my new kids' pastor to walk through the after-action meeting… These are the actual questions I used in our after-action meeting. They gave us a clear picture of the event, helped us find the wins and losses, and left us with actionable steps going forward.
A Practical Guide to Determining A Kidmin's Salary
One of the biggest questions in kidmin is how much you should be compensated for your work. After all, Paul wrote to Timothy:
"Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain, and the worker deserves his wages." — 1 Timothy 5:18
The problem is that many of us love this work so much we'd do it for free. But we also have families to support, ministry costs to cover, and real time invested week in and week out caring for our kids and families.
How to Send your Kids To Camp: Part 3
Going to camp may be one of the best trips you can take in your ministry. I love Mark Batterson's quote: a change of place plus a change of pace equals a change in perspective.
Taking your kids to camp, away from screens, distractions, and the indoors, changes how they see their lives and, hopefully, their relationship with God.
How to Send Your Kids to Camp: Part 2 — Volunteers
My first summer as a full-time kids' pastor, my pastor told me I needed to take my kids to camp. I'd never been as a leader and had only attended once as a kid. I had no idea what I was getting into.
I did manage to get 12 kids signed up, paid in full, and transportation arranged. Then on a rainy Sunday morning I climbed onto the bus, and one of the parents called out, "Wait, is no one going with him?"
How to Send Your Kids to Camp: Part 1
There is one summer event that helps kids grow spiritually and make memories that last a lifetime. That event is Kids Camp.
How to Celebrate Your Volunteers After Easter
It's Good Friday as I write this, and for many of us in ministry, that means Easter festivities are officially underway. I've written about following up with guests and celebrating with your family, but there's one group you simply cannot do Easter without.
Your volunteers.
Spiritual Disciplines to Maintain Your Ministry
Years ago, one of my mentors, Jim Wideman, asked me an all important question.
“Are you closer to Jesus right now than you’ve been? If you’re answer is no, who’s fault is that?”
It was a wake-up call for me. And has become a driver of everything I do in my spiritual life. It is too easy to do the work of the ministry, serving God week in and week out, and forget about our own relationship with Him.
A Strategy for Kidmin Gift Bags
With Easter right around the corner, a lot of kids’ pastors are asking the same question: what do we give to kids who visit? How do you give them something meaningful, something they'll love, and something that makes them want to come back?
Saving Daylight Savings Sunday
Last week was Daylight Savings Sunday. And as happens every year, attendance was down, volunteers called out, and momentum seemed to stall overnight. I get it. At my church, the Sunday before was my highest-attended Sunday of the year. Daylight Savings Sunday? Right back to where we started.
3 Ways to Intentionally Care for Your Volunteers
One of the most valuable assets you have in ministry is your volunteers. They can make or break what you're building. Getting a new volunteer, especially a high-quality one, can be a breath of fresh air. But even the most dedicated people can burn out and walk away.
As the leader, it's your job to care for them. Not just because you want to keep them around, but because they're people, and we're in the people business.
When It Feels Like Your Ministry Isn't Supported
Early in my ministry, a boys leader came into my office demanding money for training and trips. The problem was we didn't have it. I would have loved to write him a blank check, but that was never going to happen.
His complaint, though, wasn't really about money. It was that he didn't feel supported.
4 Principles to Get People to Come to Your Meetings
Picture this. You have an awesome volunteer meeting planned. You’ve spent weeks or months putting all the pieces together. You have food, childcare, printouts, and slides. You’ve been talking about the meeting for weeks. You even got your pastor to announce it from the stage!
But when you talk about it to the people who it’s designed for, they’re non-committal. They’re not excited, maybe even apathetic. You find yourself in a panic, thinking that no one is going to come.
This Excel dashboard will help you keep track of all the important numbers in your ministry including attendance, visitors, discipleship elements, age demographics, small group sizes, and more.