Is Your Ministry Moving Forward or Just Staying Busy?
I’d been serving at one church for a few years. I’d put in the systems the children’s ministry needed the most, most of my volunteer positions were filled, and I was happy with the way things were going. Kids were getting saved and baptized. Visitor flow was good. Outreaches were well attended. I felt like I could just sit back and relax. Which we all need to do from time to time.
But the problem comes when we take our foot of the gas for too long.
You think you’re called to ministry. Now what?
One question I’m asked often is what should you do when you’re called to ministry? I understand the question. There are a lot of different ways to get started. And it’s not always clear what the next steps are.
What I read in 2025
This year was a huge change for me. Years ago, God called me out of Kidmin into something bigger. Five years later that’s becoming the Lead Pastor at Encounter Church in Toccoa, Georgia.
I’ve found it's hard to maintain reading the quantity and quality of the books I normally read, while teaching full-time. So, I read a lot more fiction this year. Thankfully, making the jump to Lead Pastor in August gave me more time to read what I like.
Becoming A Whole Person: Setting Achievement and Habit Goals
I love goals. Without them I probably wouldn’t get anything done. When I started running, I knew I wasn’t going to stick with it unless I set a goal. So, I did. I registered for a 5k in six months and started training. After that race, I set a new goal of running a 10k. So, I registered for another race and kept going.
After a few years of that, my running habit was set, and I didn’t have to set a specific goal anymore. Just what I call a habit goal. That may be a new concept for you, but I think it’s essential to becoming the leader and the person you want to be. Let me show you what I mean.
Level Up Your Leadership: The 3 Stages of Delegation
Being in leadership is tough. There are so many things pulling on you, it’s hard to know where to put your focus. And if you’re in kidmin it’s no different. If you’re a children’s director or pastor, then you are a leader. And not just of children but of volunteers, parents, and staff.
No matter who you are or how productive you are, there are only so many hours in a day. Which means you can only do so much. So how can you get all the things you need to get done and still manage some kind of work/life balance?
The key is to delegate.
Leading Change in Your New Ministry Role
It’s so exciting when you’re just starting out in a new ministry position. You have all these forms to fill out, people to meet, relationships to build and systems to learn. People are looking to you for fresh vision and comparing you to the past. One of the biggest questions they’re going to ask you is “what will you change?”
4 Steps to Get to Know New Volunteers
I’ve talked about onboarding volunteers before. It’s one of my most popular posts. And while getting your new volunteers the tools and resources they need are essential, there are some questions you need to answer before you plug them in.
4 Steps to Develop a Ministry Leader
I came to this one harsh truth early in my ministry. I can’t do everything. Sure, many of us kids pastors think we can. Sometimes It feels like the job requires it. But you can’t change diapers in nursery, give out snack in preschool, and lead worship in elementary on the same day. Most likely all those groups are in different rooms. At some churches, different buildings!
Since you can’t be in two or three places at once, you need to develop leaders.
4 Focuses for Your First Ministry Leader Meeting
The first 100 days of any new position is the most important. So much so that they even wrote a book about it.
One of the best ways I’ve started well is to have a meeting with all the leaders of the church or ministry. I’ve done it at the last 4 churches I’ve served. But why are these meetings so important?
Developing a Ministry Lead Team
One simple truth about leading in church is that you’re not going to be there forever. It may be hard to think about the day you will leave, but it is a simple reality. You will leave. Either you feel the Lord calling you somewhere else, you will retire, or you will die. There will come a time when you’re no longer the leader of your ministry.
The best thing you can do for your church and your current leaders is to prepare them for this eventuality. But how do you do that?
Finding the Help You Need with Next Level Kidmin
When I first started out in kidmin, I felt like I was alone. I’d served two internships in children’s ministry. And I still had a good relationship with the kid’s pastor who guided me on my last one. However, I didn’t know what I didn’t know.
Fast-forward a year in and I was drowning. I thought I had it all under control, but elementary was the David Reneau show. Wednesday night was holding together with a hope and a prayer, and don't’ even get me started on Nursery.
I needed help, but I didn’t know where to look
Surviving a Tough Sunday in Ministry
If you’ve been in ministry for any length of time you’ve had a tough Sunday. You can’t find that vital item for service. All your volunteers call out. You had a huge argument in the car. You have some really bad news you’re not ready to share with the church.
It’s tough to walk into the place and plaster on a smile. But sometimes you have to do it.
Dealing with Difficult Volunteers
I was early in my career as a kids pastor. I was doing the best I could to teach my kids about Jesus, lead my volunteers, and help the church grow. It was a big job for a 25-year-old, but I knew God had called me to this. We were making progress.
Except for one volunteer.
6 Steps to Effectively Delegate in Ministry
But over the years, I’ve realized I can’t do everything. I’m not good at everything and nor are you. The mission God has given us is too big for one person. Jesus even said the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. (Matthew 9:37) See that? “Workers” is plural. We were never meant to do ministry alone.
Lessons Learned from a Year of Church Planting
About a year ago, I accepted an executive pastor position at a small church plant. The church was barely a year old and had a good thing going. My second Sunday there we baptized 13 people. Over the next year I learned a lot.
Making Your Vision Stick: 3 Essential Elements
One of the keys to sharing your wins is linking them to your vision. However, casting your vision that is compelling and memorable can be difficult. You want it to be short enough to evoke emotion, but long enough to encompass all you’re trying to do in your ministry.
What I Read in 2024
This year was an interesting year for me. I started teaching high school math full-time while serving in ministry part-time. It’s been a struggle finding a balance between school, church, this blog, and family. I hit many of my goals and accomplished many things I never dreamed of doing. However, many goals went by the wayside.
Winning the Annual Review
It’s the end of the year and your pastor may be setting up an annual review. The annual review can be scary. Recently, I saw a Facebook post where a person asked if it’s natural to feel like you’re going to get fired.
My response?
4 Steps to Mastering Your Ministry To-Do List
One thing about ministry is that you’re busy. Depending on how small your church is you can find yourself doing a lot of things that don’t fit within your “job.” Even if you work at a large church you can look up at the end of the week and wonder where the time went.
7 Essential Details for a Seamless Ministry Transition
As you’re leaving, you need to also think about the person that’s coming behind you. Will they be able to pick up where you leave off? Will they have access to the necessary resources, websites, social media profiles and more? Will they know who their volunteers are and where they like to serve?
