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Category: Ministry Leadership

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KidMin Conference 2013 – Day Two Notes

Kathie Phillips 4 Comments

Day 2 of the Group KidMin Conference did not disappoint!

Saturday Morning – General Session

The session’s keynote was delivered by Larry Acosta, founder of the Urban Youth Workers Institute (UYWI) and co-founder of KIDWORKS.

Larry energized the group by tossing candy into the audience.  He tossed Hershey Kisses from kids who are thankful for our ministry but are unable to articulate it.  He tossed Pay Day bars to unpaid leaders.  He tossed LifeSavers because of our impact.  He tossed Starburst because we’re the hands and feet of Jesus.

He also inspired us to think   Here are a few highlights:

*Who impacted your life and helped you get where you are today?

*There are stories behind the faces of every child in your ministry.

*What you do matters in the kingdom.  All the tears of joy and frustration, the early mornings and late nights – it all matters!

*Stretch your vision to include what God has planned for the kids under your influence.

*The Gospel still changes lives.

*Keep writing the future – it matters!

*Look beyond their skin color, clothes, their ability to sit still and pay attention.  What’s the story behind the kids?  Be relational beyond the classroom.  The relational investment you make changes everything.

*Speak life, vision and hope in children’s lives.  Tell them what you see – don’t assume they’re hearing it at home.

*Believe in, bless and affirm kids like crazy!

Saturday Morning – Workshop (Building a Volunteer Team: Enlisting Your Team by Dale Hudson)

This year, I felt that I really needed additional training in the volunteer department, so most of my workshops revolved around this topic.  I was excited to take Dale Hudson’s workshop because I read his blog (Relevant Children’s Ministry) and his ideas are fantastic.  You can read and download my typed notes here:  Enlisting a Volunteer Team Workshop Notes

Update:  One of the activities we completed was to design a recruiting poster with the people at our table.  Dale blogged about this and included photos of each poster. (My group’s is the 11th one down from the top.)  Check out his blog here.

Saturday Afternoon – Workshop (Building a Volunteer Team:  Equipping Your Team by Dale Hudson)

I was so excited about Dale’s four-part workshop that I actually sat in on this workshop by accident.  But I did get something out of it.  You can read and download my typed notes here:  Equipping a Volunteer Team Workshop Notes

Saturday Night General Session – Craig and Mary Jutila

Craig and Mary talked about how their marriage struggled – and was later re-strengthened – as a result of being Craig’s ministry workaholic tendencies.  I was too engaged to take notes but it was awesome and really helped me to put into perspective the need for me to be intentional about a work-family balance.

Day 2 was awesome!

Were you at the conference?  What struck you on Day 2?

KidMin Conference 2013 – Day One Notes

Kathie Phillips 1 Comment

So, we made it to the 2013 KidMin Conference!  I am so excited to be here!

Friday Morning – Pre-Conference

This morning, I took a Pre-Conference track led by Jim Burns from HomeWord.  Jim taught about “Partnering With Parents”.  Here are a few highlights:

*When you reach the family, you reach the world.

*One of the major purposes of the church is to mentor parents.  Parents then mentor their children, and the legacy of faith continues from generation to generation.  There is a 300% chance that high school graduates who have come from homes who’ve regularly engage in faith conversations at home are more likely to not walk away from the faith.

*When you welcome a child, you welcome Jesus (Mark 9:36-37).

*The family, not the church, is the greatest influence in a child’s life.

*Moms are by far the most influential person in a child’s spiritual development.  Here’s the breakdown on the top five (5) people, in order, of influence in a child’s spiritual development: (2) Dad, (3) extended family, (4) friends and (5) church.

*Why keeps us from partnering with parents?

  • It means more for us.
  • We’re insecure  – kids are easy, parents not so much.
  • We might encounter parental resistance, especially if the child has openly shared things happening in the home.
  • We have no say in Adult Education.
  • There is conflict with the Senior Pastor.
  • Parents don’t have time.
  • Parents have different priorities.
  • Non-traditional family structures are hard to navigate.

*As Children’s Ministry leaders, we serve parents by providing four primary tasks:

Information (communicate clearly to parents)

  • Send parent newsletters.
  • Have parent meetings (gather parents for dinner, decadent desserts and information/trainings).  Consider having spiritual offerings as well as needs-based offerings).
  • Let parents know of seminars, workshops, etc. at nearby churches, hospitals, etc.

Assistance (support the family structure)

  • Hold special seminars.  Get people in your church who have specialized training to speak to parents – teachers, doctors, therapists, etc.)
  • Have a library of parenting resources (books, CDs, podcasts, etc.).  If you don’t have a permanent space, have a mobile cart and park it in a highly visible area.

Encouragement (encourage parents)

  • Schedule a Parent Recognition Sunday, a special Sunday service where parents are celebrated.  Have the kids put a video together, serve lunch or dinner, etc. to honor their parents.
  • Write notes of encouragement to parents.

Involvement (parents in your ministry)

  • You will always need volunteers.  Consider, however, expanding what you need by asking parents to assist with areas they’re gifted – parents who fundraise for a living can help raise $ for mission trips, event planners can help plan events, etc.
  • Have a parents counsel to help speak into the ministry.
  • Have opportunities for parents and kids to do together.

Friday Night – General Session

The General Session started with awesome worship (this has never disappointed me here at KidMin).  Worshiping with other kidmin leaders is always a wonderful experience.

The Session’s keynote was to be delivered by Joni Eareckson Tada but due to illness, she was not able to attend.  So, the Skit Guys led the session and did so wonderfully.  They spoke on Mark 2:1-12.  Here are a few highlights:

*Jesus delights in us bringing people to Him.

*Jesus could have healed the man on the spot but He didn’t.  He said his sins were forgiven.  We think we know our need but Jesus knows best.

*Ministry doesn’t turn off when we turn off the lights.

*God has called us to put people on the mat and lead them to Jesus.

I am looking forward to more learning, laughs and encouragement tomorrow!

Summer Lovin’: A Recap

Kathie Phillips 2 Comments

The following post is the final part of a series of summer-related posts.  

Today, I’ll share my reflections on the summer and what God has been teaching me.

Earlier this summer I shared how this was a new season of ministry for me.  (You can read that post here.)  This new season has meant a wide range of emotions for me.  It’s been exciting and overwhelming at the same time.  We have been busy in summer mode while also preparing for our fall kick-off in a few weeks, so we’ve been making many changes externally (physical spruce ups) and internally (policies, procedures, structure).

When families return for our fall kick-off, they’ll see walls freshly painted in bright, fun colors.  They’ll see new signage directing them around our children’s area.  We’re using new curriculum and aligning with a new vision, mission and overall ministry strategy.  I am excited about all that God will do in the ministry this coming year and will post here what we’re doing, what’s working and what we’re working on.

But what makes me more excited is what God is doing in the life of the ministry leader – ME!  All summer long, people have approached me, asking questions like, “How’s everything going?”  “How are you holding up?”  “Are you ready for vacation?”  Things are busy, I’m still standing and I’m always ready for a vacation, especially near the water! 🙂  But really…with all of the changes that have taken place in our ministry, the most remarkable changes have been within me.

I’ve been in Children’s Ministry (professionally) for 11 years now and boy have I learned a lot during that time frame.  A few weekends ago, I was sorting through some of my ministry resources and I was horrified by some of the things that I thought was my best work!  Thankfully I am older, wiser and insistent on building a stronger foundation this time around by putting a few practices into place:

Without prayer and time in God’s Word, I am operating out of my own strength.  Any ministry that is a product of my ideas, my energy and my plans is downright frightening.  Many times I’ve gone to bed after praying for solutions/insight into things and literally would be awakened during the middle of the night with a God-given idea. (I talked about one particular incident here.)

Start with the basics.  Clarify vision, mission, core values, ministry strategy, job descriptions – all of the things upon which a successful ministry is built on.  With God’s guidance, building the basics now will benefit us greatly down the road.

Build strong teams and delegate.  Loosen my own grip because it doesn’t belong to me.  My primary role as a leader is to equip others to do the work.  This will free me up to do the things that only I can do.  This is very hard for me to do sometimes but I must for the sake of the ministry and my own sanity.

Get out of the office and invest in relationships with those I lead.  One of the favorite part of my job has always been getting to know people I serve with.  I believe that these relationships strengthen our ministry in a very unique way.

Set boundaries.  Protect family time.  Call it quits at a decent hour.  Talk about things other than ministry.  Make time for fun.  This will make me a happier, healthier leader.

Sometimes the changes you see on the outside are no where as big as the changes on the inside!  I pray that the work that God is doing in me will have biggest positive impact on those I serve.

Are you living your life in a way that allows God to transform you from the inside out?

Summer Lovin’: 10 Tips to Help You Prepare for Fall

Kathie Phillips

The following post is part of a series of summer-related posts.  

Today, we’ll look at gearing up for fall.

Fall is right around the corner and we have to be ready!  Prepare now by keeping the following tips in mind:

1. Pray for wisdom and God’s direction as you gear up for the new ministry year.

2. Assemble a Leadership Team to do ministry with.  Look for people who are invested in Children’s Ministry and share your passion for reaching the next generation and their families.

3. Evaluate your curriculum.  Does it align with your core values?  Is it easy for volunteers to use?  Is there a parent component that is effective in bridging home and church?  Are you seeing desired results?

4. Recruit and train volunteers.  Plan exciting ways to draw people into your ministry and get them prepared to serve.

5. Plan your year as much as you can in advance by plugging events and programming dates onto your church calendar.  Of course, dates may change but having a yearly outlook will prove to be very helpful.

6. Declutter and reorganize supply closets, classroom cabinets, storage areas, files and work spaces.  Also, look around to see if areas might need a fresh coat of paint, new rugs, signage or window treatments.

7. Re-stock supplies.  During the summer when back-to-school sales get underway, supplies such as paper, pencils, scissors, crayons, and glue are very affordable.

8. Order new curriculum and distribute to teachers.

9. If you haven’t done so already, consider joining a network of kidmin leaders in your area or starting one of your own if none exists.  Having a support system with like-minded folks is essential.

10. Take advantage of ways to continue educating yourself.  Attend conferences or workshop to keep your finger on the pulse of the kidmin world.  Subscribe to blogs, e-newsletters, and magazines.  (I highly recommend Children’s Ministry Magazine and K! Magazine.)  Peruse kidmin networks and discussion forums (I highly recommend CM Connect and Kidology.)

How are you preparing for fall?  Do you have a tip to share?  Share in the space below.

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