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Category: Ministry Leadership

Covers topics such as leadership skills, sustainable leadership, women in leadership, leading teams, developing leaders, meetings

Help Children Love (and Use!) God’s Word

Kathie Phillips 2 Comments

This past Sunday, my heart was filled to the brim when I presented a 5th grade girl with her very own copy of God’s Word, the Bible.  She has never had her own copy, so to say that she was delighted is a gross understatement.  Seeing her clutch her brand new Bible to her chest and then run to show her Mom was a moment that I will treasure for a long while.  When you think about all of the things that children today receive, it is so refreshing to see them desire their own copy of God’s Word with the same enthusiasm as receiving the newest electronic gadget.

If you’re like me, you may own at least 10 different Bibles.  I own Bibles in just about every translation and paraphrase, devotional Bibles, leadership Bibles, children’s Bibles and study Bibles.  It’s hard to imagine that many people, particularly children, do not own a copy of the Bible.

Our Children’s Ministry formally presents Bibles to preschoolers, kindergarteners and 3rd graders.  We also keep Bibles on hand for older children (4th and 5th graders).  Here are the Bibles that we present to each age group:

Preschoolers (3 year-olds):  The Jesus Storybook Bible

Kindergarteners:  The Early Reader’s Bible

3rd Graders:  The Adventure Bible (NIV)

Preteens:  The Realife Devotional Bible (one for boys and one for girls)

Photograph courtesy of iStock Photo
Photograph courtesy of iStockphoto

Once you place God’s Word in the hands of a child, help them discover the precious truths hidden within its pages.

Teachers, you can help students use the Bible each week in class by:

  • Opening the Bible.  For younger children, read the story directly from the Bible and show the corresponding pictures.  For older children, have them follow the text (or read it aloud) as you teach the day’s lesson.  Help them understand that the story isn’t just any story; it’s from God’s Word.
  • Helping them navigate the Bible.  Help them understand how the Bible is divided (Old Testament or New Testament; chapter, verse).
  • Helping them become Bible-literate.  Help them discover who wrote the book; background history, maps/timelines, etc.
  • Marking the week’s memory verse, if parents allow children to mark in their Bible.
  • Providing daily devotions that include a Bible verse to continue the learning at home.

Parents, you can help your children use the Bible at home each week by:

  • Having your children retell the Bible story presented in class.  Help them locate the scripture passage in their Bible and retell the story in their own words.
  • Using take-home pages to continue the learning at home.
  • Directing them to God’s Word when they struggle with a particular area (i.e. What does the Bible say about obedience?  Justice? Self-image?)

Let’s not just give children a Bible.  Let’s help them love it passionately, read it daily and become a useful tool in growing in their relationship with Jesus.

Do you or your child have a favorite Bible?  Tell me about it below!

Leadership Lessons from “Restaurant: Impossible”

Kathie Phillips 6 Comments

One of my favorite TV shows is “Restaurant: Impossible” on Food Network.  If you are not familiar with the show, let me give you a quick overview.  With two days and $10,000 Chef Robert Irvine goes to a failing restaurant with the hopes of turning the business around.  Chef Robert chats with the owner, the staff and patrons to find out why the restaurant is failing.  Then, after ordering several dishes off of the menu (he has rarely liked anything on the original menu), he outlines the problems that he’ll address.

Most times, the owners don’t have a clue how to run their business.  Other times, the owners have lost their passion.  They have been failing for so long that they have little hope of ever recovering.

I love the show for many reasons but what I love most are all of the leadership lessons that the owners learn.  I learn a lot too.  Aside from serving really bad food, the reasons why most of the restaurants are failing can be narrowed down to four areas:

1.  Poor service

2.  Poor leadership/management

3.  Outdated decor

4.  Poor marketing

Sadly, these things are often true of Children’s Ministries.  Sometimes, leaders can get stuck in a rut or get accustomed to flying on ‘survival mode’ that we don’t give thought to the details that make our ministry shine.

Use the checklist below to see what areas your ministry might need to address.

Poor Service

  • Do you have friendly greeters stationed to greet families as they enter your children’s areas?
  • Do you have a check-in system?  Is it efficient?
  • Do you try to alleviate long lines at check-in?
  • Do you walk new/visiting families and their children to their classrooms or do you just point them in the right direction?

Poor Leadership/Management

  • Do you have enough staff to cover each classroom?  If not, are you working towards that goal?
  • What are your ministry’s strengths?
  • In what areas does your ministry need to grow?
  • Do you have key leaders (volunteer or paid) in place to help shoulder your ministry’s responsibilities?
  • Are your volunteers aware of what is expected from them?  Do you have written job descriptions in place?
  • Do you hold regular volunteer training opportunities that equip your volunteers to do their job effectively?
  • Do you appreciate your volunteers?  How do you show them?
  • Are you growing as a leader?  Are you reading, taking classes, and/or attending conferences/workshops to become better in your craft?
  • Do you have a mentor, someone who can pour into your life and hold you accountable?
  • Are you mentoring someone?

Outdated Decor

  • Does your ministry area scream “1980”?
  • Are your classroom spaces kid-friendly and kid-appealing?
  • Are your classroom spaces clean and sanitized?
  • How can you spruce up your ministry area, even on a limited budget?  A coat or two of brightly colored paint?  New tables and chairs? New flooring?
  • Are the books and toys in good condition?  Do you have working batteries in all of your battery-operated toys?

Poor Marketing

  • Does your ministry have an informative, eye-catching brochure?
  • Does your website have up-to-date information?
  • Is your signage clear and visible?
  • Does your ministry have a logo?
  • How do parents and those in your church body and neighboring communities view your ministry?

These are just a few things to think about when leading a Children’s Ministry.  Help your ministry grow in 2013 by addressing areas that might be pulling your ministry down.

I’d love to hear what you’d add to the list.  Share your thoughts below!

Looking Back, Yet Looking Forward

Kathie Phillips

goodbye2012 hello2013

As 2013 approaches, I am overwhelmed with how much God has blessed me in 2012.  I have grown so much personally, spiritually and professionally this year, much more than I could have ever imagined a year ago.  Maybe you can say the same for yourself.

Looking Back

Growth and challenge are two words that I would use to describe 2012.  The thing is that those two words, growth and challenge can have positive and negative connotations.  Positive because God doesn’t want us to stay in a comfortable place, thus resulting in complacency. Negative because with growth and challenge often come pain, headache, hardship and deep introspection.

This blog is a result of growth and challenge.  In my very first blog post, I shared my ambivalence about blogging.  Yet here I stand seven months later!  God is so good!  I’ve always known that I’m up for a good challenge but this experience has really stretched me!

Here were our two most popular posts in 2012:

S-T-R-E-T-C-H Your Ministry Dollars (Most Popular)

Book Review and Free Book Giveaway:  “The One Year Be-Tween You and God” (Most Viewed)

Looking Forward

With that said, I am looking forward to improving and expanding this platform that God has given me.  In 2013, you will see a KidMinspiration logo, more guest posts, more product reviews, and downloadable resources that you can use in your church (leaders and volunteers) and at home (parents).  Spread the word…some great things are coming!

I hope you’ll join me on this journey!  I am so thankful for everyone who subscribes, reads, comments, “retweets” and “shares”.  Thank you for becoming a part of my extended family!  I am looking forward to connecting with you even more.  See you in 2013!

Blessings to you all,

Kathie

Our Ministry’s Response to the Newtown Tragedy

Kathie Phillips 2 Comments

blessed are those who mournLike most Americans, I watched the news in horror as the tragic events that took place this past Friday in Newtown, Connecticut unfolded.  I don’t think many of us can wrap our minds around the fact that someone could take the lives of innocent children and adults in such a brazen manner.

As Sunday approached, many of us in Children’s Ministry began to ponder how–and if–our ministries would respond.  Should we address the issue with the kids OR leave it up to the parents?  Should we address the issue AND leave it up to the parents?  I asked my fellow kidmin colleagues for their opinion, as I was unsure what to do.  After praying about what it, I felt God lead me to respond in the following ways:

We decided NOT to mention it in our large group worship.  We made this decision for the following reasons:

  • Our Pre-K through 5th Grade children have been together as a large group during our kids’ worship time for the past few weeks in preparation of our Family Christmas Eve services.  Therefore, we didn’t think it was appropriate for children as young as 4 to hear this news from us.
  • Many of our parents do not allow their children to watch television.  We didn’t want children to hear this horrible news for the first time from us and put our parents in an awkward situation.

We emailed our parents, informing them of our decision to NOT mention it up front.  We explained our reasons why but also directed them to websites that could equip them to facilitate hard conversations and raw emotions.  We wanted them to be the primary means of unpacking and discussions this event.

We decided to place the ball in the court of our teachers and small group leaders.  They know the climate of their classroom better than anyone, so we wanted to allow space for the Holy Spirit to direct each individual teacher or small group leader as to how to respond.  However…

We equipped our teachers by giving them tips to guide conversations that might take place.  We provided a hard copy in class for them as well in the event that they needed to refer back to it.  While there were several tips mentioned in the handout, I encourage them to listen to the children and what was on their hearts and pray for those who were hurting.  One of our 2nd and 3rd grade teachers did a great job with this by having her class circle up on the floor for prayer time (which occurs every week, so the children were very comfortable with this) and asking them to share what was on their hearts.  Some children mentioned the Newtown tragedy; others mentioned everyday events.  One of our preteen boys’ leaders mentioned that the boys prayed for the affected families during their prayer time.

I am so proud of our team.  They did a great job in being available to shepherd our children by listening to them and praying for and with them.  I am so blessed by them and their humble service.

If you are looking for resources to pass on to families in your ministry, here are two that I recommend:

http://www.biblicalparenting.org/pr-tip7.asp

http://lindaransonjacobs.wordpress.com/2012/12/14/school-shooting-in-newton-school-advice-for-parents/

How did your ministry respond to the Newtown tragedy?  How did your family process it?

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