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Category: Ministry Leadership

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

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?

S-T-R-E-T-C-H Your Ministry Dollars

Kathie Phillips 10 Comments

People all across America waited in long lines this past Thursday and Friday to snatch up good deals for Black Friday.  And today, Cyber Monday is in full effect.  The bottom line is that we are looking for great deals to stretch our dollars a little further.

This is nothing new for those of us in Children’s Ministry.  It really doesn’t matter how big or small our churches are…Children’s Ministry leaders want to get the most bang for our limited bucks.

Here are a few tips for stretching your ministry dollars in three of the biggest expense areas:  curriculum, snacks, and crafts.

Curriculum

  • Order enough materials for children who attend 75% of the time, plus 2 or 3 more.
  • Better yet, consider switching over to digital curriculum.  While you will spend time printing and purchasing paper, this will help reduce overall costs for take home pages and in-class activity sheets.
  • Search for free lessons online.  Check out Ministry-to-Children to get started.
  • Invest in reproducible books.

Snacks

  • Have your congregation or parents donate frequently used items, such as napkins/paper towels, cups, crackers and O-shaped cereal.
  • Serve water instead of juice.
  • Buy in bulk from a membership warehouse.
  • Find people who love to bake and ask them to bake cupcakes, cookies, brownies, etc.
  • Purchase generic brand snacks.

Crafts/Craft Supplies

  • Shop end-of-season and post-holiday sales for seasonal items.
  • Alert your church of needed items and allow them the privilege of donating.
  • Shop early enough to avoid rushed or overnight shipping costs.
  • Buy crayons, glue sticks, and scissors before the school year starts (when school supplies are dirt cheap.)
  • Again, reproducible craft books are a good investment.

General Money-Saving Tips

  • Use email, your website and social media for publicity.
  • Swap items with another church.
  • Save money on DVD’s by borrowing them from your local library.
  • Ask professionals in your church to teach their specialty to your children, parents and volunteers.
  • Maintain your resources.  For example, keep caps on craft supplies and properly wrap food.
  • Print your own brochures, handbooks, business cards, flyers, etc.
  • Make black and white copies instead of color.
  • Use white paper instead of colored.
  • When photocopying, use both sides of the paper if you can.
  • Consider using 1/2 sheets of paper to get your message out.  That way, you get 2-for-1 sheet of paper!

How do you stretch your ministry dollars?  Share your ideas below!

Engage Conference: Workshop Notes

Kathie Phillips

Yesterday, I posted notes from the three main sessions that Sue Miller led at the Engage Conference, which took place this past weekend in Mechanicsburg, PA.  You can read about that here.

Today I wanted to share a little bit about one of the workshops that I attended.  It was fantastic and very hands on!

Instructing Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) in Children’s Ministry

This workshop was led by a Messiah College Professor and three of her students.  I took this workshop because I wanted to equip my volunteers to better serve children in our ministry with ASD.  This workshop had two objectives:

  1. Help us classify 3 types of learners
  2. Demonstrate multiple instructional strategies through the use of “make and takes”
When we arrived, there were goodie bags for each participant in the center of each table.

Our schedule for the workshop

The young women began our workshop by defining autism and identifying three (3) types of learners:  auditory, kinesthetic/tactile and visual.  We learned how each learner learns best and strategies to use in helping each type of learner learn.

Auditory learners learn best through verbal input.  One strategy you can try is classroom positioning.  Have the child sit or stand close to the teacher.

Kinesthetic/tactile learners learn best through their body, hands and sense of touch.  One strategy you can try is by bringing in sensory manipulatives.  We made one in class by filling an uninflated balloon with rice and tying off the balloon.  (The balloon and rice were provided for us in our goodie bag.)

Visual learners learn best through written word or pictures.  There are two strategies that you can try:

  1. Use picture cards (laminated on a ring) to flash to the children when you need them to get refocused.  You could also flash a card to let them know what’s coming up without having to say it aloud.  I thought this idea was brilliant.
Reminder cards

2. The “First/Then” strategy shows an expectation followed by something preferred.  “First we’ll…then we’ll…”  Keep in mind that you must follow through with what you say.  Otherwise, this strategy will become ineffective.

First/Then laminated card

The great news is that many strategies shared in this workshop were not only geared toward children with ASD–they could be used for every child!

Have you found a particular strategy that has helped you have success in the classroom?   If so, share here!

The Engage Conference Did Not Disappoint!

Kathie Phillips

I love being with fellow kidmin leaders.  I always seem to walk away feeling more energized and more convinced that this is indeed what God as called me to do.  This past weekend, I attended the Engage Conference in Mechanicsburg, PA.  While this was my first time attending the conference, I looked forward to all that I would learn and experience.  I was not disappointed.

The conference’s main speaker was Sue Miller, formerly of Willow Creek Community Church and currently on staff at ReThink (who publishes First Look and 252 Basics curriculum).  Sue led three main sessions, highlighting (1) what’s new in children’s ministry, (2) having difficult conversations, and (3) sustaining yourself health as a leader.  Here are some highlights of each session:

Session 1:  What’s New Now

  • 25% of people think Sundays are for church, while 75% think Sundays are for other things.
  • We need to think differently in how we plan to reach these families.  How will we reach them if they’re not in church?  1 Peter 3:15 calls us to show love first.  Consider doing a focus group from the non-traditional families at your church to find out how we can better reach them and serve them.
  • Kids today are growing up in a smart phone world.  Smart phones have made it possible for us to take the world with us everywhere we go.  How are we using social media?  How can high school and/or college students help us think of new ways to use social media?
  • We should brainstorm how we can use social media to (1) cue parents–help them disciple their kids; (2) inspire kids; and (3) rally volunteers.

Session 2:  Difficult Conversations

  • People want to be led by a new breed of leaders, leaders who are caring, authentic, willing to respect others’ ideas, able to lead change and able to navigate conflict.
  • We are called to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15).
  • Speak–Don’t avoid difficult conversations.  Decide to resolve the problem, remembering to attack the problem, not the person.  Confront the problem.  Take the time to do the process right.
  • The Truth–Remember HOW you communicate makes all the difference.  Lose the defensiveness.  Say what you need to say and own what you need to own.  The most loving thing you can do for your volunteers is to help them be equipped for what God has called them to.
  • In Love–Go to the right person.  Keep in mind that reconciliation is the goal–it’s not about winning.  Honor the process.

Session 3:  In It For the Long Haul

Say “no” to things graciously so that you can say “yes” to things purposefully.

Non-negotiables for you and your team:

  • Rest (allow an emotional margin to decompress).
  • Recreation
  • Friends who are life-giving
  • Refill your spiritual tank

The biggest challenge comes in leading yourself.

In addition to the main sessions, the conference offers an assortment of workshops that you can take advantage of.  I’ll share highlights from the ones I attended tomorrow.

If you live in the mid-Atlantic region, this is a conference that you and your team should attend together next year.  You won’t regret it!

Did you attend the Engage Conference?  What did you take away from it?

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