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Category: Ministry Leadership

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

What I’m Working On This Month

Kathie Phillips

Here’s What’s Happening In October!

After a very busy September (Promotion Sunday, Volunteer Kick-Off Party, and our 1st Preschool Family Experience for the new year), October looks to be a much more laid back month. However, there are some things that I’m looking forward to!

CURRICULUM

Each month, I edit our curriculum to fit our needs. During this process, we inventory our supplies and order any needed supplies. Thankfully, this month we had most of the supplies we needed! I did order these for our preschoolers, who are learning that God can help them be brave. Each preschooler will get to wear one home on the last Sunday of the month. I’m also excited that our preschoolers will hear one of my favorite Bible stories.

EVENTS

This month, we are celebrating one of our milestone events, 2nd Grade Bible Presentations. Each 2nd grader will receive a Bible (we present these) along with a handwritten note from one of our pastors. A few years ago, we moved this celebration to each of our worship services, which has allowed the entire congregation to celebrate with these precious kids and their families.

We are also preparing for another milestone celebration, our 3-week Communion Class. I will share more about that next month.

OUTREACH

One other thing I’m excited about is that our children (ages 2 – 5th grade) will get to be part of our all-church outreach focus – our annual clothing drive. Kids will be encouraged to be neighborhood heroes (which fits perfectly into our preschool superhero theme for October) by donating and collecting clothes for the giveaway. Our elementary children will help sort donations as part of their missions-emphasis Sunday next week. We love having our entire church be part of a missions project!

FREELANCE PROJECTS

In addition to my ministry work, I am working on a few freelance projects – writing preschool lessons for a curriculum company and writing devotions for a Children’s Ministry publication. I can’t wait to share more about these projects soon!

My second round of my online class through Institute for Discipleship begins next week. I will be teaching class #2 in their kidmin cohort, which will cover teaching theology to kids. It was a great class this past spring, and I’m hopeful for another positive experience.

That’s what’s happening in my neck of the woods. What are you up to this month? Let me know by leaving me a comment below!

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No More Manic Mondays!

Kathie Phillips

Mondays don't have to be manic! Here's what my Mondays look like like and how it sets me up for a productive week!

Mondays.  The day of the week many people dread for various reasons.  However, for many others, Mondays offer a start to accomplish new goals and gives a fresh perspective to tackle the week ahead and allows.  You either love ’em or you hate ’em.

Mondays don’t have to be manic. They can be magnificent!

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Today, I’m sharing a peek into what my Mondays typically look like.  These seven tasks help me to start my week off on the right foot.  While I don’t do every single thing below every Monday, this gives you a general idea of what I block Mondays out for.

FOLLOW UP WITH NOTES FROM SUNDAY

Each Sunday, I carry a clipboard (yes, I’m very old school – I am a ‘pen and paper’ type of gal) with my Sunday volunteer list and blank paper.  I make notes of any upcoming volunteer absences, school performances, special occasions/milestones, prayer requests, supply needs, etc.  If I don’t write it down, I forget!  On Mondays, I transfer these notes to my daily planner and follow-up accordingly.

FOLLOW UP WITH VOLUNTEERS WHO CALLED OUT

Like any kidmin leader knows, rarely a Sunday goes by without a volunteer calling out unexpectedly due to illness (or the illness of a child), traveling or last-minute emergencies.  I follow-up with an email or text, asking for any updates on how they’re feeling, if I can bring a meal, how I might help, etc.  I want my volunteers to know that I truly care about them and that I miss them when they’re not able to serve.

UPDATE THIS WEEKEND’S VOLUNTEER SCHEDULE

Each Monday, I update my volunteer schedule to reflect those who are serving for the upcoming weekend.  This is especially helpful early in the week because I can identify serving opportunities (not “slots” or “holes”) quickly and know exactly what our needs are.  Doing this early in the week also saves me those unexpected surprises and scrambling at the last-minute.

INVEST IN MY LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

In order to grow as a leader, I have to invest in myself.  This could include reading books/blogs/articles, listening to podcasts, viewing webinars or meeting with another leader.  By blocking out this time each week, I am able to invest in myself so that I can pour into others.  See some of my favorite books here and my favorite magazines, websites, social media networks and podcasts here.

MEET WITH VOLUNTEERS AND/OR PARENTS

It is very important for me to spend time with my volunteers and parents outside of Sunday morning.  Nothing makes the beginning of a busy week better than grabbing coffee, breakfast or lunch with a volunteer or parent.  Doing this in a relaxed setting allows for us to have great conversations and get to know each other better. (*Note: this is typically ‘issue’-free.  We meet on Mondays just for fun and fellowship.)

CURRICULUM EDITING

Honestly, this is one of my favorite parts of my week.  I love seeing ‘raw’ curriculum become ‘live’ curriculum that I’ll get to see in real-time!  I’ll share my process for editing our curriculum in a future post, but when I sit down to edit, I edit for the entire month/unit so that I can (1) get an overview for the entire month, (2) set a cohesive tone for the entire month, (3) build on each week based on the previous week, and (4) purchase any needed supplies in one order.

SCHEDULE SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS

I schedule all of our social media posts (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram) for the entire month on the first Monday of each month.  This saves me a HUGE amount of time and gives me one less thing to think about.

TOOLS I USE TO GET THE JOB DONE

Google Docs – I use this to keep track of who is serving when and where – this is a great tool because any necessary changes are made in real-time and I’m able to share the document with others on my team.

Hootsuite – This program allows me to schedule all of my social media posts for the entire month.  Not only can I do this from my computer, but I can use their app on the go.  Very flexible and very easy to use!

2018 At-A-Glance – Yes, I still use a paper planner, mainly because I take great joy in actually checking things off of my to-do list!  This planner is one of my favorites.

Keep the conversation going by leaving a comment: What do your Mondays look like?  

Freebie Friday: Recruiting and Training New Nursery Volunteers

Kathie Phillips 2 Comments

Church nurseries are often the first place where parents leave their babies for the first time, so it’s very important to ensure that this ministry area is particularly top notch.  As a kidmin leader, you have the responsibility of recruiting the right people and thoroughly training them to serve in your Nursery.  Where do you start?

Earlier this fall, I wrote a training piece for Sparkhouse’s Frolic Online to assist kidmin leaders with this task.

Recruiting and Training New Kidmin Nursery Volunteers

You can download the free guide here.  Happy Friday!

Podcast Interview: Leading as a Woman in Kidmin, Recruiting Men and More!

Kathie Phillips

Last week, I was interviewed by Tom Bump from the Kids Ministry Collective regarding topics such as being a woman in leadership, recruiting men to serve in kidmin, ministry joys and challenges and my new book releasing next month!  Take a listen when you can and let me know what you think!

To listen to the podcast, click here.

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