Connecting with Absentee Children

Kathie Phillips 4 Comments

Children miss Sunday school for a myriad of reasons–sports, sickness, travel, weekends with non-custodial parents, just to name a few.  When a child misses for two consecutive weeks, a red flag should go up and you should make an effort to connect with the child and his or her family.  Doing so–or not doing so–could have a huge impact on your ministry.

I recently had lunch with a friend whose child does not like his youth group and who hasn’t attended the Sunday morning programming for an extended period of time.  As the conversation continued, my friend not only shared his frustration about not knowing how to handle this situation but his frustration in another area:  “My child’s small group leader didn’t seem to notice that he wasn’t there.”

So how can you connect with absentee children, before it’s too late?

Track attendance.  This will help you to know when a child has missed for two or more weeks.

Contact the parent/guardian.  This can be done very casually by phone or email.  Don’t invade on their privacy, but let them know that (1) you notice that the child has missed church for “x” amount of weeks and (2) you wanted to follow-up to see if everything is ok.  Is there an issue or need that needs to be addressed?

Send a postcard to the child, saying that you miss seeing them and that church is not the same without them.  Not only do children love getting mail but they also love knowing that someone cares enough about them to not only miss them but send a note.  Here are inexpensive cards that you can purchase for your ministry.

Make a big deal when they return to class.  Shower love on them and warmly welcome them back to the class.

Let it never be said that your ministry “didn’t seem to notice I wasn’t there.”

How many weeks do you allow to pass before you connect with absentee children?  How do you connect with them?

Ready, set, launch!

Kathie Phillips

This past Sunday, we launched Route 45, our brand new preteen ministry for 4th & 5th graders.  This launch has been almost a year in the making.  A team of 4th & 5th grade teachers, parents, and I met for months to plan for the launch.  Here’s what some of what the planning items included:

  • crafting a vision statement and ministry goals
  • selecting a curriculum
  • finalizing the ministry year calendar and lesson schedule
  • designing a logo
  • recruiting small group leaders
  • and the list goes on.

Despite all of this planning, the launch date was met with excitement and apprehension for me personally.  I began to think, “Why did I do this?”  “Why didn’t I leave things the way they were?”  “Why didn’t my husband stop me?!”  I left for church praying that God would bless our day.  And boy did He!

The excitement in the air was palpable!  Their new space was ready for them, the music was blaring and the team was ready.  The children were filled with excitement and anticipation of seeing what Route 45 was all about.  Children who had dropped out of Sunday school in the previous years made reappeared.  Laughter filled the room as a game of human scrabble was played.  Eyes were focused intently as the large group teaching took place.  Discussion and smiles were noticeable during small group time.  At the end of the morning, preteens recalled the day with smiles and anticipation of what we had planned for next week.

All of the nervousness I felt passed and was replaced with pride, peace and affirmation that God placed this vision on my heart for these preteens.  What an honor!  I felt that He was well-pleased.  I am no longer apprehensive–I feel more fired up than ever!

Is fear of change holding you back?  What might you gain by letting go of fear and trusting God for the outcome?

Setting Volunteers Up for Success

Kathie Phillips

Last week, our ministry held our volunteer training in preparation for our ministry year kick-off.  Volunteer-equipping is one of the best aspects of my job.  I am a firm believer that a properly trained volunteer is more likely to succeed in their job and be a long-term ministry partner.

Here’s an overview of what I covered:

  • Icebreaker:  Promote a team mentality by allowing everyone an opportunity to meet and chat with others on the team.  Play a fun game and offer some cool prizes.  It helps them to know that we’re all in this together.
  • Highlight what God has done:  Share a brief synopsis of your previous ministry year.  Share stories of how your ministry has impacted families in your church.  Share how many children became Christ-followers.  Show pictures.  Have a volunteer give a testimony of how their life was impacted as a result of serving in your ministry.
  • Vision for the upcoming year:  Paint a vivid picture of where your ministry is going in the upcoming year and what role they will play in that.
  • Roles and Responsibilities:  Provide a thorough, yet easy-to-read volunteer handbook.  Take time to highlight things such as volunteer responsibilities, contact information, evacuation procedures, check-in/check-out procedures, arrival times, lesson schedules, lesson components and lesson preparation tips.
  • Sharing:  Rookie volunteers have lots of questions.  Provide a safe place for them to ask those questions.  And don’t feel like you have to be the expert.  Call upon veteran teachers to speak into the rookies.  They have been in their shoes and have much insight to offer.

Don’t just offer a one-time training; we must provide ongoing training that offers practical tips and encouragement.  Each week, I send out a “Teacher Tidbits” communication via email to my volunteers.  I use this tool to communicate special announcements, birthdays, anniversaries, adjustments to our morning schedule, etc.  I also include a word of encouragement and/or a practical training tip in areas that would be most beneficial to them.  Some great resources to use for these practical tips are Take Out Training for Teachers and 2-Minute Encouragers for Teachers.

How do you set your volunteers up for success?  Share your success stories here!

120-Day Prayer Challenge

Kathie Phillips

Our church recently launched a 120-day prayer initiative, designed to help us commit to a more focused, fervent prayer life.  While we have launched other initiatives this past year, this is one that has really pulled at my heartstrings.  Allow me to tell you why.

I’m sure you’re familiar with the phrase, “What’s in the well comes up in the bucket.”  As church leaders, we pour our lives into our the busyness of our ministries and the many, many details that come along with the job.  Sometimes, in our efforts to serve the Lord, we can lose sight of our own walk with the Lord.  We can push our own time with the Lord to the side to check our messages, search for that perfect craft, shop for supplies, attend countless meetings, etc.  But that is extremely dangerous.  Over time, without intentional care and nurturing, our spiritual wells end up empty.

Have you ever felt empty while serving?  I sure have.  Thankfully, I am now able to recognize when I need to take steps to get things back on track.  This 120-day prayer couldn’t have come at a better time for me.

Our church provided ideas and resources for this campaign but God gave me a personal assignment.  For the next 120 days, I will pray one word back to God each day.  I will find a scripture that corresponds with that word and pray that back to God, too.  Then I will identify ways that I need to trust God in that area.  I am keeping these notes on index cards secured by a ring binder clip so that it is portable and easily accessible.

Let me share a synopsis of Day 1.  Day 1’s word was “PEACE”.  I meditated on Philippians 4:6-7, NLT:  “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.  Tell God what you need and thank him for all that he has done.  Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.  His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”  I jotted down specific ways that I needed God’s peace in my life.

I am excited about what lies ahead in the next 120 days and how God will transform my life as a result.  I’ll keep you posted!

What about you?  Tell me how you keep your well from drying out!