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Tag: kidmin

Personal touches that make a difference

Kathie Phillips

I’m sure you’ve heard this popular quote:  “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”

As children’s ministry leaders, we depend on volunteers to do ministry alongside us.  Therefore, it is vitally important that we care about them and show them regularly.  I mean genuinely care.  How?  Here are a few suggestions:

  1. Engage them in conversation–about ministry.  What role do they see themselves in?  How can you equip and support them?  How can you work together to make the ministry all that God intended it to be?  Take an interest in them as a valued ministry partner.
  2. Engage them in conversation–about something other than ministry.  Learn about their family, their job, their hobbies/interests.  Take an interest in them as a person.
  3. Ask how you can pray for them–and do it.  You can do this by calling  or emailing them or having them fill out a prayer request card when they serve.
  4. Follow up with prayer requests.  This not only lets them know that you have covered them in prayer but that you are genuinely interested about what is happening in their lives.
  5. Acknowledge special days.  Send a card (via snail mail or electronically) acknowledging birthdays, anniversaries, the birth of a new baby, get well wishes, etc.  I have done both and my volunteers love it!
  6. Surprise them every now and then.  Mid-way through our summer programming a few weeks ago, I surprised my volunteers with donuts and juice one Sunday morning with a sign that said, “We love our Summer Serve volunteers!”  We don’t have food on Sundays very often, so these are special treats for them.  It was so refreshing to see them sit down and enjoy a light breakfast and conversation with one another.  You could also surprise them with candy, a handwritten thank-you or balloon bouquets.

What would you add to the list?  

Rest for the Soul

Kathie Phillips

This week, my family and I are enjoying some time away at one of our favorite places to relax–a cabin in the woods in nearby West Virginia.  Suited perfectly for rest and refreshment, it is a home that has a wall of windows that looks out onto the tall, mature trees.  The house also has a wonderful screened porch to be able to be in nature without being in nature.  Internet and cell reception is spotty, so it’s a great place to disconnect and reconnect with God and loved ones.

In addition to reading, watching movies and playing board games with the family, one of my favorite things to do here is feed the deer.  Once the food goes out, at least eight deer come closer to the property to feed.  It brings to mind Psalm 42:1:

As the deer pants for streams of water, so I long for you, O God. (NLT)

So often as a leader, I can get bogged down with details of the ministry–scheduling, ordering/purchasing supplies, deadlines, lesson-planning, recruiting, email–and lose focus of the God I serve.  Do I take time each day to acknowledge God before I go about my day?  Do I ask for His will to be done and not my own?  Food for thought as I gear up for the upcoming ministry year.

What about you?  Does your soul long for God?  How does He bring refreshment to your soul?

One of the Worst Recruiting Strategies

Kathie Phillips 1 Comment

I have a few pet peeves about recruiting for Children’s Ministry but one that ranks up at the top of the list is when leaders say they need to “fill holes”.  Every time I hear that, I get chills up spine.  Think about it.  What message do you think that philosophy sends about a ministry to a prospective volunteer?  I don’t serve, I just filled a hole.

I believe that the way in which a volunteer is recruited is directly related to the way that they serve.  If someone is recruited by a leader who shares the vision and mission of a ministry, that volunteer’s potential is unlimited.  They will have a vested interest in the ministry and are more likely to serve longer and take on more leadership roles.  If someone is recruited to “fill a hole”, they will likely not even know or care about where the ministry is going and are likely to serve a much shorter time.

Let’s show potential volunteers how passionate we are about what we do and recruit them as a ministry partner, not a “hole-filler”.

Ministry and Motherhood

Kathie Phillips 3 Comments

Balancing ministry and motherhood is something that I’ve tried to manage for the six years that I’ve been on-staff in Children’s Ministry.  It hasn’t always been easy.  Sometimes I feel like I pour too much of myself into my work while neglecting time with my children and vice versa.  Instead of thinking of it as either-or, I have tried to intertwine the two.  Here’s how:

I involve my children in my ministry.  This won’t work for every family (my children are teenagers) but my children actually enjoy being a part of my ministry.  In fact, they call it “our ministry”.  They are able to offer great insight into music choices, games, events and resources.  My little test group, if you will.  Not only does this help me stay relevant and “cool” with the kids at church, but it helps my children feel like valued members of our ministry (which they are).

As a result, I’ve seen them use their gifts and talents.  My son has seen me lead Sunday School and is now a teen small group leader for 6th grader boys at our church.  He not only prepares his lessons ahead of time but he finds ways to shepherd the boys as well as provide an atmosphere of community within the group.  He has also taught me a thing or two about technology (namely how to design a PowerPoint presentation).  My daughter is extremely artistic.  She has helped design brochures as well as sets and bulletin boards.  She has also researched craft projects and has written skits for the children.

I ask their permission before signing them up for events, etc..  I value my children and their need for personal boundaries by not signing them up to help me at events.  I don’t automatically assume that they will be present or fill open slots.  Because of this, they look forward to going to church and volunteer to serve in various ways.

I value their opinion.  When I was presented with a new ministry opportunity last year, I talked it over with my children (and my husband).  Because the opportunity would involve changing churches, their opinion was vital to my decision.  Talking it over with them and getting their insight strengthened our family and helped them to love, not resent, moving to our current church.

I am aware of negative talk about the ministry.  Volunteers don’t show up.  Someone may disagree with a decision I’ve made.  Someone may complain about this or that.  But my children don’t need to hear that.  It’s not their burden to carry.

As often as I can, I take them along with me when I travel for work.  My children are unsung heroes of my ministry, so taking them along with me is a reward for them.  Those trips have been some of the best times we’ve had as a family.

I value them by leaving work at work.  I love Children’s Ministry.  I love to read about it and talk about it.  But I also love my family time and try to protect that at all costs.  Saturdays and Sunday afternoons are reserved for family–movies, good conversation, a delicious meal, a road trip.  Just good, quality time to connect.

Although I love Children’s Ministry, motherhood is my most important ministry.  But having my children integrated into my ministry is the best of both worlds!  I could not imagine ministry life without them! 🙂

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