My team and I have been busy preparing for our Move Up (Promotion) Sunday this weekend. There’s always a lot to do to make sure that everything – and everyone – is ready to go! Can you relate?
Here is a snapshot of how we’ve prepared:
Volunteers
Everything from recruiting to our kick-off event to making sure paperwork is up-to-date, everything related to staffing our classrooms and equipping those leaders ramps up in the month of August. We want to make sure that those who are partnering with us in classrooms and small groups are well-equipped and supported to do the work that God has called them to (through large group venues like our kick-off event or one-on-one over coffee or a meal). This step is crucial to our overall ministry’s success.
Curriculum & Supplies
During the summer months, we declutter our storage closets and inventory supplies so that they can be restocked. This summer, we’ve ordered worship equipment, items for small groups (colorful rugs, games, walkie talkies for each classroom and members of our security team, and books for leaders), craft supplies, electronic check-in printer labels, storage bins and other essentials.
We also plan our lesson schedules for the year, edit curriculum, print lessons and activity pages and other curriculum-related tasks.
Physical Spaces
A year of ministry can take a beating on our physical spaces, so each summer we spruce up classrooms and hallways by updating signage, purchasing equipment and painting. This year, we’re so excited that our Nursery hallway and welcome areas will be painted in fun, inviting colors in time for Move Up Sunday! We also take a look at room/space configurations to make sure that traffic flows well and that space is maximized as much as possible.
Parent Communication
Move Up Sunday is a big Sunday for us (there are lots of moving parts and lots of people to move), so we want to make sure that parents know what to expect. This means communicating through every avenue possible, such as our website, our church’s Facebook page, our ministry’s Facebook page, email, electronic newsletter, and environmental signage. On Move Up Sunday, we’ll have additional volunteers on hand who will greet and direct families to the right rooms. These volunteers will be wearing an Ask Me! name tag (and a smile) and have a clipboard with the room numbers and assignments to make this transition go as smoothly as possible.
Prayer
As a staff team as well as individually, we commit Move Up Sunday to prayer. Things we cover in prayer include, but are not limited to:
- Protection for volunteers (against sickness for them or their children, transportation, etc.)
- New families
- Children entering a new classroom environment
- Anxiety (for parents, children, new volunteers)
- Excitement for the beginning of a new ministry year
- Stamina, rest, and contagious energy for our staff team
There are just a few last-minute details to tend to and then we’ll be ready! It’s going to be a great year!
Keep the conversation going! Leave a comment below to share how you prepare for Move Up Sunday. You can also upload pictures of your ministry spaces on our Facebook page.