Navigating the Coronavirus Crisis In Children's Ministry

The global Coronavirus crisis has not only claimed thousands of lives, but has created massive disruptions in everyday life for our families and churches. What does it look like to minister to kids, parents and leaders during this challenging time?

Check out the latest episode of the Simple Kidmin Podcast in the media player below or in iTunes for a few ideas of how we can serve families in this season.

 

If you'd like to see some of the things our Children's Ministry is doing to stay connected with families, you can check out our Southland Kids Facebook Page.

Along with weekend teaching content we also put together this Bible Story Review Game video, a simpler version of a game we've been playing live all month long in our elementary environments.

Here is the link to our Parent Guide for talking to kids about the Coronavirus.

Episode 25: Is Children's Ministry Real Ministry?

Is Children's Ministry real ministry or is it just babysitting?

The answer to that question is a no brainer, and in this episode we'll talk about how God uses the awesome world of Children's Ministry to change the lives of kids, leaders and parents. 

If you're discouraged or wondering if your ministry to kids really matters, this is the episode you do not want to miss. 

Listen to Episode 25 in the media player on the blog or over on iTunes. 

In this episode I refer to the book Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby that teaches the principle to look for where God is working in the world and join Him in whatever He is up to today.  This has been a big part of why I've stuck with Children's Ministry for twenty-five years.  I love getting to watch God work in the lives of kids, leaders and parents and wouldn't want to miss out on watching Him in action.  You can check out Experiencing God on Amazon or in the preview below. 

How to Build Healthy Teams

Teams are the lifeblood of Children's Ministry. The health of our ministry stands or falls on the health of our teams.  

However, building healthy teams is easier said than done. To be honest, teamwork is, well, a lot of work.  

That's why I took the last two episodes of the Simple Kidmin Podcast to do a deep dive on how to build healthy teams in Children's Ministry. Along the way, I share some of the painful lessons I've learned from the last 25 years of leading teams as well as some helpful tips I've picked up watching teamwork in action.  

Check out the episodes below and let me know what you think. 

How to Build Healthy Teams Part 1

In Episode 23, we talk about why teams matter, what to look for when recruiting awesome team players and how to make sure your teammates are sitting in the right seat on the bus. 

Listen to Episode 23 here on the blog or over on iTunes. 

How to Build Healthy Teams Part 2

In Episode 24 we get into the nitty gritty work of helping people to learn to think like a team and not just as individuals.  From there we jump into the tough business of fighting for the health of your team and how to overcome dysfunction.  It's not for the faint of heart, but the results are totally worth the effort that it takes to keep your team on track with God.  

Listen to Episode 24 here on the blog or over on iTunes.  

Episode 13: How to Help Kids Have an Awesome First Day in Children's Ministry

What's it like to be a new kid in your Children's Ministry? Is it awesome or just okay? If you want to make sure kids have an amazing first experience with your church, then check out episode 13 of the Simple Kidmin podcast.

In this episode I talk about 8 things you can do to help guests kids have an awesome first day in your Children's Ministry. The first one is to create an inviting atmosphere for your kids. Here are four inexpensive ways to do it and here are a few tips about decluttering your space so it looks like you're expecting company.

Join the conversation by listening on iTunes or on the podcast player above.

Kidmin Coffee Break Episode 3: Becoming the Smartest Version of Yourself

The Kidmin Coffee Break is a mini-episode of the Simple Kidmin Podcast, where we sit down over our favorite beverage, catch our breath and get re-energized to lead well in Children's Ministry.





On today's coffee break we'll talk about three things to remember to help us become the smartest version of ourselves as Children's Ministry Leaders.

Kidmin Coffee Break 2: Lattes and Leading Up

The Kidmin Coffee Break is a mini-episode of the Simple Kidmin Podcast, where we sit down over our favorite beverage, catch our breath and get re-energized to lead well in Children's Ministry.



What is your relationship like with your leader, supervisor or boss? This person can either be your greatest ally in Children's Ministry or one of your biggest sources of frustration. In this Kidmin coffee break we will take a look at what the Bible has to say about having the healthiest relationship possible with your leader.

Episode 007: Challenging Parent Conversations Part 1

If you’ve been in serving in Children’s Ministry for more than a week, you’ve probably already had to have some hard conversations with parents. Whether they had a complaint about Children’s Ministry or you had to talk to them about their child’s behavior, these conversations are never fun, but if we handle them right, they are a great opportunity for ministry.

In today's podcast we'll cover nine tips that will help you take these potentially challenging conversations and use them to build bridges between your Children's Ministry and the families you serve.


Click here to listen in iTunes.

9 Tips for Handling Tough Conversations Download

9 tips are a lot to remember so make download the Parent Conversation Cheat Sheet and keep it on your phone or some place handy as a reference for when you're dealing with a tough conversation.


What kind of problem are you facing?

To address a parent's concern, it's helpful to know what kind of problem you're facing.  Is it a people problem?  A process problem?  A programming problem?  Or maybe a preference problem?  Download the Problem Analysis Tool to help you figure out which one you may be dealing with.  

Keep in the mind, there can be quite a bit of overlap between these four areas, and the challenges we face are often a mixture of one or more of these categories.


Finally, there's one category of problem I didn't mention, and that is a perception problem.  Sometimes the problem you're dealing with appears to be one category but it turns out to be more of a perception issue.  For example, several years ago a well-meaning mom suggested that we should consider doing a lesson or a Bible story while her kids were in Children's Ministry.  It was hard not to laugh because that's pretty much all we do.  

In her mind, this was a programming problem, because she thought we just spent the whole hour playing with the kids.  In reality, however, it was a perception problem, because the only thing she was kids playing with their leaders during check in time and watching a video during check out.   It was up to us to help her learn about what we were teaching and to point her toward the tools we provide parents so she could continue those conversations at home.  

Is this a problem to be solved or a tension to be managed?

In this fantastic leadership talk by Andy Stanley, Andy talks about the difference between problems in our ministry that need solutions and tensions that need to be managed that actually help us make progress as a church.  

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Episode 006: Are You Taking Time to Rest?

Are you taking time to rest? Rest your body. Rest your mind. Rest your soul. Are you taking time to reconnect with God and the people you love? In the hectic world of Children’s Ministry, this topic is mission critical to our success, and so that’s what we’re going to be talking about today on Episode 006 of the Simple Kidmin Podcast.

A picture of neglected rest

Here is the picture that I took on vacation that I mentioned in today's podcast.  It's a powerful visual reminder for me of those seasons when I neglect spiritual and physical rest in my life.

Personal Evaluation

How about you? Read through the following signs that you may not have a healthy rhythm of rest and work in your life. Do any of these sound familiar?

• You feel overwhelmed. 

• You’re irritable, anxious or depressed. 

• You find yourself thinking more about what you don’t have (volunteers, big enough rooms, budget, time, support from you senior leadership, etc) instead of being thankful for what you do have. 

• You can’t see where God’s at work in your life and ministry. 

• You’re envious of other churches or ministries. 

• You struggle with being present and enjoying the moment in front of you. 

• Little things seems like a big deal and you have a tendency to overreact. 

• You resent interruptions. 

• You feel underappreciated. 

• Kids are stressing you out.

A Healthy Rhythm of Work & Rest

In his book, Building a Discipling Culture, Mike Breen uses the picture of a swinging pendulum to illustrate God's plan for a healthy rhythm of working from a place of rest. If we push into the work side, eventually that pendulum is going to swing back towards the rest side (burnout, illness, etc) whether we like it or not. If we don't choose rest, rest will choose us.

Illustration by Blake Berg

You can read about how I explain this concept to kids in the God’s Big Adventure family devotional.

A Few Practical Steps

Here are the three things I did on vacation last month that resulted in an incredible week of Sabbath with my family. I'm working on applying them in daily and weekly doses so I can build this same rhythm into my every day life.

1. I unplugged from e-mail, social media, news websites and texting.

2. I leaned into intentional time with God.

3. I exercised regularly.

A Healthy Rhythm for Your Children's Ministry

Here are a few questions to evaluate the health of your ministry:

• Is your ministry calendar always full or do you have strategic seasons where you pull back? 

• Are you and your leaders running from event-to-event or are you building in time for planning, praying and relationships? 

• Do you need a season of pruning, where you deliberately cut back some things from the church calendar to make ministry more sustainable and fruitful for the long haul? 

• Do you keep going to back to the same leaders asking them to jump in and do extra or are you raising up new leaders to share the load of ministry? 

• Finally, are you giving leaders time away before they burn out or are you overworking people until one day they’ve just had enough and they quit? 

• And are you relationally connected enough to your leaders (or have other leaders who are shepherding them) so that you know where they’re at personally and if they need a break?

For a deeper dive on this topic, check out Matthew Sleeth's 24/6.  I just finished it on vacation, it's a very practical and helpful guide for practicing Sabbath in a hectic world.