Before I worked full-time as a Director of Children’s Ministry, I taught fourth grade at a local elementary school. It was a pretty large school, so there were six fourth-grade teachers. Three of us taught math and science, while the others taught language arts and social studies. Those of us who taught math would meet often to plan and discuss what was working or not working in our classrooms. We would talk about ideas for fun lessons or ways to review that would keep our classes engaged. Throughout the day we would pop into each other’s classrooms to check in or make copies for each other. We worked as a team and we were all doing the same thing, just with different groups of students. Something I hadn’t anticipated when I switched careers was the loss of this team dynamic. At my church—and I’m sure at yours—I am the only one doing the job I am doing. There’s no one in an office across the hall planning or thinking about the things I am! Proverbs 27:17 says, “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.” God created us to need community. But, if I’m the only one doing my job, how do I find the community the Bible tells me is good for me? Where do I find my people? Here are a few tips I’d give to someone new working in Children’s Ministry.

First, prioritize attending corporate worship. That first year, I remember “waking up” one day and realizing I hadn’t attended corporate worship in weeks. There were so many people who needed me. I needed to check in with all my volunteers and help get crafts or snacks or anything else that came up. Since you work in Children’s Ministry, you know the needs are endless. Now, I try to communicate to my volunteers that I am going to corporate worship. I pay closer attention to the time and try to check in with them earlier or throughout the week instead. When I get stopped in the hallway, I ask them to email me so that I can get to corporate worship. Now, there are many times when I truly am needed and get pulled out of worship or get in there late. Both my staff and I know that my priority during that time is to attend corporate worship, so that I can worship in community with other believers.

Second, make sure you’re an active member of your church. Get plugged in to a small group or a Sunday school class. While I don’t attend Sunday school often, I’m still involved in that group’s social events and email chains. I’m a member of a small group that meets monthly and participates in church-wide events. This also helps when it comes to recruitment season. If you engage in your church community, you meet people you might otherwise just pass in the hall. It also turns the people to whom you minister into trusted friends you can call with an idea or to get feedback about something.

Third, seek out community within the church staff. Thankfully, my church has systems in place, so I have people I can run ideas by and talk things out with. I encourage you to find someone else on staff with whom you can exchange ideas. They know your context and can hold you accountable, even if they aren’t doing your job.

In 2021, I went through CDM’s Children’s Ministry Certification and was connected to a group of people who were planning, doing, and thinking about the same things I was! It was so helpful just to be reminded that other people are doing this job, too. A lot of our frustrations or hard things are similar. In isolation, we can tend to think we are the only people with our specific struggles, or we’re prideful that “our way is the only way.” The community I was connected to reminded me that there’s always room for improvement. I need the sharpening of other Children’s Directors to continue to grow my ministry. At LEAD Retreat, I encountered people who worked within a few miles of me, but we’d never met! Now, I have a network of people I can reach out to and ask questions or brainstorm with.

In a role that can be isolating, how are you laboring in community?