One Thursday evening, my senior pastor texted me the news. Our permit for Sunday worship in the local high school that week had been canceled. Not again! My head immediately began to go through a mental checklist of next steps. Make a new plan for Sunday, check. Notify volunteers, check. Notify parents, check. Purchase a new box of crayons for Sunday, check. Determine what other supplies I need to gather or print, check.

Having moved twenty-two times, between eight locations, in fewer than seven years, this news was somewhat exhausting to hear. However, with each move God was teaching us. He was teaching us to rely on Him more deeply. He was teaching us to trust that His plans are the best even in the fog of not knowing what comes next. God provided a place for us to worship Him with each loss of permit.

Anyone who knows me well knows that I love making plans. In the twenty-two moves of our church plant, I’ve learned a lot about letting go of my plans and trading them for the Lord’s. Ready or not, let go! I hope that even one day when our church has a space of our own, that we will continue to give up all our plans  to Him, that Christ would always be our guiding light.

When you are church planting, you are often doing church with limited resources and in unique locations. As such, it’s not easy to make plans when you don’t know where you will be or when. Over the years, I’ve come to appreciate five things for short-term Children’s Ministry planning in a church planting context:

• Pray. You might not be ready to let go of your plans. You probably put a lot of thought and work into them. I invite you to start with prayer. God wants to hear your laments and petitions. Take it to the Lord in prayer. Ask Him for wisdom and discretion in moving forward with your new short-term plan.

• Invest in People. Children’s Ministry thrives on relationships!
  •  Build relationships with your ministry team. You need the support of your fellow co-laborers in discerning choices, getting feedback, getting to know families, and in gathering congregational involvement. The team of your church echoes the vision of  your Children’s Ministry.
  • Build relationships with congregants of a variety of ages and life-stages in your church. Find out what their gifts and talents are. Invite those gifts and talents to help in your Children’s Ministry. For example, we have a single woman in our church who is an incredible knitter. She knits the sweetest baby hats for our Baby Boxes that we give new parents. There’s a retired older couple in our church who love hospitality and have showered our young professional volunteers with the gift of a meal in their home. Other seniors have faithfully prayed for our Children’s Ministry. We have some dads who are amazing at tech and keep our Children’s Ministry running smoothly during check-ins. Find out people’s gifts and invite them to get involved.
  • Build relationships with your volunteer team. So often Children’s Ministry volunteers are overused and under-appreciated. Check in with your team. Ask how the morning went. Ask how they are personally. Let them know you see them, you’re thankful for them, and you’re here to support them. Your volunteers need to know that they are a valuable part of your Children’s Ministry!

• Keep a Routine. Children thrive on routine. Knowing what to expect, especially when the physical environment keeps changing, is huge for making children feel comfortable. Create a routine and stick with it each week. Consider switching elements of this routine weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annually. This has been a blessing to our Children’s Ministry that regardless of who’s teaching, or what location the church is in, the children in our church know what to expect next as we aim to keep our weekly routine steady.

• Communicate Clearly. Communication is so important. How you communicate to your volunteer team and to parents makes a difference in things running smoothly. How often you communicate matters. I send a weekly Tuesday Team email to the following week’s Sunday volunteers to link curriculum, share who’s serving, and highlight any announcements. On Thursdays, I send out a Parent Update via Mail Chimp with family discipleship resources and any announcements relevant to families in our church. This keeps everyone on the same page about what is happening at church.

• Use Open Ended Supplies + Pocket Games. Open-ended supplies are wonderful to have around. These are games or craft supplies that become anything you need them to be on short notice. For example, plain wooden peg dolls can become any Bible character you need them to be. A stack of white copy paper, a bin of crayons, scissors and green painter’s tape can easily become whatever activity or craft you need. This also helps with sign-in sheets or signage in a pinch. Other items like play-dough, connect sticks, and Legos offer great flexibility for a variety of program needs. Pocket games are a list of no-supplies-needed games and attention-getters our team regularly can use in a pinch.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11).

The Lord’s plans for you and your church are good. Remember that when the plans change. Hold your plans loosely, pray about them continually, and be open to changes. God’s plans are so much better than we could ever imagine. Ready or not, let go!