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The Four E's of Why You Should Train Your Volunteers— When I talk to children’s ministry leaders around the country about volunteer recruitment, I always say one of the best ways to recruit and keep volunteers is to train them! There are many reasons why training volunteers can be challenging: it is hard to gather people together; it’s expensive; the church calendar gets filled up with other events, etc. While these reasons and others may tempt you to not host regular trainings, I want to share four reasons why I think training your children’s ministry volunteers is one of the most [...]

Welcoming New Families to Church— I once visited a church where my husband was speaking. We arrived early, and I sat on a pew on the right side. When people came in, everyone sat on the left side. I was the only person on the right side the whole evening. A student whispered, “Who’s that person sitting on the right side?” My husband responded, “That’s my wife. She didn’t know you only sit on the left side.” Does your church have hidden “codes” that make a person feel unwelcomed? It’s easy for church members to get accustomed to the [...]

Home and Church Resources for Easter— Holidays are one of the best times for us to connect home and church as we partner in the discipleship of children. Easter is coming quickly as evidenced by the amount of candy, baskets, bunnies, and eggs we see in stores! Our families aren’t going to find good resources there to teach their children about why we celebrate Easter. As children’s directors, we can take the lead in finding good books, themes, and activities that will help our families celebrate the resurrection of Jesus! We can then share these resources for events at [...]

Stories and Stickers: Growing up with Reachout Adventures— Every summer for one week my little church in south Mississippi would be transformed. Some years it became a mountain campsite, others years it was a seaport, still others an Olympic stadium, or even an outpost in the far-flung reaches of Outer Space. As a little girl, this was truly magical. As an adult looking back, I now see something else even more wonderful was taking place—I was growing to love God’s people and His Word in ways that have shaped the rest of my life. Of course, the decorations were [...]

Why VBS?  A Summer Discipleship Opportunity— Lately, as I have been working on some personal health goals, I keep getting asked, “What is your why?” It has been a good question. Slowing down to think about what motivates me to do the hard work on these goals has helped me to identify the most important reasons, and it has helped me stay focused. I’ve been asking myself this same question as I’m starting to plan for VBS. I’ve probably organized 30 summer VBS programs over the years, and each time I still get excited picking out the curriculum and the theme. However, after that many, it can become an exercise in routine without much thought [...]

The 5 P's of Volunteer Recruitment— Do you feel like recruiting volunteers is a never-ending task? Do you dread the “no’s”? Do you feel like people avoid you because they think you’re going to ask them to serve? These are all too familiar to most Children’s Ministry leaders. Volunteers serving out of duty rather than delight is a stark contrast to most Children’s Ministry leaders’ experiences! As Children’s Ministry leaders, we delight in seeing the gospel shared, praises sung, friendships built, and fun happen while serving, and it’s hard to understand why everyone doesn’t see it that way. So, [...]

Starting a Special Needs Ministry— Many of us feel overwhelmed when it comes to the idea of starting up a special needs ministry. We may think, “I don’t have any training in that area!” In the same breath, we realize that we simply can’t leave any children out, and so, however fearfully, we dive in. I hope that in the next few paragraphs I can help calm your fears and point you in the right direction. Special needs ministry is really about excellent hospitality. A simple definition of hospitality is the act of being friendly and welcoming to guest [...]

Hopefully Devoted to Jesus— During much of my early adolescence, I was absolutely infatuated with Olivia Newton-John—for her Aussie accent as well as her music. It all began with the movie Grease, and one of her many hit songs from that musical: “Hopelessly Devoted to You.” In my foolish pre-teen mind, this song perfectly summed up my allegiance to a woman who was much too old for me (and way out of my league). I’m sure my parents hardly in favor of this heart devotion of mine! As Christian parents and grandparents, we understand that our children, in their foolish [...]