The start of a new school year is so much fun. In our ministry, it’s also the start of our new year. Promotion Sunday falls when school is starting back, and it’s such a joy to start fresh with clean classrooms and organized curriculum binders!

Throughout the summer, you’ve probably spent time evaluating the last year. Whether you’re new to your ministry or have been doing this for a while, it can be helpful to evaluate your ministry every year and to do a further evaluation including an appraisal of your mission statement every few years.

Here’s what that can look like. A few years ago, I did a deep dive into our mission statement and how everything we did helped us meet the goals set by it. I broke down our mission statement into four sections and tried to see how every activity or event we were doing aligned with it. If something didn’t align with it, I took time to seriously consider whether we needed to continue that event, if it needed to be changed, or if it was necessary to support something that did align with our mission statement. For example, our Sunday school curriculum wasn’t helping us accomplish our goal of partnering with parents, so we looked for something that would align across grade-levels to help with family conversations.

Recruiting and training volunteers also are necessary support activities, because without volunteers, we wouldn’t be able to accomplish our goals.. We also looked at our memory work program. It was sporadic and unclear, so it just wasn’t working. We made some adjustments and streamlined it for our families to better accomplish our goal!

Once you know how your events align with your mission statement, talk about it often. Make sure the people of your church know why your ministry exists. When people ask about your ministry, start with your mission statement. As you are recruiting volunteers, clearly communicate it to bring them into your mission. Open training meetings with your mission statement. Make sure your mission is well known!

Your mission statement not only holds you accountable as you plan, but it also helps you to cast the vision for what you are accomplishing. It helps volunteers and parents know exactly what to expect by being a part of your ministry.

As you zoom in and think about what your week-to-week plans looks like, think about the ways you are communicating with staff, volunteers, and parents. Often, we think we are communicating well enough, and things still fall through the cracks. What is your communication strategy? Is there consistency in how you communicate? Do parents and volunteers know when to expect communication from you? How can you streamline communication? What are some creative ways you could communicate?

In our ministry, we send a weekly email to parents every Monday. We use this email to communicate what their children are learning in Sunday school and to remind them of upcoming events.

We also email our volunteers weekly. Consider which day of the week would make the most sense to send email to them based on when they are serving, and then stick to it. Consistency helps build routine!

Think about your social media strategy, if you use it. Many of our parents use social media to get information, so we will post reminders and pictures of our ministry on a platform they are already on.

We have also been using a TV with announcement slides hung above our check-in stations. As parents wait in line, they can see what’s coming up in our ministry. We also started a weekly podcast to explain things more fully and include the whole family.

Once you’ve decided on a plan for communication, evaluate your work week. Think about what rhythms aren’t working. When I first started, our children’s ministry staff met every single week and went to lunch together. We had a great time, but most of our workday was taken up by that meeting and lunch, and things weren’t getting done. After some trial and error, we decided to meet twice a month and plan to go to lunch together once a month. This helped create a healthy rhythm of checking in with each other, without the added pressure of not being able to get projects finished.

Finally, pray over your ministry. Intentionally plan to pray for children, families, and volunteers by name. Pray over the details. Remember that your goal is to glorify God as you serve His people.

I love the beginning of the year. It’s fresh and new and another reminder that God’s mercies really are new every morning. It’s also a great time to remind yourself of why you do what you do and that God is sovereign over all things—even in the tiny rhythms of your ministry.