Elementary Archives - Children's Ministry Leader

A Children’s Ministry Leader’s Response When Volunteers Leave

Do you ever lose volunteers from your ministry? Of course you do! It’s a natural and common occurrence. Sometimes it’s people we don’t mind losing (be honest!) and sometimes we cringe when we learn of their departure.

Some people can be more of a bane than a blessing:

Whiners and complainers
Those who refuse to abide by basic guidelines
Bitter and unhappy people
Renegades pursuing their own agenda instead of sharing a united vision

You know who I’m talking about…you’ve got some names in mind right now. 🙂

Then there are some people who seem like the backbone of our ministry: Continue Reading

7 Misperceptions About Children’s Ministry Leaders

Posted by Greg Baird

Being a Children’s Pastor/Director is so much fun! It’s also one of the more misunderstood roles in the church. People often have no clue what we really do. Or that it’s hard! I’m sure you’ve experienced, if you’ve been leading in Children’s Ministry longer than a month or two. Please share your stories in the comments below. 7… Continue Reading

The Life Blood of Children’s Ministry: The Red Book

Posted by Greg Baird

Why do you do what you do in Children’s Ministry? Take a moment to think about that. Really, what is the bottom line reason for spending your life serving children and those who love them? You get little recognition. I doubt that you’re getting rich in this job. It’s one of the hardest jobs in… Continue Reading

A Children’s Ministry Volunteer Primer

Posted by Greg Baird

Let’s face it, assimilating volunteers into our ministry is challenging. We need to have systems and processes in place to guide us through the recruiting, screening, training & placement of volunteers. Often times, though, once volunteers are ready to step into ministry, we get that “deer in the headlights” look. Especially those who’ve never served… Continue Reading

7 Things Every Ministry Volunteer Needs To Know

Posted by Greg Baird

Our children’s ministries are dependent on volunteer. Without them, children’s ministry – or just about any ministry! – doesn’t happen. Too often, though, when someone says they’ll volunteer, we simply throw them in the room with the kids and that’s the last they hear from us unless there’s an emergency. We can’t do that. If… Continue Reading

6 Teaching Tips for Children’s Ministry

Posted by Greg Baird

Many people have the gift of teaching and are almost naturally wonderful at connecting with kids. Others find themselves in a teaching position (volunteer, usually) and, perhaps, don’t have that gift. Or, they simply have never exercised it. Regardless, there are several general principles that every volunteer teacher can and should incorporate into their ministry with… Continue Reading

5 Elements For Children’s Ministry: Telling The Good News

Posted by Greg Baird

Our definition for Kidmin is: partnering with parents to guide kids toward a HEART for God. We do that by equipping them to disciple their own children, but we also must address what happens within the church ministry. For that, there are 5 essentials, the first 4 of which we’ve defined as: H eartfelt Relationships E ngaging Teaching A uthentic Worship R eal Service The… Continue Reading

5 Elements For Children’s Ministry: Real Service

Posted by Greg Baird

In Children’s Ministry, we are to partner with parents to guide kids toward a HEART for God. There are 5 elements that support that definition, including: Heartfelt Relationships Engaging Teaching Authentic Worship. The fourth element we need in our Children’s Ministries is: Real Service. Continue Reading

5 Elements For Children’s Ministry: Authentic Worship

Posted by Greg Baird

Our definition of Kidmin is: partnering with parents to guide kids toward a HEART for God. For the churches part, there are 5 elements that must be present in what we do with kids. The first element is Heartfelt Relationships. The second element is Engaging Teaching. The third element is this: Authentic Worship. Offering Authentic Worship opportunities is one of the most Continue Reading

5 Elements For Children’s Ministry: Engaging Teaching

Posted by Greg Baird

We defined children’s ministry as “partnering with parents to guide kids toward a HEART for God.” As we partner with parents, what we offer in the church (from the Nursery through 5th or 6th grade!) must include the first element: Heartfelt Relationships. The second element is Engaging Teaching. 5 Elements For Children’s Ministry: Engaging Teaching Long gone are the days… Continue Reading

5 Elements For Children’s Ministry: Heartfelt Relationships

Posted by Greg Baird

In our previous post, we defined Children’s Ministry as “partnering with parents to guide kids toward a HEART for God”. Parents are ultimately responsible, but as Children’s Ministry leaders, our part includes 5 elements. The first element is Heartfelt Relationships (the “H” in HEART). Memorize this: Continue Reading

What Is Children’s Ministry?

Posted by Greg Baird

Have you ever stopped to answer the question: What is Children’s Ministry? If you work in “children’s ministry”, you’ve probably got a pretty good idea of what it is, but have you noticed that those who don’t work on staff in children’s ministry have wildly different ideas of what it actually is? Even parents and… Continue Reading

5 Lessons From a Toddler: Making People Feel Welcome

Posted by Layci Clifford

As ministry leaders, we all want the people in our ministry to feel welcome when they come through our doors. Too often we get so caught up in the ins and outs of what tasks need to be done to make the ministry run that day that we miss an important opportunity to Continue Reading

5 Ways To Prepare For Easter In Your Children’s Ministry

Posted by Greg Baird

Easter is approaching…fast! I hope you’ve already begun planning for it in your ministry. Easter weekend can be a wonderful time in the world of Children’s Ministry! But it can also be a nightmare for the Children’s Ministry leader. It’s typically one of the highest attended weekends of the year. Lots of visitors. High expectations.… Continue Reading

5 Ways To Win As A Volunteer

Posted by Sammy Floyd

Being a volunteer in Children’s ministry can be one of the greatest investments we make in our entire lives, but it can also be overwhelming and be defeating. We are constantly looking for ways to make the volunteering experience both fun and rewarding every week. Ultimately we have found that the most successful volunteers are the those who… Continue Reading

5 Ways Ministry Leaders Can Enjoy The Christmas Season

Posted by Greg Baird

There are very few “down” times for children’s ministry leaders. Christmas certainly is not one of them for most of us! Besides the Christmas kids program, we usually are doing something special on the weekend before Christmas, managing a sparse volunteer team (usually with many fill-ins), and getting lots of “extras” prepped for our programs… Continue Reading

Category Archives: Elementary