Archives For Children Ministry

What I Believe About Kidmin Ministry

June 21, 2011 — 3 Comments

This week I’m going to share some personal thoughts on the three areas of the church I manage.  Starting with the youngest of ages first, let’s cover what I believe about Children’s Ministry at Trinity Church.

  • I Believe that what happens in a preschool classroom is as relevant to the spiritual growth of our church as what my Senior Pastor teaches from the pulpit each morning.
  • I Believe that the overall health of our entire church is dependent on how we reach out to and disciple the youngest of children in Lubbock, TX.
  • I Believe that  those that serve and lead and invest in our children each week are in a better place to be blessed by God than those that do not.
  • I Believe that teenagers willing to serve in Children’s Ministry are developing a heart of compassion that will benefit them for the rest of their lives.
  • I Believe that it’s allright to criticize our methods, programming, and systems in order to improve and upgrade what we do to reach children and families.
  • I Believe that events are judged as successful by not how many attend, but by how many come back on the weekend.
  • I Believe that kids should be given the opportunity to accept Christ at church, but that parents should be involved in the process and supported to continue the spiritual conversation.
  • I Believe that parents carry the primary spiritual burden to disciple their own children, and that it’s our job as a church to encourage the necessary steps to lead their families at home.
  • I Believe that Children’s Ministry brings about changes in the world in the here and now, and not only in the future.
  • I Believe that every weekend holds within it the opportunity for life change in the heart of a child.

So there I went, and shared many of the core truths I believe at it pertains to Children’s Ministry.  I’d love to hear what you would add, and what you think about my own list.  I’m sure I forgot some things, and maybe I’ll come back and add a few here and there to keep the list current.

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My Orange Story

April 25, 2011 — Leave a comment

All week long I’ll be blogging from The Orange Conference, and I thought it would be worthwhile to share some of my own Orange story.  This year it will be my 4th Orange Conference to attend, and boy have I come a long way baby!

In April of 2008 I attended my first Orange Conference.  I had been at Trinity Church for almost one year, and had picked the Orange Conference because it looked different than most of the Children’s Ministry conferences.  I took a key volunteer with me as a travel buddy, and the two of us putted around all week thinking…”This will never work!” and “How could this happen at Trinity?” and generally trying not to be discouraged about where I was at and where I wanted to be.

But sometime between that first conference experience at Orange and the next 12 months I got a vision for what could be.  I knew my limitations, and what may not work; but I was unwilling to throw in the towel.  We started taking teeny, tiny Orange baby steps to connect our families with our Children’s Ministry.  Then little by little it started to happen.  Things that had for so long been church-only (YELLOW) events started to look more like church & family (ORANGE) happenings.  I attended the 2009 Orange Conference all by myself; but was able to meet up with some friends that encouraged where we were headed at Trinity and shared some of their own stories of change.  In 2010, I attended the Orange Conference for the 3rd time; but this time brought along my boss and saw him catch a unique vision for our church.  It was happening.

Then in 2010, we started to gather some big momentum as we shifted the ministry at Trinity to our children into a more relational-based small group model.  And here’s the kicker, it actually worked.  In a church that has struggled to get volunteers to work with children, we started to turn it around.  In a church that has struggled to get parents involved in the key life-decisions of their children, we started to see large amounts of parents respond to our baptism and salvation conversations.  Parents turned out in large numbers for a special Child Dedication experience, and our Nursery and Early Childhood areas started to have a spirit of excellence that had not existed previously.  It was happening for us.  Parents (RED) were responding to us at the church (YELLOW) and we were seeing the first hints of an ORANGE atmosphere.

In January of this year, my role has shifted and changed to taking some of these things we’ve had success with in Children’s Ministry to our Student Ministries and College-Age Ministries; and I could not be more excited.  I’m in the position now of being able to cast vision, and hold accountable an entire Next Generations Ministry team to reach our city, families, and church with the single, greatest hope given to us in history.  That Jesus can save the world!

The journey I’ve been on in the past 4 years, is just that.  It’s a journey.  It’s not yet completed, as there is progress to be made while still maintaining the ability to be flexible to the needs of our growing church.  As I look at my 2011 goal sheets, it’s Orange in color; but still bright Yellow and bright Red in places.  It’s a great journey and adventure to make the brightest yellows and the shiniest reds work together in a beautiful Orange shade.

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Can a Conference Meet your Needs?

January 14, 2011 — 2 Comments

I am totally stoked to participate and attend the Kidmin Conference this October in Chicago.  Over the months leading up to the conference I’m going to be addressing different reasons that I think those working specifically in Children’s Ministry should make the time to invest in your ministry and life by attending along with me.

For this month let’s tackle this question: “What’s your biggest need that you think KidMin can meet in 2011?”

Speaking for myself, I really believe that the Kidmin Conference can meet a few different needs for Jonathan Cliff:

  1. I need fun-> It’s going to be fun.  We all need fun, but I’m going to say that I need it more than most!  It’s going to be fun to be with friends, experience a city I’ve never been to, and sit around tables with like-minded people.
  2. I need to learn-> It’s a concentrated  learning environment for learning many things quickly and accurately.  There are tons of different learning tracks available, no matter what I may be needing help in at the time.
  3. I need to collaborate-> I need to share where I’m at, and get the opinions of others on where they think I’m at.  Anytime I sit in a room with those that work with kids and hear their stories…it just gets me going in new and innovative ways!

Would you join me?  Take time today to visit www.childrensministry.com/kidmin to see what it’s all about and have your biggest needs meet along with me!

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2010 Year in Review | Guest Posts

December 30, 2010 — Leave a comment

Here are some blog posts you might have missed, because they didn’t appear in their original form here on the blogs. They have all been written for others, and honestly it’s one of my favorite things to do. I love sharing with other readers on other sites. It’s another great way to meet new people!

These posts were all given to other sites as guest posts:

I feel like I’m forgetting some, so if you think I am please let me know and I’ll add them ASAP. And if you’re ever interested in me guest blogging on your site, I promise to send over something for your review. I’ll even link to your blog directly through my own, without giving away all the good stuff.


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People I’ve Met Online: Matt McKee

September 7, 2010 — Leave a comment

Over 3 years ago I was Googling (is that a word?) looking for some reviews online about a video curriculum I wanted to use at the church I was working at.  All I could find were standard reviews, from those that were being paid to say positive things.  Then I stumbled upon Matt McKee’s website (remember when it was on the 3cords web network?), where he was writing about the very curriculum I was interested in. He said nice things about the curriculum, but he also said some not-so-flattering things about it.  Now, it’s important that you understand that he wasn’t being mean, just honest from his Children’s Ministry perspective.  I was drawn to his honesty, and began to lurk on that there website of his.  Eventually I started leaving comments, and even emailed him with some questions.  He was sharp, quick, and funny every time I had an interaction with him.

Since that time Matt has transitioned into a very different role, yet still maintains a great understanding of all things Children’s Ministry.  If you follow his blog or twitter feed, you might be tempted to just label him a technology nerd, or maybe a marketing sign snob…but he’s so much more than that.  He’s one of the few people that I can talk to about doing Children’s Ministry, and he keeps that part of his expertise hidden way down there under all the geekery.  Don’t believe me?  I dare you to just fire off an email to him about anything Children’s Ministry related and he’ll quickly become a great resource for you too!

When did I meet Matt?  I met Matt for the first time at The Orange Conference in 2009.  Believe it or not he was one of the guys I shared a hotel room with at that conference.  Yes, I did share a hotel room with complete strangers that I met online at the Orange Conference.  Strange, but true…  I’ll never forget awaking one morning and Sam Luce, Kenny Conley, and I being shocked that he was going to actually walk out of that hotel room with white pants and orange combat boots on.  And believe you me…that brother can work the white pants and orange boots.  I’ve met up with him again at the Orange Conference this year, and many, many, many times I’ve video chatted with him from his office.

Today Matt McKee is one of the very few friends that just calls me to see what’s going on in my life.  And by the way…that’s a good way to judge a friend.  Do they ever call to just call?  I’d be a bad friend if I didn’t tell you to check out www.r04r.com and see what Matt is up to right now.  His company can create some super great iPhone and Android apps for your church.  Take the time to see what R04R can do for your church.  And take the time to visit the often neglected, but rarely NOT read blog that Matt runs over at www.mattmckee.me.

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