Tag Archive - church

Winning in Early Childhood: Next Steps

January 31, 2012 in Ministry with 0 Comments

One of the very first steps to setting up our Early Childhood environments for a win is to set realistic expectations.  I’m talking about expectations that set us up to win and to keep on winning and keep on winning and keep on winning.  The issue is that these wins have to be defined by each leader on a unique level, and have to be defined for each church based on the win for that body of Christ in that location.

I’ve defined 3 “Next Steps” for helping us define the win where we are.  These things have to be done for us to begin to attempt being successful for Nursery and Preschool children and their families.

1. Know Your Kids.  Really, really, really know the kids you teach and lead.  Do we know their families?  Do we know their siblings?  Do we know what could be happening in their lives away from church?

It’s a gigantic cop-out to say that our churches are too busy or too large to find these things out.  Each kid has a unique story, and if we take the time to find it out we can then take our ministry to a new level.

What does this look like? It looks like teachers praying for parents in the hallways, and fathers that don’t attend church coming for the first time.  It looks like teachers knowing the birthdays of their kids and kids celebrating the uniqueness of their teachers with gifts and hugs.   

 2. Learn what’s developmentally normal.  Take the time to make your leaders as educated as possible on age appropriateness.  There are books, blogs, and information galore on this topic.  Why not take the time to put it all out there when you do teacher training?  Why not add some notes and helpful hints along the way for your leaders?  Why not use these?

3. Pray.  Let me guess.  You forget this one sometimes, right?  Let the Holy Spirit lead, in spite of what your developmentally or cognitively know about your class.  The Lord desires to have your true leading from Him.  Make prayer a priority for your class and classroom leaders.

Acts 19:20 So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.

Helping to Make our Message Real

January 25, 2012 in Ministry, Personal with 2 Comments

Let’s talk about making that real lasting investment in our communities, and making it outside of our church.  (Catch-up with the introduction HERE.)  I love MY church, THE church, and the calling of the church.  However, sincerely believing that doesn’t mean that the Church Can Do Everything, and it doesn’t end there.  One of the most important benefits to us as leaders to serve outside of our churches, is it Helps to Make our Message Real.

I know that for years I would speak, preach, teach, and talk family, family, family.  However, it wasn’t until I started fostering kids in my home that people began to listen.  There is something about backing up your message that will soften the hearts of the people you lead.  Those you influence will begin to see you truly leading from your passions in all areas of your life, and there may be no greater testimony that that to the people in our churches.

What in our personal life backs up what you preach?  And don’t say the work you do at the church! That’s only part of it.  Your calling is bigger than that 3 hour window on Sunday Mornings!  Put some legs to all your talk of life-change, family discipleship, and bringing hope to children.  It’s time for those in churches to back up our Sunday talk with some Monday living.  We are not exempt from community outreach, just because we are ministers within a local church.

But what does it look like?  That’s up for you to decide.  

The Church Can’t Do Everything

January 24, 2012 in Ministry, Personal with 4 Comments

This week we are talking about making that real lasting investment in our communities, and making it outside of our church.  (Catch-up with the introduction HERE.)  I love MY church, THE church, and the calling of the church.  However, sincerely believing that doesn’t mean that the Church Can Do Everything.

I believe that it was never the intention of the local church to replace individual outreach.  It’s not the church’s job to reach out to my next door neighbor, or coach my kids baseball team, or volunteer at the public school in my community, or share Christ with the hurting world I interact with everyday.  As Christians, it is our duty to bring life change to wherever we are living.

The purpose of the church is more of a launching pad.  There is no doubt that we can create some effective outreach from within the walls of our church community, and I’ve seen great churches make an impact in their communities as a whole.  But, isn’t church also to be the place that we launch people out into the world?  Isn’t the local church meant to encourage those in attendance to live a life that brings glory to God and therefore spread the Gospel the world over?

Those of us working in churches, are often the last ones to get this message.  We spend 50+ hours a week creating amazing experiences for the families that attend our church (and we should), but many of us spend rarely an hour a year investing in our community without our church name badge on.  Why?  This has got to change if we are truly to be leaders at taking the Gospel to a hurting world.

Let us force the community of believers we serve with to see Christianity as permeating our everyday life.  Let’s bring light to our hurting communities, and in the process bring the light to our own churches.  I’ve never once served in my community, and NOT seen my church get the attention in some way.

Many of us have personal passions that we are dreaming of fulfilling, and fell restricted by our local church.  Let this not be.  It’s my prayer that you find the solution to carry on the mission of your calling both inside your church walls and outside them as well.

Outside of the Church

January 23, 2012 in Ministry, Personal with 0 Comments

I’ve been in a struggle.  This week, I’d like to take you on a journey my family and I have been on for the past couple of years.

I serve in a local church.  I love the local church, and I fully support the mission my church lives to fulfill.  However, how do we take this great message of hope and salvation, and move it outside of our church walls? And more specifically, how do we do it as a family outside of our homes? I’d like to evaluate the different reasons that Church leaders should be investing in their communities on an individual level.

Before talking about any of this, I believe it’s important to talk about what the church is.  For me, I sincerely believe that:

  • The Church is the vehicle that takes God’s plan for salvation to the world at-large.
  • The Church is the greatest organization to bring about true life-giving relationships in the world.
  • The Church should be the greatest collective effort of believers to reach the community in which it resides.
  • The Church is strong relevant, and growing!

 Why be involved in your local community, when your church does so much already?

The Other Side of the Fence

January 18, 2012 in Ministry with 0 Comments

I’ve had the opportunity in the past two years to visit many other churches and see and hear how they are doing ministry in their local church family.  Along with those opportunities, I’ve had the privilege to sit and talk with many children and student leaders on a local church level about the things they are doing (attempting) in their churches.  In all of the conversations, I can’t help but filter all that I see and hear through the lens of what I am involved with here at my church home.  That has helped me be a better leader.

When processing, listening, observing, and critiquing what others are doing; I’m really setting myself up to view my own space in a new way.  I’m using new eyes to look at what have become old things.

Here are the things I’m learning through the process:

  • I’m so much more blessed to be where I am than I give myself credit for.  There ain’t nothin’ like eating some of that grass on the other side of the fence to know how good your own grass is!
  •  Everything is a season.  When I talk to people on either side of where I’m currently working, I can see the story being weaved where I am.  I’ve been where some people are, and I’m looking forward to being where other people are now!
  •  Things need to change.  There are times that I hear and see what others are doing, and immediately know that I need to get our team to play catch-up real, real, real quick.  You may call it inspiration, I call it conviction.
  • I need to champion my team more.  Spending time with other leaders (and no offense, please) makes me appreciate the team I work with.  I work with some real all-stars, and hearing from others always help me see that.  Then I need to bring that gratefulness home and share it!
  •  It feels good to share.  I love sharing what I’ve done and am doing, and I’m so grateful that others are willing to share with me where they are.  I always walk away from conversations with other leaders encouraged .

What in your area do you need to look at with some new eyes?  Are there things you read online that help you to see the old as if it were new again?  What is your conviction…or inspiration to change?

Page 1 of 4212345»102030...Last »