Children’s Ministry Inspiration Vault

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Considered now to be one of the greatest president’s of all time, he was once believed to be a horrible failure. A great football coach who won multiple Super Bowl titles ended up coaching a different football team years later and failed miserably. What is it that made Abraham Lincoln and George Siefert great in the eyes of people? Both were gifted leaders who had great teams surrounding them. So why were Abraham Lincoln and George Siefert considered failures during different stages of their careers? At those times, they were gifted leaders who had poor teams surrounding them. You’re only as great as the team that you build around you. It doesn’t matter how great a leader you are, or think you are. If you fail to build a winning team, you will fail to win. When we speak of building a team, we have to do two things. First, you have to admit that you aren’t the greatest Children’s Pastor or Worker since the invention of sliced cheese. Second, you have to submit yourself to being part of the team. Too often, the greatest, most dynamic leaders in Children’s Ministry fail to allow themselves to become part of a team. They believe, or are led to believe, that they have to be the end to every problem, a superhero with Herculean strength that can solve all the problems of the world before they have had their morning coffee. Take, for instance, the ongoing ministry struggle of recruiting. Many Children’s Pastors end up in the box of believing they are the sole recruiter for the nursery, preschool, elementary, Wednesday night, etc. The fact is few Children’s Pastors are great recruiters. That is why we find so many articles and books on the art of recruiting. But I bet if you look around your church, you will begin to notice one or two people who are able to get anyone involved in a project. They have that personality that draws people to want to help. Get that person on your team and let them solve your recruiting problem. You build your team by looking at your weaknesses, and we all have them.

Take the example of Moses from Exodus 18. Moses, after talking with his father-in-law, Jethro, and realizing what his weakness was, found people that could do the same job he was doing, and some were better at it than he was! He wasn’t afraid that someone was going to take his place as the chief judge among the Israelites. He was the man that God wanted in that job. You are the person that God wants in your job. Once you accept that, you wont be so threatened by someone who does a part of your job better than you. My pastor and I are a great team. While we are very similar in personality type, some of my strengths are his weaknesses and vice versa. I take on those tasks that I know he doesn’t necessarily enjoy. Our team accomplishes much more, and is more effective, because we work together as a team. My Pastor isn’t afraid that I am going to take his job. I don’t want it. I just want to be the biggest blessing I can be. Let people help you. Get over your own insecurities and allow God to use others to make you a better person.

At my church, I don’t have hands on control of the nursery, preschool, Wednesday night ministry, or Sunday school. I have team members that are gifted in those areas of ministry that help accomplish the vision God has given me for our ministry. The only area that I currently have my hands directly on is Sunday morning Elementary Children’s church. But I have been investing and equipping a team of people, and one couple in particular, to take this ministry and make it their own. So, what is my job then? I am the Head Coach. I call the plays based on the vision God has given me. I invest and equip each of my team members to do their job to their greatest potential. My ministry is to my leaders so that they can help me reach and touch the lives of our kids. Team leaders recruit their own team. That ministry team then makes the decisions about what is going to best help the team accomplish its goals. All discussion, disagreements, and planning is handled by the team. Because I invest in my ministry team leaders, they know how I would handle situations, and if they are unsure, they know they can ask

To adopt a team ministry philosophy is not as easy as walking in church next Sunday and doing it. You have to begin by realizing that you are not the superhero in your church. You have to allow yourself the freedom to allow others that are better than you, or have the potential to be better than you, to work with you directly. Changes have to begin with you. Then your relationship with people has to change. Remember Jesus and the feeding of the 5,000 (which was actually closer to 15,000 because of the women and children)? Jesus helped organize the people into groups as small as 50 people. Then he gathered the bread and the fish and broke it amongst the disciples, then sent them out to feed the groups. They had so much that they had leftovers. Jesus, the only superhero, could have went to each of those groups and fed the people. But He sent his team out to do the work. The disciples were the ones that took the food to the people. Jesus stood by and watched his team carry out the plan. That is team ministry.

© by Rev. Scooter Carson

Categories: Leadership Insights, Recruiting / Training Tips
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