When I was first hired for a position in Children’s Ministry, I was determined to prove that I had what it took to carry their Kidmin ministry to the next level, or at least prevent it from sinking to the ground. That would be the worst! I began to read books (not a bad idea!). I developed new programming that was sure to impress, I rubbed shoulders with the most difficult people and tried to please them by producing every request asked of me with even greater zeal then the person prior. (Bad idea!). Confession moment…I even stayed in an office space completely cut off from my staff who were located on a completely different floor for one whole year in order to appease a petty agenda of a group of women who were determined to keep the space away from the church preschool program. Who does that?! Apparently me!
I stayed up late and woke up early setting up and tearing down. I personally made myself responsible for all things children’s ministry at our church. And with this distorted view of excellence, I ran myself into the ground! Do you see the same key word here… It’s “I.” In case you haven’t heard this enough, there’s no “I” in team. Yes, God has called each and every one of us, but he never called for us to do it alone! If this has ever been you, don’t beat yourself up about! It happens to the best of us. Even Moses struggled with the “one man show” syndrome. In Exodus 18 When his father-in-law Jethro paid him a visit and noticed him doing too much work he gave Moses some sound advice:
17 Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good. 18 You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone.
The advice Jethro gave his son-in-law wasn’t just helpful to Moses. As Children’s Ministry Leaders it is crucial that we heed such sound wisdom ourselves if we are to build a strong Children’s Ministry department.
Don’t Be Afraid To Ask For Help
21 But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens…That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you.
Just incase I didn’t hit this point enough already…YOU CAN’T DO IT ALONE! Nor should you feel like you have to. There are people around you that God has called to help you. It’s your job to weed out the good from the not so good and ASK ASK ASK!!!! Don’t know people? GET TO KNOW THEM! You can’t build strong volunteer teams hiding in a corner! Trust me, I know! So get out of your bubble and let your freak flag fly! Besides…No one puts baby in a corner! Okay…sorry, I’m back!
But get out there and be relational. And never say no for someone else! Stop making excuses in your head on why you can’t ask someone who you think would be an awesome Kidmin ministry partner to join your team. Attitudes like that self sabotage your efforts before you even get started. Stop and think about all the areas you could use help in. Some one who may not be willing to teach in a classroom may jump at the chance to help set up and tear down classrooms before and afterwards. No job is too small and every job is just as significant as the next! So be bold, be courageous, and go get those God has already assigned to help you!
Check out next week’s blog as we continue to unpack this ancient wisdom for the Next Generation Leader!
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