Feeding Yourself

Are you taking time to feed yourself? Now I know this sounds like an odd question. I mean of course your taking your lunch break and maybe hitting up the closest fast food joint from the church. And every morning you wake up and grab that bowl of cereal or eggs. Then at night you know supper is a great meal. Of course your feeding yourself right? We all make sure we take time out of our day to eat because our bodies need fuel to keep going. Without food we will become sluggish, tired, and lethargic. So to keep going and hopefully fulfill our jobs and relationships to the best of our ability we eat right.

But are you taking the same stance in your spiritual life? Are you, as a minister of the gospel, taking time to feed yourself God's word? Now don't get me wrong I know it is easy to get caught up in whatever ministry your focused on and there is always someone you can help and serve. But the fact is your still a person like everyone else. You still must have a relationship with the God you serve, like everyone else. One thing that requires is purposefully spending quality time with Him daily.

Notice, I said quality time not quantity time. Because the length of time can vary from day to day. And I believe it can be different for every person. But quality time, that is needed no matter who you are. Time where you get alone with God and personally meet with Him. This is vital for all ministers, after all its hard to tells others about someone you never meet, spend time, or talk with. So maybe you've been in a rut and neglecting your time with God, maybe you need to make it a meeting time where you set aside a specific time daily. But make sure your connected to the vine.

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing" John 15:5

Conferences. . .a great opportunity

One thing that is a great resource for ministers are conferences. This is a time where maybe you get to take a road trip or even fly and be around a lot of other ministers too. In a conference setting, as a minister you get to go somewhere and hear from others about things happening in ministry and hopefully catch onto some great ideas of things that could help boost your ministry at home. Obviously it is a great time for one to gain a greater knowledge and understand. It is a training opportunity for ministers today.

But by going to a conference one can gain so much more than just realizing new ideas and trends in ministry. During the course of a conference, a minister can network and develop relationships. I would say that at no other time can you as a minister so easily and effectively meet other like-minded people face to face. Not to mention that the other ministers you meet will probably be from all over the region, country, or at times maybe even world. This allows you to see what’s going on in ministry in so many different situations. Developing these relationships can be a great opportunity, as you can later go back and see how each other is doing in ministry, bounce ideas off each other, and just simply share in life together.

Conferences can also be a time of rest and renewal for ministers. Perhaps you have been super busy lately and just had no time to get away. Conferences can be that opportunity, where you can relax a bit and rest. Sure you are going from session to session, but you can relax in knowing you just get to listen. This could also be a time where maybe you get to focus more on your own relationship with Christ, instead of planning and studying all the time.

I have been to several great conferences over the years and have some already scheduled for the upcoming year. I hope that you will consider going to a conference this year as well. Whether you need to gain some insight and knowledge, rest, or network with other ministers. Perhaps, you even need all three. It seems there are so many conferences readily available today, I hope you’ll take advantage of the opportunity set before us.

You Must Read To Succeed

I once had a Bible college professor, who said “You must read to succeed”. Now I don’t know about you but I am not a reader. As a kid, I read the Bible and that was about it. In college reading was a necessary evil. I did not like it but I did it so I could pass my classes. At the time I thought his saying was just for the classes my professor taught, because we had reading quizzes all the time. But I have since realized that this saying applied to far more than just his class but ministry in general.

I now find myself reading to help my ministry. So rather than being a necessary evil, reading has become a tool. It is a way for me to continue to keep up with trends in Children’s Ministry, whether I use them or not. Reading helps my mind brain storm different ways that our ministry could reach kids. Through reading I continually develop my own views on the process of Children’s Ministry, how I need to react to volunteer workers, as a leader. The list could go on and on with different ways reading is effective and profitable for ministers. But I think you get it, reading is important. Especially to those ministers, who don’t always get to conferences and workshop seminars.

So if you aren’t currently I would like to encourage you to find a book, pick it up and start reading. Maybe it’s a book about children’s ministry, disciplining in church, teaching kids to pray, training volunteers or leadership. There are a ton of books out there. Two books I would suggest are WHOLLY KIDS and Children’s Ministry That Works, which I’ve read recently. Next on my list of books to read are Kid Ministry 101, and The Kidology Way. But these aren’t the only books that could prove helpful to your ministry. I’d love to hear some suggestions on books you’ve read, which helped you in ministry? Just leave them in the comments below.

Reaching out to kids . . . outside of church

One thing that I love doing is seeing kids outside of a church setting. To me it seems to help everyone relax. I also believe it helps show the kids that you really are the same in church and out of church, you’re a follower of Christ everywhere. Your faith is real. Which is a great example I think they need to see. Here are a two ways I’ve found to connect with kids outside of the typical church environment.

First, you could try to meet them at school. Now I know this is easier said than done in some places. I’ve been in a ministry situation where schools would let me come for FCA and that’s it. I’ve been in a school system that didn’t want me to come at all. I’ve also been in situations where I can come to lunch, morning devotions, and special events to help. Either way it is worth finding out what they will let you participate in. Schools are the biggest single place you can meet kids on their terms and share the message of Christ with them.

One way I get into the schools is at lunch. I have a “Lunch Box” at our church and allow kids to place a ticket in the Lunch Box. Once a week during school I draw a name and eat lunch with that child. Now before you go do this 1) call the schools for approval and 2) I check with the parent of the child I draw each week. But this allows me to meet our kids, bring them a cool dessert, and meet kids that don’t go to our church as well. It’s easily the biggest mission field I have in our community. You could also attend a student’s band recital or play as well. This of course will be after school hours but still shows them you care and you get to meet and connect with the family, not just the individual child.

Secondly, you could go to a child’s ball game. I’d be willing to say that almost all kids play in at least one rec league during their lifetime. You can quickly find out if a kid is playing a sport by just simply asking them. Afterwards talk to their parents and ask when their next game is and if they mind you coming to support the child. You can go support the child in your ministry and sit with their family to connect with them on a deeper level as well. After all, as a children’s minister, we should be partnering with the parents to aid in their child’s spiritual development. That involves getting to know them too, not just their kid. The child will also probably be thrilled their children’s pastor cared about them enough to come to a game.

These are just two ways you could connect with kids outside of church. I’d love to hear of some other ideas for meeting kids outside the church walls! Just post your ideas in the comments section below.

 

Using Sports In Childrens Ministry

So lets begin by stating the obvious. Sports are a big deal in our world today. This summer the World Cup was on, which is a world wide sporting event that takes whole countries captive for the duration of the tournament. Of course college football season is fast approaching, which tons of people look forward to every year. But not just that, think of the fact that people actually rate high school players coming into college years before they even graduate. Then there are children's recreation league sports. It seems like almost every kid I knew growing up tried at least one rec league, whether that was baseball, basketball, soccer, football, softball, you name it. Some kids these days even focus on one sport from a early age because travel ball teams play year round. Sports are a big deal to society, and kids play sports.

Now I love sports, I think that when handled properly they can be good for kids promoting team work, and health amongst other things. My point here though is if sports are such a big deal to kids and so many kids are involved in them, why not use sports in your children's ministry? Here are a couple of things you could do:

1) Sports leagues

Of course there is Upwards sports leagues, which I highly recommend. But start a sports league through your church that is focused on sharing the gospel with kids. At my current church we use Upward Basketball and I can't tell you how many kids and their families have come through our door that wouldn't on a Sunday morning or Wednesday night.

2) Sports Camps

Now this one is a little tougher because a lot of schools host their own sports camps in the summer. So you may have to get creative with the time. Possibly a set of weekend camps or hosting one during fall break.

The most important thing to remember is that the sports are just a draw and presenting Christ is the true goal. So adding a devotion during a break or character traits with biblical references you go over each day or a gospel presentation. Yes, sports need to be taught. That has to occur so parents will be willing to send their kids to the camp. But they can be a great bridge to opening up a chance to present the gospel to kids today.