Training Workers

One thing that every children's ministry needs is equipped, committed, and faithful workers.  After all you can't do everything yourself in the children's ministry or at least you shouldn't. But that is a whole different topic. Now i'm sure you have some people like this is your ministry already. There are some people who just naturally are very gifted, even at being a children's ministry worker. I believe that every worker can become this equipped and committed worker though. It just takes time and effort from you, the children's minister, to help aid and equip them for that purpose.

But in today's world it is a fact that people are ever increasingly busy. This presents a problem when it comes to pouring into today's children's ministry workers. At a Conference I went to several months ago only 1 out of 25-30 children's ministers were having a monthly training, where most if not all their workers attended.  This shows us that today meeting once a month at a set time does not always promise a good turnout. Which means that some of your workers are being equipped while others are missing good training points. The majority of the children's ministers had one meeting every quarter or half a year for training. This doesn't give a lot of time to equip those in the forefront battle ground of your children's ministry.

So in order to equip your workers one is going to have to think outside of the box. How can I equip my workers and manage to not ask of a lot of time from their daily schedules? This is a question I have looked into myself. Here are two ideas I came up with. Perhaps some of ya'll have come up with another solution. I'd love to here how others are equipping their workers, please leave your training strategies in the comments below.

1) Training Online

There are several different online training tools available today. My children's ministry is actually in the process of getting all our workers signed up for this as we speak. One benefit of training online is that you can track each workers progress, allowing you to provide different trainings for more seasoned children's ministry workers. These also give you a database of training videos so you don't always have to make your own.

2) CD/DVD

Another thing you could try is making a CD/DVD each month for every worker with videos or audio on it. This takes a bit more work as you have to make and/or compile the videos. But it allows them to carry the training with them anywhere they may go.

Ultimately I believe that a key to equipping today's kidmin workers is making training conveniently available. Whether this is online, through a CD or DVD, people will be more willing to listen or watch a short 5-10 min training if they can listen while driving to work or pull up a video on their Ipad during commercial breaks. The question is how will you equip your kidmin workers?

Starting Conversations with Kids

It is Sunday morning. Your running around trying to get everything together last minute for the kids programs that are beginning. Got to get glue for this craft or some supplies for a game that was found this morning. But you have missed one important thing. . . . meeting and having a conversation with the kids. Instead of worrying about getting everything together that could have been done days in advance, you could be meeting with kids, especially visitors. Establishing a relationship or connection with the kids in your ministry is more important than you think. Starting a conversation with them doesn't have to be tough either, especially if you know some key topics kids pay attention to today. Here are some topics you might want to become familiar with to help you get on their level.

1) Disney. . . .

One of the easiest things you can do to relate to kids is get hooked on Disney. This could be the latest and classic Disney movies, watching the Disney channel, play Disney video games. The list goes on but if you want to talk to kids asking them who their favorite Disney character is an easy way to get started.

2) The latest music

Who is the most popular kids music sensation right now? Not sure. Watch the Nickelodeon kids choice awards each year. Also you could start by asking what a kids favorite song is and then go back and learn about them later for next time.

3) Sports

This is a big one with boys especially. But knowing the hottest sports athletes is a big deal. These kids are watching them constantly. And if your in the south you better know how the state college football teams are doing!

4) Pets

A lot of kids have pets. Of course for many people pets have a special place in one's life, but this is even more evident in kids lives. After all they are the only ones I've ever had request for me to pray for their pet.

5) School

I know what your thinking. Did he just list school? Yep, while some kids may not enjoy school the most it is where they spend a big chunk of their week. Everyone has a favorite period (even if it is lunch). Why not ask about where they spend most of their time?

These are just some conversation starters to think about. But making an effort to converse and meet with the kids in your ministry is important. It shows them you care, are a human just like them, and can establish a foundation for a opportunity to discuss the gospel and God's love for them.