People starting in children’s ministry often ask me what they should focus on the first 12 months of their ministry. Here are ten essentials.
1. Build solid connections with leadership. Set a weekly meeting time with your pastor. If you don’t schedule it, it won’t happen.
2. Choose your battles carefully. As the old saying goes, “major on the major and minor on the minor.” I’ve been the children’s pastor at my church for 14 years and I still have to choose my battles carefully.
3. Set a pattern of God first, family second, and ministry third. You have to establish this pattern from week one. Guard your day off. Let your spouse and kids know that they are more important to you than your job.
4. Smooze the church secretary. I know they have a reputation of being hard to deal with, but they know everything about the church and how things work. Church secretaries can be your best friend or your worst enemy – so determine to make her your best friend from the start.
5. Expect some criticism. You won’t be at the church for 30 days before someone tells you how it “use to be done” or “what they have found that works”. Accept the criticism with grace, nod your head and listen, then move ahead with your plans.
6. Take time to assess the church. Some of the best assessment will come when you volunteer to buy the youth pastor lunch. Spend time with the other members of the church staff. Ask who the power people are in the church. Learn who the money people are (normally the senior citizens). Find out where the church is weak and where it is strong. Discover the hot topics.
7. Bring parents on board with your vision and plan. Your #1 job as a children’s pastor is to help mom and dad raise Godly kids so involve them in your plans.
8. Pace yourself. Babies are born one at a time for a reason – your new ideas need to be too. Don’t try to do everything you have dreamed about in the first twelve months.
9. Connect with other children’s pastors. You need to do this locally, at conferences, and online. Get on Twitter and follow other children’s pastors. Don’t try to do it alone.
10. Subscribe to K! Magazine. You don’t expect me to leave this out, do you? It’s one of the best resource out for children’s pastors and it’s less than 20 bucks a year. You’ll get a digital subscription at no extra charge! Ask around – you’ve gotta have it.
This is good advice for beyond first 12 months, regardless of how long you’ve been in ministry. . . but definitely great way to get off to a strong start.
Thanks for the reminder of the practical – the nuts and bolts. Practical is tactical!
Obviously, relationships are important — whether with staff, parents, or other pastors.
But with #4 — if this is really going on with the church for a long period of time (where the secretary can be hard to work with and can be a worst enemy), then the church has a serious leadership issue.
Joey, agree with you about the church secretary!
Thanks Carlos! You’re right!
True! Thanks Anne.
Hi Ryan, great blog! You hit a good idea on #6 that many KidMin Leaders may not understand, have probably overlooked, and could under estimate the point of it…to spend time with the YMin Leader. As a business owner or a KidMin Leader, it’s our responsibility to not only come in with a “12-month game plan”, but to also have an “exit strategy” for the children we’re responsible for. They should best anticipate, have in place, and implement a seamless graduating system for their children into YMin. (This should be in harmony with the YMin Leader’s vision, because they should also have a beginning ideal as well.) For this should be a KidMin Leaders mindset in stepping into a new role their first 12 months. ***Enjoy receiving them in, love equipping them up, and thoughtfully send them out.*** – @followJKC -Joshua K. Carpenter