Hi Multi-Site friends! I'm having the realization that the next few months are going to be filled with a lot of cool stuff. Looking for an event or conference to attend? Consider joining me for one of the following:
Willow's Conspire Conference. March 18-20. South Barrington, IL. This conference is always chuck full of great practical stuff for Children's Ministry staff and volunteers. This year I have the privilege of speaking in one of the main sessions. I get to talk on the topic I'm most passionate about so I can't wait! Would love to meet some of you there! www.conspireconference.com
Sticky Church Conference. March 31. St. John, IN. I'll be teaching a breakout at the conference on how to align the family through the BIG IDEA. www.stickychurch.com
NewThing's Hitchhiker's Guide to Multi-Site. April 4-5. Naperville, IL. Join us here at Community Christian Church for a 2-day behind-the-scenes look at how we do multi-site ministry. During the April offering of Hitchhiker's, we'll be offering bonus breakout sessions for Children's and Student Ministry. There will be lots of opportunities to connect with the Kids' City staff during this experience. This event is purposely kept small so register soon if you'd like to attend. www.newthing.org
Exponential Conference. April 20-23. Orlando, FL. Sommer Wisher from LifePointe Church in Raleigh, North Carolina and I will be leading a 6-hour Pre-Conference Intensive that will cover practical tools and strategies for building a reproducing Children's Ministry. This conference targets church planters so if you are one...check it out. www.exponentialconference.org
Easum-Bandy Webinar. April 28. On-line! I'm not exactly sure how this works (I've never done a webinar before), but on this date I will be leading an on-line experience with Easum-Bandy where we'll be discussing "Building Your Children's Ministry Dream Team." Hopefully we'll be able to share some great recruiting ideas that will help us all build successful teams. www.easumbandy.com
Lots of fun stuff! Let me know if any of you are going to be at one or more of these events.
I've been thinking a lot lately about what it means to have a learning culture on our staff team. Mostly because I feel like this is something we are not doing well right now. Of course reading a book, listening to a podcast, or attending a seminar never screams as loud as that sub you need for the 3-year-old room, the event you have coming up next Saturday, or the recruiting flyer you are designing. But what happens when we don't take the time to learn?
I hope to spend some time at our upcoming Kids' City Staff Retreat talking about what it would look like to become better learners. I would love your help in challenging our team. How would you answer one or more of these questions:
Learning is critical to leading. Maybe sometimes reading that book really is as important as that 3-year-old's sub.
Does the first weekend in June seem like the ideal time to recruit children's ministry volunteers? Probably not. But that's exactly what we did at the campus I direct here at Community. We focused our ask on "summer subs." Here is the text I gave our campus pastor to use in the service:
The weather finally turned warm and if your family is like mine you’re probably starting to think about having some summer fun. In addition to Six Flags, the pool, and a trip to Wrigley Field, there is another fun place you should check out this summer. It’s Kids’ City! If you’ve never had the opportunity to serve in this ministry or if it has been a while since you’ve had fun with our kids, the summer is a great time to serve on the Kids’ City team.
We have over a hundred dedicated contributors who lead our children every week and most of them are making some summer plans of their own. You can appreciate and serve these leaders by filling in as a sub for them a few times this summer. Whether you are a parent whose kids benefit from the ministry every week, a college student who is just around for a couple months, or someone who would like to get a taste of serving in Kids’ City; serving as a sub is a great way to make a difference this summer.
Fill out the card that is on your chair and either give it to one of our exit greeters or bring it to the Kids’ City table in the lobby where our Kids’ City Director, Tammy Melchien, can give you more information. Kids’ City will also be offering tours during a couple of services next weekend for those of you who would like to learn more about opportunities to contribute in the ministry. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to have some summer fun!
And here is the flyer we had on every chair in the adult service:
The result? 37 people responded to the ask. Most signed up to sub (the primary ask we made), 6 said they would like to become a regular contributor, and 8 want to take a tour of Kids' City next weekend to learn more. The thing I love best about this is every time we make these asks it means new people will get the opportunity to serve God and make an eternal difference in the lives of kids. 37 people who weren't doing that last week will get to do that in the weeks ahead. So don't discount the summer as a great time to recruit for your ministry. Any time is the right time to recruit!
