The following is a guest post submitted by Sam Luce. If you have something to share with our readers, just email us.
I don’t know if you are like me and you have been totally overwhelmed after going to a conference, doing a site visit at another church or even just reading online some of the stuff people do in their kids ministry. I used to come sit down at the table and try to figure out how in the world I could work in live animals and where I could get a flight simulator on the cheap for next sunday. It took me a couple of years to figure something out.
- Just because they do it doesn’t mean you have to – Be yourself! I was always trying to find a formula that would help me magically fix my problems. I wanted someone to tell me do this and this and this will be the result you are looking for. I would come back from a conference thinking I am going to do all the stuff they did as a result my leadership style was all over the map when I was younger. How did I change that? I started to think in terms of principles.
- Think in terms of principles – What can you take back with you from a conference what principles are at the heart of what they do? If you try to replicate what happens at Orange, CPC or that big church you visited while on vacation a couple things are going to happen. 1. You are going to pull off some half baked cheese version that no one but you gets. 2. You will break your budget for the year on one event. When you think in terms of principles you look past the event or church you just experienced and ask yourself some important questions.
How do you think big even in small setting?
- What is the overall vision of the church?
- Who am I trying to reach?
- What gifts do I and my team have?
- What types of things can I do that I can do every week? Don’t fall into the bait and switch trap.
- Where can I put my focus and energy to improve what we do every week?
- Who needs to be on my team that isn’t?
- Where can I go for resources to help me grow and fill gaps?
One of the signs of a thriving ministry in my mind is not numbers alone but big vision and team mindedness, because those are things God can use. If you have a vision bigger than where you are and you understand that to grow and accommodate all that God wants to send your way you need a team.
Lastly remember God doesn’t measure us by how much but by what did you do with what He gave you. God’s more interested in faithfulness than he is in Facebook fans and Twitter followers. When you are faithful in little you prove that you can be faithful over much. Never forget that. No matter what size your church is and how many kids attend I pray you dream God sized dreams and prepare, plan and give everything you have each week your kids deserve it.
This guest post was submitted by Sam Luce. Along with some great articles, he also has some free Bible lessons on his blog.