Serving in Children’s Ministry provides us with many memorable moments.  A defining moment is different though. It might be the reason you volunteered the first time or it may be how you knew that you were exactly where God called you to be.  For me it happened the first time I shared the message of salvation in Summit Kidz. After the lesson, we all made salvation bracelets to wear home. One of the little girls asked me to tie hers on her wrist. As I was doing this, she began to sing “Arise My Love.”  I managed to tie the bracelet through my tears and knew at that moment that I was given a gift. I began serving in Summit Kidz due to a need and after this defining moment continued to serve as my opportunity to touch the lives of kids by sharing the love of Jesus.  What was your defining moment?

There is no I in team, but if you rearrange the letters a bit you can find me. In a world that promotes an “all about me” mindset, it can be difficult to find yourself as part of a team. I have been watching the tv show “Friday Night Lights” with my boys, and it made me look at children’s ministry through the similarities of a football team.

• A team has to have a coach. A person to direct from the sidelines. A person to train and teach the players on the field.
• There are cheerleaders who root for the team while they are on the field and encourage them during the time between games.
• Every player is essential. They work together towards the same goal.
• Each player has a position according to their giftings. The expectations of those positions are clearly defined.
• Players meet on a regular basis to fine tune the team. This means celebrating the wins and brainstorming ways to improve.

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Making family time a priority is so important when you have a full time job and serve in children’s ministry. You have to be very intentional about making that time. I heard someone say once that they actually schedule family time on their calendar throughout the week and work everything else around that. You have to figure out what works best for you.

For me this means: (more…)

Just like Troy in “High School Musical” I sometimes am challenged to keep my head in the game. I have trouble concentrating at work when I have so much going on in Summit Kidz. I had to learn to be intentional in managing my time at work.

Here are several practical things that I have found helpful:

1. I keep a notebook on my desk. When I think of something that I need to do, I jot it down to work on it later. This also doubles as my “dream pad” where I will note different ideas I might come up with through the day to expand on later.

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