Month: September 2012

You Can Have Effective Meetings!

Kathie Phillips 2 Comments

Are you a fan of meetings?  Many people are not.  Many times meetings are perceived as cold, impersonal and pointless.  In our time-crunched world, no one wants to waste their time sitting in meetings.  But did you know that you can have effective meetings?  Here are the essentials to keep in mind:

PURPOSE:  Why are you calling the meeting?  If you don’t have a goal in mind, cancel the meeting.  Your attendees will thank you for it.

AGENDA:  Create an agenda and if possible, get it attendees ahead of time.  This will help them know what will be discussed, come prepared with information and ideas and allow for focused discussions.  Keep your agenda concise so that you stay within your allotted time.

COME PREPARED:  What supplies will you need?  Computer? Projector? Wi-fi access?Dry erase markers?  Make sure that any audio/visual equipment is working properly.  Have extra copies of your agenda, writing paper and pens on hand.

APPOINT A RECORDER:  You can jot down notes here and there, but appoint someone else to record the notes.  This will allow you to focus on what is being said and keep the group on track.

BRING A CREATIVE ELEMENT TO YOUR MEETING:  Are you holding a brainstorming meeting?  Cover the table with paper and provide markers or crayons for attendees to doodle or jot down ideas.  Do you want your attendees to “think outside of the box”?  Provide a tactile object such as play dough or an Etch-A-Sketch(C) to channel creativity.

HONOR THEIR TIME:  Nothing turns a meeting attendee into a meeting skipper more than starting late or holding them longer than they expected.  Honor people by beginning and ending on time.  Ending five or ten minutes earlier than expected is even better.

SUMMARIZE WHAT’S BEEN DISCUSSED:  Review action points and what you need to follow-up on.  Make sure that everyone leaves knowing what has been accomplished and what they are responsible for.  If you plan a follow-up meeting, this information should be first on the agenda before tackling new tasks.

What would you add to the list?

Connecting with Absentee Children

Kathie Phillips 4 Comments

Children miss Sunday school for a myriad of reasons–sports, sickness, travel, weekends with non-custodial parents, just to name a few.  When a child misses for two consecutive weeks, a red flag should go up and you should make an effort to connect with the child and his or her family.  Doing so–or not doing so–could have a huge impact on your ministry.

I recently had lunch with a friend whose child does not like his youth group and who hasn’t attended the Sunday morning programming for an extended period of time.  As the conversation continued, my friend not only shared his frustration about not knowing how to handle this situation but his frustration in another area:  “My child’s small group leader didn’t seem to notice that he wasn’t there.”

So how can you connect with absentee children, before it’s too late?

Track attendance.  This will help you to know when a child has missed for two or more weeks.

Contact the parent/guardian.  This can be done very casually by phone or email.  Don’t invade on their privacy, but let them know that (1) you notice that the child has missed church for “x” amount of weeks and (2) you wanted to follow-up to see if everything is ok.  Is there an issue or need that needs to be addressed?

Send a postcard to the child, saying that you miss seeing them and that church is not the same without them.  Not only do children love getting mail but they also love knowing that someone cares enough about them to not only miss them but send a note.  Here are inexpensive cards that you can purchase for your ministry.

Make a big deal when they return to class.  Shower love on them and warmly welcome them back to the class.

Let it never be said that your ministry “didn’t seem to notice I wasn’t there.”

How many weeks do you allow to pass before you connect with absentee children?  How do you connect with them?

Ready, set, launch!

Kathie Phillips

This past Sunday, we launched Route 45, our brand new preteen ministry for 4th & 5th graders.  This launch has been almost a year in the making.  A team of 4th & 5th grade teachers, parents, and I met for months to plan for the launch.  Here’s what some of what the planning items included:

  • crafting a vision statement and ministry goals
  • selecting a curriculum
  • finalizing the ministry year calendar and lesson schedule
  • designing a logo
  • recruiting small group leaders
  • and the list goes on.

Despite all of this planning, the launch date was met with excitement and apprehension for me personally.  I began to think, “Why did I do this?”  “Why didn’t I leave things the way they were?”  “Why didn’t my husband stop me?!”  I left for church praying that God would bless our day.  And boy did He!

The excitement in the air was palpable!  Their new space was ready for them, the music was blaring and the team was ready.  The children were filled with excitement and anticipation of seeing what Route 45 was all about.  Children who had dropped out of Sunday school in the previous years made reappeared.  Laughter filled the room as a game of human scrabble was played.  Eyes were focused intently as the large group teaching took place.  Discussion and smiles were noticeable during small group time.  At the end of the morning, preteens recalled the day with smiles and anticipation of what we had planned for next week.

All of the nervousness I felt passed and was replaced with pride, peace and affirmation that God placed this vision on my heart for these preteens.  What an honor!  I felt that He was well-pleased.  I am no longer apprehensive–I feel more fired up than ever!

Is fear of change holding you back?  What might you gain by letting go of fear and trusting God for the outcome?

Setting Volunteers Up for Success

Kathie Phillips

Last week, our ministry held our volunteer training in preparation for our ministry year kick-off.  Volunteer-equipping is one of the best aspects of my job.  I am a firm believer that a properly trained volunteer is more likely to succeed in their job and be a long-term ministry partner.

Here’s an overview of what I covered:

  • Icebreaker:  Promote a team mentality by allowing everyone an opportunity to meet and chat with others on the team.  Play a fun game and offer some cool prizes.  It helps them to know that we’re all in this together.
  • Highlight what God has done:  Share a brief synopsis of your previous ministry year.  Share stories of how your ministry has impacted families in your church.  Share how many children became Christ-followers.  Show pictures.  Have a volunteer give a testimony of how their life was impacted as a result of serving in your ministry.
  • Vision for the upcoming year:  Paint a vivid picture of where your ministry is going in the upcoming year and what role they will play in that.
  • Roles and Responsibilities:  Provide a thorough, yet easy-to-read volunteer handbook.  Take time to highlight things such as volunteer responsibilities, contact information, evacuation procedures, check-in/check-out procedures, arrival times, lesson schedules, lesson components and lesson preparation tips.
  • Sharing:  Rookie volunteers have lots of questions.  Provide a safe place for them to ask those questions.  And don’t feel like you have to be the expert.  Call upon veteran teachers to speak into the rookies.  They have been in their shoes and have much insight to offer.

Don’t just offer a one-time training; we must provide ongoing training that offers practical tips and encouragement.  Each week, I send out a “Teacher Tidbits” communication via email to my volunteers.  I use this tool to communicate special announcements, birthdays, anniversaries, adjustments to our morning schedule, etc.  I also include a word of encouragement and/or a practical training tip in areas that would be most beneficial to them.  Some great resources to use for these practical tips are Take Out Training for Teachers and 2-Minute Encouragers for Teachers.

How do you set your volunteers up for success?  Share your success stories here!