Children's Ministry Structure - Part Three

In a few earlier posts, I've written about restructure. We've explored some of the steps to take - let's keep going:

• Meet with the level of leadership closest to you:

Meet with your first level of leadership closest to you to help them understand their new role. I say new because, you've most likely make appropriate changes... right? Remember the job descriptions? Now is the time to help implement those job descriptions into action.

• Provide Training and Empowerment to that level of leadership:

I really cannot take the time to meet with every leadership position that falls under that first layer of leadership. So I must give that layer the power to take the new structure to that next level of leadership. They will essentially do what I have just done with them. They will help implement the new job descriptions into action with that next layer.

• Tweak as you go:

Yep... you've not now, nor will you ever arrive at a place when you've finished structuring your ministry. If you ever get to that point... quit. Seriously, complacency ministry is akin to death (perhaps someone somewhere will quote that one day). Our CM Leadership manuals are not bound in a book or even spiral bound - they are in three-ring binders because that manual will be progressive. It will change and be added to.

I'll have more next time - keep looking up!

I Get to Lecture - Yee Haw!

I get to do one of my favorite things coming up in August. I get to lecture for the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Magicians.

I will be presenting my Inside Out Lecture. It features my signature Gospel Magic routines that I have developed and presented for the past... well.... lot of years!

Plus, after the lecture I will have some of my resources available for purchase.

Here are the details for those of you near the Denver area:

• Date: Monday - August 10, 2009
• Location: Saint Michaels and All Angels Church, 1400 South University Boulevard Denver, CO.
• Check in time is 6:45 PM
• Each person in attendance will receive my lecture notes on CD ROM

If you can make it... please come and let's have some fun!

Children's Ministry Structure - Part Two

You've begun the daunting task of restructuring a Children's Ministry. Let me point out a few observations before we take any more steps in this process:

This is hard work:

There are a lot of little details that need to be done in order to do this right. I am so blessed to have my wife as my administrative assistant to help handle all of these details. Let's remember an important principle: Anything that's worth anything will take time and hard work.

This is a process:

You won't get all of this done in a day - or even a week. If you do, please call me and I might hire you. This will take time... a lot of time... a lot of YOUR time. So, b impatient enough that you want to get it done - but have patients enough to know that you have to take each step separately and in some cases delicately.

This has to be deliberate:

Re-structuring won't just happen (come to think of it, no ministry administration ever "just happens"). Be deliberate about having a plan to get the process started. Be deliberate in communicating to your people that you are doing this whole thing. Be deliberate in working your plan. Be deliberate about pushing the process and keeping it going. Can I be any more deliberate about being deliberate?

OK - back to work... you can do this!

Hey - Thanks Kidology!

I wanted to say a special thanks you to kidology.org for re-posting my advertisement from this blog about our new CD - "the BIG spin"

I appreciate all that kidology.org has done over the years. If you are not a member, please get the membership - it's really, my online file-cabinet/bookshelf/church supply closet of all things children's ministry resources! The stuff there is submietted by CM leaders from all over the world and from every type of church setting. Go for it!

NEW CD - the BIG spin

Alright - it's about time!

The new CD, "the BIG spin" is finally out!

For a number of years friends in the ministry have been asking where we get our background music. We use a variety from a variety of sources... but, my favorite background music is the stuff we make ourselves.

For the last few years, I've been using Apple's program GarageBand to create music for games, character entrances/exits, performances, multi-media presentations... really whatever we needed it for.

I've taken all the background tracks we've created over the last few years and put them all together on one CD. 22 royalty-free music tracks for you to use. Tracks 1-11 are samples and 12-22 are repeated as extended tracks. You can listen to the first track here.

Just go to the online bookstore and order it! And don't forget you can buy my other books as instant downloads too... I'm just sayin'.

Children's Ministry Structure - Part One

I have been lacking in my blog posts as of lately - but I thought I would blog about the very thing I am dealing with right now... after all, that's what a blog is intended for - right?

Structure - What's Yours Look Like

As I have been speaking with friends in the ministry about the fun and challenges faced at a new church opportunity, I have made the mistake of mentioning that my wife and I are working to add structure to a ministry that has none. The mistake is in the phrase 'this ministry has none'. Really when it comes down to it - Every Children's Ministry has structure. Even when everything looks like it doesn't work or is falling apart - it's not due to a "no structure ministry"... it's due to a flaw in the structure or a poor structure. Your ministry has a structure - and you either know what it is and it's intentional... or you continue to build it and it's unintentional... or, it's unknown.

Here a are a few steps for you and your ministry team to take to help you re-structure your ministry.

• Define your current structure:

Create a flowchart of all of your departments or sub-ministries that report to you. BE HONEST about how things really flow. Have you ever wondered why everyone in your ministry from the guy running sound, to the registration worker to the preschool teacher comes running to you... every Sunday morning... all at the same time... so you can solve their problems. It's a flaw in your structure. You should be able to see this in your flow chart.

• Define what you want your structure to look like:

Re-work your flowchart. I mean dream about what leaders you would need to restructure your current ministry alongside of those who already serve. Decide who should really report to who - and who should report to you.

• Start to create job descriptions for each box on your flowchart - including your own:

You are going to need to get with the current leadership that already fill some of those boxes and get from them, their understanding of the role they play on your leadership team. Take this information and begin to design the job description for this position based on what needs to get done and the purpose of the position.

In the next post, I will share the next steps. Now... GO... and begin on your journey towards better structure in your Children's Ministry!

Whew! I love being a children's pastor...

Whew - lots of stuff going on since my lat post. Taking a new children's pastor position has proven to take up more time than I had anticipated - but I love being in my element. Let me say that I love being a Children's Pastor!

We are getting ready to launch a new campus in the fall - we are gearing up, recruiting, casting vision and planning, planning, planning. This is something I have never done before and I am embracing the challenge.

I get to collaborate with my Pastor about what goes on in the adult services and all the kids' services; in other-words, whatever my Pastor wants to do in the adult services, we do the same thing, or at lease go the same direction in the kids' services. So, with that said - the topic for the fall is "breaking free". We are considering a Super Heros kinda theme for the Kids' Ministries. Got some ideas - e-mail me!

I started on twitter. It's been fun to connect with great leaders from all over the world. If you're not on twitter... do it and love it! You can follow me @jamie_doyle

I had a great opportunity to be a part of one of Jim Wideman's Club teachig in which he brought together 11 other children's ministry leaders from a variety of churches and backgrounds via a conference call and let everyone ask questions and contribute to the answers. It was fun - thanks Bro. Jim! BTW Jim is offering his Club for free for ministry leaders under age 30... and for a limited time $50 for leaders over 30. Just go to jimwideman.com

I'm trying to put the finishing touches on a CD. Over the years I have arranged stuff on GarageBand for Mac to create our own background music. So the name is nailed down and soon, it will be available in my online bookstore.

Hope you're staying busy and that God is moving in your ministry!