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!