Fundraisers

I will be the first to admit fundraisers are not my favorite things.  In fact, I don't think anyone really loves doing them.  When I started in ministry, I made the choice that I would not ever ask the children in my department to go out and sell something.  They do that at school, they do it for their sport leagues, they shouldn't have to do it for church.  And I know the feeling of seeing a child come up with an order blank wanting me to buy something and I can not because I simply don't have the funds to do so.  I don't want to be the reason that someone is put in that position at church.  But we have to raise funds right?  So, what to do?  Here are a couple things that we have done that has worked and yet, hopefully kept people from being put "on the spot".

Make a meal
Many people in my church go out to eat on Sundays.  So, twice a year at my church, we provide a meal after the morning worship service. Soups are always a big hit and we provide several choices for people.  Last time we had four types of soups (all homemade), several sandwich options (including a create your own sandwich bar), dessert, and a beverage.  We have done baked potatoes instead of sandwiches, but the sandwiches are much easier unless you have multiple ovens in which to bake potatoes or keep them warm.  Remember, you can't sell food unless you have a license but donations are fine.  If you have people who are willing to donate food for the event, this can be a wonderful fundraiser.  Plus, the people enjoy being able to sit and fellowship with their church family after the morning worship service.


A Lemonade Stand
I got this idea from another Children's Pastor friend.  For one month in the summer, near the parking lot of our church, we set up a lemonade stand and as people go to their cars, they can pick up a cup of lemonade and sometimes a sweet treat as well.  We put out a donation jar and it's a wonderful way to connect with people, but it's not pushy at all.  And the kids get a kick out of putting out the "orders".  It's a fun and simple way to raise funds.

Ongoing Donation Jar 
Have a place where people can always leave a donation if they so desire.  When I was in high school, we had a large water bottle that sat in the church foyer to raise funds for Nazarene Youth Congress.  It was a great, no pressure, way to raise funds because it simply just sat out in the foyer.  Theft was prevented because the top was too small for the money to be taken out of by hand, it was always in a public location when it was out, and it was locked up between services.  People don't always have a check book handy, but they do generally have some change in their pockets.  This is an easy way for that change to help your ministry.

Yard Sale
I have seen this done a couple of different ways.  In one, people donate items for a yard sale that is run by the Children's Department.  In another version, people purchased table space for their own yard sale at the church.  Either way can be a great fundraiser. 

There are lots of other fundraisers that are out there and lots of ways to do them.  Hopefully these give you a starting point.

Have a blessed week!

 

Stress Relief...

Any kind of ministry is stressful.  There is always something waiting to be done, someone you need to contact, a schedule to prepare, a meeting to attend, and the list goes on an on.  When you add to that the normal stresses of life and family, you can easily feel overwhelmed.  For me, there is an added component in that I have a neuromuscular disorder that will flair up if I am under too much stress.  So believe me when I say that it is important that you find ways to relieve stress because it can do a lot of damage to your physical and mental well being.   I am not a doctor, but because of my own situation, I have had to find things that help me relieve stress in order to be able to function normally.  So below are a few things that have helped me to keep my stress levels at a reasonable level.  Perhaps they can be of use to you as well.

Remember Who is really in charge
We often try to do everything ourselves.  We want all our ducks in a row and when things don't go according to plan we can get very put out.  But, here is the thing, no matter how much we try to control everything around us, there is always going to be something else that we wish we could change or that we wish were different.   Keep reminding yourself that God is in charge and you are a tool for Him to use, but you are not the whole toolbox.  You are not meant to do everything.  Keep up with your devotions and prayer time so that you keep your focus on the right things.  This one thing, in itself, will do wonders for keeping your stress levels at bay.
 
Take your day off
I have mentioned this is other blogs, but it is too important not to repeat.  You are not superhuman and your body needs time to rest.  So, make sure you take your day off.  And make sure that at least part of that day is indeed restful.  I know people who pack so much into their "day off" that it's actually more busy than a work day.  Those are fine sometimes because, after all, there are things that must be done, but being overly busy on every day off is not giving your body and mind the rest it needs.  If nothing else, set aside a couple hours for something that you enjoy and find restful.  That will be different for everyone.  Some people love gardening and find it refreshing and rejuvenating to do so.  For others, being in a garden is just hard work.  Similarly, for some sitting down and reading a book or watching a tv show is relaxing, but for others, they need to be moving to be able to relax.  The important thing is that you find something that you find restful and make sure to include that into your schedule regularly.  

Laugh
Laughter is a great stress reliever.  Take the time to laugh with your family and friends.  Life is a serious prospect, but don't be too serious.  Have fun. 

Find a hobby
This sort of goes back to taking your day off, but it is important that there is something you like to do that is outside of work and family.  Whether it is bicycling, reading, fishing, playing a video game, or some other activity, it is important that you have a hobby that you can do to unwind. 

Cultivate friendships
Our friends are an important part of our lives.  Don't let your friendships continually take the backseat in your life. There are three or four women in my life who are my confidants and supporters, but are also willing to tell me what I need to hear even when I don't want to hear it. It is important that I stay connected to those women.  You don't have to see people every day to keep a friendship strong.  Two of my very closest friends live literally hundreds of miles from me, but because of phone calls, texts, and social media, we are as close as we ever were.  Don't let friendships fall by the wayside.  They are vital to our well being. 

Everyone deals with stress a bit differently, but hopefully these tips are as helpful to you as they have been to me.

Until next week! 
  

Music and Motions...

I love music.  I was a music major in college.  I know how powerful it can be as a teaching tool.  And I love using motions in music.  Not everyone does and that's ok.  We must all lead worship the way that works best for us.  But I want to share why I feel motions are so important in children's worship.

Motions help memorization in young learners
When I lead worship, I have children as young as 3 and as old at 12 in the service.  That means that a large group of the children in the service either can not read yet, or can not read fast enough to follow the words on the screen.  Motions help them remember the words to the song.  I tend to use the same motion for certain words in nearly every song we do.  So, for example, if we do a motion for "Jesus" in one song, it will probably be the same motion in another song.  The same goes for words like "Mighty", "Strong", or a lot of other common phrases in music.  Those who can not read, can remember those motions and it helps them to learn the music.

Motions create more freedom in worship
How many times have you been sitting in an adult worship service and you don't feel like you can even lift your hands in praise because...well...no one else is lifting their hands.  We feel like we must fit a certain mold when we sing.  Motions encourage movement.  It's not just "dancing", it's freely using our bodies in worship.  Children NEED to move and using motions gives them that opportunity, but still in a somewhat structured way.

Motions teach leadership skills to older children
I know that probably sounds like an odd thing to say, but it's true.  As kids get older, sometimes they start to feel like they are "too old" for motions.  But this is an opportunity to teach them about being leaders.  It's not about "THEM".  The younger kids need the motions in order to learn and remember the songs (see above) and the older kids need to be involved so that the younger kids don't feel out of place or strange for enjoying the motions. Our older kids need opportunities to be examples of leadership and this is just such an opportunity.


I am a huge advocate of motions in music.  There is something special that happens when the right motions are put to a song.  All of the sudden that song is even more powerful, but "pointless" motions can have the opposite effect on a song.  I once did a musical where we had to redo nearly every motion in every song because they literally did not go with the words being sung.  In order for them to be helpful, they need to apply.  If you are trying to sing about being joyful, then making a frowning face is not going to be a good choice.  But neither is jumping up and down for "joy" appropriate if the song is slow.  Which motions you choose are as important as which song you choose.  So, when creating motions for your music, make sure they add to the worship experience and not just fill space in the song.

If done properly and prayerfully...motions in music can be a huge asset to your ministry.

Until next week!

CM Conference 2016

Last year, my friend and I attended the CM Conference in Louisville, KY and it was an amazing experience.  So this year, I was doing all I could to spread the word so that more people I knew would be able to attend.  This year, I attended with 4 other people and we had a spectacular time.  Not only is the conference extremely well done, but it is affordable.

No, really...it is actually affordable.   This conference does everything it can to be accessible to people from all church sizes.  They start with a low price and then if that is still too much, they have scholarships that you can apply for to cover part or sometimes even all of the cost.  The way the leadership at the CM Conference genuinely care about under served churches is a blessing that is hard to describe.

So, what is attending the conference like?  Well, it's 4 days, includes 4 amazing and inspiring worship services, 12 Workshop opportunities (with over 90 workshops to choose from), has a cool exhibit area that gives you the opportunity to learn about and/or buy helpful ministry tools, and to top it off, it allows you to connect with people who work with children from around the world. There were folks there from Canada, Iran, Australia, New Zealand, and India...and those are just the ones I saw or connected with.  What a blessing to hear/see how God is moving all around the world!

I was given the opportunity to present a workshop at the conference this year and what an honor that was.  Mine was "Children's Ministry on a Shoestring Budget" and I thoroughly enjoyed leading it.  If you would like the handout, I'd be glad to send it to you, just send me a note.  I also attended some  amazing workshops including, "Handling Trauma filled Children in your Kids Ministry" (full of wonderfully useful information and led by Darren Washausen), "Gospel-Based Entertainment: How to use Crazy Games and Skits to Share Jesus" (led by Jon Wicks and very very well done), two workshops led by Tim Cleary titled "Why the Church Needs Digital Disruption" and "As You Wish - Recapturing the Power of Storytelling in Children's Ministry" both of which were great and gave me much to think about, and Trisha Peach led an incredible one called "Standing up to Bullying in the Church." I could go on and on.  All of the workshops I attended gave me something to think about and helped me grow in my ministry.  There were literally workshops about just about every aspect of Children's Ministry.

If you missed this year's conference, all is not lost.  The workshops were recorded and you can purchase them through the CM Connect website for just $2 a piece!  There are in process of being added so it may take a few days for them to all be there, but I'm excited about that because there were several workshops that I wanted to attend, but had to choose between onsite.  I'm looking forward to purchasing them soon.

So, do yourself a favor, check out a couple of the workshops from this year and then sign up to attend next year.  You will be so glad you did.

Until next week! 

Don't Miss The Moments

One thing about ministry that we often don't realize until you are in the thick of it, is that the things that others get excited about being a part of, we sometimes feel like we missed.  Let me explain what I mean.

If you think about it nearly all of the big events of the church involve some sort of Children's Ministry.  Easter has egg hunts and special services which include services for the children.  Christmas generally includes a children's program of some sort and various parties and events to celebrate the Savior's birth.  Summer, for most people, includes a vacation or some sort of leisure time.  But for Children's workers the programming actually increases and so do the events (Camps, Water Wednesdays, etc).  And all these things take extra planning and preparation on our parts.

Now, don't misunderstand me,  I am not in any way complaining.  I adore being a Children's Pastor, but it hit me this week that sometimes we get so involved with the prep and the planning that we sometimes feel like we missed getting to be a part of the "event."  Then I read something a friend put on Facebook and it nearly brought me to tears.  It was beautiful and it put into words things I felt, but didn't even realize I had been feeling.  I want to share her words with you.

Her name is Jennifer Coffman and she was writing this after a large Easter Event at her church:

I like to write. I write a lot, more than I talk (this may be hard for some of you to believe). I write lots of things that no one ever reads.

Every Easter, I long to write something brilliant, some tangible evidence of this intangible essence inside me. And every Easter, the words escape me. I think it's because every Easter, I expect to have THE MOMENT - that moment that opens my eyes, changes my walk, brings me to my knees. Every Easter, I yearn to experience it in a brand new way: to mourn on Friday, rejoice on Sunday, and wonder in between on the miraculous grace of God. 

And every Easter, I'm disappointed. Because I "work" for the church (and I use that term loosely), this weekend is always busy. By the end of the weekend, I'm usually spent - and wondering how I missed THE MOMENT yet again. 

Today . . .
I didn't spend time wondering.
I didn't meditate on miracles.
I didn't contemplate grace.

What I did do was talk to hundreds (literally hundreds!) of people. I welcomed them into kingdom life. I smiled at children and attached wristbands and answered questions and smiled some more. That's so far outside of my comfort zone . . . I cannot even begin to explain it. 

Maybe . . . just maybe . . . instead of wondering about God, I experienced Him.
And maybe instead of meditating on miracles, I witnessed them.
Maybe instead of contemplating grace, I practiced it.

Could it be that THE MOMENT of Easter is beyond words? Could it be that mere words are not adequate to describe this wonder? Could it be that the eternal hope of this most holy week is, in fact, so holy that it can only be experienced . . . and not explained? 

I think I just had THE MOMENT.
‪#‎experienceEaster‬

As we all take a breath after the last few days, which I'm certain were very busy, I hope you look back on all the things you did, all the plans you made, and all the people you touched and are able to realize that we were a part of something special.  And while "The Moment" might be different for each of us...take time to experience "The Moment" God gave you to experience Easter.

EASTER IS COMING!!!

Easter is the most special holiday we celebrate during the year.  It is the time where we reflect and rejoice in the amazing gift of salvation that was purchased for us through the blood of Christ.  For weeks beforehand we prepare and plan for that celebration, both in our hearts and in our ministries.

But, if I am really honest, it is also one busiest times of year.  In fact, it can be so busy for those of us in Children's ministry that we can come near to dreading this special time of year instead of rejoicing in it.  After all, there are Egg Hunts to plan, Palm Sunday/Holy Week Activities, volunteers to recruit, prizes to purchase, decorations to prepare and let us not forget the actual Easter Sunday Service which needs to be hands down the best one of the year (no pressure).  Plus, at least for my District, it is also near the end of the church year (our new year starts in April) which means reports and budgets to present as well.  It can all be very overwhelming.

So, how can we keep the focus on the proper place during the busy and yet most sacred Easter Season?  Here are a couple tips that I hope you find as useful as I have over the years.

Don't compete!
When it comes to Easter Egg Hunts, don't try to compete with the church down the street.  Do your own thing, do it well and then be happy with the results.  In my area, there are churches near us who do egg hunts with more than 30,000 eggs...one even drops something like 50,000 eggs from a helicopter every year.  There is no way we are going to top that.  So we don't try.  We do our own thing.  We focus on an area where maybe others might miss.  For us, we make sure that we have an area for children with special needs and all our games are easily played by any child of any developmental level as well.  We have a great time and we get to love on our community, but we are not stressed about trying to be as big as anyone else.

Don't neglect your own time with the Lord
Make sure you are setting time aside for your own devotions.  All the preparations will wait while you do.  It's easy to let all the "stuff" that has to get done creep into your devotional time, but especially during busy times...don't let it.  If you are focused on the Savior first, then everything else will fall into place.  Keep your time with Him a top priority.

Start Planning Early 
Start preparing for your Easter activities no later than January and sooner is better.  If you know months early that you are going to need volunteers for your Egg Hunt, start thinking about who to ask way ahead of time.  Then when it gets a little closer ask them.  I will admit that this is where I have the most trouble because I don't want to ask so early that they forget that they said they would help, but I don't want to ask so late that they already have plans.  You may need to send out reminders if you ask too early (not a bad thing to do anyway), but earlier is always better than last minute.  Will you need a game created?  If so, start working on it right away.  The important thing is that you start planning well in advance so that you know exactly what you need and who you will need to help you.  

Don't try to do everything yourself
In nearly every church, there are people who are willing to help if you ask them...SO ASK THEM.  Don't try to do everything all on your own.  I know what you're thinking, because this is by far the hardest thing for me to do as well.  But the fact is, that trying to do it all is the quickest way to burn out emotionally, physically and spiritually.  Find a group of people who you can rely on to help you and then work together.  I know that sometimes it feels like it's just easier to do it yourself, but the old adage is indeed true...Many hands really do make for light work.  

There is no two ways about it...Easter is a very busy time of year, but if we will do a bit of planning, keep our time with the Lord, and don't focus on what others are doing, we can change our perspective from one of "busyness" to one that really can rejoice in the gift of salvation that Easter celebrates.

Until next week! 


  

 

The Church is bigger than Your Church...

I am a member of the Church of the Nazarene.  I have always been a part of this denomination and I joined the church in the 5th or 6th grade while my Dad was pastoring in Lexington, Kentucky.  I love my church.  I love being Nazarene.  I love that we are a part of something so much bigger than just my local church (currently in Anderson, IN).  We are a Family that extends all around the world.  But too often, I find that churches (not just Nazarene...any denomination) often focus so much on their own local church, that they miss out of a huge blessing, not just for themselves, but also for their church as a whole.

In our denomination, we are divided in to Zones (several churches in neighboring cities), then Districts (a section of a State or sometimes more than an entire State depending on the number of churches), then Regions (several States connected to one of our Universities).  There are activities within the local church, but also some specifically for the Zone, District, or Region.  This post is to remind you that it is important that you connect with your Zone, District and Region as well as globally when you can.

Too often, churches try to be autonomous and stay within their own walls, but that is a mistake in my opinion.  We are the BODY of Christ.  We are meant to work together...not each of us hole up in our own little churches.  Whether you are a church of 20 or a church of 1000, you should be connecting with your Zone, District, and Region.  It's important for the growth of your people and your growth as well.

Why is it important?  Because your people may not stay at your church forever.  And if you want them to truly connect with the Body of Christ, they need to know that the body extends beyond the walls of your church.

Young people connect at District camps, Retreats, Bible Quiz Meets and more, but then they reconnect at more local Zone activities.  When they go to a large event like our Nazarene Youth Conference they are able to connect even more with people around the country.  More importantly, they see God move in all those local, zone, district, and global events.  They realize that God is active in more than just their little circle.  And when the time comes for them to choose a college or university, it's amazing how many people they will already know because of the activities they had been involved in since childhood.

For adults, it's very easy to get stuck in our own little world.  We can get so focused on our own lives that we sometimes forget the world around us.  Being a part of activities outside our local church helps us shift that focus away from us and "our church" and place it more on the global church.  Worshiping with others at a Zone Singspiration or at a Zone revival reminds us that we are not alone.  Attending larger events like Family Camp (or Camp meeting), District Assembly or a Sunday School Spirit Rally reminds us that we are a part of Body that is working all over our District.  And attending a global event like General Assembly allows us to see how God is moving literally all over the world.  It's hard to be of narrow focus when you see how big the work of God is. 

We are a Family in the Church of the Nazarene, but just like any family, there are sometimes members who prefer to not attend the family events.  Not because they have a conflict, but simply because they don't want to.  How sad.  It's hard to stay connected to family members that you never see.  My biggest support system (outside my family) comes from my extended church Family.  They are such a blessing to me. 

Some of you reading this, might also be Nazarene, but you might be Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Wesleyan, Church of God, Non-Denominational, or some other denomination.  Whatever your denomination, I still think this post applies to you.  Are you connecting with your Family?  Or are you trying to stay within the walls of your own church?  We are the Body of Christ, but the Body is strongest when all it's parts are connected.  If you want to strengthen your ministry, one great way to do that is to strengthen your bond to your denominational family.  And then, make sure you connect with your brothers and sisters in the other denominations around you.  We are all a part of the Body of Christ and we all have much to learn and share with each other.

That's all for this week.