[Podcast] Characteristics of a Successful Children’s Pastor, Safety in the Church

March 16, 2010

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Dick Gruber and Jason Rhode respond to listener questions, pass along resources shared by Philip Hahn, discuss characteristics of a successful children’s pastor, and address issues of safety in the church.

The following resources were mentioned:

Philip Hahn shared the following resources that we are gladly passing along!

12 Characteristics of a Successful Children’s Pastor

by: Philip Hahn

Prayer, prayer, and prayer.
Getting connected with other children’s pastors, other children’s workers are usually the best answers your questions and give you the best ideas. We’re in it together, you’re not alone.
Your relationship with your senior pastor. Support him and get him to support you. (Or to put it another way) Loyalty to the senior pastor and his direction.
Keeping current with the methods and illustrations that are relevant to the culture under your Ministry.
Love and appreciate your volunteers as often as you can, verbally, tangibly, publicly, privately, sincerely.
Stay creative. Change something, do something different or new every year.
Involve kids in leadership and hands on ministry. In 4 to 6 years they become your volunteers and teachers, you not only invest in their future, but yours as well.
Train kids to read their Bible and pray every day. You only have an hour or two of their week, let them feed themselves from the Word. (Or) Don’t just give them a fish, teach them how to fish.
Don’t have song time in any service. Have worship time. Don’t focus too much on the guitars, actions, or contests. Make it about connecting with God.
Evaluate the effectiveness of all your ministries frequently. Change or restructure sick programs, pump massive creativity into dying programs, and bury dead programs.
Delegate. Don’t do it all, it’s your job to train the saints for the works of the ministry. If you leave, the ministries should be able to survive without you.
Cooperate with other staff members in your church. You’re on the same team working toward the same goal.

10 Common Mistakes That Stifle Children’s Pastors

By: Roger Fields

Acting immature to impress kids. Some of the kids might think you’re funny but you will lose the respect of the adults. Don’t expect to be taken seriously by parents, workers or your senior pastor if you dress and act like a goof ball. The way you carry yourself is vital. Women know this instinctively. However, male children’s pastors frequently conduct themselves in ways that stifle respect.
Doing everything yourself. Train others on the job to do what you do. Let others make a few mistakes. Give them the chance to grow in their abilities to reach and teach kids. Being a one man show will stifle how much your ministry is able to accomplish.
Being afraid of asking for what you think will produce results. There are times when you need to ask for money, space, or even finances to attend a conference, such as Mega Connect. (I just had to throw that in!) Normally, if you don’t ask you will not receive. When you get turned down–and sometimes you will–handle it with maturity. Learn to act like you believe in what you are doing and be prepared to make the case for why you want something. Remember, timidity will stifle your ability to get what you need.
Trying to do too many programs. You cannot do everything and be everything. Decide what is most important. Less is more. Doing a lot of stuff halfway will stifle your effectiveness.
Talking about your needs instead of your vision. Your needs will not inspire anyone. Getting people excited about your vision works better than trying to make them feel sorry about your needs. For instance, recruiting new workers is easier if you get people to believe in where you are going instead of begging for volunteers based on a worker shortage. Appearing needy will stifle your ability to motivate others.
Complaining about the church. Support your pastor and church. If you can’t you should find another church or at least step down. It is really that simple. Resentment will stifle your creativity and energy for the ministry.
Neglecting your own faith. Service is a great thing but it does not replace your time with God and your faith in Him. An empty spiritual life will stifle your ability to lead kids and workers into a vibrant faith in God.
Teaching stuff other than the word of God. Teach kids what God has done and who He is. Teach principles from the Bible. If you major on Bible trivia and only teach familiar stories don’t be surprised if the adults in your church treat you like a child care director. Weak Biblical content will stifle your ability to convince others of the validity of children’s ministry.
Excusing disorganization. People are not attracted to slackness. When an organization looks sloppy people assume it is not important enough to invest their time, energy and money. Disorganization stifles your capacity to build an inspiring ministry.
Repeating the same things and expecting different results. Change something just for the thrill of it. Get people used to change. Don’t be afraid of failure. Be afraid of sliding into irrelevance. Repeating the same old stuff over and over will stifle your forward movement like nothing else.

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Keep the feedback coming! Send your questions, comments, or ideas to childrensministrytalk@gmail.com. You can now give us a call! Leave us your question or comment by calling (484) 442-0322. As always, you can find complete details about this podcast at childrensministrytalk.com.

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[Podcast] Kids Under Attack

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