Using Planning Center Services in Your Ministry
A few weeks ago, I talked about how to set up Planning Center Services. You can see that post here. But once you get Services all set up, how do you use it week in and week out? How do you handle volunteer declines? How do you communicate with them what you’re doing in service, and how can they be prepared?
In this post, I’ll answer all those questions.
Making Service Happen (Before Sunday)
It was a really busy week. I was bi-vocational and had a hundred different things pulling away my time and attention. Sunday morning was here and in about an hour I’d have 20 kids show up looking to learn about Jesus.
The problem was that I didn’t have anything prepared. No big idea, memory verse, Bible story, worship songs. Nothing.
How to Engage Older Kids in Your Kidmin
One of the hardest parts of kidmin is dealing with older kids in the late spring early summer. They get their own version of senioritis. They will check out completely, complain they’re bored, or misbehave.
As their behavior degrades, you can see the younger kids follow suit.
Pre-service Activities for your Kidmin
So, you have your service planned and ready to go. Your volunteers are in place. Your check-in stations are ready. If the kids started coming right now, you’d be ready. The problem is that the kids don’t all come at once.
How to Go from Two Services to One
Some churches are looking to go from two services to one. I know going from that can seem like a downer. It looks like you’re taking a step back. However, this isn’t always the case. In my experience, I’ve seen two reasons why a church will move from one service to two.
5 Great Christmas Party Games for Ministry
It’s Christmastime and that means there will be a lot of parties. Whether you’re holding one for your whole church, during a service, for your volunteers, or for some friends, you’re going to want to play some games.
But what kind of games can you play that are fun for everyone?
3 Essential Tools for a Successful Year
It’s the end of the year. And as busy as we are with Christmas, it’s also important to look ahead. If you want to have a successful ministry, then you need to have a plan. You can’t wander into January and hope that things will happen. There needs to be intentionality and purpose to the things you do.
4 Effective Altar Calls for Your Ministry
There is an age-old tradition in our evangelical services. Altar time. That point at the end of the service when the congregation responds to what they’ve just heard. Usually by coming to the front of the room for prayer.
3 Challenges of Multiple Services in Kidmin and How to Overcome Them
Most of the problems we face with multiple services are the same. While I don’t think there is one solution to each of these problems, I do have some ideas on how to overcome them.
5 Obstacles For Moving Your Church to Two Services
Moving to two services is a huge transition and shouldn’t be taken lightly. But your new growth with new challenges is a good thing! It means you’re reaching new people, and you need to make room for more.
4 Ways to Equip Your Kidmin Volunteers (Before Sunday)
Picture this. You’ve been working hard to get ready for Sunday morning. You laid out the crafts. You loaded the slides. You queued up the songs. You’re excited for what lies ahead and the change that’s going to happen in kids’ lives. But then you realize that you’re not alone. In fact, your volunteers are leading worship, games, and small groups. You can’t be in two places at once and do it yourself. So how are you supposed to equip your volunteers so they can be prepared before Sunday?
5 Steps to Pre-Service Meetings Your Team Will Love
No matter how long a lead team meeting is you need to have an agenda, and pre-service meetings are no different. But what should you talk about in those meetings? How do you make them engaging and enjoyable so that your volunteers are willing to show up 30-45 minutes before the service, just to meet?
5 Tips to Include Kids with Special Needs in Your Kidmin
A growing epidemic throughout our society are children with special needs. The latest statics show the number of kids with Autism or other disability are staggering. According to Maternal and Child Health Bureau's National Survey of Children's Health, 19% of children in the United States had special health care needs in 2019–2020.
Crafting the "Perfect Easter": Planning for Guests and Their Return
Easter is just a few months away and that means that you’re thinking about and preparing for the Super Bowl of Christendom. This is a season where we ministers pray, plan, and prepare for the largest attended Sunday, and hopefully the biggest harvest. But what should you do on Easter Sunday? Should you do an Egg Hunt? Family pictures? A kids musical? An adult musical? Communion? Baptism? Big giveaways? Small giveaways?
The options are endless, and the short answer is yes… and no.
5 Fun and Easy Kidmin Games You Can Play Over and Over
One of the best things about children’s ministry is we get to play games. They don’t have to be elaborate or gross like the Youth Group. Kidmin games are just fun and easy and hopefully have a point that works with the lesson. And having fun is a key ingredient to a successful children’s ministry.
How to Set Ministry Goals that Lead to Growth
At the end of the year, one of my favorite things to do is to look back at the year that was and the year to come. What were my wins and losses? What worked? What didn’t? What curveballs did I knocked out of the park and what ones slipped by? It usually takes a few hours for me to go through it all, but my overall effectiveness as a leader and minister has increased every year since I started this practice over 10 years ago.
3 Wednesday Night Ideas for Christmas
The Wednesday Night services in December are odd. Everyone is busy, overall attendance is low, and you have pressure to celebrate the season. No matter where you serve in your church, with a little creativity and planning, you can make these nights fun, meaningful and outward focused.
3 Questions to Guide Your Discipline Conversations
I’ve written about my discipline plan before. And today I want to go further and talk about what happens when the consequences go into effect. As pastors, it’s our job to help them through it, to love and care for them as much as the kid who never causes problems.
5 Ideas to Celebrate Dad on Father's Day
Father’s Day is next week, and your church may be thinking of some ways to celebrate dad. In a lot of churches, this day is overlooked. Especially since so much time and resources were spent on Easter and Mother’s Day, this day gets the scraps. However, Father’s Day can be made just as special as these other two days with some intentionality and creativity.
4 Principles for Planning your Kidmin Service
If you’re like me when you’re planning your first kid services, you’re probably following the model that you’ve seen before. Whether you learned it from a mentor, internship, or just watching another kid’s service, you’ve decided this is the order for the service.
It doesn’t have to be that way.
Get resources to lead well in your ministry.
Your volunteers are the greatest asset to your VBS. You need to give them all the tools to be successful. With this template, you’ll have all the tools you need to show them what to expect and what’s expected.