Preparing for D-Day

Lance and I are preparing for D-Day. Our next (maybe final) appointment will be this Friday. Sometime next week we will officially be parents. What an exciting and nervous time. On our way to church this morning we were talking about how next week, we’ll never be alone again. One of us or both of us will have a little someone riding around and going wherever we go.

It’s hard to imagine. I feel like I’m in a fairy tale. I never thought that this would happen to me. Since the age of 12 I’ve always wanted to have a little one to care for. I am so blessed and amazed that God felt that I’d finally grown up enough to trust me with one of His children. I’m honored that He chose to use me and my husband for one of His miracles. If we submit to Him, and follow His direction for our lives, He will use us in ways that we never imagined. He will use anyone for His glory. It’s how we respond and live that determines how he uses us.

This scripture has given me strength and encouragement throughout my pregnancy: Exodus 23:25-26 (NIrV) 25 "I am the Lord your God. Worship me. Then I will bless your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you. 26 In your land no woman will give birth to a dead baby. Every woman will be able to have children. I will give you a long life.

When you’re ready, He is there waiting. He will never leave us or forsake us. Let go, and Let God.

PADI Certification part 1

Last Saturday (10/27) we had our first Children's Ministry meeting in about 4 months. What an amazing time. We talked about the vision of the ministry - where it is today and where God wants to take us tomorrow. The leaders that attended were so excited and I was excited to see so many turn out. It's awesome to see so many people who take a vested interest in leading kids to a personal relationship with God. I was so energized by their openness, energy, excitement, and comments on taking this ministry to the next level.

I introduced the new leadership philosophy: SCUBA DIVERs Right now we are a group of snorklers - we are reaching the kids at Barefoot on a surface level. God has called me and the leadership to take things deeper with our kids. That's why we are getting our PADI certification.

SCUBA DIVERs is taking our Christ centered relationships with children to the next level. Becoming a diver is a great value when you consider who your diving for (kids) and why you’re diving (develop a relationship with God).

Invest in diving lessons and learn something you’ll enjoy for the rest of your life; being used to do God’s work. From the first step, your life and those you lead will begin transforming and you will have new experiences to share with your friends and family. And the cool thing is – you can DIVE anywhere. Starbucks, Wal-Mart, the beach, work, at the movies, in a restaurant.

How Much Does it Cost?
For many of us, the cost is what matters. What will I have to do? How long will that take? How many days, nights, and hours will I have to put in? I’m here to tell you that with what we do, Children’s Ministry, cost doesn’t even factor in. What will be LOST is what’s most important.

While yes, it’s (cost) time away from our families for 2 hours a Sunday. It’s (cost) time during the week to prepare and do our homework to make sure that we are speaking what God has intended for the kids on Sunday. We have to invest (cost) in ourselves to make sure that we are spiritually fed and seeking God’s face so that we are speaking His truth and not our truth when leading a child into a relationship with Him.

So it does cost us something, an investment in the future leaders of our church, schools, families, cities, states, and even our country. We have to be willing to endure the cost – to save a life. We have to invest in the kingdom. What we will get out of it will be oh so rewarding.

Getting out of the Red...volunteer shortfall

In the most recent Children's Ministry magazine there was an article about being Volunteer Poor. What a timely article. IslandJAM is in a serious downfall and we're having a hard time getting in the black. However, with these principles stated in the article, I believe that we can find a way back to the black.

If we're understaffed, we're in debt. But this debt isn't money, it's far more serious- it's a lack of competent teachers, volunteers, or staff equipped to connect kids to Christ - real assets. So where do we start?

1. Track your spending (or expending)- We need to decide to make some drastic decisions about our volunteer shortfall - put a halt on all future goals and programming that isn't absolutely essential to Sunday mornings. Programming like spending, is addictive but gives us short-term gratification - like buying a new dress or set of golf clubs. When facing a volunteer shortage, we have to put all our resources, people, energy, time, and funds into our most critical efforts. It's more powerful and manageable to have one solid Sunday morning investment than several half-baked, poorly resourced programs.
2. Don't use credit (or, stop asking for favors) - Recruiting on credit (guilt trips, begging, personal favors) offers no solid return and ultimately can bankrupt you and wreck your credit history. Stop bartering in favors and guilt - like credit, they offer only bandage fixes for a deeper problem.
3. Create a cash cushion - Ministry needs a reserve to draw from when we're broke. So we must come up with a business plan (our business is bringing kids to Jesus). We need to plan for what it will take to get us out of debt, how long the process will take, and the key players we need to help us create this cash investment. Our biggest assets are our pastoral staff, leadership, and community group leaders. We need them on board for vision casting, scouting, prayer, and support for parent involvement-we need them to set an example by supporting the children's ministry. If we win the hearts of our pastors, leadership, and community group leaders, the congregation will follow.
4. Prioritize our debts - The basic, most important foundations of our ministry are our highest interest areas. Focus there. If we don't have a volunteer application and screening process and we recruit someone to begin next week, we're setting our ministry up for failure. The position is filled on paper, but we spend more time cleaning up the mess of having recruited a poorly equipped or uncommitted volunteer.
5. Simplify and systemize our assets - It's natural to want to focus on things that add value and make our ministries more attractive - craft projects, special events, and so on. We must reconsider this urge. If our car looks good but doesn't run, no one’s going to ride with us. We need to spend more time, energy, and resources in areas that aren't aesthetically pleasing, creating a volunteer manual, creating a more effective rotation, selecting a curriculum that fosters parent involvement, developing a volunteer pool that could lead to long-term positions.
6. Plan a budget - Once we've trimmed the fat - we must determine realistic goals for the ministry, figure out how we'll reach them and write them on paper. The only way to stick to a budget is to be able to refer to it and track our progress. We must personally encourage each family to have a parent join their child's class one week per month for a year. Not based on the need for teachers but on the need for a partnership between parents and the church in building their kid's spiritual lives.
7. Refinance high-interest debt - If you can lower your mortgage rate and the number of years you'll be paying, it's only smart to refinance. We may not be getting a good return of volunteers because our current program is flawed. Seeing our weaknesses and changing them will only make our ministry stronger.
8. Seek debt-management advice - Find people who've lived through volunteer shortfalls and ask them about their successes and failures. It's incredibly helpful to hear what others did to adapt to or learn from their struggles.

Getting out of volunteer bankruptcy won't happen overnight. It'll take cutbacks, change, discipline, organization, buy in, systemization, strategy, and most of all, prayer and trust that God will bless our faithfulness.