My 2012 GLS Takeaways

My 2012 GLS Takeaways

Every year Willow Creek community Church puts on their Global Leadership Summit an incredible leadership conference that is taped in Chicago and distributed to churches across the globe to inspire, encourage empower and link together leaders in the church, organisations and the community. Every year my church hosts it and as a church leader I get the privilege of attending,

Each year it is such a gift to my leadership, my personal journey with God and my ministry. To have the calibre of leaders and speakers that the GLS attracts available to me in Mackenzie, Brisbane is such a massive blessing.

This years faculty included Bill Hybels (ofcourse), Condoleezza Rice, Jim Collins, Craig Goeschel, Patrick Lencioni and John Ortberg, just to name a few.

I was inspired, motivated, challenged and encouraged and these are my 3 big take aways from this years summit.


1. We need to Honour the generation before us and invest in the up and coming generations

Craig Groeschel the senior pastor of Life Church in the states brought a powerful message on "the strongest link". He encouraged us to think about how we got to where we are and whose shoulders we are standing on. Who gave us a chance, who invested is us to see us get to where we are. As a young leader I asked myself whose shoulders am I standing on? Who has invested, empowered, encouraged and opened doors for me on my leadership journey and how can I honour them. Craig used an Andy Stanley quote that will stay with me for a long time - "Those who are honoured publicly will have influence privately".

He also talked to the older generation about how important it is that they invest in younger leaders, that in fact, the future of the church depends upon they're recognising the gifts and passions of the up and coming generations and not to be threatened by their keenness and powerful abilities. Investment in the next generation is how the church will have a future in a fast changing world.


2. Sow more Seeds

Bill Hybels spoke in his opening talk about the need to sow more seeds into our community. He told a personal story about a willow creek neighbour losing his cat on Church property and not realising that Willow Creek was a church. It really made me think about how arrogant I can be and the church can be about being a church. I think everybody knows who my church is, where my church is and the strength of it. What a ridiculous notion. As a world wide church we need to sow more seeds into our neighbouring communities, transforming lives outside the four walls of our church buildings.


3. The local church is the hope of the world.

We live in a society, a culture and a time where the church is being seen by the secular world more and more as an out of date, primitive attempt at community, judgemental, a prison of rules and dictations. This is not how God intended the church to be. When Jesus ascended into Heaven he said to 11 ordinary people "You are the Plan" you are the plan to bring hope into this broken world, to bring healing into this hurting world. We are the Plan to see God's Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. The church is a movement that has stood the test of time, culture, change, persecution and judgement. The local church is the hope of the world.


Well I could say a lot more about what I took away from this year's GLS. Once again it was a huge gift to me personally and I am ever so grateful to the work of those that made it available to Brisbane. My big 3 take aways I feel are important to begin 2013 with a real outlook on the church and my place in it. I'm so grateful for the wisdom of others bestowed upon me.

The Good News

 

I was originally going to blog about giving and receiving feedback this week but in my quiet time with God this morning I was prompted to go down a different route.

My bible reading this morning was  from Acts chapter 5.The stories of these original trail blazers of ministry are so inspirational and motivational. I love reading them and it makes me so itchy just to get out there and tell people about Jesus.

Acts 5 finishes with a story of the apostles being arrested and thrown into jail for spreading the life changing message of Jesus. During the night an Angel appears and sets them all free. The next morning the authorities go to find their prisoners but only find an empty cell.

You would think the apostles would flee, move on, get out of there but...No. Instead the authorities find them in the city centre preaching the word of God, spreading the message of Jesus.

Vs 41-42 says "The apostles left...rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace of the Name (of Jesus). Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah."

What an inspiration these first church leaders are. To give everything they have, to risk imprisonment...even worse death to proclaim the good news of Jesus.


You know, in leadership we can get so caught up in the hows, the whys, the whats of being a leader we can forget the original call that Jesus gave us  "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always , to the very end of the age. (Matthew 28:19-20)


The true foundation to great leadership is a growing and nurtured relationship with Jesus. Some of the richest times I've spent with God have been in my quiet time with God. I often find myself saying to God "I want to be a better leader than I am. I don't want to stand before you someday and have to admit that I squandered the opportunities you gave me. I want to develop my leadership skills to the peak of my potential. God, mold and shape me to my full potential."

It is often during this prayer that I feel the Holy Spirit prompt me to scroll through the lives of some of my favourite leaders in the bible. After reflecting on the lives of these diverse men and women, and identifying the praiseworthy components of their leadership, I began to pray that their strengths would find a greater expression in my life.

If you are a leader... spend some time scrolling through some of the most inspirational leaders God gave his people.

David (Optimism)
Jonathan (Capacity to love)
Joseph (Integrity)
Joshua (Decisiveness)
Esther (Courage)
Solomon (Wisdom)
Jeremiah (Authenticity)
Nehemiah (Commitment to Celebration)
Peter (Initiative)
Paul (Intensity)

Look at these incredible leaders, be inspired, be motivated, think how you can employ some of their strengths into your own life and your own leadership.

And... never, ever stop teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah

Faith To Move From Here To There

This week's blog comes from  Guest Blogger - Jason Elsmore, Senior Pastor at

Gateway Baptist Church.

Faith to move from here to there 

When we read about Godly leaders in the Bible, they all had one thing in common. They had faith in God that He could move people from where they were to where God wanted them to be. Without that faith, others would never have taken the first step in that direction. Without the faith to step out and follow God’s plans they would never have become the leaders that we are still teaching kids about thousands of years later.

David had faith to believe that God could defeat Goliath when no one else dared to take a step in the giants direction and take ground from the Philistine army. Moses eventually had faith (it took some convincing) that God could set a million slaves free from Egypt. The Hebrews would never have left Egypt and crossed the Red Sea unless Moses had faith in God that He could set them free and deliver them into a promised land. Nehemiah had faith to believe that the walls in Jerusalem could be rebuilt and the city would once again bring glory to God, while others seemed content to stay in the ruins. 

A leader is someone who has the faith to believe that God can move a group of people from where they are to where God wants them to be.

I have faith that God can move our Church to plant other Churches; to begin training centres for girls rescued from trafficking and to baptise 1000 people in the next 8 years. They might seem like big steps of faith for some of you but along the way there have been many other smaller steps of faith. I remember the first time I had faith to believe that God could save 1 person when I shared the Gospel to a group of young people and when I had the faith to start a youth band when I clearly had no musical ability. When you step out in faith in obedience to God people will follow and God will move.    

How is God calling you to step out in faith to move people from where they are to where God wants them to be? I pray that you will have the courage to take a step in the right direction.

Seeing Things Clearly

Seeing Things Clearly

In 1789 William Wilberforce stood before the British parliament and eloquently cried out for the day when men, women and children would no longer be bought and sold like farm animals. Each year for the next eighteen years his bill was defeated, but he continued his tireless campaign against slavery. Finally, in 1883, four days before his dath, Parliament passed a bill completely abolishing slavery.

 A compelling vision is at the very core of leadership. Inspired leaders can change the world.

Proverbs 29:18 says “Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained.” They can’t focus, they can’t follow their dream or their goal. Jesus told the church what to do. He ordered people around, told them what to do with their lives and how they were to do it. From one aspect his motivational style could look like a command post. He says “follow me” and “go into all the world”. He directs his followers toward the vision of God for them, and influences them by doing it himself. The followers of Jesus discover that this task is not only important for its own sake but that it matters personally to their leader.

In a time of great change, people are looking for direction. Discerning God's vision for a church or organisation is vital, but that is not enough. Leaders themselves are often at a loss for how to invest their time and energy given the many opportunities and demands around them. And in all this, it is so easy to lose our primary vision, that of God Himself. What has God asked us, personally to do with our lives on earth? 80% (maybe more) of our personal vision from God is alrready outlined in the bible, it's figuring out the remaining 20% that we need to focus on.

"The Place god calls you is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meets" Frederick Buechner
 

As a leader, discerning your personal vision from God is imperative to being motivational, inspirational and visionary in your ministry. We need to find, understand and fulfill God's particular calling for our lives and use it to give direction to how we use our time, talents and treasure.

"In a society which presents many of us with a large range of options for ourselves and our families, discerning a personal vision is becoming increasingly important as a tool in charting our way through life's decisions" Steve Croft
 

A personal vision statement is a written tool to help us identify God's priorities for our lives. It's like a compass that helps give directon. It's wholistic and doesn't focus exclusively on our service or ministry. God desires us to be fully transformed and focussed to His purposes in all aspects of our lives. therefore, a wholistic vision statement will include spirtual intimacy, godly character, community/reltionships and service components.

A great personal vision includes the 6 P's

Personal - Is this unique to me?
Purpose - Is it compelling?
Passion- Does reading it fill me with energy?
Priorities - Does it help me say 'yes' and 'no'?
Prayerfulness - Does seeking to live it out put me on my knees?
Perserverance - Will it motivate me to press on in the midst of challenges and obstacles?


Looking back on my own leadership journey, I can see in my own life what I could not see at the time - how the job I lost helped me find work I needed to do, how the "road closed" sign turned me toward the terrain I needed to travel, how losses that felt iredeemable forced me to discern meanings I needed to understand. on the surface, it seemed that life was lessening, but silently ad lavishly, the seeds of new life were always being sown. Having a personal vision steers me toward what God has laid out for me in life, striving toward extending His kingdom and glorifying His name. Because my deepest awareness of myself is that I'm saved by Jesus Christ!

How To Have a Church that Loves Kids and Kids that love Church! Part 2

How To Have a Church that Loves Kids and Kids that love Church!
- part 2 Environment


I thought it was time to continue my little series on providing the best church for kids and the best kids for church. So here is my second post in the series and it's all about - Environment.


Where are you right now? At home? in your office,?on the bus? Wherever you are, look around and take in the environment around you. What in the environment makes you comfortable? What makes you uncomfortable. What is your environment set up for? Is your office cubicle set up for work? Does your home reflect a little bit of everyone that lives there?

Environment is such a vital part of life, we create our environments to make ourselves comfortable, to be productive and to invite others in. We even do this in church, there has been many a discussion on how comfortable church pews are, we have music playing as congregants enter, set design, lighting, sound, media, interactive worship and sermons all play a part in how the environment makes people feel. The goal, in big church, is to create a place where people can connect with God, be free to worship Him, and be comfortable to stay for up to 2 hours.

So then, how important is environment when you think Children's Ministry?

The environment a children’s ministry provides for its children is vital to attracting and keeping children engaged and must go hand in hand with the ministry’s relational and family ministries. What a child experiences in their first ten minutes of walking into a church building will give the child and their parents their first impression about how that church views the importance of kids. The environment can draw in families and help engage kids. Whether it results in multi-million dollar refurbishment or just simple murals or better budgeting, or hiring staff to focus on children, a priority on the environment of children’s ministry can only help to build the Kingdom of God through reaching and teaching kids.

So next time you step into your children's ministry space, ask yourself...How does this environment make me feel? Am I comfortable? Am I about to have fun? Does this space speak of the importance of children in this church? Will kids connect with Jesus in this space?

Environment is important, how's yours?

Time to get some work done?

Ephesians 2:10 "For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

This is an amazing passage of scripture. We are God's handiwork, his masterpiece, created to do good works prepared in advance. What does it have to do with Leadership? A Christian leader should be constantly asking God to work on them. To develop them spiritually so that they mature in their faith and understanding of God. If you cannot put your own spiritual and character development first and your work for the kingdom second you will fail as a church leader.

Godly leadership encapsulates honesty and integrity that comes from consistency between  words and actions. Godly character should encompass a heart to serve, a relational outlook. A Godly leader must have vision, influence and motivational capabilities. Perfection is not an issue so much as coherence among these requirements that can enable a leader to shape a local church or Christian organisation for Godly purposes.

In the progress of redemption, God raises up and uses human leaders to accomplish his saving purposes. Those who are set forth in Scripture as Godly leaders exercise their powers under the authority of God’s holy word.

The first eleven chapters of Genesis describes God’s creation and covenant making with humankind. People were commanded to fill the earth and to welcome diversity. Instead they built the monumental city of Babel with a homogeneous society. With Abraham came a promise of blessing and a sense of call from God. Abraham became a leader, a patriarch to the nations and generations and a leader with a purpose. Abraham would pave the way for God to choose more leaders throughout the Old Testament that had purpose and Godly character. Although leader after leader, generation after generation these leaders would fail to glorify God in the way they were called to.

A new hope is found in the New Testament. Under the new covenant Jesus comes as the leader, the one promised by God. Jesus’ purpose of redemption was to restore the perfection of God’s purpose in creation.Jesus is the model of true leadership. Jesus’ life is so profound and so beyond our common experience that it must continually be examined.Jesus leads as a servant, relating to others, with influence and holiness.

So what characteristics of Jesus do you as a leader need God to do some work on?

Consider some of these principles...

1. Leaders  speak God’s word because they are steeped in it. My practice is to read about four chapters of the bible each day and to write in a journal what I perceive God is saying to me. Consequently when I speak and preach I can bring fresh bread to hungry people.
2. They are teachers and mentors worth emulating and their faith is an example to follow.
3. They carry authority in their very being through living a life of integrity, excellent character and high competency. Hence they deserve willing “obedience.” Serving such a leader is satisfying because they have the passion and skill to grow your leadership and your capacity.
4. They carry great responsibility; they keep watch and consider the big picture. They study trends and they monitor progress. They consider the whole of the organisation and how each part relates to the whole. They also, together with others in the organisation, decide what is to be done and what is to be left undone.
5. They are accountable. Perhaps more than others in the organisation they have to report on progress and account for their leadership and the health and productivity of the organisation.
6. Wise and fruitful leaders gain success through the people they mentor, release and empower in leadership. They surround themselves with people who complement their own strengths, and in other areas are smarter than they are. Hence they have inner security in Christ, excellent self-acceptance and deep humility.
7. They experience much joy in their leadership, because they are at the helm of a very effective organisation and, particularly through empowering others, they also have excellent life balance which creates a healthy culture throughout the organisation.

It's a big list and a lot of things to consider. If you're a leader I encourage you to consider each of these principles and ask yourself - Where do I need some work?

The heart is precisely what god observes and addresses in human beings. He cares little or nothing for outward show. He responds to the heart because it is, above all, who we are; who we choose and have chosen to be. What God wants of us can only come from there He respects the centrality of our will and will not override it. He seeks goldly character in us and for us, to fulfill the eternal destiny he has in mind for us.  (Dallas Willard: "Renovation of the Heart")

---

Leadership and Feet

Leadership and Feet

John 13:1-17

New International Version (NIV)

Jesus Washes His Disciples’ Feet

13 It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

² The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. ³ Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; ⁴ so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. ⁵ After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
⁶ He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”
⁷ Jesus replied, “You do not realise now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”
⁸ “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”
Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”
⁹ “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”
¹⁰ Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” ¹¹ For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.
¹² When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. ¹³ “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. ¹⁴ Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵ I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. ¹⁶ Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. ¹⁷ Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.


This story has always made an impact on me personally. Man, I hate feet.I would hate to wash all those dirty disciples feet. But more importantly Jesus is modelling, what I believe to be the most important element of character that a Christian Leader should
have. -Servanthood.
As Jesus ties that towel around his waste and kneels before his followers he is displaying the incredible power of authority serving his subjects. Jesus, the son of God on his knees, hands in a bowl of water picking out pieces of dirt from his loyal followers toes - Wow!

A Christian leader is a servant. Throughout the New Testament the message of leadership being all about servant hood is very clear. Jesus shows this in Matthew 20:25-28 where he defines servant leadership as the humble service to others based on our love for them. “Jesus called them together and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you” (Matthew 20:25). Jesus is teaching his disciples that servant leaders lead humbly. The emphasis is on the leader’s humility.[1] In a sense the terms servant and leader seem paradoxical, and servant leadership seems to be an oxymoron. Yet the term captures the earthly life and mission of Jesus Christ.  Jesus says in Luke 22:27 “ I am among you as the one who serves”.  Jesus’ followers expected something quite different from Him. The religious leaders at the time demanded titles of reverence and respect. The business leaders expected to be ravished with gifts, waited on hand and foot. Jesus’ disciples wanted exactly that kind of power and honour for themselves. In Luke 22:24-29, Jesus’ disciples argue over which one of them most deserved the highest position in the coming Kingdom.  The fullest picture of servant leadership can only be seen in God taking on human flesh to live and die among humanity. In Jesus, humanity finally saw with its own eyes what true servant leadership is like.[2]

A great example of a servant leader from the bible is David. David is commonly described as a “servant of the Lord” a title of honour and excellence for a man who discovered a joyful abandonment to the will of the Lord. David is signalled out in the scriptures, because he exemplifies a passion for God’s glory and a concern for the spiritual welfare of the covenant nation – Israel.  From his early years as a fugitive the future monarch nurtures the habit of dependent prayer as the Lord’s servant. After his enthronement, the Lord speaks a word of promise to “my servant David” (2 Samuel 7:5,8). David expresses through prayer his sense of wonder in God and gives thanks for his God given purpose. In turn he promises to bring glory to the name of the Lord in Israel and its surrounds (2 Samuel 7:25-27). David continually refers to himself as “servant” when addressing his people and his Lord God. David is immortalised as the servant-king who departed from the standard practice of monarchs and submitted his rule to the will of God. By leading as a servant, King David shaped and influenced a nation and its future and the lesson of David’s servant hood lives on in the local church today.[3]

Another good example of servant leadership in a more modern context is that of Pastor Graham Clarke. Graham is the senior pastor of Barrabool Hills Baptist Church in Geelong, Victoria. Blessed with a leadership gift, Graham leads his church as a true servant leader. Graham acknowledges that his own gifting comes from God and that the gifting of his team also comes from God. In a time and in a country where the senior pastor of a church is the most common face in a congregation, where churches elect their best speaker over their best leader to lead the church and where power and authority can become addictive, Graham stands out. Like David, Graham has departed from the standard practice of leadership and leads as a servant. He acknowledges that he is not the most gifted speaker or preacher in the church and only preaches around forty percent of the time, enabling the truly gifted communicators of the church family to preach the word of God to the congregation. He empowers and encourages his team to use their gifts to shape Barrabool Baptist Church for Godly purposes. Like Jesus and David, Graham comes as the one to serve, not to be served and his style of leadership is shaping the local church for Godly purpose; Graham and his team strive to reach people with the life changing message of Jesus and bring glory to the name of God.

This lesson in servant leadership has completely reshaped the way I lead in ministry and in life. The idea that to lead is to serve has empowered my ministry and pointed it all to the glory of God. I am not only serving God, I am serving my leadership team, the children in our ministry and their parents. So now, whenever I make a decision affecting the ministry to children at my church I ask who is this serving? Often I find it is serving only myself, my ego or my dangerous ambition and so the decision is changed. This process brings life to ministry, allows me to shine the light of Jesus and improves my character as a leader.

Servanthood is a hallmark of the spiritual leader. Christ told His disciples to turn away from the pompous attitudes of the pharisees and religious leaders and instead take on the lowly bearing of the servant. As in those days, so today servanthood is least admired in culture. However, the spiritual leader will choose the hidden path of sacrificial service and approval of the Lord over the flamboyant self-advertising of the world.

---

[1] Malphurs, A, Mancini, W, “Building Leaders”, Grand Rapids, 2004, pp20

[2] Fyar, J, “Servant Leadership: Setting Leaders Free”, St Louis, 2001, pp8-10

[3] Howell, Don N, Jr, “Servants of the Servant: A Biblical Theology of Leadership”, Eugene, 2003, pp7-8

The Journey to becoming a Lone Nut

Watch the Video First!

I have watched this clip over and over again. It speaks to me about what it means to be a leader and it also inspires me to invest in emerging leaders who have the potential to turn a "lone nut "like me into a leader. I hope by nurturing these young, up and coming leaders and treating them as equals they can begin their journey of "lone nutiness"themselves, find a follower and lead movements across this country and throughout the world!

The first sign of a leader is followers. By definition a leader is someone who is followed. The first sign of a great leader however, is someone with the ability to identify emerging leaders. A great Christian leader spots something in someone and says "that's a leader", they invest and encourage, support and empower emerging leaders in the pursuit of growing Christ's kingdom not their own.

Bill Hybels in "Courageous Leadership" says "When I see a leader whose radar wand is spinning around to locate an emerging leader, or when I watch an older leader investing time and energy to coach and empower a younger leader, I am convinced that I am seeing leadership at it's very best" (Bill Hybels, “Courageous Leadership”  (Grand Rapids, Zondervan, 2009) pp122)

I am convinced that leaders must make this one of their highest priorities. Why? because only leaders can develop other leaders and create a leadership culture. Preachers and Teachers can't do it. Administrators can't do it, Mercy gifted people certainly can't. Only leaders can multiply the leadership impact by raising up additional leaders.

When a leader develops not only his or her own leadership potential, but draws out the leadership potential of other leaders as well, the kingdom impact from one life is multiplied exponentially. it produces far more fruit than any single leadership achievement could have. The impact of that leader's life will be felt for many generations to come. can you see why I believe this is what defines a great leader?

If you're a leader, and you want to be a great one, ask yourselves these questions...
1. Who are your followers?
2. Amongst your followers, who is emerging as a leader?
3. What can you do to invest, support and empower their leadership journey?

Whatever we do as church and community leaders we must create leadership cultures. We must identify emerging leaders, invest in them, give them kingdom responsibilities, and coach them into effectiveness. Then we can each experience the thrill of watching them soar. That will be leadership at it's greatest!

How To Have a Church that Loves Kids and Kids that love Church! 
- part 1 The Power of ONE

Over the next few weeks I am going to talk about what I believe to be the 4 essential keys to a great children's ministry.

I get many calls from children's pastors just staring out or looking to change direction and this is where I get them to start. To consider theses four things.

This week I'll be talking about what I call "The Power of One".

In Luke Chapter 15 Jesus tells 3 stories about One lost coin, one lost sheep and one lost son. These are stories that capture our hearts and the message is simple - Ones are important. They're important to Jesus and they should be important to all of us, especially in children's ministry.

My church is a large church we see nearly 400 kids come through a brightly coloured doors every Sunday and more during the week. Sometimes I stand up on the stage watching the huge mass of little ones arrive, it really is something else to see how many little lives we have the opportunity to impact and influence toward the God of heaven and earth. One particular Sunday I was standing on the stage, watching the children come in and feeling so blessed, then God directed my gaze to a new family. Mum and 3 kids. standing in the middle of the hustle and bustle of hundreds of kids coming into a space and all knowing what to do, what was expected of them and knowing each other. The kids in this family looked terrified, the mum looked terribly unsure. On this particular Sunday, (thank you Jesus) one of my very capable leaders went and introduced herself, explained what the morning would entail and introduced all 3 kids to their small group leaders. She had a nice long chat with the mum and invited her to stay for as long as she thought was necessary.

Phew, that was handled well. But it did get me thinking and it did lead to a big change in our ministry. You see, I have been a part of the same church for over 20 years, I know where everything is and I know enough people to feel comfortable. But watching this family who was new and afraid made me realise we were not looking after the ones, that Jesus talks about in Luke 15  very well at all. These little ones are as precious to Jesus as any other and they needed to be valued that way when they walked through our doors.

So, we started a welcome table, a welcome team, welcome cards and made sure people knew what was going on and how to get involved. But more importantly as the leader of the ministry I began to speak very generously about how important the "ones" were. We needed to start focusing on Relationships. Relationships became the key focus of our ministry. We realised that if we cared for the "ones", built relationships with them that everything else could come later.

“Relationship connection is the currency of kids.” States Jamie Doyle, the children’s pastor at River Valley Church in Minnesota[1] Technology and programs will never replace the power of relationship. Growing children’s ministries make sure that in the midst of all the programming, there is room for relationships with kids. Children have been patronised with entertainment for far too long. Children need to know that somebody with a name and a face knows them and cares about them. If no one on earth really cares, how will they ever believe that God does?God is a personal God He is personal reality and power – the power that works by thought and choice and evaluation. He is not a blind force that can be manipulated if one can only find the correct technique. The same should be with leaders to children in ministry. Leaders should strive to create relationship with children, get to know their names, their interests, their families, giving them a glimpse into how God knows them.

An emphasis on a relational style of ministry also establishes an excellent welcoming to the unchurched. A children’s ministry should ask themselves “What kind of church will we need to become to receive and to nurture new Christians?" A church where a child feels welcome and where someone knows their name is a far better place to nurture new spirituality than a cold, dogmatic environment. Fellowship in church is the way church was done since the first Christians paved the way. The first Christians were a genuine community of friends. From the beginning it seems that this idea of the church being in relationship with one another was assumed. A Relational ministry should be a priority of any children’s pastor.

So now we are a changed environment. We value friendship over programs, we value family over activities and we value relationship over numbers. We value the Ones.

Look out for my next entry on - Environment

Cath

---

[1] Kidology Report, www.kidology.org, January 2007 , pp4