3 ways to be a leader each week
The young people you lead will always view you as a leader, so it’s important that your attitude reflects this responsibility.
In my church, our Sunday morning children’s ministry is led by a team of people on a roster system. For me, this means teaching only two or three weeks each term. Many churches manage their children’s ministry in similar ways. You might be ‘on’ for the whole term and ‘off’ the rest of the year, or ‘on’ two weeks each month.
As this work is cyclical, I’ve heard leaders say things like ‘I’m not a regular leader’ or ‘I’m just a helper’. They feel like their leadership role isn’t as significant because they aren’t there every week, or because they aren’t doing the main teaching in the group. This is a common feeling.
However, the reality is different. The young people you’re leading don’t see you as a leader only sometimes, and not at other times. The children you’re leading will look to you as a leader and model every time they see you, whether you’re teaching them or not. So, the challenge for those of us on a children’s ministry roster is, ‘How can I be a leader every week, not just the weeks I’m rostered on?’
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Here are three things that I have found helpful as I answer this question.
Be interested in the children every week
One of the things I love about children’s ministry is that first few minutes of Kids’ Church. It’s a little bit chaotic as children arrive but it’s a perfect opportunity to hear about things that have been important or significant in their lives that week.
I use a technique I call Sad, Glad or Mad – children choose one of these words and share something that made them feel that way this week. I get to learn all sorts of surprising things – like the time a Kindy girl told me she was sad because it was school holidays and she was going to miss her teacher and friends.
Relationship building is an essential part of gospel ministry and this time in Kids’ Church is about me getting to know their lives so that I can help them discover what it means to live out their faith. But doing Sad, Glad or Mad twice a term isn’t enough on its own. I need to make time each and every week to hear about the lives of the children and to share my experience with them. So, every week at church, whether I’m leading Kids’ Church or not, having a conversation with the children is a priority for me. As much as I enjoy chatting with adults over morning tea, sacrificing some of that time to talk to the children is part of the way that I am a leader every week.
Know what they are learning every week
A lot of those weekly conversations will be about school, sport, family and other significant parts of their lives, but part of those conversations are also about what they’ve been learning from their other ministry leaders. If your roster includes a Bible passage for each week, and a big idea for the lesson, why not read through that passage before Sunday. You may even have the access to the lesson that will be taught, and you could read through that too. This will help you have meaningful conversations about the things that they are learning each week. It will also help you next time you are rostered to teach because you know how your lesson relates to the other things the children have been learning.
When it comes to adults who are invested in their discipleship, children need more, not less. Having these conversations about what they are learning and how they are growing to be more like Jesus, is a great way to partner with and support parents as they disciple their kids.
Pray for the children every week
Praying is not just the thing you do when you can’t do anything else. It is the most valuable thing you can do for the children you lead.
Some prayers are easy. I pray for the children I’m leading to listen to me, to care for each other and that they would be able to answer their parents when they are asked, ‘What did you learn in Kids’ Church today?’
But here are the things I need to pray every week for the children I lead:
That they would hear and understand God’s Word.
That they would know how to live as Christians in a world where that is becoming increasingly difficult.
That they would remain faithful to Jesus for their whole lives.
And my prayer for you and me is that we would be faithful leaders of children, and models of faith every week.
As you head to church this Sunday, what can you do to reflect that you are a leader every week?
