This Is Your Most Important Ministry As A Youth Minister

I’ve been stepping in and helping out in the children’s programming while our Director of Children’s Ministry on maternity leave.  Yesterday I coordinated first Reconciliation for the 7 and 8 year olds, which seemed a little like controlled chaos (but not like the kind you find in middle school).  I use to find it an inconvenience working with the children’s ministry, because of the “I’m too cool for school” attitude that I might have inherited from working with teens, but I’m learning the more I work with our Children’s Director the more I’m find it helps:

1. Build Early Relationships With Parents 
2. Give Kids Something To Get Excited About

And that’s done by:
Uniting Your Visions
You don’t have to come up with one new vision to encompass both programs, each should have their own, but they need to unite.

• Children’s vision is designed to raise up children who Live. Pray and Grow in Christ.  
• Student’s vision is raising up consistent, authentic and irresistible examples of Jesus Christ.  

The common theme in both visions is habit development.  When you unite your visions with a common theme it gives parents a path that doesn’t have drastic transitions.  Having your child go into preteens, to full blow teens into adulthood can be tough.  It also helps the children see where they are going, sometimes the intimidation of growing up can be tough, by showing them the next step eases the tension.

Bringing Ministry Leaders Together
Just as it’s important for you to work well with the children’s minister it’s important that your volunteer ministers work well together.  Do this by bringing them together to discuss systems, structures and to share ideas.  When you have them communicating, they become informed about each other’s programs.  Now that the children’s ministers know more about your program they’ll be advocates and they’ll get the kids and parents pumped for what’s next.

Making Cameos In The Children’s Programs
Nothing shows support like making a visit to another person’s ministry, it shows them that you are interested in what they are doing.  But isn’t just about the children’s minister it’s also about the kids.  If they see you and get to know you, it creates comfort in their journey.  If they get more familiar with you, that guarantees that they’ll know at least one person when they make the transition into the youth ministry.

Your most important ministry as a youth minister is the children’s ministry.  They are your foundation, they are the students you will receive in the future.  If you aren’t investing in the children’s ministry then you aren’t investing in the youth ministry.  But again it’s easier said than done, we need to be working on the relationships we have with our fellow staff members.