Archive for October, 2009
Posted on October 31, 2009 - by rfrank
9 trends in CM leadership – part 3
Trend #3: Church staffers are learning together
Great things happen when a children’s pastor leaves work and ministry behind and jumps on a plane to network and grow. Conferences like Children’s Pastors’ Conference are staying strong and buzzing with energy in a day when the conference industry in general is struggling.
I see a trend developing in church leadership as it relates to conferences. These leaders are choosing one conference that they can all attend together, which accomplishes two things.
First, it makes good financial sense. Attending a conference can be an expensive ordeal with flights, rental cars, meals, hotels, and registrations. Since finance teams are quick to cut the conference budget in a difficult economy, it makes sense for the staff to attend the same conference.
Second, it promotes healthy collaboration in the church leadership. Church leaders like the idea of the senior pastor, discipleship pastor, youth pastor, and children’s pastor learning together and formulating strategies as a team.
Posted on October 31, 2009 - by rfrank
Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-10-31
- The credit card terminal is down at the gas station. I had to leave w/o paying for my coffee. I'm running to Evan's house to borrow $. #fb #
- What a great AM at church! The kids were a little wound up (little is an understatement) but it was a great morning of ministry! #fb #
- Talking about #kidmin and #youthmin curriculum in church staff meeting. #fb #
- At the vet with Roxi. #fb #
- I don't like dog hair that has shedded. Is shedded a word? #
- Kicking out some K! Magazine work tonight. My staff will be proud of me tomorrow. #fb #
- The Internet was down at the church today. It forced me to do some other stuff I've been putting off! #fb #
- Are you doing the things you are asking others to do? #orangetour #kidmin (via @jimwideman) #
- Great phone call today with @shawnthornton. He's a great pastor with a big heart for #kidmin. #
- Today God answered a big prayer request that our KidzMatter team has been praying about. Thank you Lord! #fb #
- Watching Spongebob. #fb #
- Working on our church marriage retreat this weekend! #fb #
- Working on blog posts. #fb #
- Last minute prep for our church marriage retreat this weekend! #fb #
- What do you think about the new Nov/Dec issue of K! Magazine? Tell me and I'll try to print your feedback in the Jan/Feb issue! #kidmin #fb #
- I just replied to 68 emails in 90 minutes. My keyboard is smoking! #fb #
- Driving to the marriage retreat with my awesome wife! #fb #
- God answered a big prayer request for my family this morning! #fb #
- Shopping with Beth in Shipshewana Indiana! #fb #
- Had a great marriage retreat with Beth and lots of friends from the church! Driving home now. #fb #
- Taking Luci trick or treating! #
- Just remembered that we get an extra hour of sleep tonight! #fb #
- Corn fields on Halloween night can be scary. #
Posted on October 29, 2009 - by rfrank
9 trends in CM leadership – part 2
Trend #2: Children’s pastors are networking online
Not too long ago, if you wanted to network with other children’s pastors, you had few options. You could get in your Pinto and meet someone for lunch, you could pick up the telephone, or you could save your money and go to a conference.
While these still exist (well, maybe not the Pinto part), the opportunities to network are rapidly increasing—thanks to Al Gore’s invention of the internet. There are many online opportunities for networking.
Children’s pastors are connecting on cmconnect.org. Created by Michael Chanley, it started as a spark and is taking off like wildfire with over 4,000 members in its first year. You can connect through forum discussions, blogs, specialized groups, and more. It’s like Facebook or MySpace for children’s ministry.
Another social networking site skyrocketing in popularity is Twitter. Every day 10,000 new users discover that it’s an easy way to stay in touch with each other. Unlike its rivals, Facebook and MySpace, Twitter demands a very small amount of time. That appealed to me. It only asks that you answer one question, “What are you doing?” Sounds easy, eh? The tough part is saying it in 140 characters or less. Updates range from “Staff meeting in full swing” to “Eating soup with a fork. Need to make a supply run this week.”
While social networking grows, we must also acknowledge the need for face-to-face interaction with peers in ministry. In his book, Never Eat Alone, Keith Ferrazzi says that interacting with others is a key to success. There is nothing that replaces the synergy it creates, which brings me to the next trend.
Posted on October 27, 2009 - by rfrank
Trophies and spiritual milestones
Kids love awards. I remember as a child cherishing the few trophies that I had received in coaches pitch and little league. Those were about the only trophies I ever received for sports – I’ve never been the athletic one in my family. My dad, on the other hand, has more trophies than I can count. His basketball number is retired at Indiana Wesleyan University and he still holds NCCAA records to this day.
Sunday night at church we honored 14 Sparks with Awana awards. You should have seen the glow on each of these kids faces. They were grinning ear to ear as they were publicly recognized for their hard work in Awana. Kids love awards.
Yesterday in staff meeting my pastor was talking about how proud those kids were to be recognized and how excited they were to receive their awards. He asked a good question, “Why do kids have to go to the world to get their awards?” which led to some good discussion points.
Kids love awards. Heck, we all do. I love getting a raise every January. I love the bonus points that I accumulate on my credit card. I love it that after I buy six coffees I get the seventh free at the gas station in town. Back to kids – it’s too bad that, more often then not, to get an award, they have to play sports or be musical. I wonder if we are missing something here.
Kids love motivation and rewards just like the rest of us. I wonder if church leaders and parents would be smart to start recognizing kids more for spiritual milestones and growth. It might raise the spiritual temperature of your ministry – that’s what I’m thinking at least.
Posted on October 27, 2009 - by rfrank
A fresh look: 9 new trends in children’s ministry leadership
For the next two weeks, I am going to be sharing an article I wrote for the November/December issue of K! Magazine. The article is called “A Fresh Look: 9 New Trends in Children’s Ministry Leadership.” I shared these nine trends first with the Board of Directors at Awana a few months ago. I decided to develop it into an article for the magazine. Check back every few days and I will post a new trend. Feel free to share these posts with the leaders of your church, but do not publish them (in print or electronically) without writtten permission. Here we go:
Children’s ministry is alive and thriving in the church today. It’s an exciting time to be involved in ministry to kids. To be your best, you need to keep up with the current trends in ministry. What follows is a report on the good, the bad, and the ugly. I’m not asking you to agree with every point but just hear the way I see it. Ready?
Trend #1: Children’s pastors are doing more with less
On March 3, 2009, Roger Fields, President of KidzBlitz, took a poll and asked the question, “Is the current economic situation impacting your children’s ministry?” Hundreds of churches responded. The results showed:
Not at all (17%)
Slightly (30%)
Somewhat (39%)
Massively (14%)
The analysis is this: over half of the churches we polled are being impacted significantly by the economy! Consequently, children’s ministry leaders are working with less.
Kimber Scott, Children’s Ministry Director at Mountainside Church of Christ, said, “I had to lower my budget for 2009 by $8,000! We’ve started so many new programs that involve prize-giving. So I went to Goodwill and other thrift stores and bought prizes for 10, 25 and 50 cents each. They’re new toys!”
Tonya Pinkerton, Children’s Pastor at Farmland Friends Church said, “Our church just built three new rooms for the kids … A couple weeks ago we had our big grand opening, but nothing on the walls. After seeing the large posters of kids at the GAP store in the mall, our pastor got creative and asked the store employees for the posters they were going to throw away. GAP not only gave us the posters, they gave us all kinds of neat pictures of kids and a container to hold them! We put them up all over our children’s ministry rooms and halls!”
Posted on October 24, 2009 - by rfrank
Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-10-24
- Preparing for a day and a half of strategic planning! #fb #
- The first one at the church office this morning. Rare things do indeed happen. #fb #
- Watching "The Dust of the Rabbi" as a devotional to kick off our @kidzmatter strategic planning meeting. Very good! #fb #
- Evan Doyle's (@kidzmatter2me) head is in the way of the screen. #
- Strategic planning session is going great. A lot of energy in the room! #fb #
- Great day of planning then playing with Luci outside. She found another frog. Big surprise there! #fb #
- Added some pictures to facebook #
- Watching Jay Leno. #
- Trying to get a good head start on the day. #
- Catching up on email. #
- Writing thank you cards to some awesome children's ministry volunteers. #fb #
- Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is being filmed 20 minutes from my house this week. They are in Bunker Hill, Indiana. Hey Ty!#fb #
- RT @danscott77: Crazy excited to be part on the March/April issue of K! Thanx, @r_frank! #kidmin // We're excited too! #
- RT @LeenaPrindle: Way late but finally getting a chance to read thru Sept/Oct 'K' magazine. Great inspiration & challenging articles // thx! #
- @SaraJM Thanks for sending me the story books! Zonderkidz is cranking out some great stuff for #kidmin! in reply to SaraJM #
- Watching Jim and Pam get married on my DVR. #office #fb #
- RT @michaelchanley: Help us sell our home through facebook: http://bit.ly/M0vKi // let's help! #
- Great phone conference this AM with Matt Markins (@Markins) from #D609. He's a great guy! #
- Phone conferencing with the team at the Timbuktoons Studio. #
- Lunch mtg at Culvers. Double butter burgers rock. #fb #
- Vil Vischer's CPC talk is on the Focus on the Family radio today and they are plugging INCM (@incm). Woo hoo! #kidmin #
- Half day at work and then heading home. Luci's on fall break! #fb #
- Teens 13-18: Win an ipod loaded w Always Watching & Last Breath eBooks, enter the sweepstakes today! http://bit.ly/1dDlCh (via @SaraJM) #
- RT @AwanaParents: @awanaathome is for the new Awana at Home program that helps parents spiritually lead their kids http://www.awana.org/athome #
- Waiting for Texas Roadhouse to open in 8 minutes. Hungry yet? #fb #
- Just signed up 2 more couples for our marriage retreat next wknd with Larry Fowler! Up to 34 couples now! Yah! #fb #
- Eating potato chips, watching a movie, and checking email. #
Posted on October 20, 2009 - by rfrank
Discovering my strengths
More and more people recently have been asking me what my top strengths are in reference to Gallup’s StrengthFinder 2.0 assessment tool. I’ve told person after person, “I haven’t taken the test yet.”
Last month at D6, Michael Chanley (creator of www.cmconnect.org) knocked it out of the ballpark with a precon lab about developing the strengths of kids. He talked a lot about Tom Rath’s book.
After the workshop, I jumped on Amazon and bought the book. It was a quick read and convinced me even more to do the test. It took about 30 minutes to take the test online and I found it was pretty accurate. Here are my top five strengths with a quick summary of what each one means:
1. Competition – People strong in the Competition theme measure their progress against the performance of others. They strive to win first place and revel in contests.
2. Futuristic – People strong in the Futuristic theme are inspired by the future and what could be. They inspire others with their visions of the future.
3. Strategic – People strong in the Strategic theme create alternative ways to proceed. Faced with any given scenario, they can quickly spot the relevant patterns and issues.
4. Activator – People strong in the Activator theme can make things happen by turning thoughts into action. They are often impatient.
5. Significance – People strong in the Significance theme want to be very important in the eyes of others. They are independent and want to be recognized.
I plan to lead our KidzMatter staff through the process of finding their strengths this winter. Then we will work through the Strengths Based Leadership book.
Posted on October 17, 2009 - by rfrank
Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-10-17
- Just left an exciting meeting with @evanmcbroom and some members of his team about a @kidzmatter branding project. #kidmin #fb #
- Preparing for K! Magazine editors meeting tonight with some great people. #kidmin #kmag #
- On a phone conf with @jimwideman, @samluce, @kidzmatter2me and other great #kidmin people from all over the country! I'm learning a lot! #
- I am going to be spending a lot of money on amazon.com tonight. #fb #
- Approving the final copy of the Nov/Dec K! Magazine before it goes to print next week with our team. #fb #
- @samluce knocked it out of the ballpark in the Nov/Dec issue of K! Magazine! Thanks Sam! #
- Don’t miss former Newsboys Phil Joel in Concert at CPC ‘10! http://tiny.cc/MnaYp #kidmin #cpc10 #
- It's hard to twitter when you are catching up like mad from vacation! #
- Finished cleaning my fish tank at home. Nemo's home is clean now. #fb #
- I chose hot chocolate this morning instead of coffee in the Keurig. Thought you should know that. #fb #
- Having a very productive afternoon! #fb #
- Just wished a lady in the church a happy 90th birthday! #fb #
- I am taking the Strengths Finder 2.0 test online. http://www.strengthsfinder.com #fb #
- Happy 5th birthday Luci Frank!!! #fb #
- Having fun at Luci's birthday party! #fb #
- Great Trunk or Treat this afternoon! It was a huge success. Way to go team. #fb #
Posted on October 16, 2009 - by rfrank
Happy Birthday Luci!
Our baby girl, Luci, turns five today! Happy birthday Luci!
I took the day off today and we’ve been doing everything Luci wants to do. We had cinnamon rolls for breakfast (her favorite), went to the YMCA to swim this morning (she loves swimming), ate lunch at McDonalds, and now we’re getting ready for her birthday party. She’s into frogs right now, so it’s a frog party!
I can’t believe that five years ago today Luci was born. I remember it like it was yesterday. Being a dad has to be one of the coolest things in the world. There’s no greater responsibility in the world and nothing any more rewarding.
Today is about Luci, so I’m turning off the computer. Besides, I have balloons to blow up.
Posted on October 15, 2009 - by rfrank
Books that K! editors are reading
I love our K! Magazine editor meetings. Every-other month a dozen people from all over the country get on the phone and talk leadership and children’s ministry. I learn so much from these friends. We met this week and one thing I left the meeting with was a list of books that our editors are reading. I want you to know about them.
Gifted to Lead: The Art of Leading As a Woman in the Church
What Are You Living For?: Investing Your Life in What Matters Most
The Starbucks Experience: 5 Principles for Turning Ordinary Into Extraordinary
The Contrarian’s Guide to Leadership (J-B Warren Bennis Series)
Generation Change: Roll Up Your Sleeves and Change the World (Invert)
Game Plan for Life: Your Personal Playbook for Success
You didn’t know reading this blog was going to cost you money, did you?
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About Ryan
Ryan Frank is a husband, dad, children's pastor, creator of KidzMatter, and publisher of K! Magazine.
