Ryan Frank

Archive for the ‘Leadership’ Category

Posted on January 14, 2010 - by rfrank

6 models of family ministry – part 3

Model 3: You Do It Model

Philosophy:
1. Parents hold the church responsible for discipling their children.
2. The church is accountable for the results.
3. The church is gifted with pastors and leaders to help parents raise good kids.

Pros:
1. Very traditional and accepted in the church.
2. A children’s pastor and youth pastor view the kids as their sheep.
3. Age-level needs are met through Sunday School, children’s church, midweek programs, etc.

Cons:
1. Families are at church together but are always in different rooms.
2. Parents feel off the hook.
3. When parenting gets though, mom and dad often direct their worries at the church.

Posted on January 12, 2010 - by rfrank

6 models of family ministry – part 2

Model 2: Teach Us Model

Philosophy:
1. Parents need to be educated on raising their children. They want to be taught and helped.
2. Since the task is so big, parents need support and encouragement.
3. Mentors who have “been there and done that” play an important role.

Pros:
1. Parents get the answers they are looking for.
2. Parents see the need to be proactive in their parenting.
3. Parents get the support they need.

Cons:
1. It’s easy to get “educated beyond our obedience” (James 1:22)
2. This can minister to the head but not the heart.
3. You lose many parents in the process.

What do you think about this model?

Posted on January 10, 2010 - by rfrank

6 models of family ministry – part 1

In the next two weeks, I will be sharing with you six models I have discovered that churches use when doing family ministry. Which one is best? Which is right for your church? I’ll let you decide.

Model 1: “We Can Do It” Model

The philosophy:
1. Parents are the called to educate their children (Deuteronomy 6). In this model, parents own it,  take the lead, and say “we can do it.”
2. Most activities center around the home.
3. The emphasis of the church is on building strong families rather than building a large church with lots of programs.

Pros:
1. This model is based on the needs of the children, not the desires of the church.
2. Parents take the lead in pastoring their own children.
3. This is very age-specific and inter-generational.

Cons:
1. This doesn’t interest every parent.
2. The family can be over-emphasized and the church becomes unimportant.
3. How are kids from un-Christian homes reached?

What do you think about this model?

Posted on November 25, 2009 - by rfrank

More books that our K! editors are reading

Monday night we had a K! Magazine editors meeting. I love these meetings! There were eleven of us on the phone from all over the country talking children’s ministry.

After our last meeting I shared with you some of the books mentioned that our editors are reading. I heard from a lot of you that you really appreciated the book recommendations. So, here we go again!

Jim Wideman talked about his own book (a great read!): Children’s Ministry Volunteers That Stick

Sam Luce mentioned a book that I want to buy for myself: The New Breed: Understanding and Equipping the 21st Century Volunteer

Judy Comstock mentioned this one: Simply Strategic Volunteers

I recommended that everyone read this book: Mad Church Disease: Overcoming the Burnout Epidemic

Time to go shopping!

Posted on November 19, 2009 - by rfrank

Volunteer Time

I was flipping through the Nov/Dec issue of Outreach Magazine this morning. Yes, I read more than K! Magazine! I came across some interesting info on page 38.

According to the Corporation for National & Community Service (did you know there was such a place?) more than 61 million Americans volunteer their time.

Want to know where they serve? Here you go:

Religious 36%

Educational 27%

Social Services 13%

Health 8%

Other 7%

Civic 6%

Sports/Arts 4%

Let this serve as a good reminder to all of us that people like to feel needed. I bet there will be some people at your church this weekend who would like to volunteer – but they might be waiting to be asked!

Posted on November 12, 2009 - by rfrank

9 trends in CM leadership – part 9

Trend #9: A growing percentage of parents are more committed to the extracurriculars than the programs of the church.

The Barna Reseach Group has helped the church understand the spiritual condition of today’s kids. I won’t repeat all of his findings but you should read Transforming Children Into Spiritual Champions (Regal). Raising a Modern-Day Joseph affirms this research.

The bottom line is this: it’s not a good picture. Kids are growing up in the church and heading for college with a low commitment to the church, an unbiblical worldview, and decreasing Bible knowledge. At the same time that the spiritual condition of children is declining, involvement in extracurricular activities like sports, piano, and dance is increasing. More and more parents are choosing these activities over other children’s ministries in the church.

There are clear benefits to children being involved in sports and other similar activities. Better health and self-esteem are two such benefits. However, I see an increasing number of parents in the church choose these activities over programs like Awana, Pioneer Clubs, Missionettes, Royal Rangers, or even worship services.

At my church we have Awana. It provides what kids need so desperately—a biblical foundation upon which to build the rest of their lives. It is also one of the best tools we offer parents who want to grow spiritual champions.

I recently wrote a blog post called “What Bugs Me About Little League.” I said it bugs me that so many parents in my church idolize Little League and let it trump Awana night. When faced with the choice of baseball practice or Awana, baseball practice wins. Within hours I was bombarded with comments from children’s pastors that both understood my concern and respectfully disagreed.

Most of those who disagreed took the position that engaging in the community is just as important as involvement in the programs of the church. Carmen Fleck from Bachelor Creek Friends Church said, “The Bible says we are to be salt and light to our communities … sports is a great way to do that. I think sometimes we Christians become ‘too Christian’ and remove ourselves from the community, thus never becoming salt and light.”

Jonathon Cliff from Trinity Church said, “You are assuming that ‘church’ provides the only form of spiritual formation in a child’s life. I’m a children’s pastor, and have struggled for years with the twinge of bitterness when families choose other activities over the ones I’ve planned, and prayerfully organized for their own children, but sometimes spending time together as a family, enjoying sports, can be more beneficial to the life of a family than anything I could ever plan at church.”

Here is my concern. Most Christian parents agree that they want their children to be spiritual champions as adults. However, they lack the strategy to hit those results. Part of the plan must include a commitment to God, His Word, and programs of the church intended to help parents grow godly kids. When anything and everything trumps the plan, the plan is destined to fail. Any strategic planner would tell you that a plan is only as good as one’s commitment to executing it.

Conclusion

It is indeed an exciting day in children’s ministry. The last five years have brought so many changes to the face of children’s ministry. The next five years will be equally as exciting. Children’s ministry leaders must keep their ear on the rail and commit to keeping a keen eye on new trends. Upon discovering them, each must ask, “What impact does this have where I live?” You don’t have to (nor should you) embrace each, but you are wise for keeping them on your radar and embracing the ones that will make you and your ministry stronger.

Posted on November 10, 2009 - by rfrank

9 trends in CM leadership – part 8

Trend #8: Every-other week is the new every week

More and more kids of divorce are saying good-bye and transitioning between parents. As much as we don’t like this, kids are living divided lives between two homes. In The Switching Hour (Cokesbury Press), I read that 18 to 20 million children live with one parent, with 1 million children each year affected by divorce. Those are staggering numbers.

This has a huge impact on the way the church ministers to kids. In January 2009, I was team-teaching a seminar with children’s ministry champion Jim Wideman. He was talking about every-other week being the new every week in children’s ministry. He said, “If you have something that’s going to take four weeks to teach, you had better plan on eight weeks.”

On a side note, children’s ministry leaders must also ask if they are ministering to the needs of kids of divorce. Church-based programs for divorced adults seem to be flourishing, but churches with programs focusing on the needs of children of divorce are rare. It’s easy to give adults the attention they need, because they are bigger, louder, and speak in a language that other adults understand. Ministries like DivorceCare for Kids (www.dc4k.org) will help your church minister to kids who are transitioning between parents week after week.

Posted on November 8, 2009 - by rfrank

9 trends in CM leadership – part 7

Trend #7: Teaching is moving back to the teacher (Imagine that.)

Today’s kids are heavily influenced by screens—cell phone screens, computer screens, TV screens and movie screens. Over the past five years, there has been a big push to use screens when teaching today’s media-saturated kids.

Craig Jutila started creating videos in 1998 for his ministry at Saddleback Church. He told me, “We stumbled upon the media idea from a camp we did back in 1998. We would do a ‘camp news’ section each night. We had an idea to let the TV do the talking by having a child from the audience come up and play a game … entirely run by the TV. There was little set-up in advance for this, but we were amazed that the TV held the kids’ attention the way it did. From that, the idea was born to see if we could have a strong teaching element from the TV not only hold the kids’ attention but help them learn in a fun and creative way.” He went home and started creating video curriculum. By teaching in front of a camera, every child in the church could get the same Bible message in a format that they would relate to. He is recognized as a pioneer for video-driven curriculum in children’s ministry.

In 2003, the market was introduced to Kidmo. I remember seeing Kidmo for the first time at Children’s Pastors’ Conference. The company was marketed as “the reinvention of Sunday School.” At the time of this writing, Kidmo has 110 episodes (weeks) for elementary-age kids and 60 episodes (weeks) for preschoolers.

Thousands of churches have used Kidmo and other similar video curriculums in their children’s ministries. One concern that church leaders have voiced is whether it is healthy to use videos week after week. After all, hasn’t God gifted the local church with teachers? And aren’t teachers the ones who build solid relationships with the kids and their parents?

I am seeing a movement in the last year from media-driven curriculum to “teacher-led” media-driven curriculum. What sets teacher-led media-driven curriculum apart? The curriculum uses media elements (which kids connect with so well) but keeps the central focus on the live teacher, not the screen. Many children’s ministry leaders realize that nothing replaces a teacher opening God’s Word with relevance and teaching.

Companies like High Voltage Kids (www.highvoltage-kids.com) and the Willow Creek Association (www.willowcreek.com) are examples of companies marketing this type of curriculum.

Posted on November 6, 2009 - by rfrank

9 trends in CM leadership – part 6

Trend #6: Tweens need an identity of their own in the church

Without making ministry to tweens intentional, this age group can slip through the back door of the church. It’s time to put a deadbolt on that door and keep them actively engaged! This requires rethinking the way we minister to tweens.

Tweens have great power and are getting lots of attention. Unfortunately, most of this attention is from outside the church. The New York Times states, “The reason behind the intense focus on tweens and teens is their phenomenal purchasing power.” According to J12 Ministries, “In 2005, the tween market was a 330 billion dollar industry. The movie, music, gaming, food, and fashion industries no longer target teens because the money comes from the tweens, through the hands of parents.”

Churches are beginning to understand having a successful ministry to this age group begins with giving them an identity of their own. Patrick Snow, author of Leading Preteens (Standard), told me, “The most effective ministry to tweens I’ve seen are the ministries that not only gear their teaching towards the tweens’ learning styles but also give tweens an identity of their own. Most tweens don’t consider themselves children anymore and they respond best to ministries that affirm them in this belief. Creating their own leaders, their own space, their own name (outside of the children’s ministry) helps to do that.”

When sixth graders think that they are doing the “same thing we’ve done since we were in the first grade,” they will disconnect. It seems childish.

Tweens need to have an opportunity to do something. Gregg Johnson says that ministry to tweens “is more culture than curriculum.  When I think of clubs, I believe that the testimony of Jesus at 12 could become a new club/culture for this age group.  In the seven words that Jesus spoke (“I must be about My Father’s business”), I believe we find the needed building blocks to build a culture/club atmosphere.  Here in Anaheim, we will be getting our own building to house J12 (tween) ministries. In that building, we have already made plans for what we are calling the ‘Do’ room, because Jesus’ seven words are not about character development alone, but about calling and activity.  I believe that … we need to be able to link back to the story of Jesus at 12, who had the ‘I must’ spirit to do something (His Father’s business).”

Posted on November 4, 2009 - by rfrank

9 trends in CM leadership – part 5

Trend #5: The traditional children’s ministry model is changing

Eleven years ago when I was hired to be the children’s pastor at my church, I was expected to oversee the ministries of the church for birth through sixth grade. A big part of my job was recruiting and training volunteers, teaching children’s church, and overseeing programs like Sunday School and Awana. Today, that job description has changed, and not just for me but thousands of others. It’s changing because the traditional model of children’s ministry is changing.

Children’s pastors are now expected to formulate a plan for helping parents. In the hiring process, children’s pastors had better be prepared to answer the question, “What are you going to do to help the parents of our church grow great kids?”

This change is for the good. We are waking up to the fact that the children’s/youth pastor is not the main spiritual influencer of a child—it’s mom and dad. This means that the children’s pastor must put tools in the hands of parents and help them take the lead. The model of ministry is changing from doing ministry for parents to doing ministry with parents.

I recommend that you read Larry Fowler’s book, Raising a Modern-Day Joseph (David C. Cook). Larry is the executive director of global training for Awana. In this book, he compels the church to rethink the way it does children’s ministry. Larry recognizes this change in what ministry to kids looks like and encourages the church to formulate a plan that includes the senior pastor, the youth pastor, the children’s pastor, and parents.

As a result of this model change, we are seeing more and more experiential ministry events. The idea is that the family should learn and grow together, which is often characterized by family fun nights, movie nights, family camps, and family services. If used properly, these can really help families connect and grow closer together. However, taken to an extreme, there would be no age-level programming. It is also difficult to find extra time outside of the regular service times for these venues.