I'm not one of the old guys yet but I have been around long enough to have observed many children's ministries around the country. Here are a five observations I've made about what makes leaders successful at what they are trying to accomplish.
1. The leader possesses a vision that is compelling to him or her.
Leaders that successfully implement their plans really believe in what they are trying to accomplish. Leaders who struggle to be clear about what they want to do or what is important to them don't have a good enough reason to go the mat for their vision.
2. The leader relentlessly communicates the compelling vision to others.
Leaders who really believe in what they are doing talk about it all the time. They find ways to talk about it because they think others need to know.
3. The leader expects parents to be engaged.
Leaders who want to make a lasting impression on children know that parents are the key to influence. These leaders make significant efforts to educate parents regarding the vision and values of the children's ministry. These leaders also work hard to motivate parents to be partners in the discipleship process at home.
4. The leader expects the church to be engaged.
Successful children's ministry leaders think their vision for children is so important that the whole church should be involved in their ministry. For this reason these leaders work closely with their senior leaders to communicate the vision and promote it church wide.
5. The leader likes kids to have fun.
These leaders know that the fastest way to lose the attention of their kids is to be boring. Our children live in a fast paced fun filled world and though our purpose isn't to compete with their world our charge is to fight for their heart. There is nothing wrong with fun and laughter and successful children's ministry leaders have found ways to make their ministries fun.
Surely there are other contributing factors but these 5 factors are common among the successful leaders I've seen over the years.
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