Can PARENTS trust us?

Parents are looking for partners to help in the adventure called RAISING KIDS. As a parent I never partner with people I don't trust. Trust is so important when it comes to the church / parents relationship. Can our volunteers be trusted to care for kids? Can we be trusted to value the families time? Can we be trusted to keep parents in the loop? Can our environments be trusted to engage kids? Can we be trusted to help kids learn how to make wise choices? These are all TRUST questions that every parent is asking when they consider partnering with the ministries we lead. Please understand that the TRUST ISSUE is a major factor when parents decide if they will involve their kids in our ministry. When parents trust us they will follow our leadership and partner with us. How do we earn trust?

• Keep Commitments >> when we make commitments we have to follow through...nothing will break trust like breaking our word!
• Be Consistent >> parents want to know we can be counted on week in and week out
• Over Communicate >> email, Facebook, ministry websites, letters...make sure parents can get info about your ministry and make sure your team is accessible to them also. Parents need to be kept in the loop and they need to be able to get to leadership when they have questions.
• Involve >> make sure parents always know what your values are and what you are communicating to their children. We make sure our parents have take home tools every week from our environment so they can continue the discussion and we have a monthly family experience that involves parents and kids TOGETHER.
  
• Listen >> always always always listen to parents. (you won't agree with everything but PLEASE listen) Nothing builds trust like being heard and valued. Parents need a voice in your ministry...we are investing in their kids!

Trust with parents not automatic...it's earned. How are you striving to build trust with parents in your church?

Support AFRICA for JESUS >> TODAY

So... what are you all doing this afternoon? Nothing?? GREAT!!! Bring your WHOLE family and come over to Clarksville First Church of the Nazarene for the First Annual Spring Sing & Bling - Benefiting Africa for Jesus!

Enjoy awesome musical artists including the Daniel Doss Band, Lydia Walker, Making Malorie and Engaging Pursuit. Special guest artist is Felicia Barton, former American Idol contestant and worship leader/singer/songwriter from Virginia Beach, VA. There will also be a silent auction with over 100 items from local companies for you to bid on with all proceeds going to Africa for Jesus.

This is going to be an awesome evening for an awesome cause! Don't miss out on a fun night with your family! I hope to see you all there!!!

What: Spring Sing & Bling - Benefiting Africa for Jesus!
Where: First Church of the Nazarene
150 Richview Road
Clarksville, TN 37043
When: April 10, 2010
Time: 4:00pm - 8:30pm
Cost: $5.00 for adults, $2.00 for kids (6 and under), OR you can gain free admission to the event by donating clothes and other gently-used items to our thrift stores. There is currently one location in Hopkinsville, KY, and a second location in Clarksville at 1810 Madison Avenue (Pal's Plaza). You can bring them the day of the event, or drop them off at the stores.

2nd chance?

After 5 months away from the game of golf Tiger Woods is back and playing at The Masters. This is Tiger's second chance with golf but his second chance with LIFE started 5 months ago. When all of his mistakes were made public months ago Tiger had a choice, he could face his mistakes head on or he could blame others and run. I am proud of Tiger for one thing...he faced his mistakes and took responsibility. Go ahead all of you who are casting judgment on this guy. We who call ourselves Followers of Jesus know how our leaders have done when given power and fame. We can all remember many amazing pastors/teachers who had it all and were derailed by moral failure. Tiger had power, money, and fame and thought he was above the game of golf and accountability. Well...he wasn't. I hope Tiger has a great golf comeback but more importantly I hope he has a great comeback in life as a person. I am selfish...I pray he finds Christ! I hope he fights for his marriage. I hope he learns to treat people with respect. I hope he can in the future reach out to help when someone else falls into the same trap. We will see. As a Dad I have no problem telling my kids one day that YES Tiger made some big mistakes but he tried to start over and took responsibility. This is his second chance...we all have had them and we all will need them. I am glad a caring leader in my past gave me a second chance.

who is responsible for reaching the NEXT GENERATION?

If you are the only person on your staff thinking about how to reach the next generation you probably won't reach the next generation. Here is what might happen...

• You will have no support to take the risks needed to reach the next generation
• You will miss opportunities because you are blinded by the demands of week to week ministry to kids and teens
• You will always be forced to give priority to the preferences of adults over teens and college students
• When problems arise with kid, teen , or college ministry no one on your team will know why you do what you do...no one will have your back
  
• Your kid's/preschool ministry will be viewed as necessary babysitting so adults can do the important stuff
• You will not be allowed to empower teens and college kids to serve NOW because they might not do things as well as a "mature" adult
• I am pretty sure when budget time comes you will not have the support you need to gather the resources needed to reach the next generation

When it comes to reaching the next generation it has the be the overwhelming priority of the the entire church. Our greatest joy should flow out of seeing families, kids, preschoolers, teens, and college students love and follow Jesus with all their heart. Who's job is it to reach the next generation...it's our job...all of us! This week I have heard some amazing ideas about next generation ministry come from our co-pastors, small group pastor, and worship department. Great ideas from folks who are not on the family ministry staff...WOW! These are ideas that flow from a passionate team desiring to reach the next generation. If any church wants to reach the next generation the entire leadership structure better start caring, praying, sacrificing, dreaming, and doing whatever it takes to make it happen.

Parents are looking for PARTNERS

The moment we become a parent we start looking for help. As soon as we see that child for the first time we realize we are way in over our heads. We quickly realize that we need help and we learn that there is strength when we partner with others who can help us raise our kids. Think about all the people we begin to partner with when we become parents...

We partner with the best pediatrician we can find...
We partner with other parents in play groups to find support...
We partner with a good school to educate our kid...
We partner with a daycare if we continue to work full time...
We partner with a coach to help our kid learn how to shoot or kick a ball...
We partner with a gymnastic teacher to help our kids learn how to be a gymnast...
We partner with a tutor is our child struggles with math...

Parents are looking for partnerships that can help their child and their family. We hope that parents begin to look to the church as a place to partner with when it comes to the spiritual development of their child. What if when a parent thought about how to teach their child character and faith lessons they automatically began to look for a church they could partner with? Not sure that currently they see the church as a needed partner in raising their kids but at Grace Community Church we are hoping that parents in our city see us as a partner for their family! We want to find ways to serve the families in our community. We want to help parents have significant spiritual influence in their kid's lives. We want to be a resource...PARTNER that parents an trust. If you are a parent out there please know there are churches out here trying to figure out how we can partner with you...YOU ARE NOT ALONE, we want to partner with you!

build a team

Never, never, never try to do ministry alone. Many times I see leaders (paid and volunteer) try to do way to many things in the name of IMPORTANCE. "These things have to be done." Many times I see leaders try to take on way to many responsibilities because they are the person in charge. When we choose to do ministry alone we cripple the future of the ministry we lead. The solo led ministry will die when the passion of the point leader runs thin or leaves. There is no hope for that ministry. Every healthy ministry will have a point leader and a team of leaders with specific responsibilities. Healthy ministry is done IN COMMUNITY by TEAMS of leaders! We were not made to be alone...to live in a silo...to carry responsibility alone. We were made to do the work of God together. I have had the pleasure of watching a a leader named Kent Hughes carry out team led ministry for the past three years here at GCC. Kent launched our preschool worship environment and it has been a huge success. Kent surrounded himself with an amazing team! Kent is a great leader because he has modeled the art of team ministry in several environments here in our church. The bottom line is that you can do more for the long haul TOGETHER. Who is on your team? Who are you empowering? What happens to your ministry if you leave? Build a team!

Easter (Saturday & Sunday) @ Grace Community...from my iPhone

Wow...I am blown away by how God worked this past weekend at Grace Community Church. Friday and Saturday were packed with planning, setup, practice and prayer. Sunday was overwhelming as we saw 3018 people some through the doors and hear the message of Jesus made clear in all our environments. After looking back on my iPhone I just wanted to share some of the memories from the day. Thanks to all our amazing volunteers for going all out to make the weekend possible. Thanks to all you who call GCC your spiritual family...you went for it and invited your friends! I met so many quests Sunday! GCC staff...thanks for dreaming big and risking it all for God's Glory and to reach this city for Christ. God, thanks for changing the game...giving us new life in Christ!

finding great WORSHIP LEADERS for kids!

Kid's (preschoolers and k-5 kids) need great worship leaders! Not people going through the motions but leaders who are passionate about engaging kids and leading them to express their hearts to God through song and dance. We have known this a long time with adults and teens but we settled for who we could get to work with our kids. Leading kids in worship is a talent, a gift, a work of art and finding people with the ability and passion is hard work. Getting up in front of kids can be intimidating, but we have to work hard to find, train, and resource worship leaders who will invest in this generation of kids. Finding great worship leaders for kids can be tough but IT CAN BE DONE. Here is where we have started when looking for great worship leaders for kids...

• Look to your adult worship leaders and vocalists // We ask worship leaders to serve with us once a month and lead in three services that week. We found some of our best worship leaders on our adult worship team. (beware, just because they can sing does not mean they will connect with kids) They had never seen leading kids in worship as a option for their gift...when we raised the bar they joined our team!
• Look to adults who have a passion for worship but might not have made the CUT for the adult or teen stage. // our talent standard/vocal standard for the adult stage is way high. There are some great worship leaders who may just not have that strong of a voice that would be amazing leading with tracks and in our kid environments!
• Look to your student/college ministry // seriously some of our best worship leaders have come out of our student and college ministry. Their passion to serve and connect with kids is amazing. If you see a dynamic student leader consider if they might be a good fit for your kid or preschool environment.
• Look to existing volunteers in your kid and preschool area! // we found some great worship leaders who were already volunteering and had a passion for leading worship.
  
• Look FORWARD to kids who have grown up in your environments and get those kids dreaming about leading NOW!!! // we are already looking forward to seeing teens lead who have come up through our kids ministry here at GCC. We believe some of our best worship leaders are coming in the next five years!
  

try something BIG...

We are four days away from Easter and the excitement here at the GCC offices is pretty thick. We decided in every ministry area to try some pretty big things this year. We are making room for guests by moving our adult gatherings into the gym at Rossview High School. We are preparing to take our kid's environments with preschool and k-5 to the next level with some programming changes. We are hoping to make immediate connections with people as we welcome them through our greeters and ushers, even in the parking lot. We are being forced to trust God. Sure we could go through the motions, keep things simple, do what we do each week, but that would lead us to a comfortable place. Our team is being stretched because we are trying some new things this week...and our prayer is that lives are changed. We can't change lives...God can change lives. I really believe that when we step out in faith and take some new risks we honor God by walking in faith and depending on Him. Just a reminder for all of us leading in the church to try something big. Live by faith...dream big dreams...ask God to do what is impossible.

Getting NAKED by Patrick Lencioni

I picked up Getting NAKED by Patrick Lencioni up last week and in just a few days had devoured the entire thing. Lencioni writes leadership books in story form and everybody loves a good story. The book reveals the power that is harnessed by an organization when they choose to GET NAKED...transparent...with the people they serve. In our organization we have been striving for authenticity since day one. We want to be genuine and vulnerable with the people we lead. Transparency is not a common trait for church leadership! We really want people to think the leaders have it all together...BE LIKE US...we have it all together...we have all the answers you need. As I read this book I was reminded why that approach usually falls short. People see through it. Sure this is a book about consulting but there is so much here to be gained for church and nonprofit leaders that will help as we share our vision with our team and the people who are a part of our church or organization. What keeps us from being real, vulnerable, authentic...

• We fear we will lose clients // church members, attenders, supporters in our case
• We fear we will be embarrassed.
• We fear feeling inferior.

Those fears hold us back from authenticity! This is an amazing read and I hope you will check it out. Thanks to Patrick Lencioni for allowing us to take a peak into how you strive to be authentic in your organization!