• David Rausch

Does your KidMin need to lose weight this new year?

Welcome to 2018! Once again, it's a new year and if you're resolved to make some life changes, you're not alone. According to YouGov, an online polling firm, 68% of people said they're making a New Year's resolution. Can you guess what the #1 resolution is? Yeah...I'll bet you can! It's probably no surprise to you that along with health and fitness, losing weight is the top resolution among people polled. For the past 2 months, a lot of people have been stuffing their face full of turkey and eggnog, and now they're realizing that they've gained a little bit of unwanted weight. Here's something to consider, though. Maybe it's not just our bodies that have put on a few extra pounds. Is it possible that your KidMin has gained some unwanted weight, too? Yup! Let's be honest, some of us have bloated, overweight ministries that could stand to lose a few pounds.

As we head into the new year, a lot of KidMin leaders are thinking about the things they want to add, but sometimes the best leadership move is to first cut the things that weigh us down and hinder us from achieving the mission that God has called us to. Repeat after me: "More is not always better." So with that said, here are 3 questions that could help your KidMin shed a few pounds this new year: Are there some events or programs that you need to stop doing? Sometimes KidMin leaders keep doing events or programs for one reason: that's what was done in the past. That's a bad reason! Those events and programs might have served your mission 5 years ago, but that doesn't mean they still do. For every event of program that you do in your KidMin, you should ask a series of questions. Is this event helping you achieve your mission? Are you seeing significant life change through this event? Is this event helping bring new families into the church? Maybe that old event needs to be replaced with something new and better. Or maybe it needs to go away and be replaced with (get this) NOTHING! You might have so many programs and events that you're taxing your leadership and volunteer team. Or maybe you're not able to achieve the quality that you want. Or maybe there's so much activity that it becomes background noise to your families. If that's the case, it's time to lose some weight. Do you have some volunteers that need to stop serving? That's a scary question to ask yourself. You work so hard to find volunteers that the thought of purposefully getting rid of some makes you sick to your stomach. But having the wrong people in the wrong place can be toxic to your ministry. Do you have any volunteers that you fear are unsafe around kids? Are they a negative influence? Are they phoning it in? Are they serving merely out of obligation? If it's a safety issue, there's no question about it, it's time to lose weight! For the others, an honest conversation might fix the problem. Or maybe there's a better serving fit for them within your ministry. If not, though, it's probably best for the ministry and the volunteer that you help them move on. Do you need to declutter your space? I've seen some of your storage closets. They're scary. Here's a rule of thumb: if there's something in your closet that you haven't used in 2-3 years, get rid of it. You're probably just holding on to it for a "what if" that will never come. Do the same for your KidMin rooms. The physical appearance of your rooms says a lot about your ministry. If your rooms are disorganized and cluttered, guess what? People will think the same about your KidMin as a whole.

And lastly, kids don't want more school. So if you have things in your room that make it feel too much like school such as desks, tables, chairs, bulletin boards, or worksheets, it might be time to lose some weight.

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© 2018 by David Rausch.