Orange ’11 Breakout: Aligning your Children’s and Student Departments

Jim Wideman led this session.

We are all 1 body (1 Corinthians 12:14-19) – every part is important and is needed.  There is no place for jealousy in the body.  Different parts is needed and God was intentional about creating different parts.

We are on the same team.  It is not children’s vs youth.  We are all part of the family ministry.  We should be working together to build and develop young people in partnership with the families.

Ephesians 4:11-12.  Whether you are youth or children’s ministry, you all serve under the Pastor.  We are to equip people for works of service so that the body of Christ may be built up.

Proverbs 22:6.  This scripture doesn’t stop with children’s ministry.  We have to help young people learn by doing.

Structure is an amazing study.

• Churches love doing what they’ve always done it.  We resist change so often.
• Changes can be good things and there are ton of different models to choose from
• Family ministers are now former children ministry directors who are a bit more organized.  If student ministry guys don’t like that, they should get more organized (his words not mine J)
• No matter what model you use, it goes back to teaching the Truth so that the young people can be doers of the word.

It’s time to practice family living

• Judgment starts with us.  Is there a problem in our hearts towards each other?  We have to love, forgive, value and work together.
• Support one another.  We should pray for each other and offer help to each other.  Take each others gifting and help each other so both programs win.  It takes work to get it right.  Ask for help.
• Rejoice with the accomplishments of each other.  You need to be an encourager.  Dare to be a friend to each other.
• Learn to share joyfully.  Sometimes that even means to share resources and workers.
• Dare to confront and be a peace maker.  Admit when there is a problem.  Sometimes you have to confess, sometimes you have to forgive.  You have to be willing to work out all differences.

Identifying the problems on both sides

• God wants us to be esteeming each other
• Student ministers can support children’s program by encouraging their students to help out with children’s program

Children’s ministry can operate as a Farm Team of Student ministries.  They are a feeder program, training program to pass up to student ministries.

Our enemy is not each other.  It is the devil.  We have to work together.

Some things we should work together on:

1. Start with the end in mind to build a plan. Planning always is before action.  What do we want a young adult in our church to be and do?  Once you identify them, then you, yourself, become that person.  Set an example.  Then come up with a plan what each ministry needs to be to accomplish that.  Then evaluate whether or not we are doing a good job at them.  If the plan is not working, change where need be.
2. Create in all groups a hunger for the word of God. There is a difference between biblical knowledge and a hunger for the word of God.
3. We must help all understand the importance of Spiritual service. We have to teach all ages to love and care for others.
4. Watch out for sibling rivalry. Make everyone look forward to being apart of both ministries.  Don’t compete for the attention of the senior pastor.  Work together.  Make everyone on your team look good.  Uplift each other and learn how to settle disagreements quickly.

Everyone wins when we work together.