Sunday, March 7, 2010

What I Wish They Told Me About Ministry In College - Part 1

Most of my friends and family know that my dream job after this dream job is to teach children's ministry on the college level. Ok, I'll just say it, I dream frequently of teaching children's ministry at my alma mater, ACU! Who knows, it could happen.

I've been in children's ministry just long enough that only a handful of people in the CofC has been at this alot longer than I have been already. Not that I know everything or even anything, but, I do have some ministry experience behind me at this point.

So, I often have those moments in ministry that a light bulbs goes off and I think ... should I ever have the opportunity ... here is something I'd tell college students and new ministers about ministry, because, I wish someone told me but they didn't.

Everytime I think of one of these "wish I'd known thats", I'll write it here and then, should I ever get the chance to share with those preparing for ministry, at least I'll remember what it is that I wanted to share!

Here's my first "wish I'd known thats" ... either you are a big picture person or a detail person but you are seldom both. Don't pretend, just figure it out and surround yourself with your opposite. Leading a children's ministry is a rather big job, lots of activities, lots of volunteers, and lots of leaders. It's not just about what fits on the calendar or what people might like or even what the church down the road finds successful, it's about spiritual growth of children. And that is when things get tricky. Because we all have our opinions on how a child will grow spiritually and what will contribute to that growth. Most ministers are vision casters, big picture people. Most volunteers are the details people. We need each other. But, we speak two different languages.

It's like pieces to a giant jigsaw puzzle. Some of us look at the box before we work on the puzzle, we find the right pieces, and lo and behold, the picture we always imagined appears. Others, grab the puzzle pieces and start to work and then marvel at the picture as it is realized for the first time. Both approaches are great! But, they are both different! I wish, in college, someone would have explained this to me. It would have saved years of frustration.

So, what to do with this information. Here's some ideas:
1) Big picture people, talk about the parts of your vision that is closest to being realized. Too much too soon and you'll seem like a dreamer and not a vision caster.
2) Detail people, try to think past the activity, the class, the month and the year. I don't know how you do it, but, paint a picture of the future in your mind. It is ok to dream.
3) Big picture people, seek out your detail people, fully communicate your vision and ask them how they can help acheive it. They are great at finding all the missing puzzle pieces and they will be excited about their work.
4) Detail people, try not to be frustrated at what seems to be disorganization. Realize the vision caster is likely doing exactly what they were asked to do, they need you to get it done.
5) Vision casters, here's the toughfy, never view your volunteers as short sighted because they can't see the future like you can. You need to do a better job as breaking it down for them.
6) Detail people, don't allow the details to be the walls that become excuses for continued growth. Have faith, step out and let God do the work.

Well, that's all from Shannon's book of ministry know-how ... more next time.