Ah, the ride of parenting. Fasten your seat belts, young parents in ministry. It has ups and downs, twists and turns. The Mister and I spent a good portion of a decade welcoming our four kids into the world while doing kids ministry. (An entire decade of music was a blur to me. I heard I didn’t miss much.) Like a coaster ride of screams of both terror and glee, I was seated in the first row. (I think I did take a brief nap sometime back in 1999 while the rest of the world was partying.) I learned that part-time ministry is never part-time. You don’t close shop at 5 p.m. to go home for the weekend. You live, breath and work this 24/7!

If you are on the current coaster ride of juggling ministry to families plus ministry to your own family, I first hereby send you a virtual high-five! And in sharing from the school of hard knocks (ouch), please prioritize home.

Remember that scene in the movie Hook? “Run home, Jack! Run home, Jack!” Err on the side of “being there” in the fight for your family and relationship. It’s so easily missed, but so noticed by your kids and spouse. The enemy would love to help you stay busy doing good things, and lose the best. Proverbs 4:23 says we are to guard our heart. You love your family with all your heart, right? Guard it. No one is above being in ministry and losing focus on what matters at home. It must be guarded. We get on the coaster ride and find it hard to get off. We burn out. Statistics prove it.

A big first step this year may be to give away ministry to others. Let them lead too! You are not an owner, but a steward of the ministry you lead. (Stop and reread that last sentence three times.) You are a conduit, not a superhero. Give leadership away so others can use their gifts too. Home is where you fill shoes no one else can fill. Prioritize your family as you plan your ministry goals.

Each year, the ministry team I served with would attend a children’s conference together. Our church invested in leadership by sending teams to conferences to gain insight. Upon return each year, we had to whittle down our white-van-road-trip conference experience to a few short minutes of sharing in staff meeting. I needed hours! (I’m pretty passionate about effective ministry.) There had been so many very practical helps for us to talk through. There were many ways to improve ministry to kids and families on a local level. We found out people in Washington were experiencing the same challenges others were facing in Florida and Kansas as they did local ministry. Things we struggled with, churches from other areas shared great solutions they had incorporated. We learned that we were not alone in ministry. That white van road trip had been our place to begin processing.

This crew traveling together brought expectation, snacks, and conversation all packed together inside that white church van. While on the road, we talked of what we wanted a conference to help with both coming and going. The white van was our conference room. It brought us together. (And what team doesn’t love a great state rest stop?!)

We laughed ’til our sides ached. We made friends with leaders from different kid ministry divisions in our own church. (Sometimes we are so busy DOING ministry, we forget about how amazing the people are whom we serve alongside!) We learned about how each of us came to Christ. All in a white van!

About six months after a conference when we were knee deep in ministry issues, I always wanted to pull the white van in front of the children’s ministry area and say, “Get in.” I would have liked to just drive and get reacquainted with these amazing people.

This April, you have a chance to jump in a van, or an airplane, with your team and attend a conference that will change your ministry. Orange Conference, April 24-26, 2013, in Atlanta, Ga., is a unique event because you can bring any member of your staff—from your senior pastor to your preschool volunteers—and together, you’ll discover how to clarify the essentials, eliminate distractions and focus.

I don’t know what color your van is, but I treasure those times we got away from ministry in our white van to work on DOING effective ministry. Get in!

If you register now through February 14, 2013, you’ll receive a $50 Orange credit and save $40! That means that you can register for only $279—a $40 savings off of the regular registration rate of $319!

Additionally, you will receive a $50 credit toward the purchase of First Look preschool curriculum, 252 Basics children’s curriculum, XP3 Students curriculum, XP3 College curriculum or YouLead for the first four registrations, up to $200. For complete details, please visit the Pricing page on www.TheOrangeConference.com.

With each of our four kids, we realized it was quite natural for them to be a bit hesitant at times when embracing something new. However, my husband and I knew that they would be helped if they took whatever “next, brave step” was in front of them. Steps like:

• Standing alone
• Two-wheelers
• Sports tryouts
• Drivers Ed
• College applications
• And oh, so many more brave steps

At the time, they all seemed like mountains before them. Now, I know they needed those brave next steps at each stage of their life. They stepped into new stages and opportunities.

Perhaps, at heart, we’re all a bit like that in areas—even in ministry. Those times when we can’t see ahead, we are not thrilled with that “brave step” idea. Why? Because it’s new. Because we’ve never done this before. Change? What if . . . ? Whatever stage you are in, there will always be a next brave faith step to take.

As a ministry leader, what brave steps do you feel tugging at you that will help you strategically reach kids and parents at your church? Perhaps it’s just a tweak, or perhaps a big leap to improved ministry. What if . . . ? We’ve never . . . .

Prayerfully consider what next step you can take. (I betcha you are already feeling the nudge as you read this.) It may be a simple step of sitting down as a team and wrestling with defining what a WIN is for a child at each stage in your care at church. Or, what’s a WIN for a parent at your church? Partnering with them is vital. They are the primary influence in their child’s life. Take a step. Handouts and crafts alone won’t cut the mustard. Events alone won’t do it. Take a brave step. Thinking through a strategy will make you start things. It will make you stop things. How will you leverage culture and influence to help create moments for an everyday faith for families?

Brave steps lead to new heights.

Misty began serving in kid’s ministry as a full-time volunteer. In a few short years she became part of the church staff team directing birth through elementary (500-plus kids on average, per weekend) for 25-plus years. She launched First Look, 252 Basics and a shared Family Experience. Her niche is vision-casting to leaders for bigger impact and inspiring volunteers. An Orange Specialist since 2009 and Orange Coach, Misty is a married mom of four awesome kids and Nana to three.

Orange often gets questions about programming multiple service times. Below, hear from Orange Specialist Misty Phillips about what worked for her church!

I recall heading into fall and planning for birth through grade 5 as a leader. Our team had multiple curricula going because of different service times. We were throwing Bible concepts everywhere, thinking we had a great plan because it fit the service time. After all, it was Scripture we were sharing. The service day/time was leading us, rather that the strategy leading the service times. Wow, there is a big difference. From my vantage point, it was exhausting to keep up with. It separated the team concept.

When we discovered Orange, and how we could customize it to blend and send the same key message at all service times, it was a beautiful thing. The tale no longer wagged the dog! We sent the same key message at all service times using the Word docs to edit and choose what we did where. No more mixed messages coming home! Kids and parents are now on the same page each month (age appropriate too) to reinforce themes. Hindsight is 20/20.

Take the plunge and align your ministry strategy for all service times. Use the DVDs (like Feature Presentation, Get Reel and Wonder! Look at God’s Story—simply awesome), break up the activities, add extra verses provided for these service times. The tools are there for a bigger impact. Use the Parent CUEs and sing the testimony praises with others as they come in. Part of casting vision is celebrating what’s happening with families. Being on a strategic same page enables you to do this in your age groups. Spread the love!