Here are some notes captured by Keith Tusing during the last tour. This week on Wednesday the 10th, Orange Tour touches down near the home offices in Atlanta. These notes can help us all get excited over what leaders will hear!

What’s the difference between a Small Group Leader and a Teacher of a Small Group of kids?
Success is defined differently.
Success for the SG Leader is building relationships with the kids– for the Teacher it is teaching information.

Organic Family Ministry on Campus after Sunday Service – CCV has done a phenomenal job of creating an atmosphere that encourages families to hand around after church on Sunday. Open field with grass and balls provide a place for kids to play. Outdoor BBQ area with tables and food available create a place for families to hang out for hours.

Baby Dedication is a great tool – everybody in the culture is speaking into the lives of the expecting parents. It has:
*Podcasts designed for expectant parents.
*Invite them into the Children’s Ministry for a tour
*Explanation the 3 main things
*Host a Lunch that includes a family writing card for the dreams for the babies life –
It’s a Celebration!

Start with small groups of families around the table and explain the strategy.

How we word things is critical – Parent Training – nobody wants to admit there is a problem so why would they commit to attend training?

How long before volunteers have “buy-in” to the small group model – 4 years!

Engage kids in open ended conversations. Avoid the simple yes and no questions.

Playing the Beach Ball Question game and M&M game was a great way to get people thinking outside the Sunday School box.

Let Volunteers know they MATTER!

God sees every one of those things done for kids on Sunday!
Vision – Information – Prayer! Do it every Sunday morning!

As Children’s Ministry Leaders we get to be part of who the loving Heavenly Father is to our kids when they are the most impressionable. Cast this Vision to potential volunteers and let them know they are making an eternal difference.

Some of our Orange staff are already in Phoenix, Arizona getting ready for tomorrow’s Orange Tour. Here are some notes about families by Sue Miller, reported by non-blogging friend Ron Hughey.

You’re the greatest thing that ever happened to me, Dad…..or not.

Ten new ways to raise your child – leads to “wow there’s ten new ways I am failing.

State of the Church and Family Report
• Barna Group
• Download at www.stateofthechurchandfamily.org
• Coupon code ot2011
• 50% of parents said that having children did not affect their connection to a church. Unchurched parents were less likely to report being affected (60%) but even churched parents (41%) said that children did not change their level of church engagement.
o Most just looking for “healthy and happy”
o Parents are not always clear how churches can help them as parents. Most common responses included advice and guidance ( 21%) and moral and emotional support (12%) few parents said that a church could help them receive biblical teaching or scriptural knowledge (5%)
o A lot of people show up but just aren’t engaged
o If everyone who came to your church in the last two years showed up this Sunday you would probably need two to three times more space
o People always over exaggerate their church attendance
o Why do so many people in our churches think that sporadic attendance is adequate? (conjecture in groups)
o Our guesses…
• They don’t know the purpose of regular attendance
• Its just on the to do list

***What clearer steps could you take to help parents become engaged with your ministry?

Slightly less than half of parents (45%) who have recently attended church said the leaders of the church have made the churches expectations of parents “very” clear.

It will take a strategy to reach parents

We want to create the kind of church unchurched people love to attend.
We are here to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.
(Northpointe mission)

Reduced their entire family ministry strategy to the five values.

Try to reduce your entire family ministry strategy to a single sentence or a short paragraph.

What message are you sending parents?

You don’t want to go to everything your church does, you don’t even believe in everything your church does. You wouldn’t even be there if you weren’t on staff.

Sure people will leave but theres another church that will take them. They don’t have to go to heaven on your bus.

I love listening to volunteers share their Sunday morning stories. I never grow tired of hearing about the “life changing moments” that happen in the lives of the children they serve. Seeing volunteers get recharged in the wake of those moments gives me such fulfillment as a leader!

But, have you ever noticed that not ALL volunteers get to experience moments like that? Some struggle relationally as they try to engage with their children. Others are more concerned with the information they deliver than the trust that they build with each child. Often volunteers talk so much during group time that their kids can hardly get a word in edgewise. Say goodbye to process and interaction for the kids in those groups. How do we change that?

I believe we can give our volunteers the skills they need to facilitate great conversations with the kids they serve. That’s what I want to talk about in this breakout at Orange. I want us to think about the words that volunteers can say that communicate value, acceptance and trust to every child. These skills are so important as volunteers seek to build bridges with the parents of the children in their group. These skills are also essential when trying to help guide children in their spiritual journey!

I have met and talked with several orange leaders who are brainstorming new ways of doing ministry these days. Their budgets have been reduced dramatically and they have been forced to save on supplies for every program under their leadership.

One idea I heard about came from Amy Fenton, the children’s ministry director at The People’s Church in Franklin, Tennessee. She knew that the curriculum lesson called for parachutes to be used by the children in one activity for Sunday. Instead of purchasing those parachutes, she instead emailed her volunteers and asked them to bring sheets to use in place of the parachutes. The volunteers responded joyfully, happy to help the church save money.

I am guessing that many of you have had to be creative financially in new ways as well. Can you share some of your ideas so we can all benefit?

Have you ever been so busy working for God that you don’t have time to spend with God? Its so easy for us as leaders to neglect to do the things that fill us up spiritually as we do ministry week in and week out. For many of us, we put ourselves and our own faith last on our list. Then we wonder why we start to feel empty inside and numb to what God is doing through us.

I absolutely must spend some time each day listening to worship music in order to replenish my soul as a leader. Messages are necessary, but they don’t refill me like worship does. What do you do to keep yourself filled up spiritually?

Fall has been a whirlwind season so far, packed with people, events, and strategy tweaks. After weeks of running really fast, I decided to take a day by myself to evaluate how I was really doing in my own spiritual journey. I wanted to pay attention to what God was doing in me, not just through me.

I started by thinking back over my spiritual disciplines, reflecting on the time I had spent reading God’s word over the past couple of months. I reviewed how often I spent time praying. Was I doing the kinds of things that fill me up personally? Did I have the right level of accountability in my life in the areas where I needed the most work? It was easy to see where the gaps were in my spiritual life. So, I dragged out my calendar and started blocking out the time I needed each week to make course corrections.

My goal is to live each day with the end in mind. I left that day feeling centered and content in the deepest part of my soul, so glad that I had made this a priority.

How about you? How are you doing these days? Is it time to get quiet and let God do some work inside you too?

I talk often with newly-hired children’s and preschool leaders about all the curriculum boxes found stacked in their closets their first week on the job. It is obvious that every time a new leader had been hired in the past, a new curriculum had been purchased and implemented. We started imagining all of the change their volunteers had weathered over the years. No wonder volunteers had jumped out of the boat when the previous leader left! They had been recruited to a curriculum, a program, or a leader’s personality. When that changed, the volunteers decided to make a change as well.

This speaks volumes about the need for each of us as leaders to decide on a timeless mission and a relevant strategy to accomplish that mission with our volunteer teams. Recruit them to something significant. Give them a life-changing cause that is worthy of their time, gifts, and effort. Vision-cast that mission regularly to your volunteers so everyone is on board with that which never changes.

Spend some time this week talking with your team about whether they understand they are not serving a curriculum or a leader. See if they are clear on the mission you are trying to accomplish in the hearts of children and parents.

Did you know that many preschool ministries still consider themselves to be babysitting children each week? Doesn’t that just blow your mind? Senior leadership in many places has not yet discovered the incredible potential that exists in shaping a child’s character in the early years of life.

If you find yourself in that situation at your church, I would like to challenge you to help senior leaders know the potential impact that could be made in preschool children. Do a bit of internet research about how much preschoolers learn in their first four years, and create a proposal for your decision makers showing them what could be gained with some intentional budgeting in that area.

Talk to some key parents about how much time and energy they put into helping their children learn through toys, play groups, and classes. Tally the amount of money parents invest at home developing their children before they go to school. I would encourage you to lead up in a strategic, gracious way to help create opportunities for every young preschooler to begin putting spiritual foundations in place. It’s mission critical!

Other leaders, can you share your ideas on how a preschool leader could convince senior leadership to invest in their youngest attenders?

One of the interesting things I’ve discovered as I have been training groups of parents is their need for affirmation and praise. I have been surprised by how many of them feel like they are failing most of the time when parenting their children.

Think about it: Where do parents hear that they are doing a good job? The school system? No, parents tell me all they get there are lists of things they “should” do next year. Talk shows? Nope, they mainly highlight the problems parents are facing with their children. Books they read? When is the last time you read a book that told you you were doing a good job as a parent?

I think we as leaders have a unique opportunity to shower our parents with encouragement for what they are doing right with their kids each day. It is a felt need in the heart of every parent to hear that they are doing a good job. Why not position our trainings as opportunities for all parents to go from “good” to “great”?

Do you find this to be true in your interaction with parents?

I spent some time recently with a group of leaders talking about children’s ministry. They were sharing with me their disappointment over their apparent lack of influence in a child’s life each Sunday. With the stats showing that parents have the greatest influence in a child’s life, it’s easy to feel like Sundays aren’t worth our best efforts anymore.

It helps me to remember there are some things children’s ministry can do better than parents at home. We give children a chance to experience corporate worship and teaching in an environment with their peers. We provide a small group leader who loves them and listens to them differently than a parent does. We create an environment where our kids can invite their lost friends.

That’s what I love about Orange thinking. It’s not an either/or kind of mentality. It’s both/and.

We need parents to do what they do best at home. And we need to keep the bar high as we commit to using every minute we have on Sunday to do what only a children’s ministry can do.

What else do we offer in children’s ministry that can’t be found anywhere else? We want to hear your thoughts!