It’s Monday, so it’s time for our Monday Update here at Grace Community!

Sunday was simply next level as Kent Hughes went behind the music with Psalm 143 to help us understand that God wants us to be honest with Him in prayer. I know that can seem challenging, but honesty with God is the starting point for transformation. If you missed the talk make sure and check it out here. This is one message you don’t want to miss!

Summer kicks off next weekend and many of you will be traveling, but we wanted to remind you that you can always stay connected with what is going on at GCC through our online campus at www.gcomlive.com.  Every Sunday at 10:30AM and 7PM, we have a staff person plugged in with the online campus to help answer questions and connect with you. If you can’t make it at those times, you can watch the service on demand all week at www.gcomlive.com. You don’t have to miss church because of summer.  Stay connected!

We are so blessed to have Jason Roy on our staff here at GCC. As most of you know, Jason is also the lead singer with the band, Building 429. We are excited to announce that on Sunday June 2^nd, their new album “We Won’t Be Shaken” will be available for you to purchase at both campuses (2 days before it’s national release), you can get 2 CD’s for $10, so buy two & share it with your friends!  The guys from B429 will be leading worship that day at the Rossview Campus. June 2^nd will also be the day we kick off our summer series called React, so it will be a great day to invite friends to experience Grace for the first time.

This Sunday is the final week of the “Behind The Music” series, we’ll be diving into Psalm 66, so you can get a head start & read it this week. Look around at all those you encounter this week & process who you can reach out to & invite to experience Grace. There are people all around us who just need someone to invite them. Jesus can transform any life & we want to be a part of that!

Praying you have an amazing week!

Michael

Kids Ministry speakers are probably the most random and unique group ever. When people think of speakers in the church they usually think of veteran, wise, and very serious people. Of course we all know that’s not always the case and it’s incredibly inaccurate when describing Kids Ministry speakers.

Kids Ministry speakers are the most diverse group of people i’ve ever met. I have had sixth grade speakers, fifty something year old speakers, new believers, and veteran believers. Man, woman, or young adult Kids Ministry speakers are very diverse, but there is one thing they all need to have in common, a sense of being incredibly goofy.

Storytellers must be silly! In Kids Ministry Large Group you have to be comfortable acting incredibly goofy and silly. You have to be comfortable dressing up in a silly costume, talking in a weird voice, and having people laugh at what you’re doing.

Kids LOVE to see someone speaking to them the truth that comes from the Word and the heart, but the way to bring them to that truth is through dramatic means. It’s the same formula that adult services use in their messages.

Sometimes a speaker in adult services will begin by telling an incredibly serious and emotional story, sometimes they begin by calling out our hidden sins, but no matter which method they use these are means to bring attention to the truth of their message. Kids Ministry does the exact same thing except in a light and sillier way.

In Kids Ministry our goal is to bring kids to a relationship with Jesus and to stick with that relationship once they enter the next stage, but if we do not bring them in with exciting messages, that yes are sometimes silly, then we will lose them and most likely never get them back. It may seem a bit dramatic, but it’s the truth.

So bottom line: Storytellers need to get silly to get the truth heard.

Storytellers, GET SILLY! BE GOOFY! Don’t be afraid of the kids laughing, that’s the best sound ever. We’re not trying to be the cool guy in Kids Ministry, we’re trying to do whatever is possible to bring kids to Jesus, so be silly. Be a speaker that kids are excited to listen to.

What are your thoughts? What is the silliest thing you have ever done while speaking in Kids Ministry?

It’s an age old question if you create a worship experience for any age group. Are they engaging? Is worship happening in the worship experience that we have worked so hard to create. When you look around the room do do you sense people are going for it? It’s really hard to figure it out since worship is a matter of the heart and an offering to God not the worship leaders on stage.

When you are evaluating any environment stop trying to gauge “worship” and start looking for how people are engaging with the environment. Trying to guess what people are thinking or feeling is tricky and can be a trap for any worship leader or speaker. Here are a few things we try to remember as we evaluate the experience…

1. Just because they are not singing does not mean they are not engaging // Maybe it’s a new song. Maybe the crowd is full of people who don’t like to sing. When it comes to men, middle schoolers, and pre-teen boys singing can’t be the only measure for how the day went. You can’t see what is going on in the head or heart of someone in the crowd.
2. The experience is much bigger than the songs selected // Engagement is not just dependent on singing the right songs…the entire service is a movement. The welcome matters, announcements matter, the message matters, and yes the songs are a big deal. Every element of the service will either help or hurt the engagement factor.
3. If we want people to engage they deserve us to bring our best // Every week matters and gives us a chance to connect with people on a heart level. If we want people to engage in our services we better give them our best and strive for consistency!
4. Less distraction leads to more engagement // Work every week to eliminate anything in the service that is a distraction. We are all human so things will go wrong!  Excellence not perfection is the goal.
5. Laughter matters // Laughter allows people to let their guard down. Give people a chance to laugh and I promise they will engage on a different level. We always need to be careful to not take ourselves so serious.
6. Listen to feedback but put it in perspective // One complaint is not the feeling of the entire room. One compliment is not the experience of the entire room. Feedback and social media response to your gathering is important to listen to but make sure and keep it in perspective!

We can all talk about reasons we have for leaving the ministry/church we lead! Come on, be honest…you know there are things that drive you crazy about your position. Many times when we talk about finding the right environment to serve in we talk about moving to a new place and starting over.

There is another option that I want to throw out for you to think about. Here it is…STAY. Yes, stay right where you are at and work to courageously lead your organization from your leadership position toward health. What is the worst thing that could happen? You could get fired for trying to lead with passion. That is a great way to loose your job! So with that said, here some reasons to stay and serve right where God has you…

• Trust is earned  // When you prove to your organization you are in for the long haul people listen. The more trust you have from those you lead the more risks you get to take in leading strong.
• Relationships matter // We are in the relationship business. Developing significant relationships in your community and your church takes time. When you stay you get to continue to invest in those relationships.
• The grass is not greener // If you cannot lead with contentment where you are stop looking for the next position right now. The next position you have will not be the perfect position, it will be a job with many of the same challenges you face just in a different context. Find contentment and passion serving where you are at before you move to that next role.
• Responsibility // Have you accomplished what you said you needed to accomplish in your current role? Why not stay and finish? Do what you said you were going to do, and yep if you get fired you get fired finishing strong!
• Family // A stable home life for your kids and your wife is a big deal. Jesus never called us to climb a ministry ladder, he called us to follow him. Maybe it’s not Jesus calling you to that next church but rather the title, raise, or bigger ministry budget. If your wife and kids are not in sync with a move maybe you should stay.
• The voice of God // Has God given you direction to invest your life in your current city or church? If he has and trust God and stay. You serve God. Obey God.

I have had each of these STAY factors play out in my time of serving churches. I have had times when I had to just obey God, earn trust, value relationships, and STAY. Some of my greatest mentors in ministry have been people who have made the choice to stay and serve for the long haul. Thanks to all of you who are setting that example. It matters!

There will come a time when you know it’s time to leave but before you do why not slow down and process all the reasons you have the STAY!

It is the middle of May and you know what that means…summer stress! Yep. My semester is over, but the stress is just beginning haha. The summer in ministry is awesome, but the summer never looks like it does during the rest of the year.

Certain areas and ministries shut down, while new and exciting areas open.

Camps are being planned.

Mission retreats are being organized.

And vacations are just weeks from going down.

The summer brings all new kinds of visitors and shifts your regular congregations attendants, because of all the summer craziness.

I’m learning a lot this month. I have been planning for our brand new Preteen Camp for June. I am incredibly excited, but I do feel the stress.

I am by no means an expert at camp planning, but so far here is what i’ve learned.

Plan EARLY

I am one of those people that HAVE to have certain things planned out WAY in advanced. I had a rough draft of our camp schedule, our messages, and our theme made out in February haha. Now that is pretty early and a little excessive, but you do need to plan much earlier than you’d think for camp. You need time to troubleshoot, fix things that won’t work, add things that could be next level, and have plenty of time to allow people to sign up. Which leads me to the next thing…

Have Plenty of Time for Registration

This is HUGE! You have to give your parents plenty of time to register their kids for camp. I’m talking a month, at least, in advance. The more time you give parents the more you can fill up your camp.

Recruit Early and More

Camp is always more stressful than you imagine it will be. That doesn’t make it less fun just more stressful. Make sure you recruit your volunteers early and that you recruit a bit more than you think you’ll need. Put at least two leaders to each group of six or more. Have key roles mapped out for home run volunteers to run administrative positions, large group overseers, small group coaches, rec leaders, etc. That will free you up to work on specific areas and to help where needed without being pulled in forty different directions.

Make Camp Next Level

Trust me, the majority of your students could go to any other camp, so make your camp worth going to. Add several things to make your camp better and more special than the typical camp. Add blow up platform lake toys (such as a slide or a blob), make rec activities something they can’t normally do at home, make large group bigger than your normal Sunday large group, and most importantly have leaders that are ready to invest and make relationships with the students.

Camps are stressful, but if you plan early, register early, recruit early, and fight for a next level camp you will have an awesome summer experience.

What are some things you have learned from planning summer camps?

It is the middle of May and you know what that means…summer stress! Yep. My semester is over, but the stress is just beginning haha. The summer in ministry is awesome, but the summer never looks like it does during the rest of the year.

Certain areas and ministries shut down, while new and exciting areas open.

Camps are being planned.

Mission retreats are being organized.

And vacations are just weeks from going down.

The summer brings all new kinds of visitors and shifts your regular congregations attendants, because of all the summer craziness.

I’m learning a lot this month. I have been planning for our brand new Preteen Camp for June. I am incredibly excited, but I do feel the stress.

I am by no means an expert at camp planning, but so far here is what i’ve learned.

Plan EARLY

I am one of those people that HAVE to have certain things planned out WAY in advanced. I had a rough draft of our camp schedule, our messages, and our theme made out in February haha. Now that is pretty early and a little excessive, but you do need to plan much earlier than you’d think for camp. You need time to troubleshoot, fix things that won’t work, add things that could be next level, and have plenty of time to allow people to sign up. Which leads me to the next thing…

Have Plenty of Time for Registration

This is HUGE! You have to give your parents plenty of time to register their kids for camp. I’m talking a month, at least, in advance. The more time you give parents the more you can fill up your camp.

Recruit Early and More

Camp is always more stressful than you imagine it will be. That doesn’t make it less fun just more stressful. Make sure you recruit your volunteers early and that you recruit a bit more than you think you’ll need. Put at least two leaders to each group of six or more. Have key roles mapped out for home run volunteers to run administrative positions, large group overseers, small group coaches, rec leaders, etc. That will free you up to work on specific areas and to help where needed without being pulled in forty different directions.

Make Camp Next Level

Trust me, the majority of your students could go to any other camp, so make your camp worth going to. Add several things to make your camp better and more special than the typical camp. Add blow up platform lake toys (such as a slide or a blob), make rec activities something they can’t normally do at home, make large group bigger than your normal Sunday large group, and most importantly have leaders that are ready to invest and make relationships with the students.

Camps are stressful, but if you plan early, register early, recruit early, and fight for a next level camp you will have an awesome summer experience.

What are some things you have learned from planning summer camps?

Helping volunteers know our goal is crucial. Our teams need the “win” defined consistently if they are going to be effective. One of the questions we keep asking, one goal we have for our team here is this…

What have I done to help someone have a better experience at church this week?

We have one hour a week with many people. We have one chance to connect with visiting families. We have one shot to help share the love of Christ with many kids and teens. We have to continually ask ourselves what we are doing to make that one shot better. When you evaluate Sunday (or your ministry experience for any age group) in the light of this question everything becomes significant…

• the moment I help that new student find some friends is a significant moment
• when we prepare well and deliver the large group talk with excellence…that matters
• when we greet people and connect with parents after the service…that matters
• when I help a new family find their kid’s small group…that matters
• when check-in goes well, that matters
• when I introduce a teen to their new small group leader, the connection matters
• every time we help someone connect with a ministry outside our “area” is huge
• when we help answer a guests question about the church, yep it is a big moment
• connecting with that person I don’t know and hearing their story…that time is awesome

Every person on our staff and every volunteer can look for an opportunity to help someone else have a great Sunday. When we serve someone else that’s a win! When we take time out of what is expected of us to go the extra mile that’s a win. When we step up when no one is asking, that’s a win! What can you do to help someone have a better experience in your environment? Think about what you can do this week!

I wrote yesterday about how God calls us to serve, especially when we feel inadequate. This is something i’m incredibly passionate about, so i’ve dedicated another post to the subject. This is such a big deal to me because so many people that claim to be a part of the church today are just attending the church and making no effort to move the church.

The church is not a building, the church is the body of Christ in movement. If we are not moving the church then are we really a part of the church?

We move the church by serving Christ and by telling about Him to all. One of the best ways to become a part of the church, by moving the church, is to serve on Sunday’s. Every single person that attends their church can tell a story about how their church felt different the first time they started going. The things I hear most when I ask people why they chose Grace is:

“It just didn’t feel like any other church I had been to…”

“For the first time I felt like I was a part of something…”

“I felt like I was part of a family…”

That is beautiful. Seriously. And the people felt this way because people legitimately cared to serve on Sunday’s. When these visitors entered and the volunteers welcomed them with a smile, eagerly checked their children into an exciting kids ministry, and gave them opportunities to learn more about this church’s cornerstone movement, it made an impact on that visitor that shifted them from visitor to regular.

But the truth is most churches are being run off of about 30-40% of the congregation. 30-40%. 30-40% of the people that claim to be a part of the Christ movement are just showing up on Sunday’s and then just leave after. That stinks. That really stinks.

Some have good reasons for not being able to serve on Sunday’s, but most would admit that they simply feel inadequate. They feel too new to Christianity or just don’t feel as if they know enough, but as I addressed yesterday God calls for the inadequate. His disciples were incredibly inadequate, but He knew their potential. He knows ours too.

The biggest thing here is that if we are not serving then we are ignoring a major faith discipline. A major call from God that stretches our faith and confidence in God. Serving is a tool God uses to help others, but also us in HUGE ways.

Here are just a few:

Serving Stretches us

Serving helps us to enter into environments we probably never would have entered before. When we start serving in these environments we meet new followers, are introduced to their stories, are moved, are impacted, and build new relationships. Serving stretches us.

Serving Helps us Grow in Dependence

Pride is every man, woman, and child’s big flaw. We all have pride to some degree and if we do not regularly address it and tear it down then we will just feed it and let it tear us apart. Pride has destroyed the strongest of followers and it will do the same to us if we don’t keep it in check. Serving puts us somewhere where we have to learn. Where we don’t know it all. It forces us to break pride and depend on God for strength.

Serving Helps us Learn

That’s pretty simple. Serving forces us to learn things from the bible we may not have known before. It helps us to learn more about teaching, leading, and following.

Serving Helps others Learn

Again, pretty simple. You can bring in your input and ideas when you serve and those ideas help others think and process something they might have never thought of before.

Serving Moves us to Confidence in God

In the end, the biggest thing we will get from serving is more confidence in God. You will see His church move and His people grow into the followers He intended them to be. Serving in the church is one of the most apparent opportunities to watch God move and change lives. You will grow in faith and confidence in Christ when you serve.

Bottom Line: Serving isn’t just about others, it’s about our spiritual growth and following the call.

So, where do you serve? Where is somewhere you have always wanted to serve in the church, but felt inadequate? I’d love to hear from you. Comment below and let me know.

What does it look like for student and children’s ministry leaders to partner with mom and dad? We are always trying to find ways to make this happen but the best starting place for this discussion is asking what parents need from us? Until our ministries meet our parents where they are at then they will never take steps toward a weekly partnership. Every parent your ministry encounters is unique. With every parent you have to build trust before there is a partnership. In order to build that trust here are a few basic things your parents need…

• Return calls and emails >> seriously, just email them back and call them back when you miss their call. Make sure parents know they are important by being responsive.
• Get organized or find people for your team who can make you look organized >> I am not very organized but I have had to surround myself with people who are! Being organized communicates professionalism.
• Create sticky environments for kids and teens >> When teens and kids want to go back and ask to go back to your environment parents smile.
• Communicate, communicate, and then communicate some more >> use facebook, emails, flyers, or old fashioned smoke signals to communicate. Information is a big deal to parents.
• Keep an open door with your environments >> when parents want to check out your environment make it possible.
• Protect kids and teens >> think like a parent. Use background checks, stop pranks and hazing, have safe transportation. Parents want their children to be protected and you can help with that goal and still have an amazing ministry!
• Deliver on your promises >> be home when you say you will be home from a retreat or event. That is just one issue but you get what I am saying!
• Listen >> when parents give you feedback listen and say thanks. You may not agree with their feedback but listening is huge factor when building trust.

I think if we start with the basics we can build trust. Trust leads to partnership! What changes do you need to make in order to start building that bridge?