Kids

Starting From Scratch - Part 3

If we were starting from scratch we would focus on three primary areas: leaders, the environment, and creating simple systems. You can read more about leaders and environments in part 1 and part 2.

Today, let’s talk systems! Some of you love them. Some of you hate them. You (we) all need them. Systems allow you to deliver a predictable and high quality service every time. They are necessary!

As time goes on you are going to need more systems, but for now, let’s keep it simple.

The Basics:

Check In. How will you check kids into your space and capture their information?

Morning Schedule. What can your leaders and kids expect the day to look like? How will you ensure that you have enough time to accomplish all that you want to accomplish?

Communication. How will volunteers get their materials? How will parents know if there is an event? How will you get information out to your audience?

Emergency. What happens if you have to evacuate the building? What if a child is lost? What if there’s blood?!

Pick-up and Security. How will you ensure that only the right person picks up the right child? Will parents have to wait in a long line? What if they lose their security tag?

When thinking about systems you need to work hard to keep it simple. Your volunteers are not staying up late each night memorizing all of the steps! So the systems need to be intuitive. They need to make sense!

A great way to create systems is to think through and define the end result. Then, start at the beginning points for the people involved and take the logical next step. Once you have that all written down, then go back over your steps and simplify!

If you are not a systematic person, get someone in the mix who is! Problem-solving people are also great when discussing systems.

What systems did you think were important when starting from scratch?

Starting From Scratch - Part 2

A few of us have been involved in the process of starting a ministry from scratch, but we work with an incredible team of strategic partners who are doing it! Right now. Everyday! When you are starting from scratch there are a few things you really need to focus on. First of all, you’ve got to [...] Continue reading...

Starting From Scratch

This week we have been brainstorming the content for a new website for our Strategic Partners. We want to offer helpful content. We don’t want to waste time giving them stuff that they don’t need. During these meetings, we really tried to put ourselves in their shoes. You know those “I don’t have a building”, “money [...] Continue reading...

What happened to music in KidStuf Live?

One of the biggest changes we made to KidStuf Live this season was to drop the singing element from the show and people have been asking us why, so we thought we’d blog to explain. First a few caveats. This was a slow evolution over a couple of seasons and it didn’t happen lightly. We, by [...] Continue reading...

What Do You Do When the Pressure Is On?

This past month has been a doozie! We’ve been recruiting new volunteers like crazy, leading orientations, training, screening, apprenticing…you know what I’m talking about. There have been several end of the school year events like BabyD and Family Birthday Celebration. And, we have been getting ready for summer programming changes. For us, this means a new [...] Continue reading...

Summer Staff Retreat

Every summer we get away from the normal routine of the office and spend time looking farther ahead, dreaming for the future, planning, and having fun together. When we are in the office, it is easy for us to be caught up in the “Sunday’s coming” mentality. We know that we need to step [...] Continue reading...

Children’s Ministry Organizational Charts

I know that you can hardly wait to talk about organizational charts! So exciting! Below you will find our Children’s Ministry Organizational Chart and our Staff to Volunteer Organizational Charts. Here is some additional information that will give you context: * This reflects the children’s ministry staff for all three campuses. * As of spring 2010, each campus has [...] Continue reading...

Waumba Land: The Logistics!

Have you ever struggled with the tension of how to create a fun environment for preschoolers while keeping systems in place that ensure their safety and then manage the millions of details that go into Sunday morning? OR, have you ever been totally bogged down in the details of preparation that you lose sight of [...] Continue reading...

Key Components of UpStreet Large Group

Every Sunday it is our job to create an environment where our kids can hear truth and worship God. For us, this happens in large group. 2nd and 3rd Grade Large Group at North Point Mandee Young, the UpStreet Director at our North Point Campus shared the following information last week at Drive 2010. She is one of [...] Continue reading...

Sunday Debrief

As a multi-campus director I get to attend our three campuses and help out in a number of different children’s environments. This past Sunday I was at our Browns Bridge Campus. The sun chandelier at the main entrance Happy flowers down the hallway As I was hanging out in the hallway of Waumba Land with Tracy Stonecheck (Waumba [...] Continue reading...