Kids

In the moment, have you ever thought: “Uh-oh. Didn’t plan for this?”

In large group on UpStreet, kids are our target audience. You never know what’s going to happen. From shoes flying the host’s direction, kids not wanting to quiet down for a Bible story, or lights suddenly turning off during worship.   Kids almost always keep us guessing.

As you read in our last post, this past Sunday, we had our bi-annual event: KidVenture. The event happened during our normal service times, and the purpose of the event was to strengthen friendships between small group leaders and the kids in their group. We know and believe that a greater friendship between a child and a small group leader equates to a greater opportunity for the leader to speak into a child’s life about who God is and that they can trust him no matter what.

The KidVenture theme was: UpStreet:  “Backwards, Upside-Down, & all Mixed-Up.” UpStreet was absolute fun and large group was no exception. As an UpStreet team, we had decided it would be fun to travel our kids to different large group rooms to “mix” things up.  As large group was about to start, our hosts were in place ready to start once the kids arrived. But, we were in a slight predicament: with the blessing of hundreds of additional kids on UpStreet that Sunday, traveling to different rooms took almost 15 minutes for some grades. Our hosts and producers knew they had about 25 minutes of large group time. With kids continuing to travel into rooms, some of our hosts had to improvise in the moment. I was watching this knowing I had to lean on my volunteer team to pull this off – and they did!

Here are some things we try to do to prepare us for these kinds of  “uh-oh” moments:

1.    Plan as a team: When we plan as a team, one person doesn’t bear the weight of an idea that doesn’t go over well.

We plan as a team, and we learn as a team.

2.    Put volunteers in roles that naturally fit their skill sets and personalities:

a.    Host – Outgoing and loves to be in front of people.

b.    Producer – Leader, detailed, and a people-person.

c.    Tech – Analytical, computer savvy, and a behind-the-scenes person.

3.    Be prepared and organized: This means props are in place, scripts are printed, communicate with teams during

the week, and technology is tested ahead of time.

4.    Create a culture where feedback is normal: Staff and volunteers, both, are always learning. Volunteers have

the freedom to share constructive ideas of what worked and what didn’t, and the volunteers are also open to being coached on growing in their role. When we listen to volunteers, they see that they have a real voice in what goes on in our ministry.

5.    Consistently remind volunteers of the big picture. We all need to be reminded of the big, eternal purpose

behind what we do with children. Without purpose, a volunteer just goes through the motions.

Once you’re in the “uh-oh” moments, knowing you have committed volunteers who are buying into the purpose behind what they’re doing, no matter how chaotic, you can relax and know that everything will work out.

How do you respond when things don’t go as planned?

Post written by:  Anna Rau - UpStreet Production Director - North Point Campus