Articles for tag: Volunteer Leadership

May 27, 2020

Christian Standard

COVID-19 Causing Children’s Minister to ‘Rethink Everything’

By Chris Moon In her 20 years in children’s ministry at Fairview Christian Church in Carthage, Mo., Angie Fewin has never seen anything like COVID-19 and the effects it has had on the local church. “We’ve had to rethink everything,” she said. Just as senior pastors and church elders across the country have been working out how to reestablish in-person worship services as government stay-at-home orders are lifting, so children’s ministers are trying to figure out how to return their ministries to some semblance of normal—or at least to a new normal. And there’s no time to lose. Summer—the highlight

November 2, 2019

Christian Standard

Children’s Ministry Best Practices (Small Church): Versailles (Ind.) Church of Christ

‘A Love for Watching Young People Grow in Christ’ By Melissa Wuske JR and Debra Stephen have been volunteer leaders in the children’s ministry at Versailles (Indiana) Church of Christ since the mid-1980s. It’s a small congregation with “more older people than younger” right now, JR said. About 20 children regularly attend, and he described the church as “a close-knit family.” As a children’s leader, that closeness is an asset: “Everybody pretty much knows everybody, and you get to know the parents well.” The couple have been through many seasons of ministry with the church: Families have moved into town

January 1, 2016

Christian Standard

Counting the Cost of a Growing Church

By Eddie Lowen Before you decide you want your church to grow, let me tell you the price you will pay. After taking the staff and elders of a former church to a leadership simulcast in the late 1990s, I learned that I still had a lot to learn. For several years, Rick Warren”s book The Purpose Driven Church had been making a huge impact on churches applying its principles. The simulcast was a way for our leaders to catch this kind of vision. Our church was already growing in size and health, but I knew there was another level

September 20, 2014

Christian Standard

Advice for Volunteers and Those Who Recruit Them

By Susan Lawrence Change affects people differently. Some people thrive and others struggle. Change excites some and paralyzes others. But ministry and service are not about us or our comfort level. If we”re volunteering to serve and honor God, we need to yield to him. When we yield, we grow. When we grow, we change, and that change includes our service.  But when should we change, and how can we change in healthy ways? What questions do we need to ask?   WHY ARE YOU SERVING? Ask yourself . . . “¢ What is the purpose of the ministry I”m

May 26, 2014

Christian Standard

The NFL Draft and Staff Leadership Development

By Mike Faherty One thing I admire about the National Football League is its draft process. The NFL always has a fresh crop of talent flowing into its league. Older players move on and new ones take over. I think the church could learn something from this talent development process. Not too long ago, we had some trouble in church. I couldn”t put my finger on the problem, but things were getting sloppy. Solid departments and initiatives were slowly going downhill, and quality standards were heading in the wrong direction. As the executive pastor, it is my job to make

September 1, 2012

Christian Standard

Both Approaches Can Be Successful

By Jennifer Johnson I like Matthew Barnett“s philosophy of serving: “Find a need and fill it.” For Barnett, founder of The Dream Center in Los Angeles, the motto has worked well. Since its launch in 1994, the center has served millions of poor, addicted, homeless, and broken people. Thousands of volunteers lead ministries ranging from residential rehab to “Adopt-A-Block” teams in 35 locations across the city. I also like their story: Pastor Matthew”s outreach to the gangs surrounding the church”s iconic building, the organic growth of ministries developed by members, and its identity as “the church that never sleeps.” But

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