Here is his bio from his website:

I have been the children’s pastor at Mt. Zion Ministries Church in Utica NY for the pas 11 years. I am very passionate about helping others reach kids for Christ. I truly believe that family ministry is the most important ministry in the church. I also enjoy anything media related my web site for my wedding video business is www.samueljonathanfilms.com When I am not working with kids I enjoy spending time with my family, reading and long walks on the beach.

He wrote a great and sobering post of the power of the Cross, a great reminder for us this Easter and something to think about as we engage in meaningful conversations with other’s this week.

Let me tell you , dismantling the Bible Bucks system is a little daunting. There aren’t people out there who “hate” it and are glad to see it go. The only people who’ve ever told me they were glad to see it go were the staff members who had to stock it and price everything. In fact, most of the kids LOVE it… but that doesn’t necessarily mean its the right thing either.

The question I have to ask is, “why are you doing it? Why is it a part of your program?

For many it is the thing kids are most excited about coming to church. It actually motivates them to come every week, learn their memory verse, bring their Bible and sometimes even bring a friend. However, are kids falling in love with Jesus and his word or are they in love with their Bible Bucks? Are they really connecting with their leaders and other peers or are they motivated simply to earn enough for the scooter in the prize store?

Call me an idealist, but I think our programs should be so good that the kids just don’t want to miss out. Maybe they’ve got such a good relationship with their small group leader that they don’t want to miss them. I understand that we want the experience to be fun as “fun” is the language of kids. However, when the main “fun” part isn’t really associated with connecting with kids or helping lead them to spiritual maturity, then you’ve got a problem (regardless whether it’s a prize system, and environment or games). I’ve been at churches that have spent thousands of dollars on a prize store. My question would be, “what could you do with that extra money that would make a big difference immediately?” I’d figure out the answer to that and then do it.

I certainly don’t want to rain on anyone’s parade. There may be people out there who have a fantastic experience with their prize store and it only “adds” to an already exciting and fulfilling program. If that’s the case, then go for it. I can only speak from my own experience and every prize store experience I’ve had has been negative or has added nothing to the overall experience for the amount of work and resources it took.

Tomorrow I’m going to blog about how to dismantle a prize store, just in case you’re thinking about doing it.

Orange is my 4th conference since that first one and just the first day has been characterized by meeting new and old friends. At the very start, I met up with the youth pastor from the first church I worked with in Texas (he’s actually my room mate for this week). Then this morning, I met up with the Children’s Pastors I served with at Cross Timbers for the last two years. A few hours later I met spotted Allan Phillips in the hallway and chatted with him for a few minutes. Then, totally randomly, I ran into someone I knew from much further back (actually he spotted me… and I’m glad he did). I ran into Tim Lawrence, the Children’s Pastor from New Hope Family Church in SD. I actually met Tim nearly 8 years ago when I first became a full-time children’s pastor in IN. He moved away shortly after I got there, but he was a volunteer for the elementary ministry. Now he’s in full time ministry.

I’m looking forward to connecting with Jim Wideman, the Kidology group (I heard they’re all getting together for lunch tomorrow) and several others tomorrow.

This is fun!

We have to remember that God will bless us when we make the best use of what he’s given us. He’s honored when we creatively expand the resources we’ve given. When we are faithful in these things, he will entrust us with more.

Sometimes fundraiser’s are not an option. I worked at a church where fundraiser’s were not allowed and I absolutely agree with their point. Whether we like it or not, many people walk into church with a certain amount they’re going to give. If they get nickle’d and dime’d in the lobby they’re only going to give to the offering what they have left of what they were planning on giving. I know that’s a vague generalization, but it is how many people think. They don’t understand the difference between the youth groups camp fundraiser, the singles group mission trip and the offering passed during the service. In their mind, they gave to the church. Understandably, many pastors don’t like fundraiser’s. So if your pastor won’t allow them, don’t do them.

It’s easy to get your feathers ruffled when you don’t think your ministry isn’t getting the funds it deserves. It’s especially hard when you see other ministries with all the shiny new stuff and you’re duct taping the sound booth together. I’ve been there… many times. Don’t stay there. I remember going over budget a little one year and the way I rationalized that this was okay was because we didn’t get what we needed. Fair or not fair, this attitude was dangerous and wrong.

So, if this is an issue for you, here is what needs to happen.

Communicate with your leadership. Let them know where you are coming from. Vent if you have to, but then try to come to closure. There are only two acceptable outcomes. Either they’ll make changes and try to give you area more funds or they won’t and you’ll have to submit to that decision. Those are the only two acceptable outcomes. Getting frustrated or venting to others are not acceptable. It would be better for you, leadership and the church in general if you stepped down if either of the acceptable options are not possible. Honestly I think these cases are rare and most of the time your pastor truly wants you to have all the funds and resources you need to be effective.

Well, that’s it. I’ve enjoyed this series of posts on budgeting. Let me know what you think and feel free to comment. On to whatever is next

Like I said, I couldn’t find anything in my research, but I have found similar things to be true. When I lived in IN a huge plot of land across for where I lived was going to become a Meijer shopping center. For two years we hadn’t heard a thing… but the rumor was that it was still coming. The economy was in a ditch and everything was on hold. Then one day a few “earth moving” vehicles showed up and started earthwork. Woo hoo! Development at last! Shortly after this, other things started to develop all around the Meijer plot including restaurants, shops and even a movie theatre. However, Meijer still didn’t come in. It wasn’t until over 2 years later that Mejier was actually built. I don’t know if this is true or not, but I had been told that someone hired the earthwork to be done to get the developments of the other areas moving along, creating a buzz and excitement in the commercial community.

Last story, I promise. Then I’ll get to my point. I knew of a church that was raising money for a new building. Their goal was to build it debt free. They were a few years into the campaign and giving was starting to get a little behind. Leadership was afraid that they wouldn’t meet their deadline in having enough money it to break ground. Then some genius in charge had a brilliant plan. Somebody bought the steeple that was going to go on the front of the new building and put it on display in the lobby or out in front of the building. Immediately, giving toward the project picked up and surpassed their expectations. Purchasing the steeple at this time was totally unnecessary, but it communicated what the vision was and reminded everyone of the future.

Okay, on to my point. I’ve taken positions at churches that needed a Children’s Ministry overhaul. There was a need for massive foundational work. Systems and processes needed to be implemented, training needed to be done, programs needed to by synced. All of this even before doing an event or changing the way the weekend looked. The dangerous place to be is to step into a ministry that is under-performing and everyone knows it and then burry yourself in foundational work. Although fixing foundational issues is a huge deal and absolutely necessary, you may need to take the time to build a show wall, move some dirt around and display that steeple. What are some easy “wins” you can produce with the resources currently in place? What are ways that you can create excitement and energy among your kids, parents and volunteers. Schedule these things in while you do your foundational/structural work. It keeps teams motivated, vision focused and leadership happy. Most importantly (it should be a given), communicate what you are doing to your leader. It’s like calling your shots in a game of pool. The conversation might go a little like this:

“Listen, the children’s ministry is a real mess right now. The good news is that we can totally turn this around, but it’s going to take some time. There are some foundational things that need to be changed that will support ministry health and growth. These changes take time and the payoff are results we’re not going to see until a year from now. However, here is what we’re going to do in the meantime. I’m going to do this in September which should generate some excitement, this in January which should bring in some new leaders, and we’re going to really step it up a notch with this during the summer… the parents are going to love it. Just know that during all this time, I’m working with my team to fix this, this and this. So just know that we’ve got some great things planned for this year that should be some big “wins” for the CM, but the thing to be really excited about is what we’re building right now and won’t be in place until next fall.”

Obviously this is a very short and “detail” lacking conversation. Most pastor’s want you to have this kind of conversation with them. Have a plan and give them a vision to look forward to. They’ll promote you and your vision will spill out of them as they talk about the CM. When “those” (you know what I mean when I say those) people come to share their concerns with the pastor about the state of the CM (such as why their kids aren’t being discipled or why they don’t have *insert whatever program you want* anymore), your pastor can praise what you are doing and tell them to be patient for the great things coming down the road.

So, when working on that foundation… don’t forget the show wall!