I can’t think of a more important job that those of us who lead ministry to kids. It is kids who are most receptive to the gospel, yet the window for receptivity is narrow. We are trying to make an impact where many parents are not fully bought in, nor are they engaged in the spiritual training of their kids. There are more distractions and things competing for the attention of our kids. We never have enough volunteers and it would be crazy what we could do with just a little more funding. Our jobs MUST be taking seriously, eternity hangs in the balance.

Oh, and what is the one thing that costs nothing and requires little, but could make our efforts significantly more meaningful and impactful?

Levity.

In other words. Lighten up. 

For the love. Have a little fun. Stop taking everything so seriously and live a little.

I interact with kidmin staff from churches all over the country and I frequently see employees who love their work, but hate their jobs. Their work environments is stressful, dysfunctional or even combative.

Without even taking strategy into consideration, studies have shown that when employees have fun at work, it changes everything.

In the book “The Levity Effect,” Adrian Gostick says:

An increasing body of research demonstrates that when leaders lighten up and create a fun workplace, there is a significant increase in the level of employee trust, creativity and communication — leading to lower turnover, higher morale and a stronger bottom line.

Your staff understand what is at stake. You don’t need to remind them every day. You don’t always need to push them harder to get better results. Just create an environment that fun. Create spaces where you can laugh, play and have fun. You’ll be amazed by how much better you will work as a team and how much more will get done.

The same is true of your volunteers. Strong vision will bring them in the doors. Creating a mental picture of what is at stake will fill your rosters. But bringing joy to the experience of being on a team will keep them engaged for a long, long time.

Take what you do seriously, but have fun while you change the world.