Some of you might be asking, “when are things ever slow in kidmin?”

For some of you, maybe it’s your busy season rather than your crazy busy season. It’s all perspective, right? I find that ministry has seasons of busy and not as busy. In our ministry, things slow down in the summer for a bit. After school gets going, we experience another lull along with a handful of other times in the year. An important question to ask is this:

“What should I be working on when things slow down?”

I recently just finished a season where our pace was a bit slower. My kids were home for the summer and my family was able to enjoy some much-needed vacation. Summer programs had ended and everything winded down a bit. I find that this is the time where I have more time to visit with other ministry leaders. I have time to look into programs and think about what I would like to see happen in the future. One of my favorite things about this blog is having the ability to learn from others, both the authors and you as the readers (so be sure to comment).

Here are three things I focused on over the summer:

  • Discipleship Process. I have an intern working with me this summer. She is helping me develop a program for our families to help guide their kids along the discipleship process. We are thinking of creating some kind of an online class that doesn’t require physical attendance. Something accessible any time, when it is convenient for our families.
  • Volunteer Recruiting. Our entire church is working on a new way to recruit and train volunteers. It will be a main initiative in 2017. But for kidmin, we will be focusing on a campaign to onboard new volunteers for the new school year. I have another intern creating and leading this focus.
  • Policies and Procedures. It’s not that glamorous and it can definitely be tedious, but it is necessary for the life of our ministry. I am reviewing our current policies and considering changes and updates for all of our campuses. I try to schedule this on my calendar once a year. So much can change in regards to laws and standards. It’s not the most fun part of my job, but I do think it helps keeps our kids safe.

I share these things because I know that some of you are further down the process than I am. What do you work on when things slow down? What do you prioritize? What have you found to work best during these seasons?  Let’s have a dialogue about this and we’ll all learn from each other how to maximize this time!