Tag Archives: creativity

Three “Creativity Killers”

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Creativity is a MUST in Kids Ministry.  It takes creativity to capture attention and illuminate the gospel to a young mind that is bombarded with flashy, glitzy attention-grabbers all day from a world whose message is less than spiritually healthy.

We all want to be more creative, but we often fall prey to one or more of the three CREATIVITY KILLERS in ministry…

1)     PROCRASTINATION

There’s an epidemic of procrastination in Kids Ministry.  I can’t believe how many times I hear people saying that they don’t even begin to start their preparation for Sunday until Saturday Night.

Nothing will kill your ability to be creative like procrastination.

YOU CAN DO IT!  Work ahead!  Prepare.  Make time for creative thinking.  Get alone with God and pray.  Allow the Spirit to inspire you NOW for what He wants to do down the road!  It is THE most important part of the creative process.

2)  DUPLICATION

This phenomenon happens quite often in the church world.  We go to a conference, attend a seminar, watch a YouTube video, or read a blog as someone shares a great concept or strategy.  We think, “What an amazing idea!”  Then we run straight back to our church and try to duplicate it.

We hear reports of what God is doing in the church down the street or the “hot church” in our denomination, and we try to chase their ideas instead of asking God for His ideas.  We do this for a lot of reasons:

  • Duplication is easier

When we opt for duplication, we avoid the tough work of seeking God for a vision and strategy to grow our ministry.  It’s a lot easier to steal someone else’s “good idea” than invest time seeking a “God idea.”

  • Duplication is faster

It doesn’t take any time at all to get plenty of cool ideas from church leaders in every kind of ministry.  Type the words “Children’s Ministry growth ideas” on your browser, and you’ll get over 19 million hits.  There are books upon books and conferences upon conferences that provide a ton of great ideas.

Don’t get me wrong.  There’s absolutely nothing wrong with books and conferences.  I’m a firm believer in attending conferences, networking with other ministries, and reading great books. However, books and conferences can easily become a substitute for seeking God and trusting Him for guidance and creativity.

You see, duplication may be easier and faster, but the problem is…

  • Duplication rarely produces eternal results

Jesus told His followers, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33).  What do we “seek first”?   Is it conferences, books, message boards, and ministry networks, and then do we go to God only when all those things begin to lose their punch? Instead, we should begin on our knees, seeking for His idea that will change our lives and ministry.

3)  DISQUALIFICATION

Some immediately disqualify themselves and say, “I can’t do it!  I’m just not wired that way!”  They allow themselves to believe the six word lie that I despise.  Here are the six words – “I’m just not a creative person.” 

Many Kidmin Leaders sell themselves short when it comes to their ability to think creatively and innovate.  They have decided that God only gifted a few key leaders to be able to create and innovate.  We have turned the innovative process into some mysterious, spooky, hokus pokus type of activity.

Listen – YOU were BORN for creativity and innovation!  Somehow, we allowed society to suppress our creative juices and we began to be conformed to the mainstream.  We are afraid of getting outside the box.  We allow fear to dominate our minds and hearts and we never become the Kidminnovators God wants us to be!

We serve a Creative God with limitless creative ability!  Even the most naturally innovative and creative minds are finite.  The term finite means “having bounds or limits; not infinite; measurable.”  But God is infinite.  He is “far above all,” not limited by any boundaries at all.  When we draw only on our own creative resources, it’s like drinking from a thimble instead of the Great Lakes.

I believe the time is coming when every Kidmin Leader will believe in God (and themselves) enough to be able to tap into the creative innovator that lives in each of them.  When that happens, we will change the world!!

Another “Time Change Sunday” Parody – “Call Me, Maybe!”

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So many of you watched our other “Time Change Sunday” Parody Video (“On Time Style” and asked, “Do you have more?” Well, yes we do! Here is a great parody of the big hit, “Call Me, Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen. This one stars our Preschool Coordinator, who apparently broke her alarm clock and wants you to “Call Me, Wake Me!” so she isn’t late for church on Time Change Sunday! Enjoy!

Funny Way To Remind Your Church About “Time Change Sunday”

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Every year, my church does CRAZY videos to remind people to set their clocks forward an hour for Time Change Sunday. Well, that is THIS Sunday, March 10th. So, don’t miss it! Enjoy this – featuring our Worship Pastor!

Becoming A “Kidminnovator”

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I was privileged to be invited to speak at INCM‘s CM Leaders Conference this past September.  My topic was “Kidminnovation:  Unleashing Creativity in Kids Ministry.”  For those of you who were unable to attend or watch it on their LIVEstream, here it is:

After you watch the video, please share your thoughts in the comments section.  Thanks!

Thinking For A Change

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Some of us haven’t made any changes to the way we approach our ministry in a long time.  If you are still doing ministry the way you were the first year you started, then it’s time to think differently.   “Thinking For A Change” takes some intentional focus.  Here are a couple of thoughts to help you become a better thinker…

How to be a better thinker:

1.    Set aside thinking time.

You will never be a good thinker unless you plan to.  You need to set aside time in your schedule that is distraction-free.  Take the time to think through and pray through all the different strategies you are implementing in ministry.  Ask God to give you a fresh perspective about these strategies.  Some may require tweaking.  Others may require overhaul.  One thing is for sure, you will never “fall into” thinking time.  It has to be scheduled and planned.

2.    Spend time with good thinkers.

Are there some great thinkers in your church?  Maybe they are business people, but God has gifted them with great thinking skills.  Are there Kids Ministers in your area that you respect?  Listen to how they process things.  Analyze the way they attack issues and difficulties.  It will stretch your ability to think.

For example – if you are a bad golfer, you don’t choose to play with guys that are as bad as you.  You know you will never learn anything.  Instead, you try to talk a couple of good golfers to let you tag along their foursome.  You try your best to pick up their habits and approaches.  It’s the same with thinking skills.

Find a good thinker:  ask them what they see, watch who they hang around, they don’t always act like they have the answer.  When they don’t know the answer, they go search and find someone who does.  Do the same thing.

3.    When you are with a good thinker, ask “WHY” they do what they do.

The person who wants to be a doer (task oriented) will ask “what do you do?”  The person who wants to be a learner asks “Why do you do what you do?”  It’s all about knowing what you don’t know.

Who are the thinkers that you can learn from?  Call them or email them this week.  Set up a time to meet with them.  Ask God to guide the conversation.  It’s time to THINK for a change!