My previous post discussed four tips for planning your Midweek Ministries. I want to give you detailed tips. Those tips are:
- Start Early.
- Build your team.
- Tell your church/community.
- Train your team.
Early in my ministry, I learned a valuable lesson. In my first year of ministry, I was at a small church and was getting ready to lead VBS. I had been involved in VBS for years, and because of that, I thought I knew everything about it. I knew everything that had to be done to execute a great VBS, or so I thought. VBS came together at the very last minute, and it wasn’t because of anything I did. The church stepped up to make it happen. I had failed. It went okay, but it was not a good VBS. My biggest mistake was I did not start early. I did not start early enough to have a plan for VBS.
I have taken this lesson and tried to apply it to everything I do in ministry. The way I use my calendar has changed as well. I no longer just put events on it. I have now set dates for when I will start the planning process. I now start my VBS planning in January before a June VBS. When it comes to Midweek Ministries, I will start my planning right after VBS is over in June.
Why do I plan early?
There are so many benefits to starting early in your planning. Ministry happens overnight, especially during the kids’ ministry. Many things must happen before a kids’ ministry event takes place.
- When you start early, it gives you time to evaluate the curriculum.
When rushed, we often do not have the opportunity to evaluate what we have done and want to accomplish in the future. Many options for curriculum will meet your needs. Starting early allows you to assess your needs and the kids you will teach. You can also look through it and see what is best for your church. When you start early, you can avoid getting stuck in a curriculum that might not best fit your goals for this ministry.
- When you start early, you have time to approach the right people.
Starting early allows you to have conversations with potential volunteers. In these conversations, you can communicate the vision for this ministry, which is what will recruit your team. When you are not rushed to start, you don’t settle for warm bodies in your room. You can recruit a team that buys into the vision and is ready to serve the Lord.
When you are not rushed to start, you don’t settle for warm bodies in your room. You can recruit a team that buys into the vision and is ready to serve the Lord.“
- When you start early, you will be able to gather supplies.
Ministry is busy. When your ministry starts, you will only have a little time from week to week. You will be busy with all the different aspects of your ministry. You will not have time every week to gather all the other supplies you need for your night. Starting early allows you to look at the curriculum and decide what activities you want to do each night. You can gather the supplies so you are ready for each night. When you get pressed for time, the temptation is to choose the most accessible activities to prepare for rather than the activities that will reinforce the point. You also might need to purchase supplies. In the Amazon world, most of us order supplies online. You must have time to get those supplies.
Bonus Tip: Buy containers to organize supplies by week and class. This picture shows how I organize our supplies a month in advance. Purchase these on Amazon
- When you start early, you can handle any surprises that come your way.
Ministry is always complex. There are always hiccups that come along in ministry. Sometimes, a team member must step away. Sometimes, there is an issue with space with other ministries. Several things could come up. Last year, we were in the process of planning for the Winter launch of our midweek ministries. When I looked at the number of kids who could attend, I recognized that we needed more rooms. We needed more space. Since we started early, I have met with other ministry leaders and worked out how we could best organize our rooms to accommodate everyone. Starting early allows us to sit back and look at the curve balls coming our way and deal with them.
We cannot go into ministry and plan things at the last minute. We owe it to God to do our best. We are not planning fun events for fun sake. We are not here to entertain our kids. We are here to teach kids the gospel. When we are teaching the gospel, we should make every effort to be the most prepared to teach. Starting early sets us up to teach the gospel to kids. My life in ministry was changed when I learned that lesson.