The following post is an adaptation from a chapter I wrote in the book, “Turbocharged 2.0: 100 Simple Secrets to Successful Preschool Ministry”. To learn more about the book you can check it out here.

In over 10 years as a Children’s Pastor, I have observed some key characteristics in preschoolers that every leader should adopt no matter where they are or what they do in an organization.

1.  Choose Curiosity Over Apathy

My first observation is that preschoolers are naturally curious. Spend longer than 30 seconds with a 4 year old and you soon realize that they question EVERYTHING. They are extremely inquisitive. They want to explore, discover, and learn.

Curious leaders challenge the status quo and explore new ways of doing things. On the flip side, apathy kills your curiosity & takes away your ability to innovate. As a leader, if you feel like apathy has crept in begin to ask, “Why?” and “What if…?” rekindle your curiosity. To lead like a preschooler, you must choose curiosity over apathy.

2.  Choose Adaptation Over Stagnation

Secondly, preschoolers adapt to their surroundings. I watch this happen every week as new kids enter into our preschool ministry. They may be reluctant at first, but it does not take long before they have settled into their new environment. Their fear of the unknown may slow them down but it does not stop them in their tracks. Preschoolers have an uncanny ability to change and adapt.

Your ability to change and adapt will determine your effectiveness as a leader. Idle leaders become stagnant leaders. Many of our fears have to do with change. If we were to be totally honest, most of us are reluctant when we face changes. But fear of change turns our reluctance into resistance. When we resist change, it stops us in our tracks. If you want to lead like a preschooler, you cannot let your fear of change cause you to resist it and become stagnant. Instead choose to embrace change and adapt to it.

3.  Choose Risks Over Retreat

My third observation is that preschoolers are constantly making progress. They are maturing, growing, and developing. Preschoolers do not retreat from challenges but take risks to solve their dilemmas. The words “it can’t be done” are not in the vocabulary of a preschooler. They will use their imagination to make the impossible, possible.

Leaders make progress. Leaders do not back down from a challenge, they creatively figure out ways to overcome them. One of the most common ways we retreat from a challenge is by avoiding failure. Because we do not want to fail, we allow the words “it can’t be done” to become commonplace in our vocabulary. When we think “it can’t be done”, we avoid the necessary risks that would take our organization to the next level. Taking calculated risks is what makes great things possible. Without taking risks, we cannot make improvements. Without improvements, we are not making progress. Without progress, we are in retreat. To lead like a preschooler, we must choose to take the risks over retreat.

What other ways can we learn to lead like a preschooler? Leave your comments below…

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Vision has been defined as “a clear mental picture of what could be, fueled by the conviction that it should be”. The Bible states in Proverbs 29:18, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Establishing a vision for your ministry is essential to knowing where you are going and getting everyone on the same page to get there.

Vision Determines Direction

It is nearly impossible to get where you are going without the ability to see where you are going. It’s like navigating your way through a room with a blindfold on. You are constantly bumping into and knocking down things. And if you’re not careful, you will get hurt.
Your vision helps you clarify what you want and how to get there. It opens your eyes to the possibilities. A clear and compelling vision serves as the GPS for your life, organization, and ministry.
Vision also makes your decision making process easier. If you know where you are headed you can then say “no” to things that will not help you get there and “yes” to the things that will. Vision gives you focus to see the end goal and avoid the obstacles that will keep you from reaching it.

Vision Creates Alignment

Not long ago, I was driving down the road and began to notice that my car was pulling to the left. Every time I took my hands off the wheel, my car began to veer toward the centerline. I took my car to the mechanic and he told me that the front end was “out of alignment”. He told me that misalignment could cause major problems if I didn’t get it fixed. Well, I got it fixed and now my car is running smoothly.
The same thing is true of our lives. If we are out of alignment, it can cause major problems. In our organization, vision creates alignment. It becomes a rallying point for all your volunteers. It puts everyone on the same page, working together to accomplish the same goals.

One final note about vision: only YOU can determine the vision of your organization. Please don’t misunderstand that statement. You will need to work with your Senior Pastor and your church staff to make sure your vision is synchronized with the overall vision of the church. What I am saying is that vision is born in the leader when they are dissatisfied with the status quo. Vision begins with you and then leaks throughout your entire organization. You have to do the due diligence and determine what you want to see happen and then design a plan to make it happen.

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I’ve been getting a lot of questions about our multisite strategy for children’s ministry at 12Stone Church. Currently we have 3 campuses, with more on the way. The most common questions I get is, “what is our model for multisite?”

Before we talk about our model, let me identify the three main ways I see churches structuring their multisite children’s ministry and then I’ll explain our model and why.

I have observed three basic models for structuring your multisite children’s ministry.
1. Independent – This is where your multisite children’s ministries are actually autonomous ministries. Each campus has the freedom to choose their own curriculum & their own branding. Each campus has their own identity and creates their own separate environments for kids. Often times, there is very little collaboration between campuses. Whether it is intentional or not, there is not a lot of synergy across campuses. If a family moves from one campus to the next, they will have a different experience at each campus. It is basically like a separate church plant, not necessarily a multisite.
2. Centralized – This is where churches replicate their children’s ministry at each campus, typically under the direction of a central staff team. Each campus is identical to the original campus. Typically this happens when churches plant campuses of similar size want to create the exact same experience across campuses. The branding is the same, the environmental design is same, even the staff structure is the same. In this model, there is a lot of synergy across campuses.
3. Decentralized – This is where there is a transfer of authority from the central campus to each multisite. This is a move away from a single central staff/main campus to the other locations, thus granting each campus some autonomy. Some churches use this model to allow campuses to choose from a list of different curriculum options that are preapproved by the church. Still other churches use this model to share the same Children’s Ministries name, but there are different ministry directors who use different curriculum and have different themes.

Our approach at 12Stone is a hybrid of a centralized & decentralized model. I refer it to as a Collaborative Model. While our central staff is responsible for the overall direction, vision, systems, & philosophy of the children’s ministry across all campuses…the campus staff in charge of children’s ministry report directly to their Campus Pastor. In other words, I am not their boss. We are decentralized in that they don’t report to me at all. As the Children’s Pastor at 12Stone, my role is to lead the various teams through influence & coaching.

Each of our campuses use the same curriculum & collaborate together to create the best Sunday experience for kids and families. We do this through idea sharing, but allow the interpretation of those ideas to take place at each campus. In other words, we work together but allow each campus to play to their strengths. Our goal is not that each campus delivers an identical experience but that the DNA of 12Stone is consistent across our campuses.

So far this model has served us well. We meet twice a month with the children’s ministry staff from each campus in a meeting we call CREATE. This is where we design our Sunday services, share creative ideas, & monthly parent partnership tools. At the end of the day, we give each campus the freedom to implement the strategy so they maximize their strengths.

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My three children are fascinated with animals. They love to learn interesting facts about animals. Recently we checked out a book about baby animals that was full of amazing facts about all kinds of creatures. One of the discoveries that I found most interesting had to do with baby ducks and how they imprint.

When baby ducks hatch, they imprint on the first living creature they see that is larger than itself. Whether it’s another duck, a dog, a cow, or a person, baby ducks thinks it is their mother and they believe that they are its baby. And you thought this kind of thing only happened on “Tom and Jerry” cartoons? But it is true, God created baby ducks to imprint on another creature so that it is always the first thing the duckling thinks about and the most important being in the duckling’s world. Ducklings look to them for protection, provision, and to teach them how to live.

#1 THING WE DO

As I read this, I thought that this should be the #1 thing we do in Children’s Ministry. Our role is help kids imprint on their Heavenly Father. In Deuteronomy 6:4-7, Moses tells us to impress, or imprint, our children with a love for God.

Love the Lord Your God. As we lead children to imprint upon God, we are teaching them to love God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength. This teaches them the basis to know who God is and what God is like.

God Takes First Place. They will see God as the most important being in the world and He will be the first thing they think about. When kids imprint on God they begin to look to Him for protection, provision, and to teach them how to live.

#1 WAY WE DO IT

I believe Moses clearly lays out a plan to imprint children in our ministries with a love for God. He tells us to “impress them upon our children.” The Hebrew word here is shanan, which means “to instill by persistent instruction.” The idea is that in everything we do, we guide our children to love God and put Him first through persistent reinforcement.

Reinforcement And Retention. A recent study found that when we expose kids to a concept once in 30 days there is a 10% retention level. For example, if you’re only teaching a Biblical truth once in 30 days, your kids are only remembering 10% of what you teach them. On the other hand, the study found that if we review that material six times within a 30-day period kids will likely retain 90% of what we teach them.

Stick To The Theme. A few years ago we started teaching the same theme for an entire month but approaching it using different Bible stories, songs, and activities each week. As you can imagine the practice of persistent reinforcement radically changed the way we do children’s ministry. We no longer concentrated on totally new material every week and then moving on to something different. Now once we teach a lesson we come back again a week later from a different angle, and back again another week, and back again another week for the entire month. The end result has been amazing! Our kids are remembering who God is and what God is like. They are learning to love God and give Him first place in their lives.

The challenge is to begin to practice persistent reinforcement in your ministry. According to Moses, our goal is not to impress children with a new Bible story each week, but rather it is to imprint them with a love for God.

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On January 4^th, our team in Haiti discovered that brokenness has faces as we entered a walled in property that consisted of a cinderblock building and an acre of barren land. It was hard to imagine that this placed housed 120 orphans. 60% of their parents had died of HIV/AIDS, 40% were abandoned on the street. It was nearly impossible for us to comprehend the conditions these kids were required to live in.

Grey walls surrounded them, dirt floors supported them.  Their clothes were dirty & damp and their feet were callous & bare. Food was sparse and disease was rampant. There was no running water, no bathroom or shower. This place was empty of hope. The normal smiles and laughter of children was absent, for these kids were abandoned and desolate.

Our only reality was God’s love for the helpless and His heart for the orphaned.

So we did the only thing we could do…love the children. We set up a washbasin and began to wash their feet. As the dirt and dust was washed away the love of Christ began to break through. We learned that it is only God’s love that can bring smiles and laughter to children in the midst of brokenness and hopelessness.

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Surreal…that’s the best I can describe the feeling of seeing images and hearing stories of the devastation in Haiti. To think that our team was there 1 week ago is unreal. Our hotel (pictured below) in the city of Jacmel is demolished. Thankfully, we have heard from our friends in both Port-au-Prince and Jacmel and the best we can tell they are safe.

Read the email below from the director of Hands & Feet in Jacmel. We met some of the nannies and volunteers while at our hotel. Then PRAY for the people of Haiti. Finally, GIVE to the relief efforts.

Email from the director of H&F: “Our internet is working finally.  So I’m sending this to a few of you….Everyone here is ok, but we are all very scared.  The buildings held up great, but there are several houses right around us that have collapsed.  Also, Hotel Cyvadier had major damage, while the brand new three story “peace of mind” hotel was demolished.  Francine, one of our teenage nannies was in afternoon school and escaped while the building was collapsing around her because she was sitting by the door…however many of her classmates died yesterday.  Many houses and and buildings have collapsed in Jacmel including the hospital.  I know most of the news there is coming from PAP, but there is substantial loss of life here on the south coast.  We need prayer for wisdom and strength.  Its very chaotic here.  We were able to buy diesel this morning and hopefully get more propane for cooking tomorrow.  Last night was crazy…slept on the dirt in the center of the village…away from the buildings.  Tonight we may venture back indoors, but that is yet to be decided.  We go in and out to get necessities.  The Haitian people are numb and sad to say very used to death, but this has created what seems to be a hypnotic state.  I’ve never been in a situation were you feel SO helpless, fearful, and small. The tremors are coming again as i type this. Whoa!!!”

You can find out more on their website.

You can also support relief efforts through World Hope International.

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At 12Stone Church we often get asked, “How do you organize your elementary small groups?” Throughout our services we transition between large group & small groups at various times to discuss the Bible Story and maintain interaction within the groups. We want our small group to be 3D:

DO – This is our hands-on element. Our small groups make discoveries together, they learn truth together. The activities vary from week to week but the value is that they “do” something. It involves active learning.

DISCUSS – This is where we divide our groups 12-15 kids into groups of 3-5 kids to discuss what they did. They talk about ways to apply what they’ve learned. Our small group leaders serve as a facilitator of the discussion.

DEBRIEF – This is often driven from the stage by one of our cast members. We allow small groups to share some of their insight with the larger group. We also debrief by bringing the groups of 3-5 back into their larger group of 15 to share their collective learning.

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The fact that God created the universe doesn’t surprise me. Isn’t that what God does? He creates moons & stars, planets & solar systems. He gives life. He redeems mankind. He heals sickness. He causes the sun to rise & commands the oceans to stop. He authors love. These are all God sized jobs.

The greatest mystery to me is the fact that God concerns himself with the small stuff of our lives. Take the time Jesus turned water into wine. Many would say that God shouldn’t be in the wine making business. He’s got bigger and better things to concern Himself with…not to mention the guest at the party had already had their fair share to drink. But Jesus steps in to bring enjoyment to the guests at the party.

Mary simply tells Jesus that the wedding is out of wine. She doesn’t force Him to do something about it. She doesn’t command Him to fix the problem. She simply allows space for God to work.

We need to do the same thing…allow God space to work in the small stuff. Too often we don’t even ask because we don’t want to bother God with the details of our lives. Or we demand God to get on our agenda. Or we fill the space for God to work with worry, doubt, and fear.

So, get out of the way. Invite God into the details of your life. Maybe, just maybe He has a miracle in store for you if you’ll just allow Him the space to do it.

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Good leaders are strong and courageous. In Braveheart, William Wallace says, “People don’t follow titles, they follow courage.” Strength and courage inspires people to sacrifice their time, resources, and even their lives to follow their leader.

This principle was true for Joshua. He just became the new leader of Israel. It was his time to step up and lead. God tells Joshua, ”Moses my servant is dead. Therefore, the time has come for you to lead these people…”. God’s command is to “be strong and courageous”. This wasn’t the time to sit back and let life happen. Not the time to be weak and indecisive. It was time for Joshua to realize God’s future for His people. It was time to take new territory, defeat enemies, & enter the promised land.

This principle was true for Joshua, William Wallace, and it’s true for us. We need strength and courage to face challenges & take risks. It is required for us to challenge the status quo. Strength and courage enables us to press through discouragement, fight through stress, overcome doubt, & face our fears. It means that we must make decisions and stick to them. Strength and courage are required for us to be good leaders and make a difference in this life.

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The Bible is such a unique book in that we should not approach it like we do other books. For example, the Bible was never intended to be simply “enjoyed” as we would enjoy good literature…although there is beauty in the words of the Psalms, the writings of the prophets, and truth of the Gospels. Neither is the Bible simply meant to be listened to like we would listen to a good story…although we may gain knowledge or inspiration by reading through its pages. No, the ultimate purpose of the Bible is that we know Jesus Christ and become like Him in our actions, attitudes, thoughts, speech, and values…the words of the Bible are meant to be lived.

James 1:22 tells us, “Don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves”. Action is required when reading God’s Word. It is simply not enough to read it, we must do what it says. The result of obeying God’s Word is life transformation. The Bible is intended to change our character and transform our lives. As you read the Bible, find out what it has to say to you…and do it.

For most of us, our problem with the Bible is not that we try to understand difficult passages. Our real problem is with obeying the passages we do understand. We let God’s Word go in one ear and out the other without applying it’s principles and practices to our lives. Our culture has shaped us to be talkers. It’s easier to talk about doing something than to actually do it. When it comes to God’s Word we need to turn down the volume of our voices and amplify our actions. James challenges us not to simply hear God’s word, but to be doers as well. Doers are people who inspire, influence, and make a difference. Doers are people that realize that God’s Word demands action.

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