These are unprecedented times. Leading families and a team through Covid-19 is a conversation you have probably never had until a couple weeks ago. Never before has there been a challenge in front of our leaders like this. There has also never been quite the same opportunity. We have entered brand-new territory. The unique challenges of this season are the breeding grounds for creativity and innovation. In some instances, the challenge of this season is forcing leaders and team outside of their comfort zone to tackle projects and initiatives that they have been left sitting on the sidelines for far too long. (Like creating digital opportunities for kids and families who aren’t planning to visit our campus. More on that later…)
Even though we may not get to physically GO to church;
We can BE the church in new, life-changing, remarkable ways.
Leading through unprecedented global change, feels challenging-because it is challenging. -Carey Nieuwhof
What are the best strategies for leading both families and our teams through Covid-19? If you oversee a family ministry program at your church, there are two different questions you are probably troubleshooting.
- ‘How do I best take care of the team that I lead?’
- ‘What can we do to partner and connect with the families in our church and community that need support in this season?’
First, I commend you for placing a high priority on taking care of the team that serves faithfully to take care of kids and families in your community. What an opportunity we have before us to demonstrate, with ACTIONS & INTENTIONALITY how much we value those who we get to serve alongside. We get to pastor those who pastor kids and families every week!
Here are 5 strategic ideas for leading your kid’s ministry team through Covid-19.
1.Communicate often and clearly.
Be a reliable source that your team can trust. Provide accurate, reliable, timely details. Even if you have no new details to share, hearing from you with encouragement, offers to pray, answers to any special requests, will maintain continuity for your team.
2.Anticipate their needs.
Ministry to your team does not end because you no longer need them to volunteer during services. It is actually beginning on a deeper and more personal level than it may have existed for a long while. Your church may be utilizing online services and even social media outlets to stay connected and these are great ways to still be able to communicate and pour into your community. It will be the personal connection and investment you make into team, however, that will communicate (or not communicate) value.
- Zoom meetings that include worship and a word of encouragement -together.
- personal phone calls or texts (not the blanket ones you copy and paste to everyone)
- bring (or send via meal delivery) a meal to the single mom on your team who is trying to manage schooling for her kids while working full time from home. (Don’t OFFER…just DO IT.)
- REACH out specifically to anyone that is considered ‘high-risk’ with an offer to pick up items they need from the store or help in some other way. Don’t know who is high-risk – ASK them!!!
- Check if they need child-care help so they can work. This is a real need for many families who still have to report to work but have kids at home.
- Dig into the hard questions. (How’s your job? Are you able to cover your bills? Is there anything you need that you are unable to get right now?) And help find tangible solutions.
3. Equip them for uniform communication.
Give them the language they can use to talk to those they lead or the families they serve on behalf of you and your church. Helping them feel confident and equipped in their roles is vital in this season.
4.Keep the VISION OUT FRONT.
The mission and vision haven’t changed, just the methods for carrying them out.
- Encourage your team by talking about the potential to reach lost families and the opportunity to encourage and support current families.
- Share current stories of wins & celebrate and and all ways Jesus is showing up.
- Paint the big picture of how we get to take Jesus to people at a time when we need Him more than ever.
- Consistently remind them, they are VITAL and important to this process.
- Maintain positivity and an outlook focused on the opportunity more than the inconvenience.
5.Provide opportunities to serve.
- Encourage key leaders to host small groups with other leaders via Zoom, or the Bible app.
- Rally kids team volunteers to make personal calls to families. WHAT an AMAZING opportunity to empower the kids’ ministry team to contact every regular attenders’ family in your database.
- Mail them pre-stamped postcards and addresses so they can mail encouragement to the kids they lead.
Whatever creative serving opportunities it may be; serving = fulfillment/purpose. Anytime we are walking through a challenging season where we can shift the focus off ourselves and onto others, we are going to find the load a little lesson heavy to carry. Support your team by creatively finding opportunities for them to continue serving. Offer with no expectations because not everyone will be able to serve, but some will need to serve. If a more positive team culture is something you desire to focus on, in this season, check out this POST for some encouragement and ideas.
Likewise, this crisis is sending many parents into a tailspin. With increased time on their hands to fill and perhaps the motivation to check out church and God while they seek the best ways to lead their family through crisis; more families are going to be looking at your church’s online platform than ever before. This is why your best planned goal is to be leading FAMILIES and your team through Covid-19.
Here are 3 strategic ways to partner with families during Covid-19.
1. Make it personal with kids and families.
- Empower small group leaders to make personal phone calls to their students.
- Utilize apps like Group Me (along with parent permission) to stay connected with older students who have their own phone.
- Personalized post cards.
- Use your phone for PHONE CALLS. That’s right. I said it. Go old school here. What if your team called every family that visited your church for the first time over the last month just to check on them?
- Zoom or Google Hangouts for connecting live, face to face. (Super easy and free – you can get a link and email the link to families and they just click the link to open the group at the time of your meeting.)
*You have an amazing opportunity to really dive in and connect with your 4th and 5th graders. I have talked to so many leaders over the year who echo the same thing, that this age group is challenging to keep engaged. They will LOVE connecting virtually so use this time intentionally to relationship build.
2. Onboard an online strategy.
The reality is that while some churches have had a kid and family focused online strategy for years, many have offered streaming version of their online services and neglected to offer anything that is kid-specific. I believe there are so many church leaders, perhaps you are even one of them, who are JUST NOW recognizing the value of considering kids in our online offerings. If you are the latter, I am so glad you are here. This crisis is forcing us to be creative and innovate to reach all people – even young people. We are troubleshooting and brainstorming solutions right now, some of which, will stay around far after the pandemic ends.
Here are some ideas to help get you started:
Designate a hashtag specific to families in your ministry.
Push out fun activities and family challenges on social media and encourage families to respond using your hashtag. Families will feel connected looking at pictures of other families doing the same activities. Make a little competition out of it and watch things get creative, really fast.
Online kid specific, age-appropriate service.
Creating your own service, with familiar faces would be amazing and some churches were pulling this together as of a couple weeks ago. Not all churches have the capacity to create at this level. It is ok if that is you, don’t fret. In the event your team does not have the resources or capacity, there are many amazing organizations/churches sharing their resources as a way to partner with you to reach as many families as possible.
The big ‘C’ church is coming together in unbelievable ways in this season as everyone works on leading families and teams through Covid-19.
The following are three I have found that are worth your time to check out:
- Orange, which is by the ReThink Group has SO MANY high-quality resources they have made available for FREE for you to use. Pre-made videos, parent guides, devotions, Spanish ready resources, etc. They have brand-new resources they are creating to equip you for Easter coming out by the end of March. Take a minute to check it out HERE.
- Life.Church is another great resource for equipping you in this season. They offer a complete, free curriculum and are also sharing complete kids service videos by age group along with correlating parent resources. Another high-quality amazing tool you can use to connect with families in this season. Go HERE to check it out.
- Church of the Highlands has multiple church-wide resources available for free. They have also created six weeks of online services you can download and use. Go HERE for the downloadable kids services, but make sure to also check out the other available resources that may also be good tools for your church.
Let me caution you, this is a season where new families may be coming to check out your ministry and church – online. The condition of what you push out, matters significantly. Design it with a guest in mind. Parents will assume that your digital presence is reflective of your physical presence. If you are unable to create high-quality resources that mirror the high-quality ministry experience you offer for families at your location, then my strong recommendation is to utilize outside resources.
The quality of resources you present online represents to families the quality of programming you offer at your campus.
Make sure what you post represents your standards, programming, and team accurately.
Last, is my favorite idea so far to use when partnering with families;
3. Design a DRIVE-BY!
A drive by is an opportunity for families to ‘drive-by’ your location and pick up a pre-made ‘something’ for their family. (No one gets out of their vehicle, they roll down the window, get a wave from a familiar face and get handed their ‘something.’)
The following are some ideas to get the wheels turning:
- printables of a curriculum craft or other activity they can do at home
- materials & directions for a minute to win it game (there are games that use only plastic cups, etc)
- printed verse or encouragement they can stick to their bathroom mirror
- small toy or candy
- handwritten card
- resources for parents on how to lead kids through anxiety or fear
- contact info (email address) just for parents to use if they have a specific need or prayer request
- printed list of online resources and links and even a schedule of YOUR specific services, etc.
- YARD SIGNS. What if you were to print a ‘you are invited to join me’ @ (your website and day/time) and let families put it in their front yard? (Picture the plastic, garage sale type sign.) Give families an opportunity to make their front yards a mission field by inviting their neighbors to ‘attend online church’ with them. (By the way, with the possibility that EASTER may be online this year, yard signs are a great way to empower families to spread the word in their neighborhoods!)
Families are being overwhelmed and inundated with information right now. Information is flying at them from all directions. Do your best to be flexible and take advantage of every avenue you have to connect. If you only send out emails, or only post on facebook, you may miss getting these connection points noticed by the masses.
Utilize all methods possible to connect with families.
Please remember that you are not alone on this journey. History is being made right now. There is no rule book or text book to guide the way, but God already knew this season was coming. We will learn from it, we will innovate and God will continue to use this season to reach people and to call kids and adults into deeper relationship with Him. Kids ministry leaders; if I can help with specific strategies for you and your team in this season, or offer any additional support, please reach out via the Contact Form or by leaving a comment. It would be my privilege and honor to partner with you in this season.
Finally, here are some additional resources that may help you as you lead families and kids through Covid 19.