Early on in ministry, I heard a ministry leader who I respect, make two recommendations to anyone starting out in ministry. Don’t do ministry alone. Being isolated not only limits your ability to lead well (collaboration breeds higher quantity and quality of ideas) it can lead to feeling overwhelmed, burnout, and the decline of mental and emotional health. Second, strong leaders are learners. Leave no space for comfort or complacency; keep learning and growing a priority. There are some amazing resources on the market that have helped shape and define me as a ministry leader. Today I am sharing my top 5 family ministry resources. (I am an Amazon affiliate.)
These are in no particular order as they are each amazing in their own ways. I challenge you to pick one that resonates with you and the area of growth and development that you are focusing on for the next season.
Top 5 Favorite Family Ministry Resources
1) It’s Just a Phase so Don’t Miss it.
Why Every Life Stage of a Kid Matters and at least 13 Things Your Church Should do About It. By: Reggie Joiner & Kristen Ivy
When you understand each phase of a child’s life, you (and your team) are better equipped to provide what they need to be successful. “In the first 18+ years of a person’s life, kids are changing in six fundamental ways; physically, mentally, relationally, culturally, emotionally, morally.”
This book defines for leaders how they can help kids relate to God in each phase; whether they are in the preschool, elementary, middle, or high school phase. It includes detailed, descriptions of each phase and in my opinion provides the language for WHY family ministry matters at every single age. When parents approach you asking for support, this book will be a great tool. It outlines the ages and phases in better detail than any other resource I have seen on the market.
Who should read It’s Just a Phase so Don’t Miss It?
- Pastors
- Directors
- Team Leaders
- Anyone with leadership in kids, student or family ministry
- Small Group leaders
2) Children’s Ministry Leadership
The You-Can-Do-It Guide By: Jim Wideman
“Having a small ministry isn’t a bad thing. But if your ministry stays small, that can be a sign that something is wrong. And what’s wrong is often a lack of good leadership. As a rule, good leadership causes increase. Negative leadership causes stagnation.”
-Jim Wideman
Jim describes the traits of an authentic leader, describes how these traits play out in a family ministry position and gives tips and strategies on everything from time management, defining and living out your priorities and generally becoming the next gen. leader you pray you can be. (And so much more!) This book provides tangible steps and strategies you can begin to implement immediately, as you grow more into the leader God has called you to be. And…don’t miss chapter 14 about becoming a ‘next-level’ leader. It’s really, really good stuff.
Who should read Children’s Ministry Leadership?
- Children’s Pastors
- Student Pastors
- Family Ministry Pastors/Leaders
- Family Ministry Staff or Volunteers leading/overseeing a family ministry team
- Senior Leadership or Anyone looking to hire a leader for Family Ministry (This book could be a great tool when making decisions on choosing a high-capacity leader to lead your family ministry / next gen. teams.)
3)Stop Recruiting Start Retaining
By: Darren Kizer, Christine Kreisher, Steph Whitacre
This book completely altered my approach to volunteer teams. It took time, but as I evaluated and implemented the strategies in this book, I noticed I was spending far less time recruiting volunteers and filling open spots on the weekend. Imagine a season where you spend NO time recruiting. In fact, can you picture what it would be like to have people come directly to you and ASK if you can find a spot for them to serve on your team?
Do you dream about volunteers who show up every weekend and who feel a sense of pride in the role they get to play? “The key component to growth is ensuring that all volunteers feel the care, connection, and support they need to stay fully engaged in your mission.”
Different than the other books I am recommending, this title is not detail specific to leading in family ministry. It outlines strategies beneficial to any church or non-profit leader that leads volunteer teams. If you are willing to ask the hard questions and put in the work to change, it will be a game-changer for your kids and student ministry teams.
Who should read Stop Recruiting, Start Retaining?
- Everyone who leads volunteers
- Any leader who walks new volunteers through the onboard process at your church or organization.
4)Leading Not Normal Volunteers
By: Sue Miller & Adam Duckworth
Leading Not Normal Volunteers speaks directly to any leader who leads kids, student or family ministry teams. The practical application shared is so relevant and imperative for a thriving team, that I have actually gifted this book to leaders who have served alongside me. During one particular season of ministry where the ministry team I was leading, was preparing to launch a brand-new broadcast facility for our church I actually led a leadership small group with this book. I invited the volunteer leaders who were going to be leading in different capacities on the kid’s ministry team and we went chapter-by-chapter together. We read individually and then came together to evaluate, brainstorm, plan and prepare.
The principles and strategies in this book are tried and tested and can help establish (or even repair) the volunteer culture of your team.
Who should read Leading Not Normal Volunteers?
- Everyone who lead volunteers (especially if you want your volunteers to serve as ‘owners, not renters.’)
5) Lead Small
Five Big Ideas Every Small Group Leader Needs to Know By: Reggie Joiner & Tom Shefchunas
Every now and then, I will meet someone who is so passionate about serving on a kids or student ministry team, because the trajectory of THEIR LIFE was impacted by someone who invested in them when they were younger. Lead Small equips small group leaders who desire to make the biggest possible impact on the kids/students they lead.
“God created us for community. Jesus illustrated community. The church practiced community.” A small group leader gets to help connect the “faith of a few to community (pg 28).”
Research shows that more than half of kids who have been raised in church, eventually leave the church after they go to college. WHY? And what can we do about it? Excellent, hands-on, practical application that all small group leaders can put into practice.
- Elementary Small Group Leaders
- Middle School Small Group Leaders
- High School Small Group Leaders
- Kids/Student Pastor
- Kids/Student Director
- Anyone overseeing a family ministry program desiring to see the next generation develop an authentic faith.
“When we lead small, we simply make a choice to invest strategically in the lives of a few, over time so we can help them build an authentic faith.” – Reggie Joiner
If I came to your church (or we ‘zoomed’ together online, because that is the nature of the season we are currently in), you can bet that I would recommend AT LEAST one of these books to you. I say that with confidence before I even know the details of your specific ministry challenges.
Kids/student ministry is full of so many unique challenges. If you’ve read this far, I know I don’t have to spell them out for you. You are quite possibly in the midst, right now, of some of the biggest ministry challenges you have ever led through. (The pandemic didn’t come with a manual for how to lead through this season.)
Take advantage of the wisdom of leaders, who have been where you are and can help you (and your church and team) get further, faster.
Please know that I am for you. I believe in what God can do through you. The time, effort, and energy you expend is worth it, because the next generation is worth it. Our future world gets better with every single kid that develops an authentic faith in Jesus.
This post is part of a series of posts where I am sharing some resources that I have found beneficial. Check out this post where I share some parenting and family resources. There may be families in your church who could benefit from them.
Don’t do ministry alone. If I can come alongside you or your team in this season and offer support, coaching or encouragement, please email me at info@heathereichler.com or reach out through the Contact form.
Praying for you leader.