Children's Ministry Leaders

Creating Feature-Length Opportunities and Ministry Shorts
Larry Shallenberger

The Disney Company recently decided to return to its roots and commission its artists to create animated shorts as it once did years ago. If you've seen any of Pixar's blockbusters such as Cars, Finding Nemo, or Toy Story in a movie theater, you probably saw an animated short before the feature film.

I had never understood the purpose of these animated shorts. Sure, some of them were laugh-out-loud funny, but often I found them to be at best mildly amusing. I never understood why Pixar went to the expense of creating these shorts.

According to an article in the New York Times, Walt Disney began developing these as a way of testing new animators. The animated shorts allowed Walt to evaluate an animator's talent and to allow artists to hone new techniques and skills.

The article prompted me to think about my children's ministry program in a new light. Do I have enough ministry shorts that can promote creativity and develop new volunteers?

Children's ministries are generally good at providing feature-length opportunities. We know that the heart of any effective children's ministry is long-term relationships between volunteers and children. Children need consistent adults in their lives that they can look forward to seeing each Sunday. They need a caring role model they can count on to teach them, listen to them, and spiritually mentor them. These relationships provide children with discipleship and are the backbone of any children's ministry.

With a little planning, you can introduce ministry shorts that will allow new volunteers to test whether children's ministry is for them. And there should be short opportunities that allow your veteran volunteers to try new ideas. A short might be:

•  a VBS experience that allows teens and adults to make a brief (but intense) commitment to your ministry.

•  a Friday Night Game Night where you need volunteers to serve pizza or referee games.

•  a way to introduce drama or puppets into your children's church. You can recruit a team to make a one-month commitment to see how the children respond to it.

•  a rotating teachers-aid program in which parents and teens volunteer to assist the lead teacher on a once-a-month basis.

•  chaperones at a children's retreat.

Pastor Nate Meiers of Berean Church in Mansfield, Ohio, creates a ministry short by giving all of his regular volunteers the same Sunday off so they can attend volunteer training. In their place, Nate recruits substitute teachers to staff every classroom. (Now that's having a deep bench!)

Here are some tips to help you create powerful shorts that will attract volunteers and promote creativity within your ministry:

•  Have a well-defined, compelling vision for your short. You'll inspire volunteers to give up a Friday evening if you offer them the opportunity to invest their time advancing God's Kingdom. Personally, I'd give up an evening to connect with unchurched kids so I can introduce them to God. But I'd rather stay home and read a good book than give up an evening to baby sit.

•  Create clear job descriptions. You'll make it easier for potential volunteers to say yes if you tell them exactly what they are and aren't expected to do.

•  Partner new volunteers with your seasoned veterans. This will provide security for those just getting their feet wet in children's ministry. It will also give your time-tested volunteers the opportunity to transfer their skills and wisdom into the life of a new volunteer.

•  Affirm. After the short, be sure to send a thank-you letter to the participants expressing your gratitude for their service. Remind them again of the vision of the event and point out that they were a part of the team that brought that vision to fruition.

•  Evaluate. Allow volunteers to evaluate their experience with the short. Did they seem to have a passion for children's ministry? Was this the right age group for them? Did they think the event was well-run and effective?

•  Invite or refer. If appropriate, ask the volunteers who seem well-matched for your ministry to join your team. Or, if children's ministry isn't the right place for volunteers, help them connect to a more satisfying ministry. Help them meet your church's Ministry Connector so they discover their spiritual gifts and find a place where they can serve happily for years.

That's the long and short of it! Balance your ministry opportunities with feature-length positions as well as shorts and create some Disney-like magic of your own.

Larry Shallenberger is a pastor of children and student ministries in Erie, Pa., and the author of Lead the Way God Made You . Pass your children's ministry questions or suggestions to him at larry.shallenberger@gmail.com .

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