What a great ministry tool. I get tracts and various tools quite often to review. They are very hit and miss. In short, “Let the Little Children Come” is a hit.

Here’s why I like this resource and why I believe you should look into it:

* Makes evangelizing fun. Kids are great evangelists. They’re honest about their faith and very genuine. Often times when we encourage kids to evangelize we hardly resource them and we make it boring. Let the Little Children Come just made it fun for them to talk about Jesus. It’s colorful, there are so many different ways they can share their faith. So, maybe not all the resources they have will work, but I will almost guarantee that at least one of them they’ll find engaging.

* It’s super easy to understand. Unsaved children got it. Because of the visuals and words/phrases they could understand, they seemed to have a basic understanding of what our kids were trying to tell them. Obviously, there are still unknowns, but this made it easy to understand and START the conversation with unsaved kids.

* It’s easy to explain. Our kids were able to easily share their faith because the tools are not difficult and actually make sense. Our kids were able to not just talk about their faith, but also show people about their faith. Kids are visual and want to touch tangible thighs. When these tools were given to kids, they asked questions of which most of the answers were within the resources used.

* Instructions are great. I love all the instructions that come with the resources. We found that kids, especially some of the older ones, were able to take it without much instruction from their leaders/parents and do what it said. I’m just impressed with people and companies who make it easy. Let the Little Children Come took at the unnecessary and difficult and made easy to understand instructions.

I gave this resource to kids to use because I want to know it works before I endorse. Five out of the seven kids I gave it to said it was fun and made it easier to talk to their friends about Jesus. I don’t know about you, but that’s all I needed to be a believer. In the end, whenever you can use a tangible resource to teach or explain a Biblical principle–that’s a winner in itself! Let the Little Children Come has several great ones.

I recommend that you check out Let the Little Children Come and see for yourself how this resource will help your kids be more prepared to talk about Jesus with their friends.

Justyn

Start With “Why”.

The above image seems so simple, but it’s revolutionary for churches who don’t currently live by it.

The “Golden Circle” was created by Simon Sinek and if every church did this, I’m convinced they would see bigger and better results for the Kingdom.

In short, most churches promote WHAT they do and then HOW they do it. Churches celebrate the WHAT’s. They celebrate all the people show showed up to this or that event. They’re really good at explaining HOW they want to do WHAT it is they’re doing.

I think where we miss the mark is we seldom explain the WHY. We start with WHAT and usually end with HOW never making it to WHY. Some of the most successful companies—and I’m convinced churches—start with WHY.

A lot of churches communicate something like:

We’re a great, multi-site church with great music. Our services are designed to captivate and inspire you. Join us this weekend!

This is WHAT the church is does and they explain HOW they do it. It’s not very motivating or compelling. The statement above starts from the outside in. Now, imagine starting from the inside out:

We want to see lives changed. God has a plan and purpose for everyone and we want to help you find it. The way we do this is by providing experiences in multiple locations through our services…

The statement could go on, but as you can see it starts with the WHY. Whenever you explain the WHY, people are more compelled to act. It’s not too late. Take a look at WHY, HOW and WHAT you do. First, start with the WHY and work out.

(thoughts from the book I’m reading, Start With Why by Simon Sinek)

What are your thoughts? Does your church communicate WHY? How do they do that?

Justyn

It definitely has not been without it’s ups and downs, but we are five and a half weeks into our new ministry format for Go Kids at River Valley Church. Our format has been transitioning from a personality-based stage teaching method to a large group/small group method. Because we don’t have the man-power to create an amazing stage format for all six of our campuses, we opted to go with a format that can be sustained across a multi-site church platform, plus I believe children learn best in smaller groups.

Every week I feel like we are working out more and more kinks, but this was a big transition for a 4,000 member, six-campus church to make. Most people had never heard of a format and on top of that we cut out a lot of mid-week activity to make it work on the weekends.

Our keys to success thus far have been…

1. Meetings, meetings and more meetings. You wouldn’t believe the countless, yet very worthwhile meetings I have had with parents and ministry groups. Our pastor, Rob Ketterling, worked it into his sermons a few times—championing our change. Both pastor Rob and I met with parents. I did numerous one on ones. Every single meeting was worth it and I would do it like that again.
2. Honest, open and heart-felt communication. I was the new guy. No one knew me and we were making a tremendous change. People assumed I was an alright guy because pastors Rob and Darin (lead pastor and executive pastor) believed in me, but that’s where it ended. It wasn’t until people had the opportunity to hear my heart for ministry, children and parents that they began to “buy in” to what we wanted to do.
3. Challenge. I gave out a challenge to parents every time I talked with them. One parent asked me how we were going to go from the 10 volunteers we had to the over 100 volunteers we needed. I turned the question around and asked him how WE were going to do that. There was an expectation that I could do it by myself and I simply told parents that I needed them and together we can do this. I challenged many to serve every weekend and the crazy thing is that many did. And, so far, many of those who volunteer every weekend have become our all-stars and enjoy being there.
4. Continual communication. We meet before and after every service explaining the day’s expectations and receiving feedback. We don’t just receive feedback. We actually talk about it and create a plan to address those that need to be addressed. We don’t just receive feedback and create a plan—we then execute the plan. We send out weekly emails and a weekly video. The team enjoys knowing what’s happening and being included.

I’m sure there’s more, but those are the top four that stick out to me. As we continue our journey, I’m sure others will surface. And, props to the Go Kids team for not just accepting change, but taking it head on and embracing the potential!

PJ

Because of this change more people are able to get involved, more children are getting personal attention and relationships are being built. We’ve gone from being disconnected to becoming connected.

From my heart, “THANK YOU RIVER VALLEY PARENTS!!” As always, I’d love to hear your feedback.

PJ

What are you thoughts!?

-PJ

Transitions are tough because that means change is coming and it’s inevitable. Let me take you on a journey of some changes I’ve made so far at my church—River Valley Church:

We’ve simplified ministry. We are a large church and as a children’s ministry were trying to do too much. We have restructured what our weeks look like by almost entirely focusing on the weekends. Our weekend children’s ministry is floundering and instead of trying to focus on several things that are good, we’ve decided to focus on a few things and do them great. I’ll be more specific in a later post.

We are making sure what we do can be duplicated across all campuses. We are a multi-site church with five soon to be seven locations. There needs to be more cohesiveness throughout our campuses. This means we put more muscle and emphasis behind a few events, but still allow each campus to put on a couple campus-specific things. This also means we line up structurally.

We are changing formats of children’s and youth ministry to more effective. Instead of necessarily doing what we like to do, we are doing what needs to be done.

We are moving staff around on the bus and defining rolls. This isn’t easy and it’s one of the things I often do not look forward to because I know not everyone will be happy. In a perfect world, everyone smiles and says, “Absolutely! I’ll do whatever is needed!” The reality is that though they may show that on the outside, it can be disappointing if what I’m asking them to now do is not something they would choose to do. Leading through this can be tricky, but very possible. In the end, my heart isn’t to make people mad. Shuffling staff around is done because I believe it’s going to benefit our children and youth more in the end.

Some maybe asking why these decisions seem tough. They are tough because all these decisions involve people. Some of these people lead ministries that we’re cutting, lead groups of people that need to be replaced, require new roles that were never considered, etc. When people have a passion for what they’re doing, yet you don’t see that ministry or need in the church going forward—it’s not easy. It maybe the right decision to change things, but it doesn’t make it any easier. I don’t enjoy seeing people disappointed or frustrated with me, but leadership is all about making tough decisions and doing our best to lead people to see the benefit of our decisions.

Being the “new guy” brings two reactions to the team/church: excitement and skeptical

You’ll have those who are with you because they love change and believe in you. You will also have those who you need to prove yourself to thus they are skeptical until they see results. There is no getting around it.

PJ

So, it’s been a little over a month that I’ve been in my new home state of Minnesota and the journey, well, it’s a journey.

Personal side…

Every transition creates tension. In our case I feel like of all our transitions this has been a very relatively smooth one. Our oldest daughter, who’s 10 years old, was my biggest concern as she had made very close friends with other girls in SoCal. So far, though, she seems to be adjusting well. I attribute that to Brieana and I spending a lot of time with her and as a family going out to explore, have fun and take advantage of Minnesota summers. I think it’s kept her from “being bored” thus not giving her time to sulk.

My other kids are doing well. The next two in line have found a few friends already and seem to be adjusting without any problems. The last two are too young to know any better. Though I do find it interesting that my three-year-old thinks we’re “not home” and asks sometimes when we’re going back home. That is happening less and less as he slowly realizes that this is home.

Ministry side…

Whoa! I feel like I’m learning more than I’m teaching at this point. This is a new position for me and for River Valley Church. After more than a month, it’s no surprise that there is more to do than what people thought. I think that’s what happens with most transitions though.

Here’s a snippet of what I’m looking at:

• River Valley has grown from 2,000 to 5,000 people in two years.
• Youth ministry is not too bad and with some structural changes will blast off.
• Children’s ministry at one campus is 900 kids with NO children’s pastor.
• Children’s ministry at the campus with 900 kids literally has about 10 volunteers total in their elementary grades and needing more early childhood workers as well.
• There are no policies or procedures that are known or at least being followed.

There is more, but I’ll stop at that. I’m ABSOLUTELY not complaining. I’m just merely laying out what I believe is a humbling experience. I truly am amazed and humbled that God and this church believed that I can make a difference and be apart of turning our children’s ministry into a world-class ministry.

It does feel like trying to stop a train going 100 mph, except there are no breaks. Or, picture yourself standing in front of a fire hose aimed at you with the water flowing full blast. As much as this can sound overwhelming and I’d be lying to you if I told you I wasn’t at times—I love it. It reminds me that I NEED God and as long as I stay under His covering, He always makes a way.

In situations like these, you have to stop a moment, take a deep breath, pray and begin prioritizing what needs to happen. As I do this it does two things. It shows me how much work actually needs to get done. Two, it reminds me how you eat an elephant—one bite at a time. Sure, it’s a lot, but it’s doable.

So much more to share. If you have specific questions about transitioning or stories yourself, please let me know at justyn (at) justynsmith (dot) com

One thing is for sure…I love River Valley, Pastor Rob and this area. The River Valley team is amazing and that’s what makes this even more fun!

PJ

Church life…

I’m really enjoying the staff and team at River Valley. I’m not sure I’ve been around this large of staff who’ve been so willing to be flexible and accepting of changes. Granted, I haven’t done any huge changes yet and that’s wisdom—a little wink, wink to those who think they know everything and want to change it all. I’m confident as we move forward that God will give me the wisdom and right timing to make the right changes and the team will be 100% behind them.

I’ve been able to pace myself a little more slower than I first anticipated, which has been great. It’s allowed me to focus more on people instead of the program. This will change a little this week as I step into children’s pastor mode (because we don’t have one yet—wink, wink).

Because we are a little bit short-staffed, it’s been a little interesting. Our youth ministry is in a much stronger state than the children’s ministry. Our children’s ministry will experience the most immediate changes. We have staff members to hire (including a children’s pastor—wink, wink), curriculum to figure out, staff members going on maternity leave, new staff members to train and stability to build amongst more. There’s such a good foundation that was built. Our staff and volunteers are ready for what God has for River Valley.

Personal life…

So far, my family is enjoying themselves. We’ve probably spent a little more money than we should’ve, but we’re taking full advantage of what the Minneapolis area has to offer. Part of why we’ve forked out the bucks is that we’re playing the role of tourist and we also want our kids to become excited for what’s here. My oldest still misses her friends and so we’re bonding even closer as a family and looking for those children whom could eventually become good friends with our children.

I’m a West Coast guy at heart, but I’m honestly enjoying Apple Valley and living so close to downtown Minneapolis. I feel like we are really able to get the best of both worlds here. My wife likes country; I like city.

I feel anxious at times because of everything that needs to get done. It can be overwhelming, but I feel God is showing me more and more how to rely on Him and to be anxious for nothing—wait a minute! There’s a verse for that ☺. I can be impatient, but I’m here for the long haul looking down the road. Down the road is looking very bright and promising indeed.

PJ

Thought I would pass on some digital gold…I like to pass this stuff along, though sometimes I’d like to keep it to myself so I look smarter than I really am.

I came across this cool website full of deliciousness. Trust me, I will be using some of this…

http://www.cfwired.com/

-PJ

Well, what a whirlwind I’ve been on the past couple months. I went from “You couldn’t pay me enough to move to Minnesota!” in February to being the Family Life Pastor of River Valley Church in Apple Valley, MN.

Note to self: Stop saying “never” because God seems to like that word. I think he uses it to shake us up.

I’m excited about this church and where God has placed my family and I. I want to keep everyone updated on how we’re doing and our transition from the West Coast to the upper Mid-West.

Here are a few initial thoughts:

1. When mama’s happy—everyone is happy! I know some women/mom’s don’t like to hear that, but it’s more true than you know.
2. Though I love River Valley—and I can tell the team is going to be fun to work with—getting used to the Mid-West/Minneapolis is going to take a little while to get used to. I already miss the West Coast, mountains and Pacific Ocean.
3. There can’t be much more that breaks a father’s heart than to see his 10-year-old daughter devastated that she had to move away from her best friends. It’s not easy knowing what my daughter is going through and not being able to do anything about it.
4. There’s a lot of work to be done, systems to be put in place, people to meet, changes to make, etc. at a church that’s absolutely amazing.

I plan on blogging gut honest about this transition because 1) it helps me and 2) I hope it helps others who may be or thinking about going through the same thing. Some people make it seem like it’s so easy and there are never any issues. While that’s always the hope, it’s never the reality. God has shown Himself—as usual—absolutely faithful and amazing through this whole change.

I’m off to buy some winter gear!

-PJ