The church was growing. God had just called me into children’s ministry. We actually had dozens of volunteers coming forward to serve in the children’s area. (That’s another blog, altogether.) I scheduled my regular quarterly training session to prep these awesome volunteers to work with our kids. Out of the 20 or so volunteers that had signed up, only nine came to the training. I was discouraged, but rescheduled the absentees for another night. Six showed up. Two coffee shop visits, one breakfast appointment and one last-minute-after-church meeting later and I had finally trained all of the volunteers…at least in the basics. That was only round one.

We still had not delved into the specifics of what it means to be a great kids small group leader. By the end of the year, I had spent over 30 hours at 12 different meetings training 20 volunteers. I had a dozen new folks sign up before I was even done with the first group. Would it ever end?

The importance of the time that a kids director or pastor spends with their leaders and volunteers is critical. It’s a challenge to keep up with the process of training your leaders. I would have given almost anything to have a tool that would take a bulk of that leader-training load off of my shoulders. Now a solution is coming to address the important issue of ongoing training.

I don’t usually tout specific ministry tools, but I feel that this one is a no-brainer. Ministry Grid – launching on Tuesday, November 12 – is an online tool to help you with your training needs.  It’s one of the coolest things to come along the leadership pike in years. You can take the load off of your shoulders and let Ministry Grid train your leaders for you. You’ll be able to track each person’s progress and ensure that they are getting the best training possible.

It’s not designed to replace discipleship. That one-on-one time with the people that you lead is essential. Ministry Grid  can be a great tool for passing on information and training that your volunteers, servants, and leaders can take in at their own pace and at their own place.

You can customize it for your own ministry. You’ve got to check out this online resource.

Lead well.

Jeffrey Reed serves as the Director of Kids Ministry for Lifeway. He came to Lifeway with a wide variety of ministry experiences including worship leader, director of children’s ministry, and executive leadership in several growing congregations. Jeffrey’s posts will give your heart and brain a workout, just like the fitness Boot Camp he leads in the mornings for Lifeway employees. Jeffrey and his wife Katherine have 4 kids.