You are a superhero. We should really think about mailing you a flashy red cape. The fact that you’ve accepted the mission to help kids grow in their faith is truly heroic. However, it’s a well- known fact that even superheroes can’t do things alone. Everyone needs a team, and without those faithful friends and family, you may not fly as high. Who’s on your team: energetic youth, eager parents, and even excited grandparents? These are the kinds of people that you will want to include on this great adventure, but how can you effectively lead them?
Communicate
Maintain good communication with your team. Each person is there because they share your vision of making the faith come alive for kids and they want to be a part of what you’re doing. When you contact them, make sure to either call them or send personal emails or texts. Nobody wants to just be a name in a giant list of contacts. Make it personal.
Appreciate
You can’t survive without your team, so show them that. Surprise them with a cake or an after-meeting chocolate fondue. Handwrite some thank you notes and insert a gift card for the local coffee shop. Get creative. Plan a surprise. Find ways to show just how much you value them. We’re challenging you to go above and beyond the call of duty and knock some socks off.
Invest
People are more important than programs. Take a step back from the whirlwind of planning and try to connect with the people you’re working with. Be intentional. Build relationships. Don’t forget to smile and have fun.
Pray
How can you help make the faith real for kids if you don’t take the time to strengthen it in your own life? Pray together. Start a small group that meets for lunch every month. Encourage people to find mentors or spiritual directors. Let this be a time where you can grow in your faith.
Empower
Form a team that can continue when you’re gone. If you think things will fall apart without you there to hold it together, then you are not training your leaders effectively. Encourage them to use their gifts and talents.
“Therefore encourage one another and build one another up...” (1 Thessalonians 5:11)
God wants to use you and your super team to change the world. That isn’t something to be taken lightly. You have a mission. You are leading people to lead the next generation of world changers. You really should go out and buy that cape...
