I recently wrote a ridiculous sentence about children’s ministry. I said, ‘The problem with children’s work is that it’s easy to do an OK job, but really hard to do a good one. Therefore we tend to settle for OK, as we know that people probably won’t notice.’ I know, it’s a bit of a strange statement, but I stand by it. Let me unpack it a bit for you to let you know what I mean…
It’s easy being OK
With some solid basics in place and a bit of experience, a functioning Sunday school is not rocket science. Trust your resources, plan well, have a good repertoire of games and a bit of personal charisma to fall back on and you’ll do all right. Throw in some above-average biscuits and a puppet or two and you’re really flying. But, most likely, you’re running an entertaining group that is educating children into how to act Christian, rather than nurturing a lasting faith.
It’s really hard to be good
I’ve spoken about this before, but the jump up to good isn’t easy. You have to critique your resources and change them to suit your group. You have to work hard to be intentional in forming community and creating space for reflection and spirituality. You have to do this while all the time not losing your focus on discipleship in the Christian way and not becoming so loose that the children end up ill-equipped to be part of your church as they grow up.
We tend to settle for OK as we know that nobody will notice
This is a key issue that we face as children’s workers, especially those of us who do it for a living. It’s unlikely that there will be anyone in your parish who has the specialist knowledge to critique your work. This a very dangerous vacuum to work in, but the fact of life is that many of us do. Therefore the only way your work can develop and improve is if you can find it within yourself to keep pressing forward, rather than sitting back and letting a safe programme role along.
So how do we make sure we’re always driving towards what really good and not settling for OK?
1. Pray for yourself and for your group. Sometimes ministry feels like a chore, keeping praying for God’s inspiration for what you do.
2. Read books and go to conferences. I’m always staggered how many times I’m involved in interviews for paid workers and I discover that none of the candidates have ever read a book or been to a conference specifically about children’s work. Invest in yourself and read some stuff.
3. Find space to think. I’ll be honest: I’m bad at this. But if we’re going to really improve we’ll need to think deeply about what we’re doing. If that means retreats then retreat; for me it means a bike ride but the key is getting away from the work and having time to reflect.
4. Always have something new you’re trying in your practice. Obviously over-doing this will drive everyone mad, but keep tweaking and improving, always have a theory you’re testing or a new way of doing things you’re trying out.
5. Drink coffee with other children’s workers. Have a chat and a drink with someone you value and set the world to rights. Inspire one another!
A final thought to leave you with (I’ll explore this next time): doing all this might only get you to ‘good’, getting to ‘great’ might be impossible.
Sam Donoghue is Head of Children’s and Youth Support for the Diocese of London and a fan of Everton Football Club.