Children’s Ministry in Crisis

By Esther Moreno and Reggie Joiner

Like an imperceptible virus, children’s ministries across the nation have been infected with a crisis of leadership. While on the surface they can sustain the status quo, their true potential and effectiveness is being invisibly undermined by shortcomings in leadership, vision, training, wellness, and spiritual maturity. Complicated by burnout, waning volunteer commitment, and troubling cultural shifts, the task before these leaders has never been more perilous. Yet despite these mounting challenges, the war for the hearts and minds of the next generation demands that we level up in our leadership.

Inspired by her unwavering commitment to excellence in children’s ministry, Esther Moreno invites leaders to soberly assess the impact their leadership has on the health and vitality of their own ministry spaces. Leveraging her own 20+ year journey in children’s ministry, Esther goes beyond the superficial symptoms to offer root cause remedies for the common leadership deficits preventing children's ministry leaders from becoming everything God has called them to be.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Feb 8, 2023
• ISBN: 9781669865605

Book preview

Copyright © 2023 by Esther Moreno.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. [Biblica]

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the Holy Bible, King James Version (Authorized Version). First published in 1611. Quotes from the KJV Classic Reference Bible, Copyright 1983 by The Zondervan Corporation.

Rev. date: 02/08/2023

Xlibris

844-714-8691

www.Xlibris.com

849593

I dedicate this book to my husband,

Guylando Moreno, whose love and

sacrificial support have fueled me

to reach a generation for Christ.

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Foreword

Introduction

Chapter 1   No Leadership

Chapter 2   No Vision

Chapter 3   No Training

Chapter 4   Outdated

Chapter 5   Burnout

Chapter 6   Spiritually Dead

Chapter 7   Hope

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

"No one can whistle a symphony. It takes

a whole orchestra to play it."

- H.E. Luccock

I AM OFTEN ASKED, " How in the world are you able to do everything you do? " After publishing four books, hosting virtual conferences, developing digital resources, and training countless children’s ministry teams, I am even more convinced in my answer: God has given me an incredible team! It is difficult to put into words the profound appreciation I have for the many men and women who have made indelible contributions to the leader I am today and the ministry that God has entrusted to me. While these acknowledgments are incapable of capturing all of those individuals who have been a personal blessing, there are a few that I would like to publicly thank.

To Shon Gibbs of Gibbs Media, the man who enthusiastically said, let’s go when I approached you with my vision many years ago. Even then, I wanted my ministry to exude black excellence in a way that my budget couldn’t afford. But instead of dismissing me and my oversized dreams, you have always said yes and delivered results greater than what I even asked. You took my burden and made it your own. For every take, every video, every late night (and there were many), every conference, every road trip, I say thank you!

To Yassin Nkya, the man who called me several years ago and boldly declared, your website stinks. From that day forward, you insisted on helping me by becoming my graphics designer and website developer. Your eye for excellence is as undeniable as your heart for the Lord. For every graphic design, for every website enhancement, and every project (including the occasional 3 projects at one time), I say thank you!

To Ricardo Miller of Effective Living Management Agency and the former children’s ministry veteran who cheered on the phone after I told you that my family’s relocation to Huntsville would force me to resign as children’s pastor in my local church. Ignoring my disappointment, you bellowed this unforgettable response, Now we can get started. I didn’t understand or appreciate your response in that moment, but I do now. Thank you for seeing something in me years ago that I didn’t see in myself. Thank you for pushing me to be the influencer I am today even when I pushed back. Thank you for everything. Who knew that oil and water could become such great friends!

To Ryan Frank, CEO of KidzMatter, thank you for using your influence to pull me out of the shadows years ago. The love and support I have received from you and Beth has been invaluable to me. You will forever be a part of my leadership journey and I remain so very grateful. It takes a special kind of leader to pull someone up front before they even arrive. Seeing past who they are today, you have an uncanny ability to help catalyze who they will be become. From the first podcast to the KidzMatter Conference main stage, your invitations and vote of confidence has meant more to me than you will ever know.

To Tammy Parker, Elementary Director of Westbrook Christian Church, who held me accountable throughout this entire project. For every time you called me to say, are you done yet or my personal favorite, Why ain’t you done yet? Thank you for your friendship, laughter, smiles, and unconditional love for me and my family. You and Darren came on the scene at the perfect time. Your support for us knows no bounds. From the very beginning, your hearty laughs, phenomenal cooking, and the way you love on your family (and mine) has never ceased to amaze me.

To my incredible husband, there are no words for how much your love and support has carried me through this journey called life. Guy, the God in you is explosively dynamic. Why He deemed me fit to be the best friend, wife, and mother of your children, I will never fully comprehend. My love for you grows daily. You make me better in every way. Your sarcasm brings joy and laugher to every one of my days. Thank you for loving me and our family like Christ loved the church.

FOREWORD

I F YOU ARE reading this it’s because you have already said yes to working in children’s ministry. Picking up a book with this title reveals something about your commitment to lead, learn and laugh with kids to help them build a robust and resilient faith. Chances are you spend hours every week, recruiting volunteers, talking to parents, organizing resources, planning calendars, creating environments, wrestling with budgets, setting up equipment, juggling schedules, editing curriculums and wondering if any of it is really working.

You have probably realized by now that what you do can be complicated at times. There is no simple formula or quick fix to guarantee a successful ministry. If your ministry feels like it is in crisis, you are not alone. There are a host of churches and leaders who are trying to reimagine and restart what they do for kids. In your busyness of doing ministry, Esther Moreno wants you to remember something critical about being in ministry. What happens in you as a leader is more important than what happens in those you are leading.

You simply cannot separate the practical work of ministry from the personal work that needs to happen in your life as a leader. Personal, spiritual and emotional growth never happen by accident. And if you hope to lead a generation to follow Jesus in a way that impacts their personal life you need an intentional strategy to

develop leadership skills

communicate vision

create a culture of learning

design relevant experiences

establish healthy boundaries

prioritize your own spiritual growth

In the following chapters, Esther Moreno will challenge you to remember that your ministry is a reflection of what God is doing in you. She knows that self- care as a leader is not selfish, but actually stewardship. Her seasoned experience and professional network make her one of the most amazing coaches and resources in the kids ministry space you will ever know. So take your time as you consider her ideas in this book. Initiate some conversations with leaders you trust to read it with you. If you start believing and doing what she says, there’s a good chance your ministry will never be the same.

Reggie Joiner

Orange - CEO & Founder

INTRODUCTION

T O SAY THAT children’s ministries across the nation are in crisis is not an exaggeration or scare tactic. Children’s ministry leaders have been plagued by burnout, waning volunteer commitment, denominational discord, and outdated approaches that seem to fall short of addressing the shifting cultural standards of today’s children and families. If the fight for the hearts and minds of our children weren’t already challenging enough, now these same leaders must also contend with the aftermath of a global pandemic. From elementary education to the way we interact with others, the impact of this unprecedented health crisis reverberates throughout so many facets of everyday life. Churches and children’s ministries were not immune to its devastation. In the face of empty classrooms, resigning volunteers, and lingering social unrest, many children’s ministry leaders were left feeling defeated and forced to soberly assess their continued existence.

For many leaders, the pandemic represented a shock to stable ministry models, but also served as an opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of their current approach in a changing world. For other leaders, the pandemic exacerbated preexisting deficiencies and accelerated an already simmering crisis. After 20 years of serving in the field of children’s ministry, I have witnessed two types of leadership responses to moments like these. Reactive Leaders who sit and wait for things to happen, and Proactive Leaders who make things happen. Stated differently, Reactive Leaders recognize that things happen to us, but Proactive Leaders recognize that things happen through us. Which one are you?

This book was born out of the urgency of now. Countless conversations with ministry leaders across the nation have compelled me to speak to the very real challenges our children’s ministries and churches currently face. It is a challenge of epic proportions. Much like David facing Goliath, children’s ministers are in the fight of a lifetime where the odds seem stacked against them. But