CHILDREN ’ S M IN IS TR Y AS S E S S M E N T REPORT Building Sustainable Ministries . . . One Church at a Time www.ministryarchitects.com

Church of the Open Door of Glendora, CA

September 15, 2015

By Annette Safstrom, Lead Consultant and Anthony Prince, Staff Consultant

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BACKGROUND Church of the Open Door is an established, non-denominational church located in the beautiful town of Glendora, California. The church was founded in 1915 by Dr. R. A. Torrey who was also the first president of Biola University and is about to celebrate its 100th birthday. The church was located in downtown Los Angeles for 70 years until it relocated to Glendora, CA in 1985. The church moved to property purchased from Azusa Pacific University, and includes many different buildings, a newly renovated worship center and lots and lots of space. Church members describe their church family as “open,” “comfortable,” and “a really great community.” The membership of the church is around 485 and on an average week, 500 people attend one of the church’s two worship services. The church is lead by Ed Underwood who has been serving as the Senior Pastor for the past 19 years. Other pastoral staff include Associate Pastor David Anderson, Worship Pastor Tom Townsend, Missions and Discipleship Pastor David Schaller, Student Ministries Pastor David Newkirk, and Properties Pastor Jeremy Maclennan. Church of the Open Door offers Sunday school during the 9 AM worship service and children’s church during the 11 AM serve and currently, there are about 161 children, 0 – 5th grade on the rolls of the church. During a typical week, about 119 of them participate in Sunday school, children’s church or AWANA. Camp IDRAFOJE and Vacation Bible Adventure are the most popular summer events for the children of Church of the Open Door. Some families describe the children’s ministry as a “full of grace” and “fantastic,” while others say it is “struggling.” The church has a 2015 budget of $2 million, and the children’s ministry has a budget in the neighborhood of $151,300. This includes both the program budget and the salaries/benefits for the staff, consisting of a full-time children’s pastor, part-time administrative assistant, and part-time nursery coordinator. The ministry is led by an interim children’s ministry director who has been serving in this role since May of 2015 and there are about 50 adult volunteers involved each week in one of the major children’s programs. Others help out at special events or behind the scenes throughout the year. The children’s facilities are spread out over the campus. There are plenty of classrooms; some of them are in the process of being updated with new carpet and fresh paint. Many of the preschool rooms have bathroom facilities inside each room. The children’s ministry also benefits from having two playgrounds on site. After the sudden departure of the most recent children’s pastor, Church of the Open Door began looking for support. Ministry Architects was invited to do an initial assessment of the children’s ministry and to make recommendations about how it might move strategically forward. Ministry Architects met with 48 individuals in eight focus groups or one-on-one meetings. What follows are the findings gleaned from those conversations along with recommendations and a proposed timeline for the future.

CHILDREN’S MINISTRY IN CONTEXT One lens Ministry Architects likes to use for understanding children’s ministry is the idea of the “three rents.” Children’s ministries that “pay these rents” tend to have much greater freedom to be creative, take risks, and experiment with innovative ideas. Those children’s ministries that fail to pay these rents often find themselves mired in distrust, second-guessing, and discouragement.

It has been Ministry Architects’ experience that though these three rents, in and of themselves, do not ensure an effective or faithful ministry, they are often the most immediate evaluation tools used by children, parents, staff, and the congregation at large. Rent #1: NUMBERS—A significant percentage of children need to be participating visibly in some aspect of the church’s ministry. It is important for this target number to be clearly agreed on by the church leaders and the staff. Ironically, when target numbers are not established, the children’s ministry is typically more likely to be judged by numbers than if the target numbers are clearly established. The consensus is that this rent is being paid. With 119 children participating weekly, Church of the Open Door has many kids active throughout weekly programs. Rent #2: PROGRAMS—In order to “earn the right” to experiment with changes, the children’s leadership needs to provide the church with a few visible, effective children’s programs that give both children and parents “something to talk about.” Church of the Open Door can confidently say that there are plenty of programs offered, in fact, there are more than the expected number of programs offered for a church of this size. This rent is over-paid. Rent #3: ENTHUSIASM—The joyful enthusiasm and positive attitude of the children’s staff, volunteers, and the children themselves are essential to building trust with the leadership of the church and with the parents. There is plenty of enthusiasm about some yearly events, like Camp IDRAFOJE and VBA, however the ministry struggles when it comes to weekly programming. This suggests that this rent is only partially paid. As the leadership of the children’s ministry develops its long-range vision, it will need, at the same time, to be attentive to these “three rents.” In this sense, the children’s ministry faces parallel challenges. Ministry Architects pictures the parallel challenge this way:

1. Laying the Foundation: Building a foundation and infrastructure that will ensure the children’s ministry’s future effectiveness, and at the same time, 2. Continuing to Do Ministry: Maintaining the current children’s ministry in a way that builds the enthusiasm of children, their families, the staff and the church at large.

As the children’s ministry leadership steps into this parallel process, four rules of thumb –“children’s ministry norms” – will be helpful to keep in mind. These are not necessarily targets for success; they are simply what an average church typically experiences: 1) 15% of the Worshiping Congregation—In a typical church, the size of the children’s ministry tends to settle at a number that is around 15% of the worshipping congregation. A church with an average worship attendance of 500 could expect an average weekly children’s attendance of around 75 children per week. The current weekly attendance of 119 children is over and above what a church of this size could normally expect to see. Celebrate!

2) $1,000 per Child—With a budget of approximately $151,300 (including program budget, staff salaries, and benefits but not paid baby-sitters or nursery workers) dedicated to the children’s ministry, Church of the Open Door has the capacity to effectively reach and maintain a weekly participation level of somewhere in the neighborhood of 150 children in some aspect of the church’s life. With 119 currently participating every week, the ministry is well funded for continued growth. Keep in mind that this dollar amount can vary widely depending on the cost of living in the church’s community. 3) 1 Full-Time Staff Person for Every 75 Children—Considering all the positions giving time to the children’s ministry, including a full-time children’s pastor, an administrative assistant, and a nursery coordinator, Church of the Open Door has the equivalent of 1 ¾ full time staff person (not including paid baby-sitters or nursery workers). According to this rule of thumb, Church of the Open Door has the capacity to sustain the engagement of about 130 children on a weekly basis. The current staff configuration is aligned well to the current needs of the ministry and even allows for some growth. 4) 1 Adult for Every 5 Children— Ministry Architects likes to think in terms of “spans of care,” recognizing that, realistically, most volunteers cannot effectively oversee the church’s Christian nurture of more than about five children on an ongoing basis. With 50 weekly volunteers, Church of the Open Door currently has a capacity for 250 children weekly. This ministry is well-supported by volunteers according to this ratio. Though the number of volunteers provides capacity, the unique programmatic layout actually means COD still needs more volunteers in order to run effectively. In other words, the scope of programs and events offered at Church of the Open Door requires more volunteers than the children’s ministry currently has.

BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE STAFF When a ministry is based solely on the giftedness of a single staff person, instability is a predictable result. Ministry Architects has found that the most stable approach to staffing a ministry, particularly in the early stages of a rebuild, is to build a staff of three different kinds of people:  The Architect: A person or organization that designs the building plan and ensures that building is done in compliance with the agreed-upon plan.  The General Contractor: A person or team who manages the flow and sequencing of work, manages the building process according to the agreed-upon blueprint, and ensures that the appropriate number of “laborers” is in place for each stage of the project.  The Laborers: Those people charged with specific gifts and responsibilities for particular aspects of the work. In children’s ministry, a laborer might have particular skills in relating to children, in planning and managing events, or in teaching.

Each of these roles is important as the Church of the Open Door pursues a more sustainable model of children’s ministry. As the church moves forward, the following observations will be helpful to keep in mind:

 In many churches, there is no person or group playing the role of the architect. The ministry simply moves from one event to the next without a clear vision or stated outcomes.  Sometimes paid staff are not given the time or training to do their important work as the “general contractor” of a complex ministry.  The staff is often expected to serve in all three of these roles. This is a recipe for congregational dissatisfaction and staff burnout.  Some churches hire a laborer who is skilled at leading singing, playing games or teaching a Bible lesson. These laborers often mature into an architect or a general contractor, but only if they are given permission, time, and training.

ASSETS Strengths to protect in the current children’s ministry

Willing Hearts A number of volunteers expressed a strong desire for more training in their children’s ministry roles. Rather than being burned out or looking for a way to bail during this season of transition, the volunteer core is asking for ways to be more effective at their job of serving “the church’s littlest worshippers,” as one volunteer put it. Many volunteers “are willing to ask others to serve alongside them.”

Many in the focus groups spoke with confidence about the church’s ability and willingness to support the children and the children’s ministry. The feeling is that people need a personal invitation. Repeatedly, we heard that the church members are willing to contribute their time, talents and resources in any way possible, as long as they have a clear picture of what they’re being asked to do.

A Place of Grace Church of the Open Door believes deeply in creating a culture of grace in the ministries of the church and in the lives of the congregation. One regret we had is not counting how many times we heard the word, “grace” mentioned in the listening groups as people described the children’s ministry and the church-at-large. “The children’s program is full of grace,” “We’re a grace church,” “Grace is very important here,” and “The children’s ministry is full of love and grace,” are just a handful of the ways in which people tried to express the importance of the church’s grace-filled culture during their time with us.

Big Events It was generally agreed that the children’s ministry does an excellent job of pulling off big events. Whether it’s camp IDRAFOJE or Vacation Bible Adventure, these events are consistently well received and well attended.

When talking about VBA, listening groups could not stop praising its effectiveness and sharing their enthusiasm for the program, saying:  “VBA is impressive”  “Our kids love VBA”  “Our son brought his VBA CD to school, did the song and dance for his class and made the teachers cry.”  “We came to this church because of VBA.”  “VBA is one of the best things we do to reach out to kids in our community.”

Support from the Top Guided by the call God has given him, Pastor Ed leads, guides, and shares his vision and mission with passion. Through his leadership, the pastoral team is able to dream, plan, and implement holistically the message of the grace of Jesus Christ. Operating “on their own” isn’t an option for the pastoral team. Pastor Ed believes being invested in the staff is a way for his passion and central message of grace to come through in everything that is said and done with the church.

Long-Term Volunteer Team There is a highly invested team of adults who have been working with the children of Church of the Open Door for a quite a number of years. These are experienced adults who take immense initiative to invest in the children of the church. One parent remarked about how meaningful it was when her child received a New Testament from her Sunday school teacher and other parents said that this long-term volunteer is “amazing” while another noted that “maybe we can name a building after her one day!”

Youth Are Ministers The youth are very active in the life and ministry of the church. They volunteer to teach Sunday school, work in the nursery, work at IDRAFOJE, volunteer at Vacation Bible School, and help out in other areas of the children’s ministry. The youth not only help out, but many do so with a sincere heart to serve. This is something that is being modeled in front of a younger generation that will someday emulate that behavior to another group of kids. Church of the Open Door is a church that believes in discipleship and the youth of the church are passing that vision on to the next generation.

Home Sweet Home It was common to hear from focus group participants, “I’ve been at this church my entire life,” or “I’ve been at this church for 20, 30, 40 even 50+ years.” Many of the parents who are active in the church today carry significant memories from their experiences in the Church of the Open Door children’s ministry and now enjoy seeing their own children being raised at the church that they grew up in. “Our church feels like home,” said one parent of a child in the ministry. “It’s a great community,” another said. “It feels like family.”

40 Acres and a Dream When Church of the Open Door purchased 40 acres on a hillside from Azusa Pacific University 30 years ago, the congregation had big dreams for how God would use their church campus. Today, those dreams are being realized. “If you can dream about it, you can do it on this campus,” one group participant said. “Your imagination is the limiting factor on campus,” and “You can do anything on this campus,” summed up the feelings of the staff and volunteers who plan the ways that the ministries of the church get to use the facilities that God has given them.

CHALLENGES Obstacles to moving the children’s ministry strategically forward

Safety Deficit The most glaring challenge that the children’s ministry at Church of the Open Door must face is that there is a significant deficit when it comes to the safety of the children. Because of the layout of the campus, children are attending Sunday school or Lord’s Lab in buildings other than where the parents are worshipping. Most of those attending Church of the Open Door are long-time members, and feel very comfortable with allowing their children to walk to their classes and many children wait for their parents on the playground between the 9 AM and 11 AM services. Without a structured check-in and check-out system, the children and the church at-large are vulnerable. Visitors will feel that their children are at risk on the church’s campus until these issues are addressed.

Most of the volunteers have been background checked, and at one time, there was a safety policy, however, volunteers admitted to not fully understanding what the safety policy covers. No accountability exists to ensure that those serving the children are adhering to the policies.

Because of the unique layout of the church facilities, special consideration will need to be made in order to draft a policy that will protect children, volunteers, and the church in light of the challenges presented by a campus with these unique qualities. One member said, “Clear signage would help. We need people to see where to go.”

Volunteer Deficit When you look at the numbers of volunteers to children, Church of the Open Door appears to have all its bases covered, however, because of the number of different programs and events offered, the current number of volunteers is not sufficient to support the programming offered. Many listening group participants noted that classes are frequently combined because there are not enough volunteers to support the children on Sundays. It is not unusual for a class to have only one adult leader. While it is helpful to have junior volunteers, they don’t serve the same purpose as adult volunteers. With only one adult leader in some groups some weeks, volunteers struggle when children need to be taken to the bathroom or a child needs some individual attention. Current volunteers expressed frustration over the fact that the same people seem to be serving year after year without a break. One volunteer said, “The opportunities are there, the struggle is just trying to get people to commit.”

Lack of Volunteer Support The volunteers at Church of the Open Door are willing and enthusiastic, however many are also frustrated and feel that the church has left them to struggle to figure out how to lead children in their faith. Some asked for help with behavior management. They feel like they are left on their own to figure out how to handle overly energetic boys, or challenges with emergencies. Some also expressed that they would like some guidance with teaching the lesson and the accompanying activities. Many of these dedicated volunteers do not come from teaching backgrounds, and would benefit from some training. One volunteer said, “I think that if we had regular trainings for volunteers, that would help.” And another said, “We’ve really been lacking training.”

The leadership of the church also desires to mentor and support these ministry leaders in their own faith journeys. This leads to healthier leaders for the children and healthier families in the church. Without an intentional plan for supporting these volunteers, these good intentions will not become what the volunteers so desperately need. One leader said, “We need to make sure that our volunteers are healthy, and that they are serving in the right role.”

Looking for the Superstar Church of the Open Door is feeling the pain of losing a beloved children’s pastor. Through this, the staff and families at Church of the Open Door are hoping to fill that position with a great leader who has all the strengths or former leaders, and can overcome the weaknesses left behind. This is such an important position in the church, and the leaders are right to put particular emphasis on finding the right person, however, no one person can fill all of the requirements of leading the ministry the church desires. When asked to dream about the future of the children’s ministry, answers frequently sounded like, “We just need someone who can be really creative.” Others said, “We need someone who can mentor volunteers.”

When looking for leadership for the ministry, an active volunteer leadership team (i.e. a Children’s Ministry Council) will be essential in supporting this new staff member in providing balanced leadership for the younger generation. In fact, during this transition to a new leader, Church of the Open Door will need to lean heavily upon volunteers to support the interim director as the ministry continues in the absence of a long term leader.

Lack of a Comprehensive Christian Formation Plan The weekly programming for the children of Church of the Open Door consists of Sunday school, Lord’s Lab, and AWANA. Each of these programs was designed to meet a specific need for the children and the church. However, each program operates independently of the others, and there is no overarching plan to make sure that the children of Church of the Open Door will master a particular set of competencies by the time they reach middle school. Many church members and leaders have questions about what the children are being taught, and whether or not the lessons are even congruent with the unique theology of the church. One elder said, “Some of the curriculum leans more heavily toward legalism. I want to see what we are teaching the kids be more in line with what we are doing everywhere else.” Until Church of the Open Door takes the time to determine what they want the children to learn and experience before they enter middle school, there will be gaps and even competing doctrines within the children’s ministry.

Communication Gaps Although to many, the children’s ministry appears to be doing good things, parents and church members expressed frustration over not really knowing what is happening in those buildings on Sundays. We heard parents say, “Communication with the parents could be better. We have no idea what the kids are doing in there.” The volunteers expressed frustration over communication as well. It seems that there are times when no one is sure who is going to show up on Sunday. One volunteer said, “Communication means so much to me. I would love to see more texts, Facebook messages, and emails just confirming what is going on.” Until the ministry has a plan for how to get the appropriate messages to parents, volunteers, the congregation and the community, this common frustration will continue.

Fuzzy Vision There are so many great programs and events at Church of the Open Door. This is a great thing until you realize that members of the church are spread thin in either volunteering for, or attending these events. Many listening group participants agreed that there is too much going on for the size of the congregation at Church of the Open Door, however when asked which programs or events should be eliminated or scaled back, each suggestion was met with great resistance. Until there is a clear vision for the children’s ministry, it will be impossible to scale back the programming to a level that is appropriate for the church. Although the ratio of volunteers to children at Church of the Open Door exceeds the national average, Church of the Open Door still suffers from a volunteer deficiency. This is a direct result of too much programming due to a lack of focused vision. The church will need to determine some priorities for the children’s ministry and a mission to drive the programming in order to determine what offerings are appropriate for this ministry.

Hidden on the Hill The location of Church of the Open Door has proven to be a barrier to attracting members of the community. A small sign can be seen from the road, but even residents who have lived in the area for years were not aware that a church was here. One church member said, “People drive by, and they don’t even know that there is a church here.” Another person said, “People don’t find us by accident.” If Church of the Open Door wants to attract more families in the area, there will have to be extra effort toward making the community aware of what is happening on the hill.

Rites of Passage While many good things occur throughout the life of this church, there is no culture in place to celebrate such things. Baby dedications and baptisms appear to be the only rites of passage celebrated for the children of Church of the Open Door. The church is missing opportunities to celebrate children and their families as they pass through the natural transitions of childhood. Some of these may include kindergarten graduation, receiving a Bible that they can read, transitioning into Live Wires, and into the youth group. These celebrations will create lifelong connections between the children, their faith, and their church.

Invisible Children Over the past few years, it seems that the children’s ministry at Church of the Open Door has become an island unto itself. One church leader said, “A lot of what was happening in children’s ministry wasn’t relayed to us. I knew things were happening, but I didn’t know what was happening.” Some church members suggested that those who don’t have children in the children’s ministry might not even be aware that children’s ministry was happening. One parent said, “Children’s ministry happens up there, and big church happens down here.” Many people feel that the children are not visible enough to the church at large. Because of the layout of the church, children’s ministry leaders will need to make an intentional effort to expose the larger church to the successes and happenings of the children’s ministry.

COMMON DREAMS AND LONGINGS Desires for the future

Music Many listening group participants expressed a desire for the children to experience more music in their worship experience. In the past, Church of the Open Door has offered a music camp for children, but recently, there doesn’t appear to be a strong musical element to the children’s ministry. We heard parents say that they would like to see kids playing instruments and leading other children in worship as well as, wanting their children to learn songs that reinforce the lessons they are learning. Church of the Open Door has a congregation that is hungry to train children to worship and to lead through music.

Parent Equipping and Support Church of the Open Door is good at mentoring and supporting its members, however the parents feel like they are not getting the support they need. Parenting is hard, and the families at Church of the Open Door are longing for more support in their role of training their children in the faith. Up to this point, there have been a few seminars offered, but some of those were more suited for parents of teenagers. One parent said, “I would say there is nothing intentional to help us grow as parents.” This is an opportunity for the children’s ministry to partner with other ministries in the church to meet the needs of parents while building bridges with the student ministry and HUB groups.

RECOMMENDATIONS 1) Reframe the next 18 months as a time of goal-setting and infrastructure building for the children’s ministry. Target March 2017 as the date for achieving sustainable structures for the children’s ministry knowing that incremental successes will be seen throughout the renovation. 2) Establish a Prayer Team to undergird this renovation process. 3) Present this report to the elders, requesting that they endorse an 18-month strategic design process for the children’s ministry. 4) Establish a Children’s Ministry Renovation Team, made up of four to five volunteers who report regularly to the associate pastor. These non-anxious, goal-oriented people will free up the staff to focus on exceptional day-to-day ministry, while the Renovation Team focuses on the recommendations below. These recommendations include two overarching responsibilities: I. Work with the children’s ministry leadership to address the immediate pressure points facing the ministry as they transition toward sustainability. II. Establish a consensus for the direction of the ministry and take responsibility for implementing the strategic, long-term changes recommended in this report. 5) Engage the services of Ministry Architects to take responsibility for:  Working with the staff and volunteers to ensure the achievement of the outcomes outlined in this report’s timeline.  Assisting the children’s ministry in overcoming the obstacles that are certain to arise in the process of restructuring and fine-tuning the children’s ministry.  Assisting the Renovation Team and Personnel Committee with the search process to fill the children’s director position.

RENOVATION TEAM TASK #1: Address the Pressure Points (Accomplish these urgent tasks first to create a healthy climate conducive to change.) Pressure Point #1: Safety and Security - Update and publicize the children’s ministry safety policy guidelines so that they are comprehensive and address the following:

 Bathroom Procedures & Diaper Changing Guidelines  Boundaries for young volunteers  Check-in/check-out procedures  The use of volunteers to monitor areas that are accessible to the public during children’s ministry programs  What to do in case of injury or emergency  Contacting a parent during worship  Assurance that Safe Sanctuary policies are understood and implemented by volunteers

Pressure Point #2: Build the Volunteer Team – Recruit enough volunteers to ensure that all bases are covered for the next six months in the current children’s ministries (including but not limited to Children’s Church, Sunday School, AWANA). Ensure that Church of the Open Door volunteers are adhering to Safe Sanctuary policies (two adults in each classroom).

 Make a list of immediate volunteer positions that need to be filled for all children’s ministry programs and activities, including weekly leader/teacher positions and behind the scenes coordinator positions.  Using the church directory create a list of at least 100 potential volunteers.  Divide up this list of potential volunteers and begin calling them personally.  Go back to step one until all positions have been filled.

Pressure Point #3: Volunteer Equipping & Training - Create an application and screening process for every volunteer. Schedule a volunteer training event where the following items are discussed and distributed to all current volunteers:  Safe Sanctuary policy information.  A roster of all children of the church (those attending and those not attending).  Results-based job descriptions for each volunteer role.  The curriculum plan for the next six months.  The calendar for the next six months. Ensure background checks have been conducted on all current volunteers and all adults working with any children or youth affirm a sexual abuse/child protection policy.

Pressure Point #4: Staff Search - Propose clear, appropriate long-term staffing plan for the children’s ministry that will provide the church with significant capacity to sustain a thriving ministry to its targeted number of children.

 Assemble a staff search team to begin looking for a children’s pastor to meet the needs of the congregation at Church of the Open Door.  Review and update the Children’s Pastor’s job description  Determine whether or not to partner with Ministry Architects in this search.  Begin publicizing the job posting.  Begin the candidate selection process.

RENOVATION TEAM TASK #2: Establishing a consensus for the direction of the children’s ministry and the creation of its infrastructure, including the completion of the following tasks: BUILDING INFRASTRUCTURE AND STABILITY o Host a “Quick Start” Retreat: Invite the Renovation Team, key volunteers, and children’s staff to participate in a Quick Start Retreat in which the renovation process is launched and the pressure points outlined in the Assessment Report are addressed. The retreat tackles the items that need to be done first, and builds momentum for the children's ministry renovation process.  Meet with staff to review the report and identify current status of challenges and recommendations to create next steps for the Renovation Team.  Renovation Team would become oriented to the job ahead.  Renovation Team would take the next steps from the staff and begin to assign who will supervise over what recommendations/pressure steps.  A plan for concrete communication between the Renovation Team and staff would be determined so that all parties feel they’re “in the know.” o Visioning: Invite parents and leaders to participate in a multi-session, on- campus process of visioning a new future for the children’s ministry with Ministry Architects, resulting in the following documents which will direct the ministry: o A ministry mission statement o A statement of values o A set of three-year revolving goals o An organizational structure for the ministry o Christian Formation: Gather a team for a Christian Formation Retreat to discuss the learning objectives of each age level and how these might be accomplished utilizing available curriculum.  Evaluate the upcoming curriculum to ensure its effectiveness.  Develop a long-range scope and sequence as well as a set of core competencies for the children’s ministry programming.  Assess the need for the Children’s Church hour to use an integrated curriculum plan that is coordinated with the Sunday school classes that are also in place.  Determine how the curriculum selected will be communicated to volunteers.  Decide what level of training will be required prior to full implementation.  Determine what musical offerings for children will be offered. o Creative Marketing: Brainstorm and draft a game plan for marketing children's ministry offerings to the surrounding community. o Children’s Ministry Council: Empower a volunteer leadership team in which each member oversees a small area of the children’s ministry and serves as support and a sounding board for children’s ministry staff. o Control Document Development: Complete and publish an 18-month calendar, create major event notebooks to help event planners succeed, and generate a preventative maintenance calendar that schedules behind-the-scenes activities for each month (like “September: nail down the date for next year’s high school mission trip”). o Compliance Documents: Ensure that copyright licensing for music and videos has been obtained, an application and screening process for every volunteer is in place, and all adults working with any children affirm a sexual abuse/child protection policy. o Attendance: Track attendance for all children’s activities. o Marketing: Establish clear internal marketing processes that allow parents, children, leaders, and the broader church to be exposed to the successes and good news surrounding the children’s ministry. o Communication: Establish normative processes for effective and timely communication with parents, children, and leaders utilizing as many forms of communication as possible including updating the children’s page of the church’s website, Facebook, mass texting, mail, e-mail, etc. o Children’s Ministry Manual: Develop a Children’s Ministry Manual, including the most recent children’s directory, a 12-18-Month calendar, results-based job descriptions for staff and volunteers, compliance documents, budgets, game plans, a preventative maintenance calendar, and notes for every major children’s ministry event. o Fall Kick-Off/Parent Orientation: Develop an intentional, family-based, incredibly fun Fall Kickoff event to launch the children’s ministry in the fall of 2016. Use that event to cast the vision, share information, and build enthusiasm about the year ahead. o Enlist an Experienced, Professional Coach: Invite Ministry Architects to play the “coach” role during this renovation period. Ministry Architects would offer experienced direction for the building of an infrastructure for the children’s ministry and provide ongoing coaching for the children’s ministry staff members as well as the Renovation Teams.

DEVELOPING AND NURTURING STAFF AND SERVANTS o Strategic Staffing: Propose a clear, appropriate long-term staffing plan, which will include the search for a new children’s pastor. This plan will involve the professional and volunteer components for the children’s ministry and will provide the church with significant capacity to sustain a thriving ministry to its targeted number of children. o Volunteer Recruitment: Build a fortified volunteer leadership team, some of who will do relational ministry with children while others work behind the scenes. Create a clear and complete list of the volunteer needs. Create a “fishing pond” list of at least 100 possible volunteers to call on for weekly volunteer positions. o Leadership Development: Complete results-based, written job descriptions for all paid and volunteer positions in the children’s ministry and create a structure for the ongoing training of all volunteers at least quarterly. o Leadership Launch: Schedule and implement an inspiring leadership-training event for all volunteer children’s workers at the beginning of each school year. o Student Leadership Development: Develop a written game plan for combining the church’s current student leadership opportunities into a system that gives increasing load-bearing responsibility for mentoring and ministry leadership to children. o Fine-tune the Children’s Pastor’s Job: Shift from the model of a mid-size church – where a full-time children’s director is the superhero who makes everything happen – to a large church model where the Pastor of Children’s Ministry equips others for doing the ministry, too. The pastor becomes an architect and general contractor, nurturing the staff and the volunteers for ministry. That is, the pastor moves from being the “genius” to being the “genius maker.”

DEVELOPING CLEAR STRATEGIES AND NEW INITIATIVES o Parent Support and Enrichment: Create a written process for supporting parents as the main influencer of their children’s faith in multiple ways during the 2016-2017 school year. o Integration: Develop a strategic plan for helping the children become an integral part of the whole church, weaving the children’s ministry into the fabric of the entire church. o Music: Create a written plan for incorporating music into the children’s ministry and include areas that the children can lead each other in worship as well as ways to support learning through music. o First-Timer Process: Develop a process for welcoming new families, children and guests to the church so that they feel warmly welcomed. Document a timely follow up plan to ensure their return to the church. o Rites of Passage (or Milestones): Develop a written plan for the processes, events, and privileges that includes celebration of developmental and spiritual milestones for all children.

PROPOSED TIMELINE AND OPTIONAL CONSULTING PROPOSAL The following provides Church of the Open Door with a timeline that can serve as a blueprint for the strategic launch of sustainable, long-term children’s ministry. Many churches choose to use the services of Ministry Architects to provide coaching and experienced troubleshooting through this infrastructure-building process. If the church would like Ministry Architects to provide more specialized consulting in certain areas, particularly for the 18-month transition, we are available to help. October 2015 Focus: Starting Right and Work Begins Outcomes:  This report has been presented to the elders for the strategic renovation of the children’s ministry and the elder board has given full support of this plan.  A Quick Start Retreat has been scheduled for November.  The Renovation Team for children has been recruited and the first meeting has been scheduled to take place during the Quick Start Retreat.  A prayer team has been recruited and charged with praying for the children’s ministry. They have received a copy of the assessment report and timeline.  The 2015-2016 children’s ministry calendar has been distributed to all children and their families. The calendar has been publicized and major event dates are on the church’s calendar.  A Visioning Retreat has been scheduled for February and a “save the date” email/postcard has been sent to all families.  A detailed 2016 budget for the children’s ministry has been completed and submitted to the appropriate group.  A staff search team has been assembled to begin looking for a children’s pastor to meet the needs of the congregation at Church of the Open Door.  It has been determined whether or not to partner with Ministry Architects in the search for a children’s pastor.  Mechanisms for on-going education and coaching for the children’s ministry staff and key volunteers have been provided.

THE MINISTRY ARCHITECTS TEAM SERVING CHURCH OF THE OPEN DOOR

ANNETTE SAFSTROM- Lead Consultant [email protected] 469-441-9179

Annette fell in love with children’s ministry in the 1980s and has never looked back. After graduating from Bible College in 1991 with a certification in children’s ministry, she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Texas A&M University, and a Master’s from SMU. Over the years, she has consistently served in various roles and in various settings as either a staff member or volunteer team member.

In recent years, Annette served as a director for a rapidly growing children’s ministry, and has been a member of the Ministry Architects team since January of 2012. She is a conference speaker for both Children’s Pastor’s Conference and Group’s KidMin Conference. She lives in McKinney, TX with her husband Kevin, and their two children, and enjoys traveling, cooking, and writing.

ANTHONY PRINCE- Staff Consultant [email protected] 626-733-7410 Anthony Prince is a husband, dad and pastor - in that order. He and his wife, Christine, live in Glendora, CA with their three children: Carter, Kate and Vaughn. Anthony serves on the pastoral team at Glenkirk church, where he provides oversight for the Family Ministry of the church – caring for children, cradle to college.

He is a graduate of Azusa Pacific University (B.A., Theology) and earned a Masters in Global Leadership with an emphasis in Youth, Family & Culture from Fuller Seminary. Anthony is a sought-after speaker on the topics of children & family ministry, strategic church leadership, and volunteer recruitment. He is also a contributing author to two books: What Matters Now in Children's Ministry (2011) and Sunday School that Works! (2014).

JEFF DUNN-RANKIN – Senior Consultant [email protected] 941-416-6618

Jeff has been Director of Youth at Christ United Methodist Church in Venice, FL since 1998. He has consulted with large and small youth and children’s ministries from California to Florida and is a frequent speaker at events from the Group/Simply Convention to KidMin.

He is a regular columnist for Group Magazine, and in 2011, Jeff wrote two books, Before You Hire a Youth Pastor and The Indispensable Youth Pastor (Group Publishing), both co-authored with YMA President & Founder, Mark DeVries.

Jeff is a graduate of the Sewanee: The University of the South and has a Masters in Business Administration from Vanderbilt University. He currently lives in Venice, Florida, with his wife Mary Lou, and two children, Matthew and Katie