How Are We Winning?

Because this project has been dependent so much on increasing the interpersonal relationships of those directly impacted in the Children’s Ministry I struggled initially with how to qualify success. Primarily, I decided to pinpoint several key points that I could tangibly measure as improvement as I begin implementing change in how the ministry is operated. I kept these to just a few points, so that the integrity of the project being people centric would be maintained.

1. Volunteer numbers should increase

   • At the time of beginning this project was had 3 volunteers serving. Myself, and my wife included.
   • As of right now, we have grown our volunteer base to 8 volunteers. Myself and my wife not included.
   • We are currently able to operate on a volunteer calendar, and have that created at 10-week intervals.

2. Curriculum will be prepped, planned, and available to volunteers in advance

   • Before taking over this ministry, curriculum was not made available to volunteers until the week of. This left volunteers feeling frustrated and like they were responsible for creating their own lessons, and frequently scrambling with what to do on Sundays.
   • Currently, we have lessons prepared in quarterly segments, and given to all lead volunteers 8 weeks in advance of the new session beginning. This allows all leaders to feel prepared to serve, and leaves little confusion about expectations for Sundays. We have this planned out for the next 4 quarters.

 

For all intents and purposes, this project is not actually complete. Because of this, I am always looking for more ways to quantify how well these changes are doing and receive feedback on the changes we have made. As the year progresses, I plan to evaluate the following points on a quarterly basis:

1. Sunday School Membership Numbers

   • Are we growing in class size?
   • Do we have families that are coming on a regular basis?
   • Is our volunteer base continuing to grow to meet growing attendance on Sundays?

2. Community Involvement Increases

   • Are we holding any extra events that the community is being invited to (Friday Kid’s Night out)?
   • On what frequency are these being held? Monthly, Quarterly?
   • How is holding community events outside of Sunday mornings impacting attendance on Sundays? Ideally this would grow our attendance on Sundays.
   • Are we having monthly outreach meetings for our volunteers?

3. We will continue to seek out volunteer and family feedback through feedback forms made available as both paper handouts, as well as on our church mobile app

   • Do volunteers feel empowered with the curriculum?
   • Do volunteers feel like they have a platform that encourages them to provide feedback and suggestions?
   • Do families feel like lessons are meaningful, impacting, and meeting the spiritual needs of their children?