Kids Ministry Collective S2 Ep35- How to Avoid Summer Burnout and Comparison Traps in Kids Ministry

So all right, guys, uh, as you think about ministry in the summertime, and with all of the stuff, it, it is, it...

But again, I think the big thing is saying, "We get to do this." And we've gotta keep reminding ourselves that we get to do this.

This is a great opportunity.

We get visitors, we get new families trying to check things out, 'cause they know it might be a little calmer on a, on a summer Sunday, 'cause of people leaving.

So I'm just curious, how...

You know, one of the things that I think causes some of the jaloone mindset is we start comparing what other ministries are doing.

And so I'm just curious, what do you do to keep yourself from getting discouraged by looking at, "Gee, you know, the student ministry, they get to slow down, and they're, they've stopped their small groups.

They're only meeting once a month or twice a month.

You know, they're not even doing any Sunday small groups.

You got adult small groups taking a break and all the..." But yet kids ministry, we're expected to be fully staffed, running and gunning, do- and pulling off Bible school and summer camp.

That comparison can be very dangerous.

Mm-hmm.

So what do you do? How do you help keep your mindset the right way? Because if our mindset isn't right, our team's mindset is gonna go off the rails.

So how do you keep the jaloone mindset at bay?

[laughs] I will tell you, I'm currently living on the Bible Belt of the United States of America.

[laughs]

And there is, like, when you normally see 7-Elevens or a gas station on every street corner, I think here in the South there's a Walgreens on every street corner, and then a gas station on every street corner, and a church on every street corner.

[laughs]

And when that happens, you have medium-sized, small churches, large churches, all battling for summer programming.

And it is, it's quite funny to just drive down the road and see VBS banner after VBS banner, and start counting what is that church doing? That church is doing the same one, just a different week.

And then that one's doing the same one, but maybe a different one.

It really becomes a comparison game here in the South.

And so as a children's director, we, we do com- compare to a point.

You don't wanna just continue to give that kid in the community the same stuff.

And we start to see that all these parents are using VBS, VBS, VBS as a babysitting service during the summer, and all that stuff.