Multi-Site Kids

1 Week from TODAY!

So I know I have been away from blogging for way too long, but it has only been because of all the great stuff going on in this little multi-site world I live in. :) I get to watch children's ministry play out at 10 campuses every week! That is GOOD stuff. Next week at this time many of the directors from those campuses will be joining me at the KidMin Conference in Chicago. We are EXCITED!

First, this conference promises DEEPER LEARNING and who doesn't need that? Our team is excited to bring home some new skills, tips and tricks to do what we do better. The speaker list in impressive. We are coming to learn!

Second, this conference offers AUTHENTIC CONVERSATIONS. We are looking forward to interacting with speakers and fellow kidmin peeps. We'll take off the masks and talk about what it is like down in the trenches of ministry. We'll listen and hopefully help each other grow. We hope to make some new friends along the way too.

Third, we are coming to REIGNITE OUR PASSION for ministry. All of us entered ministry with hopes, goals, and dreams. Some of us have seen those hopes put on a waiting list, others have had to change their goals. Together we hope to find that passion we all have deep inside and put a path in place to live it out.

Looking forward to seeing many of you in Chicago next week. What are you hoping to get out of the conference? It should be a fabulous long weekend!

It's Friday, so let's talk about Sunday!

Our amazing creative arts team at Community Christian Church has done it again... Parody at its finest!

2.3 million hits can't be wrong! :) It's Sunday!  

 

A Must Attend Event in 2011! Kidmin Conference!

It's hard to believe I won't have to travel far to attend this amazing Children's Ministry conference!  Group is bringing a unique training and connecting event here to Chicago, Oct. 7-10th this year. Mark your calendars now!

I'm truly blessed to work along side some great minds in Children's Ministry, but I always love connecting with others.  I get new perspectives, unique inspiration, and the ability to see I'm not alone on this difficult journey when I attend conferences and connect with new people.

This conference is unique. It is more than just seminars and lectures, it is about relationships and connecting.  While the speaker/leader list is impressive, even more exciting is the realization that you'll get to connect with those doing what you do (or want to do!), have deeper learning and authentic conversations.  What is not to love about that!!

For more info check out the website for the Kidmin Conference and start planning now.  It promises to be an innovative training experience you do not want to miss!  Hope to see you there.

 

http://www.childrensministry.com/kidmin-conference

 

Are you ready for a C Cruise?

Here is our latest series video to introduce a fun series called C Cruise on Conflict, Communication and Commitment with our characters BP and Master E.  I laugh every time I watch it...

Thinking it through

My son Aidan just turned six.  He has a favorite motorcycle that you rev up the engine and make it go fast by repeatedly running the wheels against the ground and then releasing it to go lightening speed. Aidan decided to rev up his motorcycle the other day and instead of releasing it, put it on his tongue.  He ended up with a big surprise as his tongue got caught and ended up bleeding. Yikes, it was bad!  After calming him down and fixing him up, he said, “I guess I just didn’t think that through. I don’t know why I did that.”

His crazy stunt and comment got me thinking.  Hopefully none of us are as impulsive as my 6 year old, but have you ever asked yourself why you’ve chosen to do something within your church or in your children’s ministry? Or have you ever continued doing something once it isn’t working anymore? Have you really thought it all the way through?   

Sometimes we continue to do something because it worked for us for awhile. People liked it or it went well.  Maybe it isn’t the best use of your time or resources any more. Maybe we didn’t think it all the way through on how it would continue after a few weeks, months or years. I know programs and events can sound great at the beginning, but sometimes the hardest part is thinking through the expectations of the “after” or the “what now or next”. 

And then when we look at having multiply campuses or sites doing something, we have to think through what it will look like at all our locations. Have we thought through how this will work everywhere?

Every year we gather our Kids’ City directors together for a retreat to look at some of the things we’ve done this past year and plan some goals and initiatives we want to accomplish in the coming year. This year we will have 10 campuses represented!  I’m excited to help plan this year’s retreat and examine why we do what we do, and really think it all through.

We’ll be sure to talk about:

Are there things we need to stop doing because they aren’t working anymore?

Are there ways we do things (because we’ve always done them that way) that could be made easier/faster/more logical?

Why do we do what we do? What is our end goal?

How about you?  Reflect on your ministry and think about those questions.  Any thoughts you want to share?

Kids Have a Story to Tell too!

Here is a recent video we made for the adult service here at COMMUNITY from a series about Finding Your Way Back To God.  It was so wonderful to have these kids tell their stories and for adults to hear what an impact knowing Jesus has had in their young lives!  Sitting in service I was reminded of the small window of time we have the children who come to our churches and what a huge responsibility we have been given!

What does this video and these children's stories say to you?

Hello!

I feel so honored that Tammy is allowing me to carry the torch with this Multi-Site Kids blog.  So many times when I've gotten phone calls from people with questions about how to do Multi-Site Children's Ministry, I've referred them to this blog.  It has been such a valuable tool over the years to so many... and to myself included!

In the next few weeks we'll launch our 11th campus here at COMMUNITY (and our 10th Kids' City)!!  We continue to grow and learn more and more with each launch.  Some things have stayed the same, but over the past year or two we've also had some changes.  I look forward to sharing some of our experiences and I hope to hear about some of yours.

I guess the best way to start this blog is to tell you a little bit more about myself.  I am currently the Catalyst Director of Kids' City, the Children's Ministry of Community Christian Church. COMMUNITY is a multi-site church that will soon have 11 locations in the Chicagoland area.  Kids' City offers children's programming for infants through 5th grade during 19 services at these locations every weekend.

I joined COMMUNITY's staff in 2004 as a part time small group curriculum writer.  My current role includes leading the team of individuals that write, develop, create and dream about children's curriculum and products for COMMUNITY while assisting with it's implementation at all campus locations. My passion is developing curriculum and products for children and families that carry out the mission of helping people find their way back to God. 

Everyday I am blessed to work with an amazing group of dedicated Christ-followers who are committed to the mission of helping families raise growing, 3C Christ-followers.  The Kids' City Wonder Team (as I like to call them) includes our Champion Cathy Cuny & 10 Campus Directors along with many 5-10 hr/wk teammates.  Kids' City happens each weekend due to the commitment and passion of around 300 volunteers. It's an amazing team I look forward to introducing you to in the coming weeks and months.

Looking forward to learning and growing with you,

Christi Neill

Multi-Site Kids: New Authorship

Tammy Melchien here.  It has been an honor to interact with Children's Ministry leaders through this blog for the past several years.  Even though I haven't posted much in the past year (or at all!), I've continued to appreciate the e-mails and comments I've received from all of you.  It's been great learning from each other.

I wanted to let you know this will be my last post on the multisitekids.com blog.  A few months ago I transitioned out of Children's Ministry here at Community Christian Church to pursue a new opportunity.  I'm still on staff at Community, but I am preparing to launch a new site of our church in the city of Chicago as a Campus Pastor.  I'm very excited about this new path and can't wait to see what God does through this new church in the city.

I'm thrilled to let you know, however, that multisitekids.com will continue!  Christi Neill has been on staff with Kids' City for the past 6 years.  She currently oversees all of our curriculum development and works on a daily basis with our campus Kids' City Directors.  She has a ton of experience and insight to share about multi-site Children's Ministry and has agreed to take over the authorship of this blog.  No doubt you will love interacting with Christi and can learn a lot from her insights.

So with that...let me introduce Christi Neill to you.  And I wish you all the best as you continue to further God's Kingdom by serving children.

By grace, Tammy

Upcoming Stuff

Hi Multi-Site friends!  I'm having the realization that the next few months are going to be filled with a lot of cool stuff.  Looking for an event or conference to attend?  Consider joining me for one of the following:

Willow's Conspire Conference.  March 18-20.  South Barrington, IL.  This conference is always chuck full of great practical stuff for Children's Ministry staff and volunteers.  This year I have the privilege of speaking in one of the main sessions.  I get to talk on the topic I'm most passionate about so I can't wait!  Would love to meet some of you there!  www.conspireconference.com

Sticky Church Conference.  March 31. St. John, IN.  I'll be teaching a breakout at the conference on how to align the family through the BIG IDEA.  www.stickychurch.com

NewThing's Hitchhiker's Guide to Multi-Site.  April 4-5.  Naperville, IL.  Join us here at Community Christian Church for a 2-day behind-the-scenes look at how we do multi-site ministry.  During the April offering of Hitchhiker's, we'll be offering bonus breakout sessions for Children's and Student Ministry.  There will be lots of opportunities to connect with the Kids' City staff during this experience.  This event is purposely kept small so register soon if you'd like to attend.  www.newthing.org

Exponential Conference. April 20-23.  Orlando, FL.  Sommer Wisher from LifePointe Church in Raleigh, North Carolina and I will be leading a 6-hour Pre-Conference Intensive that will cover practical tools and strategies for building a reproducing Children's Ministry.  This conference targets church planters so if you are one...check it out.  www.exponentialconference.org

Easum-Bandy Webinar.  April 28.  On-line!  I'm not exactly sure how this works (I've never done a webinar before), but on this date I will be leading an on-line experience with Easum-Bandy where we'll be discussing "Building Your Children's Ministry Dream Team."  Hopefully we'll be able to share some great recruiting ideas that will help us all build successful teams.  www.easumbandy.com

Lots of fun stuff!  Let me know if any of you are going to be at one or more of these events.

I Have a Role to Play

Every now and then we have a video in Kids' City that I wish the adults would have used in their service.  This week our BIG IDEA at Community was on "The Church" and we challenged everyone to be the church by using their gifts and talents to serve in the mission.  I love how these kids get it!