Another way I believe that child and youth ministries can work together is through sharing resources.
I know that one of the ways I have seen God bless and use our children’s ministry and youth ministry in our church is by using our strengths to strengthen each other not just our position.
There are many factors but often times youth ministry and children’s ministry seem to fight over the same piece of the pie. When you work together with the same hart and vision you will see God do amazing things.
What are some ways we can share resources.
1. Volunteers – As a children’s pastor you can help the youth pastor recognize gifts and develop those gifts by leading the youth volunteers that serve.
2. Budget – I remember in 1998 we combined our budgets to buy a digital camera and to edit videos on the first iMovie software Apple come out with. We worked together and both the youth and children’s department were blessed.
3. Relationship – Spend time together. I working together is one thing but to really get to know what makes the other tick takes time.
4. Ministry overlap – We do something quite odd. We share the 7th grade most kids ministries stop at 5 grade or Youth ministry start at 8th the combinations are limitless. We have chosen to share the 7th grade as a way to transition kids successfully from one ministry to the other.
I challenge you conspire, collaborate do what you must but work together.
Rom. 12:3 ¶ As God’s messenger, I give each of you this warning: Be honest in your estimate of yourselves, measuring your value by how much faith God has given you.
Rom. 12:4 Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function,
Rom. 12:5 so it is with Christ’s body. We are all parts of his one body, and each of us has different work to do. And since we are all one body in Christ, we belong to each other, and each of us needs all the others.