When I started in Children's Ministry, I felt somewhat lost at the time. I was brand new to ministry in general and especially with children. I did not understand the importance of policies or a protective plan for children. As I trained and prepared for the ministry, I learned an essential key to simplicity. That key is to use (with permission) other leader's and church's ideas, handbooks, policies, and procedures. I asked many churches along the way if I could get a copy of their preschool and children's ministry policies, and they were always willing to give me a copy. They would tell me, “Make them your own.” They are yours for your ministry. So that is just what I did. I would make several copies and sit down with my leadership team, small group director, preschool coordinator, and whoever else served in leadership roles in preschool and children's ministry, and we would make them work for our church.

What made it even more effective when moving to a new church was to sit down with the leadership team and develop policies there. We would take copies of sister churches' policies and go through them during our meeting and make them our own. We would add to them and take away things that did not apply, and the leadership always seemed to be pleased with the idea.

When I did this, it saved me so much time and frustration, and throughout my 30+ years in Children's Ministry, I was able to refine the policies I had and share them with many other church leaders. Why not be a blessing and invest in other ministries besides your own! Share with leaders in other churches around you to be a blessing.

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