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three cheers for kidmin

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i am blessed for the fourth year to serve with group’s kidmin conference.  not only does this unconventional conference challenge and minister to me as a leader, but i am also refreshed and inspired as i get a peek behind the scenes at what makes this conference tick. here are the top three things that have me cheering for kidmin 2014.

1504175_10153067875255476_4903827789263756318_o1.  the heart of the conference – a couple of weeks ago i had the opportunity to attend some brainstorming sessions for kidmin 2014 at group in colorado. our charge from the very beginning was to make this conference Christ-centered and an intentional time of spiritual renewal for kidmin leaders. yes, amazing training is offered. yes, you will leave with many new kidmin friends and even more ministry ideas. yes, the speakers and bands are top notch, but what i love about this conference is that those things are not the ultimate goal. time spent in the presence and word of God is the heart of this conference. the kidmin conference “gets” that those in the trenches of ministry can also be some of the most spiritually worn and weathered believers. they understand that a speaker can’t radically change lives, but Jesus can. He is the center and goal of each session. what a sweet opportunity for all those that attend to spend much needed time with Him. imagine how our ministries will be impacted after a time of spiritual renewal for us leaders.

 

Screen Shot 2014-05-26 at 9.37.06 PM2.  christy nockels – not many worship leaders speak so directly to my heart and lead me so humbly to the feet of Jesus.  christy does each time she leads me in worship, whether live or by cd. actually it was her new album and a specific track on it, “already all i need,” that was played countless times in my hotel room last year at kidmin ’13. this song never fails to minister to me. as you watch a lyric video of this song (my favorite of her’s, well at the moment.) just think what a gift a time of worship led by her will be!
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zByzjJ4nvH8[/youtube]

3.  kidmin pals – the friends i get to spend time with at this conference make me better and my heart leaves full each year. i’m thankful for friends/leaders that serve weekly in their local church and truly “get” the ministry world in which we serve week in and week out. they are brilliant, humble, passionate, and just plain fun. i love that there is no difference between presenter and attender. truth is, we all want to serve our Savior and desperately need Him in our daily lives. i am so grateful we understand that no one has it totally figured out and finding 994342_10152599234615476_1365416645_ncommunity in kidmin is such a gift to help carry us through the tough times. oh how i can’t wait to worship, learn, laugh, grow, pray, and seek with old and new conference friends.  if you are at kidmin ’14, i’d love to meet and talk with you. contact me on twitter at twitter.com/dandibell.

if you are in children’s ministry and you need time at the Savior’s feet as much as you need ministry ideas and instruction, take time to check out the kidmin conference.  the early bird deadline is may 29, so don’t miss this opportunity to save you and your church some money.  you can learn more and register here. personally, i am counting down the days.

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In kidmin

the gift of great leadership

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for the past two years i have had the wonderful privilege of serving with the most incredible leader and friend. as she plans to retire, after 28+ years in ministry, i thought i would share just 10 of the leadership lessons she has taught me.  (there are countless more.) when i think back to how greatly impacted i was in such a short time, i am convinced it was because i saw these lessons consistently and humbly lived out in the best, worst, mundane, and craziest ministry moments.

  • sabbath – i received one of the greatest gifts i have ever been given in ministry through her leadership – the gift of sabbath. i blogged more about it here. because she so understands the need for spiritual leaders to be in close relationship and communication with our Savior, Jesus Christ, she challenged us to make sure we made it a priority.
    – lesson to unpack: i am never too busy, too important, too spiritual or too prepared to stop it all and just sit at my Savior’s feet. i must intentionally schedule sabbath as one of the most important parts of my ministry calendar.
  • Jesus talk > church talk – i simply can’t talk “church” for hours, but sometimes we ministry leaders can get caught up in the church “nuts and bolts” and save few words for the Cornerstone Himself – Jesus. jan modeled the opposite. of the many conversations we had, i remember Jesus being central over the “hows” and “whats” of church work. so convicting, so refreshing.
    – lesson to unpack: what i know about church work isn’t near as important as what i know about Jesus. do people leave my conversations hearing only about the details of ministry or the reason for ministry Himself?
  • truth in love – jan never just told me what i wanted to hear. her words were direct, truthful, fair, and anchored in love, even though i didn’t like everything i heard. her honest conversations stretched me and made me more effective.
    – lesson to unpack: i tend to go on and on and am afraid of hurting someone’s feelings and then it becomes a big mess – just like this sentence.  direct and honest conversation can be a great gift to someone.  i can so learn from that.
  • redeeming difficulties – i saw it first hand at a lunch one day. several of us were sharing frustration after frustration with a certain issue we were faced with that week.  one by one, with each grumble we laid on the table, i watched her pick up our negative words and point us to positive solutions. “what can you learn from this?” she would ask. or, “how can you use this to better educate in the future?” even though i totally saw what she was doing, i still allowed myself to become carnal and complaint-centered. she never wavered. she provided a safe place to vent, but would not allow us to remain there.  there was better ahead and she was constantly pushing us to see it.
    – lesson to unpack – am i looking for ways to learn and redeem bad experiences or do i become content to wallow in wasteful conversation?
  • work smart – “work smarter not harder.”  that’s how she challenged me to attack the load of ministry in front of me. what freedom it gave me to plan, prioritize, and focus on eternal things.  she gave me a fresh perspective of seeing that it wasn’t the hours behind a desk, but the fruit of my ministry that showed its growth and worth.
    – lesson to unpack – am i more concerned about the quantity of hours or intentionally seeking quality, eternally-focus ministry opportunities? 
  • selfless service – i was so blown away that in the same conversation where she shared her retirement news, she also volunteered to be a sunday school investor in the new church year.  after so many years of full-time ministry everyone would understand the need for a break and a chance to sit and receive.
    – lesson to unpack: is the root of what i do an act of love and service for my Savior or do i allow it to become a job?  if i am serving from the true Source it is a lifestyle and becomes second nature.
  • learning never stops – i knew this lesson in my head. i’ve heard it in many leadership workshops and i am sure i underlined it in some leadership book. still i was shocked when she was excited to attend creative teacher training the preschool minister and i were leading. i said “really, what can i teach you?”  her response, “i know the old way, i want to learn the current, most effective way to lead the kids in my sunday school class this fall.”
    – lesson to unpack: never believe the lie that i have arrived. i will never know it all. i need to constantly be looking for chances to challenge myself to grow, even from younger leaders.
  • it’s not personal – the pleaser in me (even after many years in ministry) would still often personalize the challenges that come with ministry.  she told me many times, “stop personalizing this.”  she taught (and i am still desperately trying to catch) me to step back and try to look at the matter with personal feelings aside.
    – lesson to unpack: as she would say “get over it” it is not all about me.  i need to learn to quit looking at each challenge through my personal lens.  there is always a bigger picture.
  • joy in serving – i would be lying if i said i wasn’t a bit weary in my transition to this new staff position.  what an encouragement to be led by someone with almost twice the years in the trenches, but also twice the joy.  no matter how tough things got, she addressed them with a smile and true joy in the work God had given her.  that authentic example still inspires me to realize what a gift it is to serve in full-time ministry.
    – lesson to unpack: don’t let the situations i am facing dictate the joy in which i work through them.  my service is not a sacrifice, it is an honor to give my all for the One who sacrificed so much for me. so, suit up in the armor and serve with joy.
  • wrapped in prayer – i can’t recall ever leaving a hard conversation or meeting with her without her asking to pray with/over me. she humbly acknowledged Who was really in control and consistently petitioned His wisdom, comfort, direction, discernment, and peace.
    – lesson to unpack: prayer can be the most important part of any conversation/meeting. make time for it.
i would not trade anything for the past two years under jan jones’ leadership.  she has a rich legacy of modeling Christ-centered leadership and pointing people to what matters most – Jesus.  i know because that’s what she did (and still does) for me.

such a great group of gals i have the joy of serving alongside at dawson.

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In kidmin

spreading the WORD

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sharing God’s Word doesn’t have to be hard.  since beginning events with t-shirts i wanted to ensure a way for children to share in their sphere of influence the life-changing word of God.   (i believe the day will come soon where scripture and Christian t-shirts will be banned from many areas.  some may exists outside our region now.)

we keep it simple.  we print the event logo on the front and the theme scripture on the back of the shirt.  then after the event, we challenge all the kids to wear their shirts to school.  this year we asked parents to post pictures of kids in their shirts on our ministry facebook page.  wow, what a day.  i was giddy throughout the day as i saw picture after picture of kids boldly wearing their WORD shirt to school.

schoolshirtsthree of our dawson kids proudly wearing their WORD shirts to school.

one of our parents volunteers sums it up best in a post she shared on Facebook after seeing all the kids in their shirts.  we have much to learn from the children – the church of today!

“As a leader @ 24Hrs4Him, I can say it was an EXHAUSTING 24 hours, but totally worth it to share the love of Christ and His Word with the children! We laughed, played, studied, worshipped and prayed and the weekend was worth it for me when my daughter’s sweet lifelong friend made her public profession of faith. However, watching my FB newsfeed blow up with pics of all these kids wearing their shirts to school today, reminds me how big our GOD is. Those 24 hours are spilling into schools all over town today and affecting who knows how many more people. Danielle Bell was correct when she reminded us that these children are not the FUTURE church, they are TODAY’s church, and I am inspired by their joy and enthusiasm to tell everyone they know about Jesus! I hope it reminds all us “old fogies” to do the same! WORD!”
– Marty Dunn 2nd grade 24 Hours 4 Him leader & 3rd Grade dawson kids investor

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In guest blogs

kids experiencing God

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recently many of our dawson kids participated in the “experiencing God kids” Bible study.  i loved watching them process and begin to grasp the seven realities shared in this study.

  • reality 1 – God is always at work around me.
  • reality 2 – God wants a personal relationship with me.
  • reality 3 – God wants me to be a part of His work.
  • reality 4 – God speaks and shows me what He wants me to do.
  • reality 5 – i must have faith and take action to follow God and join in His work.
  • reality 6 – i must be willing to make changes in my life to follow God’s plan.
  • reality 7 – i know and experience God when i obey Him.

i also realize the short time we have exploring these truths within the church walls simply isn’t enough.  we must help children and families understand that each reality is to be a part of our everyday life.  so, i went to one of the most humble, godly men i know, claude king, who just also happens to be the co-author of experiencing God.  because i see Him not only talk about these truths but genuinely live them out daily, i ask him to share some thoughts for children and families about the importance of experiencing God each day. below is the video he shared:

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/87676560[/vimeo]



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In kidmin

step back and see

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it is old news that us southerners experienced some eventful snow days recently.  wanting to fully experience these rare snowy moments, i rushed out the other evening to take pictures as the snow began to fall.

photo 1

i live right beside my church in the sweet “mayberryesque” town of homewood.  so as the much talked about snow (not ice, that’s what we usually get.) began to fall, i couldn’t wait to get outside and experience it.  there may have been snowmen and snowball fights, but my first priority was to take some pictures. i crossed the street to the church and quickly snapped a picture of the front of our sanctuary.  when looking at it later i thought, hey that’s not half bad.  i mean i don’t need to quit my day job, but i thought i captured the whole scene quite nicely. (even if it was taken with my phone.)

photo 2

 

then later that evening i saw a picture that my friend and coworker, andy cartee, had taken and shared on our church’s facebook page. same night, same building, and same snow, but i was blown away by how much more beautiful his picture was.  i kept saying to myself, “danielle, you should have stepped back to really see the whole picture.”  how did i miss those incredible snow-covered oaks? while my close up was just a glimpse of what surrounded me, andy captured the bigger, more beautiful picture. his is boldly framed with glorious oaks. (i sound like my mother as i go on and on about trees.)

i know these are simple snow pictures, but i keep thinking about how i all too often approach life, ministry, and God’s story like i did my photograph.  i zoom in and fixate on one or two issues. depending on what i perceive in my small frame, i can feel complacent, worried, prideful, scared, angry, or sad. when focused on my tiny view, i can miss an opportunity to see the greater picture.  i miss the oaks.

since that snowy night last week, these are the lessons i have been continually repeating to myself:

when the lens of life’s journey captures moments that don’t seem fair or make sense… step back.  what is unfocused to me, my great God sees clearly.

instead of allowing ministry challenges/successes to frame the way i serve… step back.  maybe it is time to broaden my view and remember God holds the landscape in His hands.

when things don’t go my way…step back.  i am constantly in need of the humble reminder that God is the main subject of the story, not me.

because i didn’t step back, my picture is void of the oaks. may that not be the case for my life.

“they will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor.” isaiah 61:3

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