Ministry Architects has been invited to partner with our church to hear what you have to share about the children’s and youth ministries. We will spend the majority of our time listening to you, with these goals in mind:
- Listening: People who care about the children’s and youth ministries will have a chance to vent, dream, identify pressure points, and talk about what they really want.
- A Clear Plan: Ministry Architects will provide an overview of where the church is now relative to where it would like to go, and then give a detailed proposal and timeline for how to move forward in building sustainable children and youth ministries.
- Focus: This process is designed to build unity around the the desire for change and the belief that you can change and create the openness to embrace an intentional, deliberate game plan for making those changes.
- Hope: Ministry Architects is saying, “You CAN have the kind of programs God wants to lavish on your church. It’s going to take some work, but you CAN do it.”
Parents, youth, volunteers, staff, leadership, etc. – all are welcome! Come be a part of sharing your hopes and dreams for our children’s and youth ministries.
At Hamline Church, we’re grateful to be part of a community that welcomes and nurtures children, youth, and their families. This year, we’re excited to work on a visioning process for our student ministries to ensure that this community has the foundation to continue building on our children and youth ministries, and that they can exist sustainably. To do this work, we’re partnering with Ministry Architects, a church consulting company, through next summer.
The first piece of this process is to invite Ministry Architects to join us on November 12 for some listening sessions. They’ll spend the majority of their time listening to a variety of groups within the church through focused listening sessions. We hope that we’ll have a broad spectrum of parents/caregivers, youth, volunteers, and folks who love our young people participating! We want every person in our congregation to have an opportunity to share insights, frustrations, and dreams. After the listening sessions, our consultant will create a report to share with us what they’ve heard about children and youth ministries, and where God might be leading us next. See the schedule for these listening sessions below, along with more information from Ministry Architects.
Please join us in this powerful process – we want to include as many voices as we can! RSVP to let us know you plan to join so that we can prepare for the sessions. If you have any questions, contact Katie Morris (kmorris@hamlienchurch.org).
During the sacrament of baptism, our Hamline Church community promises to walk with our children, loving them and giving them opportunities to deepen their faith. This visioning process is one way we live out our baptismal vow – helping to create and shape a church culture where all God’s children are welcome and loved. Please join us in these listening sessions and pray for this process and the young folks in our midst.
Blessings,
Mariah, Heather, and Katie
November 12: Listening Sessions
We’ve grouped the sessions by “interest,” but you can attend whichever session best fits your schedule (except for the youth session – that’s just for them!)
8:45am Room 7 | Parents/Caregivers of Children (childcare available)
11:30am Parlor | All Congregation (childcare available)
4:00pm Room 6 |Youth (6th-12th Grade)
5:15pm Room 7 | Parents/Caregivers of Youth (Dinner and games available for youth in the youth room during this session)
6:30pm | Online via Zoom
Tuesday, November 14
7:30pm | Online via Zoom: Meeting to hear the report from Ministry Architects
FAQ from Ministry Architects
Why Ministry Architects?
At Ministry Architects, we believe there is a better way, a better way than one-size-fits-all training events and quick-fix searches for superstar staffers. It all starts with building intentionally. So like architects, we don’t tell churches what they want to build. We start by listening and then show them a blueprint of exactly how they can move from where they are to where they want to be. And then we walk alongside them as to make sure that they build the kind of infrastructure they will need to create the children’s and youth ministries they dream of having. We have made it our mission to help churches establish sustainable, deep-impact children’s and youth ministries, one church at a time.
What is going to happen when Ministry Architects is here?
Ministry Architects will spend the majority of their time listening to a variety of groups within the church through focused listening groups. After spending a day in these listening groups (and taking copious notes), the Ministry Architects team will hunker down to write a report, sharing with the church what they’ve heard about the children’s and youth programs and where they hear that the church wants to go. After that, the report will be presented to the congregation, laying out a blueprint for how to move forward.
As a parent/caregiver, why should I attend?
As a parent/caregiver, you have the strongest influence on your child’s spiritual development, and you are the center of faith formation in your family. Ministry Architects wants to hear your hopes, dreams and concerns about the children’s and youth ministries. Parents and caregivers can give feedback on how the children’s and youth ministries are helping their child/youth to grow into the person that God created them to be. Parents and caregivers are a vital piece to the Christian nurture of their children and Ministry Architects wants them to be invested in the process of building a strong foundation.
As a volunteer, why should I attend?
Volunteers obviously care about the children’s and youth ministries through their commitment of time, energy, and love. You can give perspective to how you see the ministry affecting the lives of the children and youth because you are on the “front lines.” You can see what the strengths & challenges are and can bring about change and improvement to the ministry in which they are serving. Your feedback is invaluable.
As a church member who is not a part of the children’s or youth ministries, why should I attend?
Faith formation is a community effort – it takes many folks to model the Christian life to young people. Members of the church set the example to children and youth on how to worship, how to live a Christ-like life, and how to serve Christ in others. As a member of the church, your feedback is significant in moving the children and youth ministries forward in a sustainable model. As Christians, we are called to nurture faith in our young people. Investing your time in a listening group shows the care that members of the church have for its children and youth. Ministry Architects values the “outside” view that you can give.
What will the report look like?
The Assessment Report will start by reflecting back to the church what the Ministry Architects team heard people saying about the children’s and youth ministries. We compare your church to norms across the country. We will point out the assets of the programs – the things to protect and keep. We will also share the challenges that we see – the things that are roadblocks to the ministries moving strategically forward. We then lay out a blueprint for how to strategically move the children’s and youth ministries from where they are now to where you want them to be. These recommendations include a detailed timeline laying out the process month by month.