Never assume anyone knows anything.
When I first started out in Kids’ Ministry I was naive. I thought stating my expectations once or twice was enough. It wasn’t until two years later, when I had a leader tell an inappropriate story in front of a group elementary kids from his days in the Vietnam War, I realized I needed to do more than just communicate. I need to over-communicate.
This sounds like I think people have the attention span of Dori from Finding Nemo. That’s not what I’m trying to say. The truth is people are busy and need to hear an idea over and over again so it’ll stick.
Here’s what this looks like in Children’s Ministry:
1. Never assume your boss knows about the big change you’re going to make.
He’s got a million other changes on his plate to think about. NOTE: Here’s a few tips on leading up with your ministry supervisor.
2. Never assume church staffers care as much about Kids’ Ministry as you do.
They never will. They’ve got their own ministries to be passionate about. Tell them stories of how God is moving in kids’ lives (especially if it’s a story about their kids). Let them know how important their ministry is to you.
3. Never assume your team can see their blind spots.
That’s why they’re called blind spots. Sometimes it’s hard to see the forest for the trees.
4. Never assume your team’s love tank is full.
I’ve never heard anyone say, “You’re encouraging me too much!” REMEMBER: You should give 5 encouragements for every 1 criticism.
5. Never assume your volunteers hear your vision for Kids’ Ministry enough.
They are busy people doing children’s ministry on top of their full-time jobs, full-time families, and full-time lives. They need an infusion of your passion weekly.
6. Never assume kids have heard the plan of salvation enough.
You never know when someone new is going to walk through the door. Today might be their day. NOTE: Here’s a post I did on 5 DOs and DONTs of Teaching to Kids that may be helpful.
7. Never assume parents have your ministry calendar memorized.
Their refrigerators are full of calendars. Parents lives are busy and loud. You are screaming at a rock concert.
8. Never assume parents have enough help raising their kids.
Parents need all the allies they can get.
9. Never assume your friends are going to call.
You make the effort. Be the kind of friend you want to have.
10. Never assume you’ve spent “enough” time with your family. Ever.
Over-communicating is tough. It’s not easy and it’s rarely fun, but when you and I never assume anyone knows anything it’ll help us communicate in a way that gets everyone playing off the same page.
Jeff McClung 
True! True! True! I’m constantly surprised at the details my volunteers don’t know about. Just because I thought it in my head does not mean they got the memo! 🙂 Thanks for the reminder. Great post!
Yeah, it gets tough sometimes. We’re in it all the time but they’re in it only an hour or two a week. Someday they’ll create an app for all of this, but until then…