Delegation is a MUST in Children's Ministry

Children’s ministry covers so many areas and has so many different responsibilities, that our roles as children’s pastors or volunteers are ever-changing and increasing. Because of this movement, both learning and practicing delegation has never been so important in ministry. Delegating effectively is a way to accomplish more and to help people experience how they’re a vital part of God's bigger picture. Try these suggestions for developing and honing your delegation skills to reach the next level.

1. Create and keep a list of responsibilities you can assign to others. Distinguish between those things that only you can do (this is the top 20%, which gives you 80% return) and those you can hand off to others (this is the other 80% that others can be trained to do).

2. Appreciate the skills of those around you. Your teams will most likely have the ability to perform certain jobs more efficiently than you. Think in terms of what people excel at and what they like to do. Set them up for success and celebrate their wins.

3. Keep the right focus. Focus on results and give people room to carry out the task in their own way. Appreciate different styles of working as long as the outcome is there. You may discover new methods that work better than what you’ve been doing in the past.

4. Be realistic. Develop realistic expectations based on the results. If you are just giving someone a project for the first time, they may take longer to do it. This is OK! Give them another assignment, then give them more assignments after that. The more assignments you give them, the better and more efficient they will become.

These are only a few ideas to develop and hone your delegation skills. As you continue to grow in this area, look for ways that you can continue to improve!