Yep, you read that right. Ryan and I have lost it. It’s been in progress for a few months, but it finally happened. We put up a rock climbing wall in our Kids Church room.

I know. You just read that and went “WHAT?!?!? They are crazy!” Yes, we know. It’s a small one, and you have to climb on it horizontally instead of vertically, but the kids love it. And amazingly, they’re actually not too rough with it. (Yours truly has not yet attempted the wall. I don’t think it would be pretty.) It is a lot of fun for the kids. This last Sunday, all in all, reminded me of a few things:

1. Kids love having fun. What’s coolest about the rock climbing wall is that the kids are enthralled with it. They’re going to find their friends and telling them to come see the new rock climbing wall. The line can get really long. It’s something that’s just so cool for them they have to remark about it to someone else.

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You. You know who you are. The person who sits in coach class and puts your seat allllllll the way back. Hence, the person behind you sits cramped and uncomfortable while you lay in comfort. Yep, you’re a layer-backer.

No one likes the person who puts their seat back like that. Unfortunately, I spent three hours on a plane from Dallas to San Diego this week with a person like that in front of me. That person was more concerned with his comfort than the comfort of those around him.

If, in all your days of reading this blog you haven’t noticed that I like to use random things to make ministry analogies, this is going to be one of those posts. So what does it have to do with children’s ministry? Simple. Many times we, as humans, choose to ignore the comfort of others in favor of what makes us feel better. We come up with this “cool” idea that we are totally sold out to, but our volunteers aren’t. We just insist on pushing through with it, because we’re convinced it’s what we need to do. In the process, we totally alienate all of those around us and end up trying to run our ministries all by ourselves.

Sometimes you just need to take a step back. Let go of your emotional attachment to something and simply look at it through the eyes of another person. There may be this sudden realization that what you are convinced is good, is not really that good.

That’s not to say that you should ignore God’s will for the favor of man. That’s also a dangerous place to be. If you are sure, beyond a shadow of a doubt that what you are doing is right, do it. God will help you with that.

Let people know you really care about what they have to say. Accept input from others. It’ll really help for you to communicate with those you serve and that help you to serve.

This morning, I was going to read a book before I started my day.  So I sit down and then tilt my head up.  I see the biggest spider I have ever seen in my entire life.  OK, maybe not that big.  Regardless, my heart skipped a beat when I saw it.  Then I realized it had a black ring on the top.  And as I looked at it more, I realized it was upside-down and not moving.  It was plastic.  I felt reeeealy stupid.  That “spider” temporarily caused me to be distracted from the task at hand.

Doesn’t Satan do the same thing to us sometimes?  We’re getting ready to do something great for God.  We’re stoked about it, and have prayed and prayed and prayed about it.  Then we look up, and see Satan’s “spider”.  It’s that great distraction that’s thrown in our way.  Maybe it’s a difficulty with the computer for Kids’ Church.  Maybe it’s an unexpected bill in your personal finances.  Maybe it’s the sinful fall of one of your personal mentors.  No matter how big or small the crisis, it’s all part of Satan’s mission to push you to sin.  To stop your program or event.

Strength from the Lord is vital to surviving these “spiders”.  Thankfully, you’ve been given a free pass to the throne of God.  Hebrews 4:16 (NASB) tells us, “Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”  God has given us an assurance that when Satan dangles those “spiders”, he’ll be right there to help us push past them and to carry out his will.  No matter how hard the time is that you’re facing, God has the ability to help you.  Take heart, and don’t worry.  That’s the way I see it.

This is part three of a three-part series.  Read parts one and two first.

What Starbucks has figured out #3: Follow them home.

Part of the Starbucks experience we mentioned last time is something very important: follow-up.  Starbucks doesn’t want your experience to end at the door, they want you to take it home with you.

Think about the last time you visited Starbucks.  You probably left with a refreshed, warm mood.  Just a pretty happy place to visit, right?  Their stores are designed to give you a feeling of being welcome.  Partners are trained to help make you feel like you belong.  When you have a bad experience, you get a card good for a free drink next time you visit.  When they make a decision that may not have been best, apologies abound and they insure that they make it right.  Good customers get recognized, and when you walk in they start making “the usual”.  All of it is done to give you an experience that you take home, and they follow up when they do something.

So what do you do for follow-up?  What do people have that “follows them home”?  When you do something wrong, do you apologize and fix it, or do you deny it and try to avoid it?  Follow-up is so extremely important.  Letting people know that you care and wanting to know if they have any questions after an event is important.  In it’s most basic form, it’s a postcard or letter saying, “We’ve been thinking about you.  Are you interested in any of these things we offer?”  You could go up to having a team of visitors who go to visit those who attend to check up on them.

I know, follow-up has been pounded into your head as a children’s ministry worker time after time after time.  That’s because it’s so important!  Following up on the experience someone had allows you to stay connected to them and share the love of God with them continually.

So as we wrap up our series on Starbucks, just remember these things: training, experience, and follow-up.  Make sure you do those three things, and you’ll be well on your way to improving your ministry.  They’re not everything though, so insure that you continue to improve in every area.  Make your ministry so remarkable, people can’t help but talk about it.  And while you’re at it, go grab a Grande Nonfat No Whip Peppermint Mocha. (Evan’s favorite!)

This is part 2 of a three-part series.  To read part one, click here.

What they’ve figured out #2: Experience is central.

Think about the last time you walked into a Starbucks.  The aroma of the coffee, the feel of the store, the laid-back atmosphere.  What you walked into was more than a restaurant: it was an experience.

From the beginning, that’s what Starbucks was about: the experience.  Everything they did focused on what it did to the experience.  Why the craziness over experience?  Because Howard Schultz, once again serving as CEO of Starbucks, feels that their stores should be the third place.  The third place is the place that isn’t home (first place) and isn’t work (second place) that you can go to hang out, enjoy a good coffee or two, and just unwind.  They desire that their stores feel accessible, fun, and a place where you could sit down and have a meeting.  When you walk in, Starbucks wants you to feel as comfortable there as you would at your own home.

But even as CEO Howard Schultz himself will admit, somewhere along the line the experience got lost in the business.  They moved to flavor-lock packaging, destroying the full coffee smell that they had when coffee arrived in large bins.  A tendency towards a “cookie cutter” store design led to what some called “sterility”.  And perhaps most famously, they introduced breakfast sandwiches.  Longtime patrons hated that the toasting sandwiched ruined the coffee smell so much, that one of Howard Schultz’ first acts when he returned as CEO a few months ago was to begin the demise of the breakfast sandwich at Starbucks.

Think about your ministry: do the parents at your church feel welcome and accepted when they bring their kids in, or do they feel guilty until proven innocent by a full cavity search and metal detector?  OK, maybe that’s a bit extreme, but you know what I mean.  Security is important, but you do have to strike a balance between security and welcoming both current and new parents to your ministry.

How do your kids feel in services?  Do they feel like they’re taking part, or like they’re watching a show?  Are they comfortable, feeling like they’re at home?  That experience is key to getting kids to feel like they fit in.  You know you’ve all had this kind of kid at one point or another: the first-timer who’s extremely attached to his parents.  Won’t let go of his mother’s leg.  Absolutely resists coming.  That sort of child is the child you should focus on that day.  Have a special worker sit right by him and comfort him and involve him.  Include him in games or prize giveaways.  The experience you create is critical.

Experience is hard to keep up.  It’ll take work.  It is so worth it, though.  Experiences that people have as children at church will continue to shape their image of the church into their adult and teen years.  You may think that that Sunday School teacher that teaches an OK class is fine to leave in place.  That’s dangerous thinking.  That class is, whether you or the child realize it or not, shaping their image of the church and will impact whether they or their future children will come to church in the future.  You can’t settle for mediocrity.  Ministry needs to be best.   Remarkable, you might say.  Go above and beyond.  Now that’s the way I see it.