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Family Ministry Structure- What's the Org?!?

Team structure is a consistent question among kidmin leaders today.  What’s the best way to structure my team?  According to books like Good to Great & Strengthsfinder (among others), it’s important to shape your team in a way that allows people to work within their strengths.

As part of the Family Ministry Structure conversation, I think talking about organizational structure is an important topic to cover.  So… here we go…

When I arrived at Faith Promise last February one of the first things on my mind was how I wanted to structure the team.  The existing structure  was good and had served it’s purpose up to that point.  But the shift to multi-site, merging two ministries into one and the need to structure for growth meant change.  Dramatic change.

The challenge with changing the organizational structure is lines of communication get blurry.  Working through that is something I still need to improve upon.  (Just ask anyone on my team.

)

Considering the changes coming down the road, I knew I wanted certain areas championed.

Preschool (Nursery to PreK)
Elementary (Kindergarten to 5th grade)
Volunteers (Nursery to 5th grade)
New Families (Nursery to 5th grade)
Behind the Scenes (Nursery to 5th grade)

This is not set in stone but I believe it brings focus where focus is needed for this season.  As a result, we established the following positions.

Preschool Programming Coordinator
Elementary Programming Coordinator
Volunteer Coordinator
Team Administrator
Family Registration Coordinator

Here’s how they break down.

The Programming Coordinators are championing the experience for kids within their respective areas (Preschool & Elementary).  Essentially they are considering everything from 4′ down.  From the time the child enters the door to the time the child exits, what needs to happen for this to be an engaging experience they want to return to and bring their friends?

The Volunteer Coordinator champions the experience for the volunteer.  This role considers everything from 4′ up.  From the time the volunteer receives the curriculum to the time they put it into action, what needs to happen for this to be an engaging experience they want to return to and invite their friends to be a part of?

In this way, I’m attacking the weekend from two different angles but all resulting in a great experience for all involved.  It’s important that these three roles be “in each others space” in order to work together.  Their areas overlap significantly so much of what they do is done in tandem.

There are some ‘behind the scenes’ tasks that are required on a weekly basis to make sure the cogs don’t stop turning.  This stuff is championed by a Team Administrator.  This role ensures that our resources are in order each week, manages items like requisitions, budget, etc, etc.  The details.

Each of these roles are full time.  I have an additional part time role (Family Registration Coordinator) that is solely dedicated to our Guest Services experience.  This role considers the experience for the new family.  From the time they enter the parking lot to the time they leave, what needs to happen to remove the obstacles and make it an experience worth talking about.  Something Seth would call, “Remarkable!”

Currently I’m still searching for the Preschool Programming Coordinator and Team Administrator.  For job descriptions, click here(Team Administrator is the Resource Coordinator descrip)

I believe this is a great way to structure the team to move forward into a new multi-site model.  Next I’ll continue the conversation with how this sets the stage for the multi-site structure.