by Nick Blevins | Feb 20, 2019 | Family Ministry
Most people who have served in a children's ministry or student ministry context have heard various statistics about youth leaving the Church after they graduate high school. 70%-%80 is generally the estimate you hear, and my personal experience growing up church...
by Nick Blevins | Feb 18, 2019 | Leadership, Posts
Rethink Leadership is an event for senior leaders in the church that's designed by senior leaders. Carey Nieuwhof helped create the event, along with the team at Orange, and it runs alongside The Orange Conference. The fact that Carey Nieuwhof is behind it is all you...
by Nick Blevins | Dec 17, 2018 | Lead Small, Posts
The Lead Small Strategy is one of the many gifts that Orange has given to the Church. “Lead Small” is a term coined by Orange to focus on the importance of providing small groups for every kid and every student. It's the idea that life change happens best...
by Nick Blevins | Jul 5, 2018 | Freebie, Family Ministry
One of the best things we can give to our volunteers is clear expectations. A clear, concise, well-written job description can go a long way towards communicating what we expect from volunteers. Volunteer job descriptions can also help you clarify your vision for the...
by Nick Blevins | Aug 14, 2017 | Freebie
Did you know that most churches only keep about 10-20% of their first-time families? I don't know about you, but I definitely want to see our church do better. Recently, I've been researching what churches do to help encourage guests to come back. I have enjoyed...
![How to Be Productive: The Ultimate Guide [100+ Tips]](https://nickblevins.com/wp-content/uploads/ultimateguidetoproductivity-1.jpg)
by Nick Blevins | May 15, 2017 | Leadership
Let me be clear right up front that I still have a lot to learn in terms of productivity. I certainly have not arrived. I have simply learned how to be more productive from many others, who, over the years, have shared the tips, tools, and practices they use. People...
by Nick Blevins | Apr 24, 2017 | Family Ministry
It's Orange Conference week. One of the things I look forward to the most each year. The list of things I love about the Orange Conference would be really long, and I've mentioned many in other posts (like here and here). So, here are 10 reasons I'm excited for Orange...
by Nick Blevins | Feb 17, 2017 | Uncategorized
Do you have a difficult time when you go to recruit volunteers for summer in children's ministry? Do you want to give your regular volunteers a break so they're refreshed and ready for a new school year? Could you use a yearly on-ramp for potential volunteers...
by Nick Blevins | Feb 6, 2017 | Freebie
If you're like me, you always feel grateful for every volunteer who serves in your ministry. We know we can't do anything we do without them. They don't serve for us and they don't serve for our church. Ultimately, they serve to be a part of God's mission to reach the...
by Nick Blevins | Nov 21, 2016 | Strategy, Popular
In 2016, I created a comprehensive survey about Children's & Youth Ministry Staff & Volunteer Ratios. It was taken by over 1,600 churches and provided a great benchmark for how many staff and how many volunteers different children's and youth ministries have....
by Nick Blevins | Aug 22, 2016 | Leadership
In ministry, it's important to plan for growth in order for growth to be possible. However, the challenges of ministry are so great and so demanding it makes it hard to do anything but focus on managing the present. Maybe you haven't experienced that, but I sure have....
by Nick Blevins | Jun 29, 2016 | Leadership
How To Delegate In Episode 4 of the Family Ministry Podcast, I talked with Jim Wideman. In the midst of our conversation, Jim referenced the book 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell (my affiliate link). He said you could read the first law (Law of the...
by Nick Blevins | Jun 6, 2016 | Leadership
Let's face it. No matter how good of a leader we might be, we all frustrate the people we lead. I sure do. Not on purpose, though. It's the reality of being a flawed human being who tries his best but will always have weaknesses. Like you, I've tried to work on those...
by Nick Blevins | Jun 1, 2016 | Family Ministry
Think back to when you were in middle school. If you're like me, that's longer ago than you'd like to admit. What was it like when you had a surprise day where the teacher wasn't in and there was a substitute? Free day! Party time! No homework! In my experience, it...
by Nick Blevins | May 18, 2016 | Leadership, Strategy
Have you ever been confused by the terms mission, vision, strategy, and values? Join the club. In the first post in this series, I introduced this topic and wrote about Mission. In the second post, I wrote about Vision and the role it plays. In the third post, I wrote...
