It's time to kick off another Infuse group

In September 2008 I kicked off what has proven to be the most rewarding and effective ministry training experience I've ever been a part off. When I first told my family that I was going to select 20 Kidmin leaders from across the US and have them come to my house two different times they thought I had lost my ever loving mind. But as soon as the first retreat was over all three of my girls told me they owed me an apology. They knew I had struck gold.

When I started infuse we did it for an entire year. Six months later I started another group of 20. In September 2009 I started Infuse 3 with another 20 while we kicked off our first Alumni group I called infuse 1.2. Then in February 2010 I started my second alumni group called Infuse 2.2. I realized then I couldn't keep starting new groups every 6 months and do alumni groups too. So I changed Infuse to 6 months. I coached from September to February then took March to August to re-group. Since then I've had more than 200 Kidmin folks be a part. I even did a group of Student Ministry folks too.  Somewhere along the way some of my past infusers have donated their time to help me coach. The 8 coaches who help me today are some of the best friends and greatest sources of wisdom and strength to me. We talk constantly via GroupMe. I even did a 1 month version of infuse that I called infuse lite because infuse has been filling up so fast I needed something to offer people so they didn't have to wait a year. It's been amazing how infuse has changed and evolved over the past 5 years. Only the Lord could build something like this. One after one infusers started getting promoted. Many have taken their bosses jobs. Many infuse alumni are now Campus Pastors, Executive Pastors, Family Pastors, and Next Generation Pastors.

On August 1st I kicked off my eleventh infuse group which is an alumni group I'm now calling infuse plus. The thing that has been so amazing is to see who all the Lord brings together. There is no way I could recruit folks that fit like the Lord does. In March Sam Luce one of my infusers and also one of my infuse coaches sent me a book about making decisions called Decisive. As I began reading it I knew in my heart it was to be our text book. After the first call I knew Jesus had put this group together and that this book was the perfect book for us to study together. Only Jesus could bring 16 people from 9 different states and 10 different types of churches that were all facing the same thing.

On September 1st I'm starting my 12th infuse group infuse 7. It's also the largest group with 30 different kidmin leaders from 20 different states. I can't wait to see who and why Jesus assembled this group. I'm excited. 

My next infuse group will be in March of 2014. I felt a leading from the Lord is not make people wait so long to be a part of infuse 8. I've already accepted 8 people. Why not go ahead and apply. If you are looking for a mentor or a coach I'd love to help. I don't know everything but what I do know I'd be glad to pass it on to you.
If you have a question please ask it here or send me an email.

Taking A Break!

I am a lover of gadgets, gizemos, technology and other trendy media things. Technology has made my life and ministry better and I'm thankful for it. Hey I even have my own smartphone app!  But as wonderful as all these things are I started last year taking a few weeks a year and turning it all off and just say no. I used the time I checked Facebook, twitter, emails and to blog to read and listen, dream, and pray. The results where amazing. I got clarity and direction that was a gamechanger for me. 

So starting today I'm officially on one of those media breaks. See you in a week or so please pray for me that I hear what I need to hear so I can do what I need to do!
If you've never tried one of these I highly encourage you to.
Blessings and thanks for reading my blog!

Developing Depth Through Ministry- Part 2

Here's the next five steps

6. Push authority down! It is extremely important that you always delegate authority along with responsibility. One of the dumbest sayings I know is “The buck stops here.” There are many places for the buck to stop when you give authority to others. Those you delegate to can mot carry out the tasks that you desire without the authority. 

7. Put your heart into the level of leadership under you. A person cannot represent you well if they don’t have your heart. You cannot put your heart into your volunteer leaders without making a commitment to spend time with them. Always take someone with you whenever you can. Be quick to pass on what you know to someone else. Allow those around you to ask questions. Establish excellent lines of communication. Take advantage of every communication tool available. I use meetings, newsletters and e-mails. 

8. Support and encourage those who help you. It is imperative that you build a support structure around your volunteers. Our job is not to do all the work in Children’s Ministry but to train up others and prepare them for works of service. In the same way we must lead others by encouragement. This is not as hard as you may think. Here are five sure fired ways to encourage your volunteers. #1. Say thank you constantly. #2. Catch people doing things right. Complement your volunteers in a job well done. #3. Take the calls of your volunteers. #4. Check on your volunteers and see how they are doing. Use your M.B.W.A. degree. Management by walking around. #5. Help others be better at what they do, every chance you get. 

9. Make corrections and changes when necessary. What if they quit? Why be negative, If they quit they quit but what if they change and become a super leader? If it’s not broke don’t fix it, in other words don’t make changes just for the sake of change. Every service can be better than the last one if you make changes and corrections each week. I make a list each Sunday, then spend my week correcting that list then next week, I get to make a new list. 

10. Always set the pace, be the leader. Be the kind of person you would like to work for. Dare to lead no matter what. Give your volunteers an example to follow and a model worth imitating. 

Delegation is not an option for those who want to succeed in ministry. But to succeed you must take inventory of where you are. Start small and go from there. I try to recruit my team one worker at a time. Ask yourself and your volunteers, “What do I need to do differently?” What volunteers do you see potential in? Commit to coach volunteers and let them learn by doing and you’ll have depth to win championships! 

Need A Coach?

The truth is we all do! Over the last 7 years coaching has changed my life! Why not checkout infuse! Today I will kick off my new infuse plus group these are all folks who have gone through infuse and want more (Some this will be their 4th infuse experience) September 1st I'll begin another group of 30 to start the infuse program. Infuse 7. Due to the incredible demand and to not have folks on a year's waiting list I'll be starting a new group this March (Infuse 8) so folks don't have to wait until next September to begin. Everyone does better with a coach. It's true in sports and true in ministry too. I hope you'll check into it! get all the scoop @ www.jimwideman.com

Got questions? Feel free to post them here or email me @ theclub@jimwideman.com

There are things I've learned I want to pass on to you!