Infuse Retreat #19 Is In The History Books

In early 2007 I got new marching orders for my life. The Lord gave me a fresh desire to take what I’ve learned about children’s ministry and leadership and pass it on to the next generation of leaders. I began to look for ways to do this in addition to my monthly audio leadership resource “the Club.” I added blogs, began to host forums and discussion groups online and began to write for several ministry publications; yet I knew there was still something missing. It seemed like the more I did to mentor others the more people wanted me to come up with a way to personally coach and mentor them. Then I had the idea for Infuse! For the past 6 years I’ve been offering a coaching/mentoring service that’s intensive yet affordable for any size church. (It's about the coast of a national 4 day conference.)

Mr. Webster defines infuse as: to instill a quality or skill in someone or something; to soak or pour into. This is what infuse has been about from day one, a way to pour into others what it’s taken me years to learn so they can be better leaders and accomplish more in less time.

This past weekend marked the 19th retreat. It was an amazing time. The group that came this weekend were all in past Infuse groups and wanted more. Each year besides offering a session for first timers I also offer an Alumni group. Some of the members of this group I'm now calling "Infuse Plus" have been a part of 4 different infuse sessions. Every retreat has been different as well as each group this group is learning all about Decision Making and Problem Solving. There were so many God events this weekend there's not enough space to write them all down here on the blog. The retreats are kind of the special sauce that makes Infuse different from other coaching programs. There are 2 retreat for each session one at the start and one at the end. There are also 4 different conference calls and an online forum where you have access to me and my eight #kidmin coaches. (All who have completed a minimum of 2 years of Infuse themselves.)

Infuse is limited to 30 selected candidates. I’m excited at this place in my life and ministry to be able to make this service available. Because of the high demand I'm adding an additional Infuse session March- August 2014.

I’d love for you to prayerfully consider this investment in yourself, in your dreams and in your ministry, I want to help you become the leader you want to be and pour into you the qualities and skills to make your dreams reality. I believe this is my chance to take what the years have given me so I can pass it on to the next generation.  Everyone does better with a coach. So far I have successfully coached 12 groups through the infuse program. The results have been greater than I could have ever imagined but more importantly lifelong friendships and divine connections have been forged. (Also 3 KIDMIN books and counting)

I’m looking forward to being your KIDMIN coach! If you have any questions about infuse feel free to post them here I've already accepted 8 folks for the next group.

HELP!

No I'm not going to start quoting lryics to one of my favorite early Beatles songs but I do want to tell you about something brand new from My good friend Brian Dollar. (Also here I'm going to resist quoting my favorite Beatles' song sng by Ringo)

I'm a big Brian Dollar fan not only does he write good stuff that works and that kids like and learn from but Brian's stuff is kid tested and created in and for a local church. 
Did you know High Voltage Kids Ministry Resources are used in over 5,000 churches world-wide? Brian has totally redeveloped Curriculum style, it now has higher quality graphics and video. It only  $99 (still one of the lowest prices in the Kidmin Universe) plus it's available as a download for only $79.

Besides all  that Brian to me is the real deal! He loves God, his family, his Pastor and he also has been mighty kind to me over the years. So when Brian asked for help to tell you about "HELP" I couldn't say no!

 “HELP!”  Is the very first series in Brian's new Product Line – High Voltage Power Packs.  This takes our kidmin curriculum to a whole new level but why take my word for it? Brian has made it possible for you  download an entire lesson (including ALL the videos and graphics) so you can can taste and see that this stuff is good.
Just go to http://goo.gl/QdMZFO enter your information and bam there you have it.

“HELP!” teaches children to call on God in times of trouble.  It explores the topics of  healing, depression, stress, wisdom, and loneliness through the Bible Stories of King David, Jairus’ daughter, Apostle Paul, Mary and Martha, and Solomon.

Here's what it includes:

·      Six lessons of Large Group curriculum

·      Six lessons of Small Group Curriculum

·      Three high impact Video Segments per lesson

·      Bible Story with comic-book style illustrated graphics

·      Action Games

·      Character Skits

·      Object lessons

·      Family Devotions to send home with parents

·      All Quicktime and Mpeg Video files

Also Brian has even sweeten the deal by offering you a $20 discount if you order before September 30th.  All you have to do is use the promo code “HELP” when you order.

The only thing that would be sweeter is to have a way to give a complete series away. OK we can do that, just leave a comment below and then tweet "@jimwideman is giving away @highvoltagekids' new #kidmin series #HELP on his blog today @ http://ow.ly/ooCI5"
I'll select one winner and post it here!
The more you tweet and retweet others the more chances you'll have to win.

Have fun and don't forget to get your free download and $20 savings code for "HELP!"

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!