12 characteristics of a successful children's pastor

From Children’s Pastor Philip Hahn

1) Prayer, prayer, and prayer.  Your success is always directly proportional to your prayer life.

2) Getting connected with other children’s pastors, other children’s workers are usually the best answers your questions and give you the best ideas.  We’re in it together, you’re not alone.

3) Your relationship with your senior pastor. Support him and get him to support you.  (Or to put it another way)  Loyalty to the senior pastor and his direction.

4) Keeping current with the methods and illustrations that are relevant to the culture under your ministry.

5) Love and appreciate your volunteers as often as you can, verbally, tangibly, publicly, privately, sincerely.

6) Stay creative.  Change something, do something different or new every year.

7) Involve kids in leadership and hands on ministry.  In 4 to 6 years they become your volunteers and teachers, you not only invest in their future, but yours as well.


8) Train kids to read their Bible and pray every day.  You only have an hour or two of their week.  Let them feed themselves the Word.  (Or to put it another way) Don't just give them a fish, teach them how to fish.

9) Don’t have song time in any service.  Have worship time.  Don’t focus too much on the guitars, actions, or contests.  Make it about connecting with God.

10) Evaluate the effectiveness of all your ministries frequently.  Change or restructure sick programs, pump massive creativity into dying programs, and bury dead programs.

11) Delegate.  Don’t do it all, it’s your job to train the saints for the works of the ministry (Eph 4:12).  If you leave, the ministries should be able to survive without you.

12) Equip and involve parents. Kids average 40 hours a year that you influence their lives.  Kids average 30,000 hours per year influenced by their parents.  Support the primary discipler in their lives.