The Discipline of Deployment
By David Boyd

Much is written and much is said about the subject of team building. Team building is the key to success as a children’s leader. It is the most difficult of all jobs. The ability to build a team involves many areas, including: building relationships with people, recruiting and training, planning ministry opportunities and events with proper workloads, and deployment. Deployment is the skill of finding and placing the proper people in the proper places. It is key to long-term success in a growing and thriving ministry.

The first key to deployment is to understand the need to deploy. As a church ministry grows, the need for children’s ministries grows exponentially. Services take place, nurseries enlarge, classrooms double in size and need to be split, etc. Many churches begin to grow but bog down because people were not trained and deployed into ministry to keep up with the growth.

A key to continual growth in children’s ministry is the discipline of deployment. Jim Collins wrote the book Good to Great. In it he talks about deployment. Even though his book speaks of a successful company, the principles remain the same for a church and for children’s ministry specifically. He states, “…. (Get) the right people on the bus, and the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats, and then figure out where to drive the bus.” Much of the success of a company or a church ministry is deploying the correct people in the correct positions where they can make a difference for the kingdom of God.

Herb was a perfect example of deployment. One Sunday in the nursery he was rocking in his arms a whimpering baby. I reminded Herb that if he chose, he could call the baby’s mom to come and take the child. Herb responded in a way I will never forget. He said (in a baby voice answering me but talking to the baby all the while), “This baby’s mother is new to our church and doesn’t know Jesus. And this baby has been whimpering all service getting ready to cry—but if I can just keep this baby cared for and happy during the whole service, maybe the baby’s mother will accept Jesus at the end of the service.”

Tears come to my eyes as I remember the passion of this man doing his part in the nursery so that the kingdom of God could expand. He cared for the baby; he cared for the mother. His life was dedicated to touching young lives in hopes of making the difference for the kingdom of God.

When this young lady gives her heart to the Lord, there will be many who perhaps will share in the responsibility for her salvation. Perhaps she will be touched by the choir or the soloist. Perhaps it will be the family who welcomes her as she sits down. Perhaps it will be the worship team who sets the tone of the service or the preacher who presents the message. Maybe it will be the altar worker who leads her to the Lord. Quite possibly it will be the individual who invited her in the first place. But in God’s account in heaven, He will record all of these sacrifices made by these individuals. He will also record the individual who missed the worship, who missed the choir, and who missed the sermon—He will record Herb’s 90 minutes of sacrifice as he held this child, giving others the opportunity to touch this mom.

This is an example of deployment. Herb was the perfect person with the perfect commitment to the babies and young mothers of this church. I asked Herb later what was the result. He said the young mom said she had never been able to sit through a church service in her life without being called out to get her child. She said, “My child likes it here. I’ll be back.”

A second key to deployment is to start early and never stop. Each person who is involved in your church has the potential to serve in a position on your ministry team. Even teenagers can have a vital role. The key is to create a wide array of potential positions and realize that people are more apt to get involved if the ministry position fits their talents and experience. Then, begin the process of finding the correct people and giving them opportunities to try out these ministries through short-term opportunities or entry-level positions.

The average worker is afraid of the position titled “teacher” or even “assistant teacher”; however, they are more apt to volunteer if the position is a secretary, an assistant, a helper, craft coordinator, or a caring shepherd. All of these roles are, in essence, an assistant to the teacher. Each person who serves in one of these positions has the opportunity to start in a position and grow in that position. Some of them will eventually learn to become teachers. These entry-level positions are created both to serve as helpers to the teachers and to give people the opportunity to find where they fit. Those with administrative talents may become coordinators of various ministries or events. Learning to create entry-level positions is a key to deployment.

Another key to deployment is to create positions beyond the typical ones. These might include: a senior citizen who, while at home, makes follow-up calls on visitors; a craft lady who prepares crafts for various classrooms; a roving Bible teacher who moves from classroom to classroom; a cook who prepares meals for your workers’ training meetings; or a special-event coordinator who handles the nursery staffing during weeknights, giving the regular staff a break. All of these positions are out of the normal parameters of staffing. They allow people to use their giftings on a part-time basis. Each position supports the regular team and serves to give the regular team members a break when needed. These positions also serve as a built-in sub-system. When a regular teacher is on vacation or sick, one of these individuals is available to step in and assist.

One final key is to deploy a full slate of substitutes. A great idea is to empower teachers to find their own permanent substitutes. These are individuals they know who are willing to sub when and if needed. These substitutes are given a lesson to prepare from old curriculum of the past. They prepare these lessons and have them ready on the spot. Then, when a teacher is sick or needing to take a day off, this individual is available to step in. Because the regular teacher has helped choose these permanent subs, they usually give them plenty of time to know of an absence. These subs also have the opportunity to try out ministry on a part-time basis. Often you will find that some of them decide to become assistants and further down the road may become full-time teachers themselves. The key to the discipline of deployment is to constantly seek new opportunities for people to get involved. When someone says, I’d love to, but I work Sunday mornings.” The response should be a list of ministry opportunities that don’t involve Sunday mornings.

Remember that involvement in ministry is very good for the individuals in your church. Ministry involvement connects them to a team of people who become their friends. It ties them into the church through their place of purpose. It strengthens their walk with Christ through their fresh involvement with meeting the needs of the lost. Rick Rusaw and Eric Swanson state in The Externally Focused Church: “Good nutrition alone cannot make a person healthy. Good Bible teaching alone is insufficient for spiritual maturity. People need exercise for physical health and service for spiritual health.” Proper deployment of people into ministry will make or break your ministry. It’s one of the most important jobs you do, so do it well. Now go, make a difference.

Works Cited
Jim Collins, Good to Great (New York: HarborBusiness, 2001), 41.
Rick Rusaw and Eric Swanson, The Externally Focused Church (Loveland, Co.: Group Publishing, 2004) 76.