What am I learning on the road this winter as I visit with hundreds of church folks?

Christian Education Directors are under-valued, under-paid, under stress, and their gifts are regularly under-utilized.

Other than that, things are peachy in most churches.

They are expected to do more and more ministry with less and less money, support, and training.

Most are extremely frustrated and a majority are willing to tell you so if you only ask. The problem is, most churches don't ask. Few have mutual ministry committees set up to listen, care, support and fix problems before they get out of hand. When it comes to Christian Education directors, most feel if  they just do their job, stay in the basement, and don't bother anyone or try to impact other ministries in the church, they are left alone. The moment they start thinking systemically, ask to help shape ministry strategies, or expect to have input in what gets preached and taught outside the basement fellowship hall, they get in trouble.

Most of them want to impact families, but are stuck baby-sitting. Most of them have a passion for the Gospel, but get no "air time" in worship. Most have amazing relational gifts, but are stuck in a system where 3/4 of their jobs seem like busy work.

And many of them are looking for solutions in a workbook or new curriculum, when the curriculum is only a sub-set of their problem.

The real problem? It's name is legion, for it is many.

1. Pastors give lip service to children's ministries, but rarely invest any time in it.
2. Parents drop kids at the door for a weekly religious "fix" then head off for coffee, expecting an under-trained volunteer to undo in 52 minutes a week what the rest of the world does to their kid in the other 10, 028 minutes.
3. Carpet funds, organ funds and parking lots easily get the money they need from tight budgets while children's ministry has to beg for enough to grow the kids who will come to walk on the carpets (and who will never listen to the organ or be around as a teen to drive on the parking lot).
4. Volunteers are willing to team teach for a season, but don't expect them to show up all year.

I could go on and on, but this is a blog. You finish the list yourself.

Maybe it's time we start listening.

Rich Melheim is founder and Chief Creative Officer of Faith Inkubators.  You can follow this discussion and others at the Melheimian Sabbatiblog.