It’s All About Who You Know

“It’s all about who you know.”

I first heard this statement from a pastor’s wife. She was commenting on how her denomination was too political. The inference was that people were promoted to positions of leadership, not based on their character or abilities, but simply on whom their friends were.

Admittedly this does happen, however if you receive a promotion simply based on friendship, and don’t have the necessary abilities, you won’t have that job for very long.

On the other hand if you don’t have any relationships, you may not ever get a shot at job that you really want. All things being equal people will do business with someone they know and like.

The truth is that “who you know” is a key part of what makes life work.

My best friends are people serve at my church or serve at another church. These are people that I genuinely care about. I want to see them succeed and they want to see me succeed.

Networking is like breathing. It’s not the only thing that matters, but if you don’t do it, you won’t last very long.

How do I get started with networking?

1. Start with the leaders in your own church. Make a list of the most influential leaders in your church and have coffee with them. Great leaders know how to work with other leaders.
2. Participate in events at your church that are not sponsored by the children’s ministry. Attend the Ladies Meetings and the Men’s Retreats. If the greeters don’t recognize you, don’t blame them. Maybe you need to get out more. (Just a thought.)
3. Connect with other children’s pastors in your state. Every lunch is an opportunity to meet another like-minded leader.
4. Participate in networking sites. Take advantage if web sites like CMconnect, Kidology, and Face Book.
5. Go To Conferences. By far, the best place to meet like-minded people is at Conferences. I have developed life long relationships with friends that I met at conferences. I make at point to attend at least one conference per year. Many times it has not been in my budget so I paid for it myself. Why would I pay for a conference out of my own pocket? One reason, I love making new friends that have a heart for ministry.

This year Deb and I are going to CPC in Orlando and San Diego. CPC stands for the Children’s Pastors Conference. There are many Kidmin conferences you can attend, but what I love about CPC is the opportunity to network and meet like-minded people.

Another thing about CPC is that a specific denomination does not sponsor it. Catholics, Baptists, Lutherans and Pentecostals attend from across the nation. It is hands down the best opportunity to meet someone new and learn new techniques for Children’s Ministry.

If you would like more info about CPC you can find it here: http://incm.org/cpc/orlando/

Deb and I will be at both CPC’s.

• In Orlando we will be at booth #510
• In San Diego we are at booth # 316

If you can attend I would love to connect with you for coffee or lunch.