Last night we attended a fundraiser for the the kids’ elementary school. The principal was scooping ice cream at a local joint, who donated 10% of every order that mentioned the name of the elementary school. The kids loved seeing their principal. They enjoyed him behind the counter scooping the ice cream. This event was a huge relationship builder in that sense. This was also a great relationship builder for me as the parent. As soon as we walked into the shop, the principal called out “Hey, Scott’s! Hi, Liam. Hi, Elli. What can I get you?!”

I asked Jenna as we hopped in the car, “Did you tell him our names?” She hadn’t. He knew our names. Again, I learned a valuable lesson.

The principal has hundreds of parents and students under his care. He has taken the time to get to know each kid, each family, and make sure they know that they’re important. He helped my kids feel like rock stars!

Seriously, I know this. I’ve been told this hundreds of time. It’s even why we design name tags with kids and parents names on them. Still, this is something I need to improve. We have a ton of families at Ada, and I only see them once a week at most. Knowing how I felt when the kids’ principal used my name, I don’t have a choice. Other people need to feel that way too.

I love being the guy on stage. Hosting and storytelling just comes naturally, so it’s where I gravitate. At some point though, I want the kids to know me, get past the “celebrity on stage,” and just know that I’m there for them. In order to get there, I need to know them, ask how they’re doing, learn parents’ names and use them.

We have a lot of families at church. I know many of them, but there are several more who I only know by face. I need to know them by name.

We’re not in this job to be rock stars. We’re here to foster relationships that bring families closer to God and his plan for their lives. We need to do the hard work of building those relationships, learning names, listening to stories, and knowing who we serve each week.

I’d love to hear from you. How do you learn names? How do you make time to get to know the families you serve?