Do you remember the first time a Bible story ever came to life for you?
To this day, I bet you still remember the effect it had on you. It’s probably become
one of your favorite religious stories. From a young age, I gained an
appreciation of stories. I'll never forget what it felt like on the day that my
Sunday school teacher explained the love that God has for me. Sunday school
volunteers make an enormous impression on the children they teach.
I remember seeing the picture of Jesus on a cross, and asking my teacher who that was and why He was like that. He began to explain to me the great love God has for the world, how He sent His Son for us, and how that man died for me. His love came to life for me that day. It was the day I knew that when they said "the world, “they meant me too. I wanted to experience that kind of love in my life.
There’s a lot to a children's ministry. If you focus on the elements below, you can build a stellar children's ministry that will help you strengthen and grow your church:
I remember seeing the picture of Jesus on a cross, and asking my teacher who that was and why He was like that. He began to explain to me the great love God has for the world, how He sent His Son for us, and how that man died for me. His love came to life for me that day. It was the day I knew that when they said "the world, “they meant me too. I wanted to experience that kind of love in my life.
There’s a lot to a children's ministry. If you focus on the elements below, you can build a stellar children's ministry that will help you strengthen and grow your church:
A seamless transition between age groups-Every
transition, whether from room-to-room or from preschool to elementary, should
flow in a way that continues to help children grow spiritually and be excited
about the next step in their journey. This is the idea that everything they
learned there was needed for them to get there. All ministries should point
toward the same mission.
A take-home element-Every
week, children should be leaving church with a visual reminder of what they
learned. This can be an art project, children's
ministry resource, or even a song that supports the lesson for the week.
This offers parents some peace of mind that their children (and subsequently,
the family) are leaving learning about Christ in a new way.
An engaging space-I
love themed spaces, but the theme needs to point back somehow to the mission of the church: sharing the gospel,
growing spiritually, and making disciples. If the theme of a pirate ship, tree
house, or volcano helps get you there, it might be fun to incorporate those fun
elements. In fact, this is a wonderful opportunity to reach your younger
congregation while supporting their spiritual growth. But don't sacrifice an
epic children's ministry space for the importance of sharing the love of Jesus
each week. You have a simple yet safe inviting environment for your child that
shares the love of Jesus.
Communication-Consistent
communication from the children’s pastor about what the children are
doing, what they’re learning, and the purpose of it all is essential. Children
often don’t communicate what they learned or the point of what they did, so
it’s helpful for the pastor to be in communication through emails,
newsletters, or other take-home content that keeps the
parents involved.
Familiar faces-For the sake of
burnout, the same people can’t be running the same spaces every week. It helps
to have a familiar rotation of
volunteers
to help the children feel comfortable. These volunteers should know many of the
children names and greet them at the door when they arrive. The check-in person
(if you don’t have a self check-in) needs to have a great memory recall. There
is nothing more frustrating for a parent than having a check-in person greet you as though you are
new to the church every week.
Security-As a parent, there is
nothing more comforting than knowing you will be dropping off your child in a safe environment. If your ministry
currently doesn’t account for security measures, start by creating a check-in
system and assign at least one volunteer to manage the process. Having a solid
security plan is important, but make sure it isn’t at the expense of efficiency
in the drop off/pick up process. There should be a thorough check-in and
check-out system, like a bracelet or sticker that allows you to pick up your
child in a systematic way.
Service to others-There
should be some sort of element that begins to lay the framework for looking
outside of who they are to help others. Children are
inherently self-centered, and because of that it can be difficult for them to
understand what real-life applications of Christianity, love, and service are
all about. This can be as simple as taking up a collection for the
homeless ministry or talking about a holiday toy drive. This will help
ground your children in reality and also protect them from the materialistic
focus that society teaches.
Worship for all kids (regardless of age)-This
can look many different ways, from full worship services for the older ones, or
just a father and his guitar for the preschoolers. From personal experience,
there are few things cooler than hearing your kid randomly break out singing
about Jesus throughout the week.
“Children are
like wet cement. But remember, we only have a short window of time until
the wet cement turns to concrete. We must impress God's Word, wisdom and
ways into their lives while we have the opportunity.” (Dale Hudson)[i]
[i] Sources used:
·
“10 Things Parents Want to See in Your
Children's Ministry” By Vanderbloemen
·
“5 Key Elements for a
Vibrant Children's Ministry” by Dan
Reiland
·
“5 Things
Every Kids’ Ministry Volunteer Needs to Know” By Greg Baird
·
“Top 5
Reasons You Should Serve in Children's Ministry” by Cheryl Ross
·
“What Parents Want To See From Your Children’s
Ministry” By Outreach