The Race

“In the race to a child's heart, the first one there wins.” (George Barna)

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:

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]

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[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