Do you want to see your ministry grow this year?
How can you see this happen?
Here is a practical guide to growing your children's ministry.
I have personally seen these factors work as I have led in some of the largest and fastest growing churches in the country. One of the churches where I served grew from 6,000 to 16,00 in three years. Sounds crazy, doesn't it. It was quite a ride for sure. Serving in churches like this has helped me see the key factors to growing a ministry.
Here are some practical tips to growing your ministry.
Make room to grow.
Do you have room to grow? If your space is 85% full, your growth will be capped. This includes both adult space (adult auditorium) and kids' space. When you hit 85% in either of these areas you will stop growing. The answer - start more services or build more space.
Go multi-site.
The largest, fastest growing ministries have something in common. They are multi-site. I have experienced this having started many new campuses for churches. In every case, we grew when we started new campuses.
Connect with parents.
Kids don't drive themselves to church. If you are going to grow, then you have to reach parents as well.
When you reach a child you change a life. When you reach parents you change a family. Always be looking for ways you can connect with parents and influence them. The greatest influence in a child's life is his or her parents. If you want to influence kids, then you have to influence their parents.
One of the best ways I have found to do this...especially with parents who are new to your church, is to meet them for coffee or lunch. I contact fathers who have visited our church with their children and invite the father to lunch. I call them on Monday and set up a time to meet them for lunch. Yes...it works. Most of the time when I do this, we end up seeing the family become a part of our church.
Get really good at guest services.
The first impression is truly a lasting impression. If you want to grow, then you have to give new families a great first experience. If they don't have a good experience, they will not return. You can call them, visit them, send them emails, text them or even show up at their house. All of this won't get them back if they don't have a great first experience.
Have you read my book "Be Our Church Guest?" It is full of proven ideas and insight that can help you give guests a great first experience. You can get the book at this link.
Grow your volunteer team.
You must have a solid, growing team of volunteers who can minister to the children. Keep your ratios up to par. Without a growing volunteer team, there will not be ongoing growth.
Need help growing your volunteer team? Check out my book "The Formula for Building Great Volunteer Teams." You can get it here.
Stay relevant.
This is not 1970. Children have changed. Childhood has changed. It is crucial that you stay on top of how today's kids are wired and what they like.
McDonald's practices this concept with their kids' meals. The food in the box stays the same. But the box and the toy inside changes to stay current with what is popular.
This applies to our ministries. The food (God's Word) doesn't change. But how we present it must change to stay relevant with today's kids.
We must stay anchored to the truth while being geared for the times.
Focus groups.
Twice a year, bring in a group of parents and ask them key questions to get their feedback.
What is working in our children's ministry?
How can we improve the ministry and be more effective?
How can we better support you as a parent?
What do we need to stop doing? What do we need to start doing?
p.s. You can also do this with kids and get great feedback.
*If you would like a list of focus group questions to ask parents and kids, you can email me
Keep your eyes on what matters the most.
If you are going to grow your ministry, then you must keep your eyes on what matters most to Jesus...kids and families who don't know Him.
You are surrounded by kids and families who do not know Jesus. At the end of time...this is what will matter the most....saved or lost.
How can you reach lost kids and families? Here are some of the proven ways I have seen unchurched kids and families come to Jesus.
VBS with an emphasis on having parents come for a "family night."
Sports leagues like Upward Sports can be effective at connecting with kids and families in your community.
Fall festivals...trunk or treats...Easter egg hunts...Child Evangelism Fellowship...are also great ways to connect with and reach unchurched families.
Milestones.
Milestones are key times in a families' life when they are open to your spiritual influence. Think about Abraham and Isaac and the experience they had together on the mountain. They remembered that for the rest of their life.
I am a huge believer in milestones. In just the last month, I have seen two pre-teens follow Jesus in baptism whose families are not believers. But many of their family members came to see their baptism and heard the Gospel.
I have five milestones that I use to reach and disciple families. You can get more information about Milestone kits at this link.
Have clear next steps.
If you want to see kids and families get plugged into your ministry, then provide clear next steps for them to do so. A next step may be joining a Bible study, finding a place to serve, going to a milestone class, attending a new members class, etc.
Do a few things well.
You can do a lot of things mediocre or you can do a few things with excellence. Focus on a few things that you can provide for kids and families with excellence. Sometimes the best thing you can put on your ministry calendar is eraser marks.
Remember...kids and families are drawn to excellence.
Grow yourself.
If you want to grow your ministry, it starts with you.
If you want to lead a level 10 ministry, then you have to be a level 10 leader.
As you grow spiritually and as a leader, you will see your ministry grow.
Invest in yourself as a leader. Read leadership books. Listen to podcasts. Go to conferences. Get a mentor.
I offer a six month coaching program called Advance Coaching. You can get more information about this at this link.
The most important factor is prayer.
God grows His church. Our job is to be faithful to pray and be faithful to reach kids and families.
Nothing of eternal value happens with out prayer.
I believe God wants your ministry to grow. He is not willing that any should perish, but that all would come to repentance.
Feel the heart of Jesus as He looks over the crowds and weeps for them. May His tears flood our hearts and cause us to be passionate about what He is passionate about.
