RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

What are the elements of a successful children's ministry?

I believe there are 3 big ways you can measure the effectiveness of a children's ministry. 

Let's take a look at these. 

FAITH. 

Successful children's ministries main focus is reaching kids with the Gospel and seeing them discipled. 

The ultimate goal of every children's ministry should be rooted and grounded in the great commission.

And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."  Matthew 28: 18-20

Children are the greatest mission field in the world. We know that the majority of people who come to Christ do so before they are 18 years old.  We have a short window of time to reach children with the Gospel.

You can do a lot of things in your children's ministry, but the bottom line is this - Are you reaching kids with the Gospel?  Are you then helping them grow in their relationship with Jesus? 

We must keep the main thing the main thing.

When it comes to curriculum, make sure you are using a curriculum that regularly shares the Gospel as part of the lesson. If the curriculum you are using does not share the Gospel consistently, then you should find one that does or start writing it into the curriculum yourself. 

There are lots of truths, Bible verses, and lessons we can share from the Bible. But nothing is more important than sharing the Gospel with kids.

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes."  Romans 1:16

I believe without salvation there is no success in children's ministry.

Dare to ask yourself these questions. 

How often am I sharing the Gospel with kids?

Am I seeing kids come to Christ and follow Him in baptism on a regular basis?

If the baptistry is dry...what is the cause of this?

Do I have clear steps mapped out for kids who express an interest in accepting Jesus into their life?

If you need help with this - check out Starting Line. It's a salvation class that kids and parents attend together. Churches across the country are using this resource to reach kids and families. You can get more information and order it at this link. 

FUN

I believe kids should have fun at church. I have met many people over the years who say, "I'm not going to church because I was made to go as a child."  Newsflash...you don't have to make someone go where they enjoy being.

I've never heard anyone say, "I'm not going to Disney World because I was made to go as a child." They didn't want to go because it was boring and irrelevant to their life.

In recent years, there was been some push back about trying to make children's ministry fun for kids. Negative statements about parents asking their children if they had "fun" at church when they pick them up.

Hang on a minute. David said this about the house of the Lord in Psalm 122:1.

"I was GLAD when they said to me, 'Let us go to the house of the LORD'!" 

He didn't say he was sad. He said he was glad. 

How do we help kids be glad to go to the house of the Lord?  We create fun, creative environments that God uses to engage kids. 

BTW - when parents are asking their kids if they had fun at church, they are not just asking was it a party or environment where it was all fun and games. What they are saying is this...

Did they capture your attention today?  Did they engage you?  Was it relevant to your life? Did you learn anything significant.

Let's not hide behind excuses for not making church a relevant and engaging experience for kids. 

Cloaked in the fun factor is ministry that engages this new generation of kids. Fun doesn't have to mean "shallow" or "entertainment." It doesn't have to be one or the other. You can have fun and depth at the same time. I believe fun helps kids engage in discipleship. 

Bill Maher is a well known atheist.  He is very adamant against the things of God.  He even went so far as producing a movie called "Religulous." The movie follows Bill as he travels globally to question and satirize religious beliefs.  

In the movie he talks about going to church as a child. His words...

"I hated going because it was boring."

"I didn't quit because of any ideological idea...I quit because it wasn't relevant to my life."

I wonder...if he had been part of a relevant children's ministry as a child, would his life have taken a different route?

I believe that successful children's ministries do a great job at blending fun and discipleship. In other words, they make discipleship fun. 

There are some little Bills sitting in your children's ministry right now. Will you make your ministry fun and relevant to their life?  Their future as a Christ follower could hinge on it. 

FAMILY 

One big element that successful children's ministries have is family. This is all about relationships.

The ministry is a place that welcomes people and helps them become part of a faith family.

The ministry is a place that connects with parents and involves them in the discipleship pathway. 

The ministry is a place where volunteers serve alongside friends. 

The ministry is a place where children are known and cared for. 

The ministry is a place where children ministry volunteers are there for each other.

Listen closely to any successful children's ministry and you will hear the faint whisper of the song "We are family!"

So there you have it. 3 big elements of a successful children's ministry. I hope this has been a help and encouragement to you.  Take some time to think about these 3 elements.  Are they active in your ministry? 

What are some other elements of a successful children's ministry. Would love to hear your thoughts and insight. You can share in the comment section below.  

There are lots of ways you can try to build your volunteer team. I've tried them all over the years.  

Church announcements.

Bulletin ads.

Video appeals. 

Handouts to parents. 

Most of these attempts fall short and are not effective ways to build a volunteer team. 

So what is the best way to build a volunteer team?  

I believe it is personal, 1-1 asks.

Did you know that 93% of people who are serving are there because someone personally asked them to serve?  Think about it. There's a great chance that you are personally serving in children's ministry because someone asked you to join them in serving.

This is the way Jesus built His team. He went to the disciples one at a time and asked them to follow Him. 

Yes. This means what you may be thinking. It takes a lot of hard work to build a great volunteer team. 

Volunteer enlistment can't be a one and done.  

You will always need more volunteers.  You will always need to be enlisting new volunteers. 

Building a great volunteer team means enlisting people 52 weeks a year.  That's it plain and simple.

Personal asks works. At one of the churches where I served, we had around 300 volunteers when I arrived. As a staff team, we decided to make volunteer enlistment our top priority. We did this and started asking people to join our team each week. Week in and week out, we made the asks. 

After 9 years of doing this, we looked up and we had over 2,000 volunteers on our team. We didn't set out to have 2,000 volunteers. We set out to be faithful to ask people to serve. One ask at a time.  

I don't mean to sound harsh, but if you aren't asking people to join your team on a regular basis, then stop complaining about not having enough volunteers.  You have not because you ask not.  

If I looked at your personal calendar, would it reflect that asking people to serve and investing in them is one of your top priorities?  

Set a goal to personally ask a certain amount of people each week to join your team. Does this mean everyone will say "yes?" No...of course not.  But I will promise you this...ask enough people and you will get some "yeses." 

This past weekend, I asked 3 people to serve with me in children's ministry.  Two of them said "no." But one of them said "yes." In the last 8 weeks, I have personally asked 21 people to join our volunteer team.  14 of them have said "no." But 7 of them have said "yes." 

To get some "yeses" you have to step up to the plate and swing. Trust me...make enough asks and you will get some "yeses."  Keep doing this week in and week out. If you will do this consistently, a year from now, you will thrilled with how your team has grown. 

When you make the asks, first pray and ask God to lead you to people He has already been speaking to about serving. 

Here's an example. Two weeks ago, I was in the auditorium before the service started.  I was looking at the back rows. I have found that people who aren't connected or involved yet tend to sit in the back of the auditorium. I saw a man sitting in the middle section by himself. I felt the Holy Spirit say, "there is the person I have prepared."  I obeyed and sat down with this man and began to talk with him. I asked him if he was serving anywhere."  He replied, "no."  I asked him if he would serve with us in children's ministry. He replied that he had been thinking about getting more connected by serving somewhere. He said "yes" to serving in children's ministry.

It was a divine appointment. See...I believe there are people in your church that God has been already been working on about serving. Ask Him to lead you to those people and you will be amazed at what will happen when you start asking people to serve.  

Have you read my book "The Formula for Building Great Volunteer Teams?" It is filled with proven ways to build and equip your volunteer team. You can get it at this link. 

I am a big fan of Disney.  I had season passes to Disney World when I lived in Florida and I even wrote a book entitled "If Disney Ran Your Children's Ministry."

Over the years, I have gleaned much from Disney's approach to engaging kids and families.  

Walt built Disney on the values of faith, family, and virtue. An example of this is the movie "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs."  He released the movie in 1937. It contained themes about good triumphing over evil, love, and redemption.  It was a huge success and helped launch the Disney empire.

Walt said this - "The important thing is the family. If you can keep the family together—that’s the backbone of our whole business, catering to families—that’s what we hope to do."

But over the years, Disney has drifted away from their primary focus of families and family values. Here are a few of the articles I have written about this.

Disney Night of Joy was cancelled while Pride Nite was invited in

Same Sex Kiss in Disney Movie

Disney Intros Gay Character in Beauty and the Beast 

But it seems the ship may be turning. For the first time in 20 years, Disney has introduced an openly Christian character in their new animated series "Win or Lose" on Disney+. Her name is Laurie, and in one scene, she prays: "Dear Heavenly Father, please give me strength. I have faith, but sometimes the doubt creeps in." 

The entrance of Josh D'Amaro as Disney's new CEO also seems to bring hope of a return to family values.  He is leading Disney to distance itself from corporate policies tied to inclusive language and identity-related debates. 

Over the years, several of the experiences inside Disney parks had began replacing traditional expressions like "ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls" with neutral expressions such as "dreamers of all ages" or "friends." D'Amaro is leading the way back to the traditional expressions.

For years, Disney has produced progressive content and diversity-focused messaging. But there appears to be a clear effort to reduce the perception that Disney operates as a politically activist company.

Here are some more examples of moving back toward family values.

Disney branded television has been rebranded as Disney Kids & Family, streamlining its identity to better reflect its focus on children and families. The division now oversees Disney+, Disney Junior, Disney Channel, and other family-targeted content Inside the Magic.

They have shelved DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) initiatives linked to “inclusion” and “diversity” roles, eliminating around 1,000 positions. This includes stopping the deconstruction of classic fairy tales for “correct” identity politics messaging.

Disney has also begun reinstating traditional values in its parks and studios, reversing some of the more controversial changes made after 2020. This includes restoring classic attractions, addressing backlash over perceived political overreach, and aiming to rebuild trust with long-time fans.

What do you think about this shift? Are you a fan of Disney? Why or why not?  Would like to hear your thoughts in the comment section below. 

Today’s kids are growing up in an experience-driven culture. They eat in restaurants such as The Rainforest Café and Chuck E. Cheese, where a meal is not just about food, it’s about the whole themed experience. 

They experience rides at amusement parks that put them right in the middle of an unfolding, experiential story. 

They play video games that let them experience new worlds and adventures. The computer and smart phone have become a portal to unlimited experiences through virtual worlds, games, and online communities.

Let’s be real. We can’t compete. We’ll never have the resources to match what kids experience on a daily basis outside of church. But we can still create service experiences where kids encounter God and his truth in memorable ways.

How? It’s not as hard as you may think. Let’s start from scratch.

Get a creative team together. 

It can be made up of anywhere from three to six people.

Decide what Scripture / Biblical truth you are going to teach. 

Decide how you’re going to “package” or “theme” the Scripture.  The packaging or theme should be something culturally relevant to a child’s world.

Begin tossing out ideas and writing them down. 

Even if an idea is not used, it will spark other ideas. Many times the craziest idea will be the seed that brings a great plan to fruition. Normally, when you hit gold everyone will know it. Everyone’s eyes will light up when the idea is mentioned. It will just click.

Create your large-group experience. We use the large-group/small-group model. Here are the steps we follow to create a large-group experience.

Choose a worship song that reinforces the truth. Worship is a key element in helping kids experience God’s presence. The Bible tells us that God inhabits the praises of his people.

Use skits to reinforce the truth. Use skits that involve real-life scenarios that kids face so they can see the truth lived out. Skits can be done live or by video.

Use games that illustrate the truth. The first game should be high-energy, fun, and even messy. The second game can be more tame and can be a review tool.

Use a large-group lesson based on the truth or Bible story. 

Make it fun and interactive. 

Use stories to illustrate the truth. 

Personal stories from your own life are great. Also be sure to use lots of visuals such as pictures and video clips.

Create your small-group experience. 

The kids have been sitting in large-group time. They have been participating, but maybe in a limited way. Small-group time makes the whole experience complete. Here are some tips for small-group time.

Make it interactive. 

Kids want to talk. They want to be heard and known. So let them talk away. Use icebreaker questions and activities to get kids talking. Ask guided, open-ended questions that will get kids interacting.

Involve kids in the learning process. 

Use crafts, activities, and games that get kids moving, participating, and having fun as they learn.

Include Scripture. 

Go over the key Bible verse with kids. 

Use fun games and methods to help them remember it and understand its meaning.

Make it applicable. 

Talk about real-life situations kids might face where they could apply what they’ve learned. Then create a specific challenge for the coming week where they can live out that truth.

Pray. 

Let kids share prayer requests and spend a few minutes praying with them for those needs. Rely on the Holy Spirit to move in kids’ hearts so they can enjoy the greatest experience of all—God’s presence.

You can get more great ideas to grow your children's ministry in the book "100 Best Ways to Grow Your Children's Ministry. It is available at this link.