5 Changes You Need to Make in Your Chidren's Ministry to Stay Relevant

6:39 AM  Dale Hudson  

It's important to monitor and keep in touch with the shifts that are happening in the ever-changing world of today's kids.

If you are not intentional with this, you may find your ministry struggling with being effective. 

That being said...here are five current changes and shifts you need to look at when it comes to your children's ministry. 

The shift to a digital world continues to accelerate.

Traditional toys continue to lose ground when it comes to play.  Declining engagement with traditional toys is happening as children age, with many moving toward screen‑based and interactive digital experiences. 

They are combining digital play with physical toys. This is being done by integrating toys with apps, virtual reality, and interactive content.  Kids are being raised with video games, Ipads, and phones in their hands. Hand a 3-year-old a smartphone and watch them navigate through it. 

You can stay relevant by combining the physical and digital world. Today's kids connect with digital play. Digital review games are a big hit. Lessons that integrate digital elements capture kids' attention. Visual images will grab their attention. Most of my lessons for kids will utilize 80 to 100 visual slides. 

Leverage YouTube and other social platforms.

Children are using YouTube and other social media platforms for creative, social, and entertainment play. Is your ministry on YouTube? Are you using social media to connect with families?   

Experiences are expected.

Parents and kids are valuing experiences over purely physical play items. Products that are engaging today's kids are moving from product-led to experience-led.  

I personally believe Disney's success over the years is because they provide experiences that create lifetime memories for families. 

What are you doing to create experiences for families?  I have found that one way to do this is through spiritual milestones. Celebrating spiritual milestones with families creates spiritual experiences that can change the entire trajectory of families' direction. 

Let them build it.

Crafting, building, and maker style products that encourage open-ended play are accelerating. Hands on learning tools are in high demand. Combining play with learning is a win with today's kids.  One of the most successful "toy stores" ever created is Build-A-Bear.  

How are you letting children "build out" Bible stories?  I remember I was once filling in as a teacher for a 3-year-old class. The lesson that day was about the church.  I decided we would work together to "build" a church building out of Lego's. Surprisingly the 3-year-olds jumped right in and build an amazing church building. We then talked about how the church is not a building but people. I had the kids point to themselves and say "I am the church." They got it. 

How can you use "let them build it" this week in your lessons?  

Participatory storytelling. 

Products that let kids help create content or experiences engages kids at a deeper level.  Don't just be a talking head. Get kids involved in telling the lesson. Think of creative ways you can get kids acting out the Bible story. Active participation is a key factor for engaging today's kids. 

Bottom line: The “play is slipping” trend reflects a shift from traditional toys to experiential, sensory, and digital‑hybrid play. Children's ministries that facilitate and navigate this shift will reap the benefits. 

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Why Kids' Discipleship Must Start With Sharing the Gospel

12:15 PM  Dale Hudson  

Kids' discipleship is a big conversation right now in children's ministry. 
 
How do you disciple kids? How do you measure spiritual growth in kids? What do kids need to know about Jesus and His Word? How can you help kids grow spiritually?  These are all questions that need to be discussed and strategized. 
 
But in the discipleship conversation I believe it is crucial that we understand that discipling kids starts with sharing the Gospel with kids. 
 
You can't disciple children who are not yet believers.  Let's make it clear - children have to be saved before they can become a disciple. 
 
According to Scripture, salvation is a free gift of God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ, not earned by works (Ephesians 2:8–9). It is the moment you repent of your sins and trust in Christ for your forgiveness.

Discipleship, by contrast, is the process of growing in Christ’s likeness, obeying His commands, and serving others (Matthew 28:19–20). It is a lifelong journey that follows your decision to be saved

Look what the late M.R. Dehaan said about this.
 
“There is a vast difference between coming to Jesus for salvation and coming after Jesus for service. Coming to Christ makes one a believer, while coming after Christ makes one a disciple. To become a believer one accepts the invitation of the Gospel, to be a disciple one obeys the challenge to a life of dedicated service and separation. Salvation comes through the sacrifice of Christ; discipleship comes only by sacrifice of self and surrender to His call for devoted service. Salvation is free, but discipleship involves paying the price of a separated walk. Salvation can’t be lost because it depends upon God’s faithfulness, but discipleship can be lost because it depends upon our faithfulness.” 
 
The first step is a must and that is this. 
 
Kids must clearly understand the Gospel and make a personal decision to follow Jesus.  After they enter a relationship with Jesus, then they can be discipled because the Holy Spirit lives within them.  
 
Again...Biblically...children must be saved before they can be discipled — salvation is the foundation, and discipleship is the ongoing process of growth in faith after you believe. 
 
The process is clearly laid out in Scripture. 
 
Hear the Gospel – children are taught about Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Believe and Repent – Children accept Christ for forgiveness. 

Be Discipled – Children are taught to obey Jesus’ commands and grow in faith.

I'm afraid that in the midst of the larger discipleship conversation, that this gets muddled.

We must keep sharing the Gospel with children at the forefront of everything we do. 

Here are some vital questions to ask yourself about your children's ministry.

Are we consistently sharing the Gospel with kids?

Does the curriculum we are using point kids first and foremost to Jesus for salvation?

Are we regularly seeing kids come to Jesus as their Savior?

We know that the vast majority of people who come to Jesus do as children. We have a short window of time to reach them with the Gospel. We must make sure the Gospel is the preeminent thing we teach about during this window of time.

 The only hope for the next generation is the Gospel. 

Do you have a strategy for sharing the Gospel with kids? I created the Starting Point curriculum to help kids and families understand clearly what it means to come to Jesus and follow Him. You can get more information about Starting Point at this link. 

What are your thoughts in the discipleship conversation? Feel free to share in the comment section below. 

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25 Fastest Growing Children's Ministries in the Nation 2026

7:00 AM  Dale Hudson  

Last week I shared about the 25 largest children's ministries in the nation. Today, let's take a look at the 25 fastest growing children's ministries. 
 
We know that anything that has life grows. It's a natural result. I believe God wants every children's ministry to grow. As we talked about last week, He is not willing that any should perish, but that everyone should be saved. 
 
One of the big ways God reaches people is through the local church. What an honor it is to follow Jesus in fulfilling the great commission.  
 
There is much we can learn from these ministries about reaching today's kids and families. You will find they are passionate about reaching and discipling people. 
 
I would encourage you to check out these ministries and see what they are doing. You may glean some strategies and ideas that will help your ministry grow more as well. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
9. Way Kids  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
24. Ikids 
 
 
*this is based on a report from Outreach Magazine  
 

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10 Steps to Seeing Guests Return

7:31 AM  Dale Hudson  

It is exciting to see guests  – but then to never see them again is frustrating.

The national average for guests returning is about 7%. 

Let's talk about how you can bring that number up. 

Here are 10 steps you can take to see more guests return.  

1. Make a great first impression. 

The first impression truly is a lasting impression. If you don't make a great first impression with families, they will not return. Without a great first impression, you can try all kinds of things to get them to return, but it is in vain. 

Stats show that people decide in the first 8 minutes if they are going to return or not. Make sure those first 8 minutes are great. 

2. Put your best people on your greeter team. 

Make sure your greeter team people are all-stars. 

A - attitude / they should a positive attitude

L - love for people / they should naturally love people

L - laugh with people / they should be a natural at creating a fun, joyful vibe 

S - smile / their natural face posture should be a smile

T - talker / they should be good at making small talk with people

A - attention focused on the guest - it should all be about the guest

R - relational - they should be good at building relationships with guests

We must remember this important factor - people will remember how you made them feel. Whether you realize it or not - everyone is part of the guest services team. The guest experience goes way beyond the front door. Their experience is the sum total of all of their interactions with your team members.

There are four things guests hate to do at church:

1. They hate waiting in line.

2. They hate not knowing where to go.

3. They hate being ignored. 

4. They hate being singled out. 

Here are some questions guests are asking themselves: 

Will they be friendly?

Will my kids like it?

Will there be anyone else like me?

Where do I go? 

3. Bring the wow factor.

When you exceed people's expectations by going the second mile, you will see them return. 

Jesus talked about going the second mile. Think about how you can go the second mile to see guests return.  Here are some examples.

Normal factor - having a good check-in program for guests.

Wow factor - having a separate check-in area that is just for guests.

Normal factor - send a follow-up email to guests.

Wow factor - sending a handwritten follow-up note to guests with a gift card.

Normal factor - finding the coat that a family left and calling to tell them it will be in lost and found.

Wow factor - finding the coat that a family left and delivering it to their house. 

Normal factor - calling a locksmith for a single mom who is locked out of her car in your parking lot after church.

Wow factor - calling a locksmith for a single mom who is locked out of her car in your parking lot after church and paying for it

4. Watch your words- they convey more than you say.

Here are some examples.

Enjoy the service – you're saying - you are a spectator, sit back and watch, it’s not about you…its about what’s happening on the stage.

Instead say this  – welcome – so glad you are part of the service today.

Are you new here?  You're saying - I don’t know you. Even if you’ve been coming for 20 years you are not important.

Instead – Hey, I’m Dale. I don’t think I’ve had the privilege of meeting you yet.

Thanks for visiting today. you're saying - you’re an outsider

Instead  - We are honored to have you as our guest.

I don't know. You're saying I don’t care. You’re not worth the effort to find out.

Instead - That's a great question. Let me find out the answer for you. 

Go down that hallway.  Take a left. Go up the stairs.  Take a right by the water fountain. You're saying you’re not important enough for me to leave this spot. Good luck. You are on your own.

Instead - I'd be honored to walk you there.

5. Does and Don't of making a first impression:

Don’t say “I don’t know” and leave a guest hanging.

Do say “That’s a great question. Let me find out for you.”

Don’t say “She can’t talk right now.”

Do Say “She’s currently teaching the kids. I’d be happy to let her know you stopped by and give her a message for you.”

Don’t say “No problem.”

Do say “It’s my pleasure.”

Don’t say “It's over there.”

Do say “I’d be happy to show you. Follow me.”

Don’t make guests wait in a long line.

Do have a separate area for guests to check-in.

Don’t stay in your huddle of friends and ignore guests.

Do get out of your clique and talk with guests.

Don’t make them feel like they are a bother.

Do show genuine interest in them and answer

6. Be committed to excellence.

Everything speaks. Do the little things well.

Excellence is the whisper that comes from the little things done well. - Dale Hudson

7. Establish a connection as soon as possible.

Invite them to coffee or lunch. 

8. Say good-bye well.  

Have greeters that greet families before and after the service. The last impression is just as important as the first impression. 

9. Follow-up.  

Send them a handwritten thank you note. 

Text them.

10. Offer a gift for their second visit. 

At one of the churches where I lead the children's ministry, our return rate was about 7%. We decided to make an investment and give away t-shirts on the second visit. Once we implemented this our return rate went up to 38%. 

Put these 10 tips into play at your ministry and I promise you that your return rate will go up.

Remember...you can't disciple empty seats. Getting guests to return must be a top priority for your ministry if you want to impact kids and families with the Gospel.  

p.s. Have you read my book "Be Our Church Guest?"  It's a must read if you want to see more of your guests return. You can get it here. 

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