RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

I often think about this. 

"When you reach a child, you change a life.  When you reach a parent, you change an entire family." -Dale Hudson

We know stats show that when you reach a father and he starts attending church, the percentage of his kids going to church and following Jesus skyrockets. 

Parents have the most influence in the lives of their children.  This means a huge part of our strategy should be to reach and influence parents. 

Going into VBS this year, I set up a strategy that would help us connect with unchurched parents.  

Here are the steps we took. 

We thought about parents in our planning.   

How can we involve parents?

How can we share the Gospel with parents?

How can we get parents to buy in and be a part of their child's VBS experience?

We decided to host a family night on our final night of VBS.

It was a night for the entire family to participate in.  No drop offs. Parents must attend with their child.

Each night of VBS we promoted the upcoming family night.  (FYI - we do VBS in the evenings)

Each night we handed out a recap (paper copy) of what we had taught on that night. We included a promotion for family night on these recap papers. 

p.s. Don't hand the take home paper to the kids. They will lose it or you'll find it in the parking lot.  We personally handed these papers to the parents. 

Family night was Thursday night. 

We had regular VBS from Sunday to Wednesday and then Thursday night was family night.

Here was the flow of family night.

• Offering contest.  We had an offering contest each night of VBS to raise money for a local children's home.  

• Family game show.  We had some fun games families competed in to win a prize. These were stage games.  High energy. Fun. Loud.

• We shared the Gospel in a creative way.  

• We invited families to attend our Starting Point class with their child. Starting Point is a class where the Gospel is clearly shared with parents and their children.  Starting Point is available for you at this link.  If you read my recent article - "Why I Don't Lead Children in a Salvation Prayer at VBS" you'll understand why I take this approach.  

• After the Gospel presentation, the kids came up and sang some of their songs and quoted some verses they learned.  This was a key factor in getting unchurched parents to attend. Unchurched parents will come to see their children perform.   

• We then went out and had hot dogs, games, bounce houses, lemonade, and more. 

• I walked around during this time and talked with parents.  Especially with parents who were new that night.  

Our attendance tripled that night. We had lots of unchurched parents who attended and on the Sunday after, we had several families who came to church for the first time. 

We will continue to reach out to these families. 

VBS family night. It works. If you've never tried it, consider doing it. It has been proven to be effective.  

In just a few weeks, I will be heading to summer camp with kids from our church.  

We will be at summer camp for 5 days.  It's a significant amount of time. 

So why am I going?  That's a long time to be away from my family.  

I am going because I am a believer in kids' camp.  Here are 5 reasons why I take kids to camp.

It helps kids get away from the noise.

Kids are constantly bombarded with the noise of social media, video games, music, TV, internet, and other means of messaging.  Combine all of these and you get children who have little to no quiet time.  

It can be a challenge as the bombardment of noise drowns out the gentle whispers of the Holy Spirit. But when kids are at camp...away from all of the noise...they can better hear from God. They can experience the presence of God who says...

Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10.  

Today's kids have a hard time with periods of silence.  Unplugging is not easy. Take away their cell phone and they get anxiety. But when they go to camp, they have the opportunity (even though they may not like it at first) to unplug. When this happens, it opens the door for God to do a big work in their life. 

It deepens their relationships.

Time deepens relationships.  At camp, kids get to spend more time with each other and their counselors. This helps them deepen these relationships.  Discipleship happens through relationships. Deeper relationships bud forth into kids developing a deeper walk with God. 

Kids learn about teamwork.

At camp, kids learn they weren't meant to do life alone.  Through games, activities, discussions, and teaching, they learn how to cooperate and get along with others.  

It helps kids grow in their faith. 

Chapel. Quiet times with God. Bible study. Worship. Prayer times.  All of these elements help kids significantly grow in their faith. 

Life changing spiritual decisions are often made at camp.  

It helps kids with resiliency.

Kids learn how to persevere. Kids learn how to be brave. Kids learn how to not give up.  These life skills will help kids as they enter their teen years.

Your turn.  

Are you taking the kids in your ministry to camp this year?  Why or why not?

What do you think about summer camp?  

 Share your comments in the comment section below.

I am finishing up VBS this week. But I am not finished with VBS for the year.  I'm just getting started. 

I believe some of the most important, strategic steps you can take are AFTER VBS. 

I'd go as far as saying the steps you take after VBS are just as important as the steps you take before VBS. 

If you want to see fruit that remains and continues after VBS, then these steps are crucial.  

Write thank you notes.

Write a handwritten, personal note to everyone who served on your team. There would not have been a VBS without them.  If you have the budget for it, you can include a small gift like a Starbucks card. 

Invite the volunteers who served for the first time to join your team on a full-time volunteer basis. 

Make sure you help them have a good serving experience and then make the ask the week after VBS.  I've had as high as 85% of them say yes to joining our team.   

Clean up.  

After VBS is a good time to clean and de-clutter your spaces.  

Do you have any closets that are scary to go into?  I do and the week after VBS I am going to do something about it.  

Whether we realize it or not, our storage areas send a message.  Your volunteers know if your space is clean and organized or a junk pile. Everything must walk the talk. 

Take...rather make some time to organize and clean your storage areas.  

The last time I was at Disney World, I snuck a peek and checked out their sound booth area at one of the attractions. It was spotless. No clutter...no mess...no dust...it was immaculate.  Seeing that reminded me Disney is committed to excellence in every area...and it shows. We can learn much from this.

Debrief.

Be purposeful about gathering feedback.  Ask your volunteers to answer these questions.

What went well?

What needs to be changed or adjusted?  

What can we do to make VBS even better next year?

The feedback you gather will be valuable information that will help you improve the experience next year. 

Follow up with guests. 

Connect with guests that attended.  Reach out to these families and invite them to return. This is a great opportunity to reach unchurched parents who brought their child to VBS. 

Celebrate and share praise reports.

Many people invested in your VBS.  Now is your opportunity to pay them.  Pay them?  Yes, pay them. The pay they want is to know who God used the time, talent, and treasure they invested.  

Share with them how many kids indicated they want to enter a relationship with Jesus. 

Share with them how many kids attended.

Share with them about families who were reached. 

Share with them about the volunteers who invested in the kids. 

You can take it to the next level by making a recap video to show them.  

Have a salvation / baptism class the week after VBS. 

In a recent article, I shared why I don't do large group salvation prayers at VBS.

Instead, I offer a salvation class called Starting Point.  The class is for kids and parents to attend together.  No drop offs. In this class, I thoroughly share the Gospel with kids and their parents. At the end of the class, many parents lead their children to Jesus.  The cool thing is this...I usually always see some parents come to Christ as well.  I host the class the Sunday and Wednesday after VBS. 

You can get the Starting Point class at this link.  It is used by hundreds of churches to lead children and parents to Jesus. 

So...there you have it. 7 Key Steps to Take After VBS.  

What are some other steps you take?  Share with us in the comment section below. 

Some people think you only have to be good at teaching kids to be a children's pastor.

The truth is...there are so many more things you need to be good at if you are going to be a successful children's pastor. 

Let's look at what it really takes to be a children's pastor. These are in no particular order.

Skill #1 - A builder of volunteer teams.

If you want to be a successful children's pastor, then you have to know how to build volunteer teams. 

The success of your ministry will rise and fall on the strength of the volunteer team you build.  There is no way around it.  You must be able to build volunteer teams. You can be great with children, but if you can't lead volunteers, you will have a hard time. 

When young leaders ask me what they should be focusing on, I always tell them to become good at building volunteer teams. I believe it is the most important skill you can have.  

The good news is this...you can learn how to build volunteer teams. If you haven't read my book, "The Formula for Building Great Volunteer Teams," you need to get a copy today. It's available at this link - it has been called the best book ever written on the subject.  

Skill #2 - A vision caster.

Where will you take the people you are leading?  

What is the vision you are sharing with them?

People won't follow a person who has no vision.  

Get alone with God and seek His vision for your ministry.  

Point people toward a big vision.  

Be passionate about the vision.  

People will follow someone who is passionate about the vision God has placed before them.

Skill #3 - Public speaker.

You need to be able to teach kids effectively. 

You need to be able to speak to parents and adults effectively as well. 

If you don't feel confident as a public speaker, the good news is you can improve and get better at this.  

Skill #4 - Connect well with kids. 

You are in children's ministry.  They are your ministry.  

Learn how to connect with kids when you talk with them.  

Learn how to make them laugh.  

Learn how to say silly, funny things to them.  

Especially focus on being able to talk with first-time guests. 

Skill #5 - Navigating conflict resolution.

Believe it or not, there are times when conflict arises in children's ministry.

Volunteers will get upset with you.  Volunteers  will get upset with each other.

Parents will get upset. Parents will become disgruntled.  

I am not naturally good with conflict.  I don't like it...but it is important that you learn how to deal with it and solve it. 

There are lots of great books you can read to get better at conflict resolution.  I personally recommend the book "How to Have That Hard Conversation" by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend. You can get this book on Amazon.

Skill #6 - Influencer of parents.

Being able to influence parents is even more important than influencing kids.  

No one has more influence in a child's life than his or her parents.  Influence parents and you will influence their children.  

Always be thinking "parents."  

How can I extend this lesson into the home?

Remember...when you reach a child, God changes a life.  But when you reach parents, God changes an entire family. 

You need to be able to connect with parents.  

Skill #7 - Motivator of people.

You need to be able to rally volunteers around a common vision.  

You need to be excited about what God is doing and effectively share this with volunteers.

You need to be able to effectively share the "why" to your volunteers.' 

Skill #8 - Team manager 

You must be able to equip volunteers. 

You must be able to empower volunteers.

You must be able to communicate well with volunteers.

You must be able to help volunteers find their sweet spot and minister in it.

Skill #9 - Event planner and organizer. 

Kid's camp.

VBS.

Fall Trunk or Treat.

Easter Egg Hunt.

You must be able to plan events and empower leaders to own the plans. 

Skill #10 - Counselor and shepherd.  

You must become a shepherd and counselor for your volunteers.  

When they need prayer, they will come to you. 

When they need council, they will come to you.

When they need comfort, they will come to you.

When they need advice, they will come to you. 

Don't feel inadequate when you look at this list...we've got your back. You can do this. These are skills that can be learned and improved in.  

Here are a couple more resources for you. 

The book "Lead Well in Children's Ministry" contains lots of wisdom about leading in children's ministry.  You can get it here.

I have a 6 month coaching experience that you can be a part of.  You can get more info. at this link about Advance Children's Ministry Coaching.  

Keep growing...keep learning...keep stretching...keep pushing yourself.  You got this.