RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

Miley Cyrus was born in 1992 to Billy Ray Cyrus and Tish Cyrus. She grew up on her family's farm near Franklin, Tennessee. She lived on the farm until she was about 14 years old. 

Miley was raised in a Christian household and was baptized in a Southern Baptist Church. She attended church faithfully and wore a purity ring. 

Her personal pilot said the young star had a sincere faith and moral convictions.  He felt confident she would not trade her character for fame. 

Miley left the farm and grew into a celebrity in television, movies, and music. She catapulted into stardom with her performance on the television show Hannah Montana. 

As Miley grew into stardom she began to pull away from her Christian roots. Her first step of departure was when she stopped attending church. She has stated that she left the church because her gay friends were not being accepted and were forced to undergo conversion therapy. 

As Miley slipped farther and farther away from church, she also began to walk away from the faith.  Her performances turned raunchy and risque as she grew older. 

You can see from the following statements how she has abandoned the faith.

She shared a photo on Twitter with a quote that says "You are all stardust. You couldn't be here if stars hadn't exploded. So forget Jesus. Stars died so you could live."

She recently said "God is a gay man. If you don't believe me look at the length of his hair."

"I'm allowed to decide what my relationship is with spirituality as an adult, that doesn't have to be aligned with the way that it was when I was brought up". 

(referring to Noah's Ark) "That's [expletive] insane.  We've outgrown that fairy tale, like we've outgrown [expletive] Santa and the tooth fairy."

"I am literally open to every single thing that is consenting and doesn't involve an animal and everyone is of age.  Everything that's legal, I'm down with.  Yo, I'm down with any adult—anyone over the age of 18 who is down to love me.  I don't relate to being boy or girl, and I don't have to have my partner relate to boy or girl."

"I love my parents, but they are conservative [expletive] mother [expletive]." 

In my book "Fertile Soil..See Kids' Faith Grow and Flourish for a Lifetime" (order here)  I share the three big reasons why kids grow up and walk away from the faith. 

• 25% walk away because they have grown disillusioned with the church.
• 50% walk away because they don't believe in the Bible or God anymore. 
• 25% walk away because they say they are too busy. 

I think Miley falls into the group that has grown disillusioned with the church.  This is reflected in her "LGBPTQ" views and and not being able to reconcile that with the conservative beliefs of the churches she was part of as a child.

I think Miley obviously also falls into the category that doesn't believe any more.  Her views of God and the Bible are way off course. 

I think Miley also falls into the category of being too busy.  The lure of fame and fortune has taken over her life and left little to no time for God. 

Miley is a snapshot of the many, many young adults who grew up in church but have now walked away.

Our prayers are with these grown up kids who have wondered away. I pray that God will draw them back to His side. We know that the prodigals are on the heart of God and should be on our hearts as well. No matter how far away they may be, He is longing for them to come home.  He is a God of abundant grace and hasn't given up on them and neither should we.

In my book "Fertile Soil...See Kids' Faith Grow and Flourish for a Lifetime" (order it here) I share how we can create Fertile Soil.  I share the ingredients we need to place in the soil to make it fertile. I believe when kids are planted in fertile soil, they can grow up to love and follow Jesus for a lifetime.

Will you join me in praying for Miley?  I don't think God has given up on her and neither should we. Pray she and the other prodigals will come home to Jesus.   

I believe preschool ministry is one of the most important ministries in the church.  It is ministering to people at one of the most critical times in their life.  So much growth happens in the first few years of a person's life.  

If you want to improve your ministry, then preschool ministry should be at the top of the list. 

Let's look at 10 tips that can help you improve your preschool ministry.

Tip #1 - Eye Contact. 

Children need to be looked in the eye when engaged in conversation to feel you're genuinely interested in them. This usually means getting down to preschoolers' eye level. 

Tip #2 - Recognition.

Every child wants to be known and to know that he or she is valued. Preschoolers need to be recognized and called by name. Learn children's names and use them. Every week find at least one good thing to recognize about each child and acknowledge it. 

Tip #3 - Use Play as a Teaching Tool. 

Knowing facts alone isn't enough. Just because a preschool can repeat something, doesn't mean he or she has learned it. Children learn from meaningful experiences. Play that is hands-on, interactive, and focused promotes learning that lasts. Companies have discovered this and are producing toys that teach. Offer guided play opportunities that teach God's Word. 

Tip #4 - Stories. 

Kids (and adults) love stories. Use stories to communicate truth. Present each story in an engaging and exciting way. The way you tell the story is important. 

Tip #5 - Age-appropriate songs and leaders.

Use fun, energetic worship leaders.  People who have of smiles will set the atmosphere for children. Middle school and high school kids make great worship leaders for preschoolers. 

Tip #6 - Have good ratios. 

When you have good ratios safety is increased, leader retention is increased, and parent confidence increases. Here are the ratios I follow:

3-year-olds - 1 to 8

4-year-olds - 1 to 8

5-year-olds - 1 to 10

Tip #7 - Work with adult ministry.

Your ministry to preschool parents is vitally important because when you influence parents, you influence the primary source of spiritual formation in preschoolers. 

A partnership with adult ministries in your church is one of the most strategic moves you can make to leverage the impact of your preschool ministry. 

Tip #8 - Keep spaces clean. 

When parents look inside your preschool rooms, they quickly access cleanliness. If rooms are untidy, messy or dirty, you will loose the parents' confidence. 

Keep toys clean and disinfected. Throw away or repair damaged furniture. Keep the floor vacuumed and the trash emptied. 

Tip #9 - Remind your volunteers that this is not baby-sitting. 

In fact, it is ministry at one of the most critical times in a person's life. So much is happening in those first three years. Kids are growing and making connections that will effect the rest of their life. Help your volunteers see this and cast vision about impacting kids' lives during those first 3 years.  I often say this. 

People won't line up to change a diaper, but they will line up to change a life.  

#Tip 10 - Care. 

Even at their young age, preschoolers can sense when someone genuinely cares about them. They need leaders who will love them and welcome them with a smile.  Leaders who will see them and know them by name.

Have you read the book "100 Best Ideas to Turbocharge Your Preschool Ministry?"  It contains over 100 ideas to improve your preschool ministry.  You can get your copy now at this link. 

Nothing of eternal value happens without prayer. 

Implement these 10 things into your teaching and you will see God work in kids' lives. 

At the church where I serve as Children and Family Pastor, we recently built a new stage for kids' worship and other activities. 

It is a Clubhouse theme. Below are some pictures.  The wrapping for the stage came from our friends at Wacky World Studios.  The wall and the trim were done by some of our volunteers. 

I always remember this...

A good environment will make your children's ministry seem better than it is. A subpar environment will make your children's ministry seem worse than it is. 

The physical space you create is important and is money well spent. It might even be more affordable than you think. We have around $5,000 in this stage area. That includes building the frame and all the attachments you see on the wall. There are holes for puppets in the tree and the far left window. The other two screens by the door are televisions.

We will be bringing our 3-to-5-year olds out here for their chapel time. We will have puppets, storytellers, and kids' worship leaders.  

Whatever budget you have is not the biggest factor. You can do a lot with kid-friendly paint colors and there are probably people in your church who could help build your vision. 

Another plus in spending money on kids' theming is the statement it makes to parents. It says to parents that you care enough about their children to invest resources in creating an environment with kids in mind. 

I remember one of the first areas I built for kids.  It was when I was first starting out in ministry. The church where I was serving didn't have a children's ministry area. The only space available was an old, musty room downstairs in the basement.  We only had a few kids coming. I had no budget whatsoever. So I decided to use what I could. I went out and found branches, tree limbs, etc. and turned the room into a tree clubhouse feel. The kids loved it and we doubled in the number of kids who started attending. 

The point is this - do something. No matter what your budget is, you can create a fun environment for kids. Even if you have no budget whatsoever. What are you waiting for?  Go for it.