RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

Last week I was at a friend's house.  Their 4 year old daughter wanted to see my iPhone.  Why?  She wanted to play games.  I was amazed at how quickly she could navigate through the games and apps...at 4 years old.

If trends continue, mobile games may eventually replace gaming consoles such as the Wii, Xbox, and PlayStation.  According to Pew Research, 67 per cent of all the time spent using mobile devices is spent playing games.  That’s an impressive rate compared to the 10 per cent of time people spend on social networks such as Facebook.

Mobile gaming is also bringing in the money.  76 of the 100 top selling iOS apps are games.  80 per cent of the $10 billion app industry is being generated by game sales.

And for the first time ever, the console industry is expecting a new generation of devices that will fail to outperform their predecessors in terms of sales.  Dedicated gaming sales - including living-room consoles and handhelds - are in the midst of a four-year tailspin.   Game industry sales were down 24% in September compared to the same period last year.

With shortened attention spans, today's kids prefer quick, bite-size gaming sessions - something consoles have never been good at.  Why go to the living room, wait for the console to power on, load the game from the main menu and wait for it to boot, when you can simply tap an icon on a smartphone?

Sure, everyone wants to see what Nintendo has in store with the Wii U and what Sony will do with the PlayStation 4.  However, Nintendo has recently announced that its projected sales figure for the upcoming Wii U has been slashed by 17 per cent.

This doesn’t mean consoles are going to disappear overnight.  But since mobile gaming can perform just as well as consoles and also comes with the added bonus of mobility, it’s expected that the next generation of kids is going to prefer them over consoles.

48% of adults ages 40-59 have provided some financial support to at least one grown child in the past year, with 27% providing the primary support.

One likely explanation for the increase in the prevalence of parents providing financial assistance to grown children is the Recession and sluggish recovery.  It has taken a toll on young adults.  In 2010, the share of young adults who were employed full-time experienced a greater drop in average weekly earnings than any other group.

Emotional support is also prevalent.  61% of the Sandwich Generation say their parents rely on them for emotional support.  33% say their grown children depend on them frequently for emotional support.

A positive is closer family relationships.  Half of all adults with a grown child say their relationship with their children is closer than the relationship they had with their own parents at a comparable age.

• Have you noticed these trends in your ministry?
• How can we come alongside the Sandwich Generation and provide support and encouragement?
• How can we partner with Sandwich Generation parents? 
• How has this changed the dynamics of many families?

Would enjoy seeing your thoughts in the comment section below.

A Children's Ministry brochure that is done well can be a great way to let families know about your ministry.  Here are a few tips for creating a Children's Ministry brochure that engages families.

Use more pictures and less words.  I have a copy of a brochure I created for our Children's Ministry years ago.  It looks like a book.  Way too many words.  No wonder no one read it.

If you use too many words, people will zone out.  A picture is worth a 1000 words.

Use happy, smiling faces.  Make sure the pictures capture the joy and excitement of your ministry.

Highlight the basics.  Don't try to showcase all your programs and events.  Highlight too much and everything will get lost in the mix.  Less is more.  Feature your top 2-3 programs. 

Give them simple, easy ways to connect with you for more information.  Point them to your website, Facebook page, Twitter account, etc.

Reflect the wonderful diversity of our culture.

Make it professional.  It makes a statement about your ministry.

Consult with the rest of your church's ministries.  Find out what the big picture vision is for your church's brochures.  Do they want everyone to use the same pattern?  Same color schemes?  Same wording for key tag lines?  If so, be a team player and gel your brochure with the rest of the church.  You can gel it and still make it unique and family friendly.

Below are some pictures of our current Children's Ministry brochure.
What other tips do you have for creating brochures?
Share your thoughts with us in the comment section below.

Does it affect a child's faith in God when his or her parents go through a divorce?

A recent report from Family Scholars entitled "Does the Shape of Family Shape Faith?" addresses this topic.

Here's a discussion about the report on Fox News.  It sheds light on some very interesting findings and challenges churches to be there for kids whose parents are going through divorce.

Goliath was a champion by man's standards.  He was the pinnacle of strength, power, and experience.  But David won because he was more than a champion.  In this short video, discover how you can be more than a champion.