20 Largest & Fastest Growing Children's Ministries in America ~ RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

A few weeks ago, Outreach Magazine released their annual list of the largest and fastest growing churches in America. Based on that research, I'd like to share with you the 20 largest and fastest growing children's ministries in America.

Here are a few factors to consider as you go through these two lists.

This is based on the assumption that the children's attendance at these churches is 20% of the overall attendance. 15-20% is considered healthy in the average church. At some of these churches, it may be a higher or lower percentage. This is for newborns through 5th grade.

There are churches that did not report their attendance this year. If you do not see a children's ministry on the list, it is because they did not report their attendance.

God wants His house full. He said to go out and compel people to come in so His house will be full. He wants your children's ministry to grow!

This list is not really about numbers, but about churches that are reaching kids and families effectively. Behind every number is a name and behind every name is a story.

Remember, they face many of the same struggles as smaller churches...lack of volunteers...budget shortages...programming restraints...staffing shortages, etc. It's just on a bigger scale. They don't have it all completely together. They all have weak spots and warts. The children's ministry I lead is on the list and I can tell you this is true for sure. We've got a lot of things that we need to improve.

Check out these churches' websites and look at their children's ministry sections. What can you learn from them? What are they doing effectively?

Though these numbers are good to look at...they are not the most important numbers and should not be what we focus on the most. The number we should be focused on is the number of people in our city/community that do not attend church anywhere. That is the number that should keep us up at night. The issue is not how many are attending but how many are not attending.

The majority of these churches are in areas that have a large population. If you're going to reach lots of kids and families, you have to go where they live.

One thing is for sure. Children's Ministry is one of the biggest growth factors in a church. Behind the majority of growing churches you will find a dynamic children's ministry.

20 Fastest Growing Children's Ministries in America 2014