Direct mail with great print pieces?
Television ads?
Vacation Bible school?
Outreach events?
Fall Festivals?
Bringing in a big-name special guest?
These are all different ways you can see families brought into your children's ministry. But...there's one thing that is not listed above. And it's the #1 way to grow your children's ministry.
Wait for it...wait for it...
Here it is...word of mouth.
People talk about a children's ministry that has impacted their lives. And those people talk to other people...and those people talk to other people...and...etc.
Before long, you've got guest families walking through the door every single week. And the majority are coming because someone told them about the ministry or brought them.
When this happens, you will experience the "big mo." Momentum. And when momentum kicks in, you will experience exponential growth.
The big question...how do you get people talking?
Give them something that's worth talking about.
Create environments for kids that will get them excited about coming to church. When that happens, parents will take notice and begin to talk.
Encourage them to talk.
Message how important it is to invest in relationships with people who don't attend church and invite them to come.
Give them tools they can use to talk.
Create invite cards that people can use to invite their friends and connections. Doing a really cool series? Make invite cards for the series.
This past Easter, we had a lady that came to our church for the very first time and accepted Christ as her Lord and Savior. When asked how she heard about the church, she told this story. She is a crossing guard at one of our local elementary schools. One of our kids talked with her and invited her to come to church while he was waiting to cross for school.
When people start talking...great things happen.