Don't worry. You're not alone. Look at the average children's ministry on a Sunday morning and you will find that at least half the kids are disengaged.
But there is a secret that can change that. Incorporate this one, simple secret into your children's ministry and you'll see kids go from disengaged to engaged.
Here it is - Ask the kids individually what they like to do. This one simple question will reveal what a child is passionate about and what engages him or her.
Here's an example...you've got a boy that simply won't engage during the lesson. You sit down with him and ask what he enjoys. He says he likes to build things. The next week, you incorporate building something with Legos into the lesson. He's engaged and all in.
There's a girl that won't participate in any of the activities. You sit down with her and ask what she enjoys doing. She says she enjoys art. The next week, you ask her to draw a picture of the Bible story while you're telling it. She's engaged and all in.
The secret to engaging kids is not demanding that they engage. Forced engagement is not effective. The secret is finding out what their interests, passion and learning style is and letting them operate in it. When you do that, engagement comes naturally.