Last weekend, I was at Lake Pointe Church in the Dallas area. They have an amazing children's facility.
I've often said, "A good children's ministry building will make your ministry seem better than it really is and a subpar facility will make your ministry seem worse than it really is.
While there is no substitute for the people (nursery volunteers, preschool teachers, elementary small group leaders, etc.) who serve in children's ministry, the physical space where you have your ministry does matter.
One of the biggest advantages of a cool children's area is that it says to parents, "Children matter here. This church invests in the next generation. The people here care about my children enough to create a nice space for them."
As you look at these pictures, I pray it will spark some creative ideas that you can use or create in your own children's ministry. Everyone can do something. Take what you've been given and run with it.
I've shared before that years ago, I was the children's pastor in a small country church. The children met in the basement. I mean, we are talking about a smelly, ugly basement. I had a handful of kids that were attending, but I felt we could do more.
I had no budget. Been there? So I worked with what I had to turn that basement room into a kids' clubhouse. I went and got some tree branches to put around the room. I took some old wood and put it around the entrance door. I found some old kids' toys to scatter here and there.
And guess what happened. We begin to grow. The free decorating I did made a difference. Kids were excited about coming to the clubhouse.
The point is this. Use what you've got, while at the same time take some bold steps to improving your kids' area. You'll never know what will happen if you don't ask for financial support from the church.
Do something to enhance your children's area. You can do a lot with paint. You can do a lot with some props you have laying around. Enlist some help. There are creative people in your church who would love to help you update or remodel the children's ministry space.
Enjoy the pictures and may it inspire you to work toward improving your children's ministry space. I've also included some pictures from their student ministry building which is phenomenal as well.