My 5-year-old nephew is at Disney World this week with his family.
The day they were leaving for the trip, he was up and ready to go by 5:00 am. He was then waking every one else up and getting them out the door.
To say the least, he was very, very excited about going to Disney World.
He is not alone. Every night, there are kids who can't go to sleep because they are so excited about going to Disney World the next day.
Let me ask you a question. How excited are children about coming to your ministry? Do parents tell you that their children wake up with the anticipation of going to church?
Look what David wrote in Psalm 122:1.
I was GLAD when they said to me “let us go to the house of the Lord.”
Notice what David said. He said he was "glad" to go to the house of the Lord. He went with anticipation and excitement.
Our goal as ministry leaders should be to create great church experiences that causes kids to be excited about coming to God's house.
David certainly didn't say "I was SAD when they said to me, let us go to the house of the Lord."
Let me ask you another question. Does your ministry get kids excited about coming to church ?
One of two things happens with kids and church.
- Kids get so excited that they drag their parents to church.
- Kids don't like going to a boring service and so their parents have to drag them to church.
My prayer is that you and I will create great church experiences that will have kids waking up early. Excited about coming to God's house.
Here are a few elements of a kid's church experience that will have them waking up early to get to God's house.
PEOPLE - when kids have a caring leader who knows them and invests in them, they will get excited about seeing the person at church.
PROGRAMMING - have fun, strategic lessons that leaves kids wanting more.
PRAYER - spend time with God in preparation for the weekend. Pray for the kids. Pray for the lesson. Pray for the praise and worship time. Pray for the lesson. Prayer brings the "it" factor - the anointing and blessings of God into the service.
Do this - look at the faces of the kids who will be in attendance at your next service, program or event. Do you see anticipation? Excitement? Energy? Smiles? Eagerness?
If you are seeing bored looks, then it may be time to make some changes.
Check out my book - If Disney Ran Your Children's Ministry. It's full of insight and ideas that will have kids waking up early to get to your children's ministry. You can get it at this link.
