Here are 10 things that every senior pastor needs to know about children's ministry.
Children's ministry needs the support of the Senior Pastor.
Senior Pastors should be a top fan of children's ministry. They set the tone for the church when it comes to how people view children's ministry.
Does your senior pastor see it as an afterthought or as a vital ministry?
Is the success of children's ministry important to your senior pastor? How do they show that?
The children's ministry staff and volunteers need to know their senior pastor values children's ministry.
Children's ministry is a growth engine for the church.
Do you know the top two reasons people pick a church?
-How friendly are you?
-What do you have to offer my kids?
The fastest growing and largest churches in the nation have something in common. They all have dynamic children's ministries.
If you want to see your church grow, it will happen through reaching kids and their parents.
Why do you think parents drive past the steakhouse and eat at McDonald's instead? It has to do with something called a kids' meal. Dad and mom would rather eat at the steakhouse, but the kids want to go where there are kids' meals and playgrounds. Normally the kids win that battle. It is often the same situation with families and where they go to church.
Parents can have a great experience at a church, but if the kiddos come out and say they didn't like it...chances are they are going to find a place where their kids have a great experience.
Compensate your children's ministry person well.
If you are a senior pastor reading this, you may have a part-time person leading your children's ministry. They probably won't tell you this, but they are working a lot more than part-time hours. You are getting a full-time person for part-time pay. This is not fair. Compensate your children's person well. Pay them for what they are worth and for what they are investing in the ministry.
If you do have a full-time person, then pay them fairly. You
want their attention to be on the ministry, not on how they are going to
put food on the table.
What they do is invaluable for your ministry. The church will get back financial benefits from the families they help you reach.
Children's ministry leaders help you shepherd the flock.
Children's ministry leaders are a key part in shepherding the entire congregation. They shepherd children, parents, volunteers of all ages, and entire families. They help you carry the load of shepherding the flock.
Buildings and facilities speak volumes.
The physical space designated for children makes a major statement to families. You can say that you are for children's ministry, but if the facilities for children are subpar, then it says otherwise.
If you are trying to decide where to invest the church's money, children's ministry should be at the forefront. It is a mistake to build great facilities for students (teenagers) and adults and then stick the kids in the basement.
Your facilities say one of two things...either we believe in children's ministry or it is not a priority for us. Investing finances in children's ministry facilities and environments is always a win.
Make your children's ministry budget a top priority.
Money invested in children's ministry will return to the church many times over.
If you are spending money on new choir robes while your children's ministry has moldy carpet, then something is wrong.
If you are spending more on coffee than you are on goldfish crackers, something is off.
If you are remodeling the men and women's bathrooms while the children's ministry tables and chairs are falling apart, then something is out of sorts.
If you are building a new sanctuary while the children's ministry area is old and outdated, then priorities need to be looked at.
If you are spending big money on sound and LED walls for the sanctuary while the children's ministry rooms have old TV's and Veggie Tales VHS tapes, something is off.
If you have 3 full-time people on your worship staff, but only a part-time person in children's ministry, then your personnel budget needs to be adjusted.
I could go on and on and on, but you get the point. One of the biggest budgets in the church should be the
children's ministry budget. One of the biggest staff teams should be your children's ministry team.
Children's ministry is not easy, make sure you give them time off.
Children's ministry is no easy gig. It has so many moving parts. It has the pressure of always having volunteers ready and in place every Sunday. You know this. Sunday always comes back and your children's ministry person has to be ready.
Then there is the load of planning and pulling off events like VBS, camp, parent and child dedications, fall festivals, Christmas events, Easter egg hunts, Bible studies, trips, etc.
Simply put...it is a lot.
It is enough to burn your children's ministry person out if they don't get some R&R. Make sure you give them days off each week. Provide them with vacation time. Don't expect them to be at the church five nights a week. Give them plenty of margin to be wih their most important ministry...their family.
Ask for their input and advice when planning teaching series.
Your children's ministry person can help you make sermons relevant to today's parents and families. Are you doing a series about the home? Include your children's ministry person in the planning. Are you doing a series about serving? Get input from the person that helps lead one of the biggest volunteer bases in your church.
Your children's ministry person knows the pulse of the families. They can be a big resource to you when sermon planning. Does that mean you should use all of their ideas? No. Of course not. But it does mean you listen to them and use what will make your sermon connect better with families.
Summer is your children's ministry person's busiest time of the year.
When we hear adult ministries talk about how things slow down in the summer, we can't help but chuckle. Summer time is full of events and happenings in children's ministry. Then there is a tiny, small window of down time (like 3 days) before we have to jump right into the fall season of ministry.
Be aware of this and help your children's ministry person guard their time and comp them on a regular basis.
Children are not just the church of tomorrow. They are the church of today as well.
Yes. We are investing in their future...but we are also excited about seeing them come to Christ now, be discipled now, and growing in their faith now.
Children can make an impact now. They can serve now. They can be prayer warriors now. They can learn to tithe now. They can learn to pray and spend time with God now. They can share the Gospel now. They can be leaders now.
We tell children to sit still and be quiet and then we wonder why they sit still and are quiet when they grow up. It's because that's what we told them to do!
We often call kids out for what they have done wrong. What if we started calling them up...calling them up to what God wants them to be and do. Calling them up to make a difference. Calling them up to living lives of faithfulness, integrity, and spiritual obedience.
Yes...we are excited to see them grow up and be used by God...but we are just as excited about seeing how God can use them now.
Are you going to share this with your senior pastor? That's obviously up to you. It could get you fired (ha) or it could help you gain more support and influence for the children's ministry you lead.
It's not about us anyways. It's about reaching the next generation and their families. Share your heart with your senior pastor. He may have been waiting for a long time to hear this from you. You have to be the champion for children's ministry in your church. Lead strong my friend and be reminded of how important what you are doing is.
