I believe kids are key to a church's success. Here's why...
Jesus made children's ministry a priority.
In the midst of busy ministry, the disciples tried to divert children away from Jesus.
But Jesus quickly made known His priority in the situation. He told the disciples to let the children come to Him.
When a church makes children's ministry a top priority, it is inviting Jesus' presence and blessings upon it.
Jesus reminds us of this in Matthew 9.
“Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes not only me but the One who sent me.”
Welcoming children is about valuing them. If you want to see Jesus' blessings fall upon your church, make children's ministry a priority.
Many people come to Christ because of their children.
Think about this with me. Think about the many instances in Scripture where people came to Jesus for one reason. They needed something for their children. Healing. Deliverance. Raised back to life from death.
Their introduction...their compelling need...their draw was because of their children.
I have personally seen this happen thousands of times. Parents bring their children to church because their child is starting to ask questions about what it means to follow Jesus or about baptism.
Parents also bring their children to church because they want their children to get a good life foundation to build upon.
In the process, the parents end up coming to Christ as well. One of the primary ways I have seen this happen is through parents bringing their child to a salvation class / milestone. The parents get in the class with their child, hear the Gospel clearly, and realize they need to come to Christ as well.
I have a class / milestone I use for this. It's called Starting Point. You can get it at this link. Use this class and I promise you that you will see kids and parents come to Christ.
Children's ministry is a big reason why families pick a church.
Here are the top 2 reasons why families pick a church.
How friendly are you?
What do you have to offer my kids?
Tonight there will be a family who decides to go out to eat. They will drive past steak houses, nice Italian restaurants, and other high-end places to eat.
They will end up going to McDonalds. Why? Because that's where the kids want to go. The kids want to get a kid's meal and they want to play on the playground.
A church that is really serious about reaching families will make note of this phenomenon and will tailor their ministry after this. They will spend money on building an indoor playground. They will create spaces designed with kids in mind. They will make children's ministry a significant amount of their budget. They will hire quality staff for children's ministry.
How many children's ministry staff members should you have? I created a chart that can help you with this. It tells you what positions you should hire and when you should hire them. Send me an email and I will send it to you free of charge.
Children are the greatest mission field in the world.
There are nearly 2 billion Gen Alpha kids in the world...most of them don't know Jesus. We know that about 80% of people who come to Christ do so before the age of 18.
Children are the greatest mission field and we must reach them while we can. We must share Jesus with them while their hearts are young and tender to the things of God.
Churches that focus on reaching children with the Gospel will be blessed.
Churches that consistently share the Gospel with children will have the anointing of God on their ministry.
Churches that reflect the heart of God for children's salvation will be aligned with His heart.
The next generation is the future of every church.
I often drive by an empty, decaying church building. There is a for sale sign on the property. When I see this I am reminded that at one time they were babies crying in the nursery. At one time there were kids laughing in the hallways. At one time there were teenagers giggling in a classroom.
But the church wasn't able to pass along the faith to them. The baton got dropped. Perhaps it was dropped because of tradition. Perhaps it was dropped because the older generation wasn't willing to change to reach the next generation. Perhaps it was dropped because of a lack of strategy to reach young families. Perhaps it was dropped because the church put rules before relationships. Perhaps it was dropped because children's ministry wasn't a priority. Perhaps it was dropped because of a lack of vision to pass along the faith to the generation that was coming behind them.
Remember...without succession there is no success.
Here's what I know. If you look at the largest, fastest growing churches in the country, you will see children's ministry is a top priority for them. Without exception.
Bottom line...if you want your church to succeed you must make children's ministry a top priority. Kids are a key part of a church's success.
