RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

Did you know the biggest reason why kids grow up and walk away from the faith is this - they say they don't believe anymore.  

Over 50% of kids who walk away say they simply do not believe anymore.  

I believe that the church is failing to teach kids apologetics. 

We are not teaching kids why we believe what we believe.  

We are not letting them ask the deep questions and searching with them for answers to the questions.

We shun their hard questions and tell them to just pray more.

These are just a few of the reasons why we must teach kids sound doctrine that they can build their faith on.  

This is what led me to create an apologetics series for kids.  It's called Mythbusting.

Mythbusting weighs the evidence and helps kids see why we believe the basic tenets of the faith. There's a lot of fun along the way with wacky experiments and extreme tests. This series helps ground kids' faith about...

• Week 1 - Is God Real or Not?
• Week 2 - Did We Come From a Big Bang or Not?
• Week 3 - Is the Bible God's Word or Not?
• Week 4 - Is Jesus the Son of God or Not?

Includes...

• graphics for posters, social media, promotions
• graphics for slides for PowerPoint, Pro Presenter, Media Shout, Keynote
• 4 weeks of lesson videos
• 5-minute video countdown
• 4 weeks of lessons that can be used in large group format, small group format, traditional classroom format, mid-week format
• lessons are editable and flexible to fit your specific ministry context
• small group leader guide that's easy to use and requires little prep
• hands-on, experiential, interactive learning
• connects with all learning styles
• games that bring fun and learning together
• take home pages for each week

and much more

Click here to see a sample of the lesson plan.

Click here to see a small group leader sample

You can enter to win by simply emailing me at dale@buildingchildrensministry.com.

I will announce the winner on Nov. 25.

You can also purchase the curriculum now at this link.

If we are going to see kids follow Jesus for a lifetime, we must help them become growing, passionate and intentional disciples. According to Barna, here are the current commitment levels among the generations.

Boomers (ages 58 to 76)

• 53% not involved in any type of discipleship
• 28% are being discipled
• 5% only discipling others
• 14% in discipleship community

Gen X (ages 42-57) 

• 41% not involved in any type of discipleship
• 27% are being discipled
• 5% only discipling others
• 27% in discipleship community

Millennials (ages 25-41) 

• 23% not involved in any type of discipleship
• 27% are being discipled
• 6% only discipling others
• 44% in discipleship community

Z (ages 9-24)

• 39% not involved in any type of discipleship
• 3% are being discipled
• 6% only discipling others
• 44% in discipleship community

Without being intentionally discipled, today's kids will grow up and will not know how to defend their faith much less know the key doctrines that the Bible rests upon.

Did you know that 24% of Gen Z says our teaching is too shallow?  

They want to be discipled.  

They want to know why they believe what they believe. 

It's time we move beyond the fluff and engage kids in learning how to defend their faith.

If we are going to effectively disciple kids, then we must...

Have disciple makers ready. Discipleship happens through relationships.  If you are going to make discipleship a top priority in your ministry, then you have to have volunteers ready to invest in and pour into the children.  You can't disciple kids when you are in a room with 30 kids and 2 volunteers. It will turn into crowd control.  Work hard to build your volunteer team so you can have a discipler ready for every group of 6-8 kids.

Teach Bible apologetics.  A big part of discipleship is helping kids know why they believe what they believe.  I have an apologetics series that can help you prepare kids to defend their faith.  It is being used by hundreds of churches and is available for you at this link.  I also have another apologetics series that will be released within the next month.

Teach doctrine.  This goes hand-in-hand with teaching apologetics.  Kids need to know and be able to share what the great doctrines of the Bible mean.  I was in a Sunday morning class a few weeks ago and the teacher was talking to the kids about miracles in the Bible.  She asked if anyone could name a miracle in the Bible.  There were 7-8 children in the class and not one of them could name a miracle.  Who's fault is that?  It's our fault for not bringing solid Biblical content into our teaching.

Give them the tools they need to own their faith.  As kids grow as disciples, they should begin owning more and more of their faith. We must place growth plans in their hands and encourage them to walk with Jesus and get to know Him better by spending time with Him in Bible reading and prayer.  

Have a spiritual growth pathway you follow for your teaching lessons.  Check out the curriculum I created to take kids from salvation all the way to spiritual leadership.  You can see the teaching series and pathway at this link.

Partner with parents and equip them to disciple their children at home.  No one has more discipleship making influence than parents.  Put the tools in their hands that they need to succeed in this endeavor. Constantly remind them that they are the primary spiritual influence in their children's lives.

The time is urgent. If we don't disciple the kids in our homes and ministries, the world will.  Come alongside kids and walk them.  Engage them.  Love them.  Care about them.  Teach them God's Word. Model prayer for them.  Show them how to share their faith. 

And remember...discipleship is not just taught, but caught as well. May our faith be real and may our walk with Jesus be passionate.  So passionate that the generation behind us is compelled to follow the same pathway.

Our kids are growing up in a culture that places a high value on tolerance and there not being any absolute truth.  

This bleeds right through into any claims that there is only one way to eternal life.  

Who are you to say that Jesus is the only way?

Are you saying that all "religions" are not the same?

Do really believe that people who don't know Jesus will be separated from God when they pass on to the other side?

Questions like this represent the culture they are growing up in.  

For them to say Jesus is the only way to heaven is to be accused of being a bigot.

For them to say that Jesus is the (singular word) way, the truth and the life is to be judgmental of other religious expressions and beliefs.

We must help our kids be ready and able to explain the exclusivity of Jesus' claim that He is the Son of God.  We must help them see that Jesus fulfilled hundreds of prophecies.  The chances of that happening by accident is 1 in 100,000,000,000,000 (like a gazillion to 1).

Cute, fluffy, everybody smile lessons will not be enough to prepare them for what lies ahead.  

And this starts at home - with mom and dad.  We must help mom and dad grasp these truths and see the critical transfer that must take place if we want to see our kids grow up and still be loving Jesus.  Many of the young Millennial parents in our ministries don't know themselves how to articulate to their children why Jesus is the sole entrance into eternal life. 

A good place to start is with these verses.  Encourage parents to get these verses embedded deep into their heart and then share it with their children.

"And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”  Acts 4:12

Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."               John 14:6

"For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus."  I Timothy 2:5

"I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture."  John 10:9

It is critical that we embrace this truth.  Our eternal destiny depends on it. 

I want to challenge you to help kids know this truth and believe it.  The culture won't like it and they will face opposition.  But that's okay.  If we equip them with the foundational truths of Christianity, they will be prepared to share the truth with confidence and boldness. 

p.s. If you would like to teach your kids apologetics, a great place to start is our curriculum series called Pranksters.  It takes kids on a deep dive and shows them why the Word of God is true and that it can be trusted.  You can get more info. here at this link.