RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

My nephew, who is 6-years-old, has a best friend his age. They play on sports' teams together, celebrate birthdays together, hang out at each other's houses, etc. 

This friendship has influenced the rest of the families as well.  Their parents hang out together, do life together and invest in each other's children.

I believe it is important for families to have friends. 

61% of U.S. adults say having close friends is extremely or very important for people to live a fulfilling life. 

And yet many Americans say this:

8% say they have no close friends.

7% say they have 1 close friend.

14% say they have 2 close friends.

18% say they have 3 close friends.

13% say they have 4 close friends.

38% say they have 5 or more close friends.

Here's what adults talk about among themselves:

• 58% talk about work.
  

• 57% talk about their families.
  

• 48% talk about current events.
  

• 36% talk about their health.
  

• 35% talk about pop culture.
  

• 24% talk about sports.
  

And of course, topics of discussion are often determined by gender and age.

An example - women are also more likely than men to talk often about their work (61% vs. 54%) and pop culture (37% vs. 32%) with their close friends.

Men, in turn, are more likely than women to say they talk with their close friends about sports (37% vs. 13%) and current events (53% vs. 44%).

Those ages 65 and older (45%) are more likely than younger Americans to say they often talk with their close friends about their physical health.

There are two topics where young adults – those under 30 – stand out from other age groups.

About half of these young adults (52%) say they often talk with their friends about pop culture. This compares with about a third or fewer among older age groups. 

And young adults are more likely to say they often talk about their mental health with close friends: 37% say this, compared with 29% of those 30 to 49 and 14% of those 50 and older. 

We are not meant to walk out the Christian faith alone. That is why God gave us the church. It gives us the opportunity to journey together on this pilgrim pathway.

Are you in a small group with other adults?  

Do you have any close friends that you are doing life with? 

When we have close friends it helps us by...

...having someone who can hold you accountable.  

...having someone who can pray with you and for you.

...having someone you can talk to when going through challenging times.

...having someone who can provide you with support and care.

...having someone who can do life with us.

Who is in your corner? 

Who is cheering for you?

Who is encouraging you?

Who is challenging you?

Who has your back? 

It is important to create opportunities for parents to make friends.

It is important to create opportunities for volunteers to make deeper connections with those they serve with.  People normally only serve long-term if they have made relationships with the people they serve with.

The length of time volunteers serve is based on the depth of the relationships they form with those they serve with.

A big percentage of ministers and church leaders say they have no one close friends.  Is that you?

Join a small group.

Have some families over for dinner.

Go to lunch after church with one of your key volunteer families.

Hang out together outside of church stuff.

Do you have any close friends? 

Are you creating opportunities for the families in your church to connect with other families?

It is very important to do this.

I believe we are not a Christian nation anymore.  We are a nation that has a lot of Christians, but we are not a Christian nation.

A study from Family Research Council reveals that only 6% of America's adult population have a Biblical worldview.

As followers of Jesus this should challenge us. How can we turn this around and see more people come to Christ and follow Him?

George Barna recently shared that it starts with the children.  We must instill a Biblical worldview in children that will stay with them for the rest of their life.  

How is this going to happen?

What should be our focus?

Who should be our focus?

I believe it starts with parents.  

You want to see kids come to Christ and grow in their faith?  Then you must focus on equipping and empowering parents to raise their children with a Biblical worldview.   

I often say that children are like wet cement.  They are not set in their ways or belief system. You can mold them, shape them and see them become lifelong followers of Jesus.  

But we must remember that wet cement soon turns into concrete.  Once it becomes concrete it is very hard to mold or shape it.  You have to have hammers, chisels, jack hammers, etc.  We only have a short window of time to reach the next generation.  We must reach and disciple children while they are still wet cement.

Research shows that a child's worldview is pretty must set by the age of 13.  Don't miss this!  We only have to the age of 13 to effectively instill God's ways, Word and wisdom into the lives of children.

Parents are the number one key in this.

before the pastor...

before the children's ministry director...

before the Sunday school teacher...

before the midweek volunteers...

before the VBS volunteers...

before the camp directors...

Parents are first and foremost the biggest key to seeing kids grow in their faith.

Parents... this is not something you can outsource.  This is not something you can delegate to someone at the church.  It's on you. 

Look what it says in Deuteronomy 4.

“Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children's children." 

It's time we, as children's ministry leaders, focus on equipping parents to raise their children to follow Jesus.  

Research shows that less than 10% of parents have any kind of spiritual growth plan for their children. Our role is to come alongside them and provide them with the resources and spiritual growth plans they need to disciple their children.  I believe that the majority of parents will respond if we place the tools in their hands. 

Barna says that parents must have everyday spiritual conversations with their children. Here's the strategy he encourages parents to follow.

"The conversations have to take place around real world events. Tell stories, get examples from your children of what they’re going through in life, and relate biblical principles to those stories, but do it not by beating them over the head with God’s Word, but by asking them questions about what they believe, why they believe it, what they did, why they did it, asking if they’re familiar with different biblical principles. Do they think that might have worked in the situation?”

I believe this and have seen that if we will follow this strategy, we will see our kids and grandkids grow up to follow Jesus for a lifetime.  That's our end goal, right?

Do you have a copy of my book "Fertile Soil...see kids' faith grow and flourish for a lifetime?"  In this book, I share the 3 biggest reasons why kids walk away from the faith.  I show how we can counter this and see kids grow up to follow Jesus for a lifetime.

Get your copy today at this link. 

Easter is almost here. I know many of you are doing community outreach during this season.  There are so many opportunities to impact kids and families who don't know Jesus. 

This past weekend, my home church, City Church, hosted an Easter family outreach event.  When I am not traveling, I serve as a children's ministry volunteer at this church (and I love every minute of it).

I thought you might want to see some of the highlights.  It might spark some ideas for you. 

If you'd also like to share what you are doing for Easter Outreach, we'd love to see what you are or will be doing.  You can share your ideas and strategies in the comment section below. 

Here's what we did:

The event was called the "Spring Fling...a community event for families. 

2 weeks out -  we walked around the communities surrounding the church and gave them an invite card.

We used social media to help spread the word as well.

We offered 3 times: 9:00 am & 10:00 am & 11:00 am.

Families started out on the front lawn of the church. We had games set up that they could play as a family while they were waiting to enter the church for the first part of the fling. 

The next stop on the Fling was our "Family Show."  We had a 15 minute "pre-show" and then started the show at the top of the hour.  The show lasted 15 minutes.  The family show was highly interactive and entertaining.  If you would like a copy of what we did for the family show, just shoot me an email (dale@buildingchildrensministry.com) and I'll be glad to send you a copy.

After the show ended, families moved into the craft area.  They had the opportunity to make Easter crafts with their family.  The biggest hit was the rabbit ears craft where they made a bunny hat complete with big ears and lots of decorations on it.

From there, the next stop was the "Hall of Treats."  We had a long hallway they went down to get eggs and candy.  We decorated the hall doors for Easter.

After the Hall of Treats, they headed upstairs where we had carnival games set up.  Kids could earn tickets and get prizes.  We also had a cake walk as part of this.

We also had a picture spot in this area where families could take pictures with the Easter bunny.  Here's a tip for you - don't use your "church" camera" to talk all the pictures. Take the pictures using each families' cell phone.  Why? Because they are going to send that picture to social media and spread the word much farther than we could on our own.

Here were some of the "big wins" we had by doing this event:

We reached a lot of unchurched families.  At the last show especially, the auditorium was full of families who had never stepped a foot in our church. 

We were able to see a lot of unchurched people come inside the doors of our church.  They were able to be in the auditorium and see the children's ministry area.  This will make it easier when they come on a Sunday to know where to go and be somewhat familiar with the building.

Our church family stepped up and served big-time. We could never have done this without the many volunteers who served.

We were able to share the Gospel with kids and families.  

Below are a few pictures from the outreach event.  I pray this will spark some ideas for you.  Blessings.

This past Sunday, I was in the adult service. There was a baptism taking place at the end of the service, so at the end of the service, we brought our K-6th grade kids into the auditorium to experience it. 

I was watching the reaction of the kids to what was taking place. 

I noticed how one little boy (kindergarten) began carefully watching his mother who was sitting on the front row. 

Before the baptism, there was a worship song.  This little guy begin watching his mother intently during the worship song. As she raised her hands upward to God, this little boy was captivated as he watched his mother worship.  

After watching her worship for a minute, he slowly raised his hands in worship as well.  It was a captivating moment for me as I watched this little boy follow the lead of his mother in worship.

On the way home, I was still thinking about what I saw between the mother and her son. It reminded me that children are watching us.  

Children may not understand everything that is going on in the church world, but they do naturally watch their parents and other adults to see how they respond to the things of God at church and at home.

This places a big responsibility on parents and the other adults at church.  We must remember this...

Kids may not always be good at listening to adults...but they never fail to imitate who they are.

We must walk the talk for the sake of the next generation.  Actions truly do speak louder than words.

We must worship God in spirit and in truth.

We must lead by example. 

We must be intentional about passing on our faith to our children. 

An example of this is found in 2 Timothy 1:5.  

I remember your genuine faith, for you share the faith that first filled your grandmother Lois and your mother, Eunice.

Paul encouraged Timothy for the genuine faith that was in him.  It was a faith which earlier had been in his grandmother, Lois, and his mother, Eunice. What an example of godly parental influence.

Children are watching to see how we respond in tough times. 

Children are watching to see if we pray not just at church, but during the week as well. 

Children are watching to see how we treat people outside of church.

Children are watching to see if we use our Bible outside of Sunday morning. 

Children are watching us to see if we spend time with God during the week.

Children are watching us to see if we really believe what we say on Sunday. 

Children are watching us to see if we will "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness."

Will we set a perfect example?  No...we will often fall short.  But even in our failures, we can show our children that God's grace and mercy will never fall short.  We may fail them at times, but Jesus never will. 

Our children are watching us. What do they see?

I enjoyed spending time talking with Leonard about how saying "yes" to some key things in my life has made the difference.  

Check out the podcast episode and be encouraged today. 

(if you are reading this in an email, you can see the episode at this link)

Last weekend, I was consulting with a church.  I parked in guest parking.  When I came back out after the morning service, the item below was in my door handle.  

What a great idea to help first-time guests feel welcome as they are leaving.  

That's it for today.  Just wanted to share this cool idea with you. 

There are a lot of things in the Bible that you can teach kids.  

The Bible is a big book that is full of captivating stories, wisdom and guidance for life.

There are tons of curriculum available that cover a wide variety of topics.  

But keep this in mind as you are developing your teaching plan.

The most important thing you will ever teach kids is the Gospel.  

The entire Bible points to the Gospel.  

Kids can know every single story in the Bible, but without the Gospel they can't know Jesus. 

Kids can memorize entire chapters of the Bible, but without the Gospel they will not inherit eternal life. 

Kids can explore the deeper teachings of the Bible, but without the Gospel their studying will be invalid.

How often do you share the Gospel with the children in your ministry?   

Do you see kids come to Christ on a regular basis?

Can the kids in your ministry explain the Gospel?

Here are some key verses that clarify how important it is that you share the Gospel with kids. 

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile."                  Romans 1:16

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life."  John 3:16

"Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures."                       I Corinthians 15

"How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?"   Romans 10:14

We know that the vast majority of people who come to Jesus do so before the age of 18.  It is critical that we share the Gospel on a regular basis with the children God has placed in our care.  It is the most important thing you will ever teach children.

Think about these questions.

Does our current curriculum share the Gospel on a regular basis?

Are we intentional about sharing the Gospel?

How many children have come to Christ in the past year?

How many children will be baptized after coming to Christ in your ministry this year?  

If you need some resources to help you share the Gospel with the kids and parents in your ministry, then check out these proven resources that can help you. 

Starting Point Salvation Class  (I used this class to see over 430 kids accept Christ and follow Him in baptism in one year)

Connect12 curriculum - shares the Gospel each month.

Baptism for Kids - teaches kids what baptism is and why we should be baptized.

The Gospel is the centrality of the entire Bible.  It is the hope for the next generation.

Share it frequently.  Share it with passion.  Share it with clarity.  

It is the most important thing you will ever teach kids.

The pandemic has been a disruptive force in many aspects of our lives including volunteering. 

Some volunteers have had to step away from volunteering completely, while others have had their roles adapted.

Covid-19 has left many children's and family ministries depleted of volunteers. 

You want your volunteers, kids and parents to be safe and not be put at risk.  

And yet, at the same time, you feel the tension of keeping a ministry afloat that relies upon volunteers.

And in the midst of all of this, in the back of our minds, we are hoping that once the pandemic has subsided, volunteers will flock back.  And the temptation is just to put everything on cruise control and ride this out until things return to normal.

But that may not be the case in many incidents.  You will have to work hard to rebuild your volunteer team.  And the good news is this - you don't have to wait until things get back to "normal." Instead, you can start building/rebuilding your team now by using some of the following principles and tips.

The safety of the people who serve must be a top priority.  This may mean enlisting younger leaders instead of older people who are more prone to being sick and having more complications with the virus.

Remind current and prospective volunteers of the "why."  This is what you should always go back to.  Help people focus on why they are volunteering.  People want to be part of something that is bigger than themselves and your "why" can help them experience that.

Promote your exciting volunteer opportunities.  Share with them the benefits they will gain by serving.  Don't beg. No one wants to be part of a sinking ship.  Instead, promote the amazing things they will get to be a part of by volunteering with you.  A family that loves them and will journey with them.  Lots of fun while serving.  And an opportunity to grow in their faith by serving.

Show appreciation.  Go the second mile to show them you are thankful for their heart for the next generation.  Personally thank them.  Write them thank you notes.  Give them a small gift occasionally.  Spend time with them.  Call volunteers and see how they are doing during the pandemic.  This will show them you are care about them outside of volunteering. When people feel valued and cared for, they will stick around or come back as soon as they feel it is safe.

Keep in close communication.  Inform them of safety measures you are taking to protect the volunteers, children and parents (how you are cleaning things, disinfecting things, masks, etc.).  

Also - changes can happen quickly during this time.  You may have in-person services one week and the next week only have online services.  Be proactive at keeping your volunteers in the know since the changes will affect the flow of your ministry.  I always try to remember this quote...

You can't keep your volunteers in the dark all week and then expect them to shine on Sunday.

Like everything else, this too shall pass.  Eventually things will get back to a normal flow.  How long will that be?  Months?  A few years?  No one knows for sure.  But what we do know is that God is with us and He will supply our volunteer needs as we pray and follow His plans. 

p.s. You can get lots more insight and ideas in my book "The Formula for Building Great Volunteer Teams."  It's available here or on Amazon.

The most important thing we do is leading kids to Jesus.  It should be our #1 priority.  

We should not take this lightly.  Eternity is at stake.     

As children's ministry leaders, there are some key roles you should be in with regards to leading kids to Christ.  

Role #1 - faithfully and consistently share the Gospel with kids.  In classrooms.  In chapel.  In children's services.  At retreats.  In small groups.  In prayer time and devotionals.  

John 3:16 encapsulates the entire Bible.  "For God so loved the world" should weave its way into every lesson you teach.

#2 role - Host a class about salvation for kids and their parents.  When a child asks about inviting Jesus into their life, ask them to attend a salvation class with their parents.  This strategy can be very effective. In my last year of ministry at a local church, we baptized over 460 kids in one year.  Every single child had been through our salvation class for kids.  The class is available to you at this link.

#3 role - Partner with parents.  When possible, place tools in parents' hands that they can use to lead their child to Jesus.  One of parents' greatest joys is to lead their children to Jesus.  Don't take this role away from them (this applies to children and their parents who attend church faithfully).  The class we mentioned above can be one of the biggest ways you can partner with parents when God is at work in their child's life.  

#4 role - Be a guide.  We must remember that our role is to be a guide.  We cannot save anyone.  That job has already been taken by Jesus.  As a guide, our role is not to be pushing a child from behind into making a decision.  While there is no certain age for a child to accept Jesus, we can know certain signs to watch for.  If a child continues to come to you about making a decision for Christ, that is a sign that God is working in their life.  But let God do the work...don't force it.  

As a guide, our role is also not to hold kids back.  I have seen leaders and parents tell kids they are not ready to enter a relationship with Jesus because they are "too young."  I would say this...most of the time kids begin to be ready at the age of 7-8 years old.  At this age, they begin to understand abstract concepts.  But again, each child is different.  

Our role is not to push a child into a decision nor is it to hold them back.  Our role is to simply walk beside them, so to speak.  As we walk with them, we share the Gospel with them.  As we do this, God will draw them to Himself. 

This is your role.  Step into it and let God use you to reach many, many kids and parents with the Gospel.

I was thinking about David this week.  Here's this young kid, taking care of the family sheep herds.  The last person you would think about sending to battle against a huge man named Goliath. 

The reason David was willing to go to battle against Goliath was one simple thing:  HE HAD A CAUSE.  

Look what he says in I Samuel 17:29.

"David said, "What have I now done? Is there not a cause?"

David had a cause.  He wanted to silence the mouths of those who constantly ridiculed his heavenly Father.  He wanted to bring honor and glory to God.  

His cause was greater than his fear.  He appears to be fear free, but I can promise you that he was nervous.  

You know the rush that comes when a football team runs onto the field at game time?  That's probably the feeling he had as he walked toward the battle field.  If your cause is not big enough to make your knees shake, then you need to get a bigger cause.

Your cause may seem unattainable.  It may seem overwhelming at times.  It may leave you thinking, 

"Why did I start doing this?" 

"I feel overwhelmed.  It's too big a task for me."

"There's no way I can meet that goal?"

All of these doubts and fears can be overcome when you have Jesus guiding you.  He will work through you to accomplish the cause if you invite Him to help.  

Especially when your cause lines up His cause.  What is His biggest cause?  It tells us in Luke 19:10.

 "The Son of man came to see and save that which was lost."

When your cause becomes reaching people far from God, you can be sure that this is Jesus' cause as well.

"As ministers, we shouldn’t talk because we have to say something but because we have something to say."

Remember to praise God for what He has done in the past.  David reminded them that God had helped him kill a lion and a bear while watching over the sheep.  God had been faithful and the same God would be with Him that day.

If you want to live in victory, you too must have a divine cause. You must discover God's high purpose for your life and pursue it with a fervency of heart that inspires you to value the things of God even more than your own self-interest.   

Do you have a cause?

Yes,  you read the title correctly.  We are giving away a full album of our new worship music songs for kids. ($39.00 value).

12 songs total 

lyric videos for each song

with and without vocals

song motions.

written with today's kids' music styles

Below are a few songs from the album. If you can't see the songs in your email, you can click here to access them. 

All you need to do to enter the drawing is to email me at dale@buildingchildrensministry.com.

I'll randomly pick someone (close eyes and draw a name - ha) and then announce the winner here, next Tuesday.

Or if you don't want to wait - here is the link where you can get all of the songs now.  When you buy the entire album,  you are getting the video worship songs for only a little over $3.00 each.  Compare that to most worship videos for kids that cost anywhere from $10-15 dollars each.

But I've got to warn you.  These songs are written to get stuck in your head.  After listening to them, I find myself humming the songs all during the day.  And that's a good thing. We want the truths of these songs to get stuck in kids' heads so they'll remember them for the rest of their lives.

• Sing songs, make music with pots and spoons.
• Stack cups or blocks.
• Tell a story or read a book. 

• Read a book.
• Make drawings with crayons or pencils.
• Dance to music or sing songs.
• Do a chore together – make cleaning and cooking a game.

• Cook a favorite meal together.
• Do a craft together.
• Build a blanket fort.
• Play board games together.
• Put a puzzle together.