RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

Netflix has started putting out some preschool titles.  The shows include Hello Ninja, Dragons Rescue Riders and Word Party.

Go! Go! Cory Carson is another big preschool launch by Netflix.  It's first season started January 4 and it's a new show about cars.  Shows about vehicles are well received by preschoolers.  I can personally attest to that.  My nephew, who is three, has a lot of vehicle toys and he plays with them all the time.  I usually join him when I am visiting and we have fun playing with his Matchbox car collection along with lots of other toy cars.

Go! Go! Cory Carson has a unique strategy to connect with kids.  The show will only last 7 minutes and will have short-form content including mini-movies.

The show focuses on Cory driving through life, going on adventures and eager to grow up.  The creators have tried to produce a modern family dynamic.  Mom works full-time and dad stays home and works as a cartoonist.

The look and feel for Go! Go! Carson is educational content that feels glossy.  It is bright, colorful and eye-catching.

There are several things we can learn from this strategy that will help us connect with and teach preschoolers at a new level. 

Incorporate vehicles into your class time.  Some ideas are...

• Use a video clip from the Cars movie to tie into a lesson.

• Use a lesson that incorporates a road trip.  (here's a good one) 

• Use toy cars for an object lesson.

• Tie cars into a Gospel presentation or discipleship lesson.

Keep in short and sweet.

Did you pick up on the length of their videos?  The show will only last 7 minutes and will have short-form content including mini-movies.

It's important to honor kids' attention spans.  They realize this and they keep the shows short.  How does that translate to your class or worship hour?

Very simple.  Instead of looking at your lesson as a 60 minutes long marathon, look at is as twelve 5 minute segments.  When you do this you are resetting their attention spam and you can keep them better focused.

Stay relevant.   The creators have tried to produce a modern family dynamic.  Mom works full-time and dad stays home and works as a cartoonist.

Today's families are not yesterday's families.  They are vastly different and diverse.  And it takes  fresh, new approaches to win them.

Is your building outdated?  Are your methods not working like they used to?  Are you having a hard time attracting new families?

It may be time to take a look at what you are currently doing.  Put everything on the table and ask the hard questions like...

• Is what we are doing still effective?

• What needs to be changed or dropped?

• How can we reach the young families in our community?

• Are we aware of the family dynamics of our congregation?  How can best minister to them?

Preschoolers like bright, colorful, eye catching colors.  Decorate your preschool hallway and rooms with bright, fun colors.  Keep the large group space bright and cheerful as well.  The bright, cheerful colors will bring life to your large group lessons.  Use fun colors for your posters, advertising, parent take home paper, etc.

One of the key things I often look for in a church is to see if the kids engage in worship.

Especially the 3rd-to-5th grade boys.  The majority of the time they are standing there motionless. 

It can definitely be a challenge at times to get all the kids worshiping.  There are key factors that are involved in the solution. 

We've talked about the "cool rolls downhill" factor.  When the younger kids see the older kids worshiping, they will engage as well.  So you always want to target the 5th grade boys.  Get them singing and everyone else will join in.

But that's the challenge.  How do you get 5th grade boys to sing?  A few factors include how many men or boys are on stage helping lead?  Are the songs geared for them?  Are the older kids sitting up front with the younger kids behind them.  Remember...cool rolls downhill.  If the younger kids see the older kids singing in front of them, they will join in as well.

This past weekend, I was at a church and was observing their elementary worship service.  One of the songs had a really cool, defined beat.  I saw something happen spontaneously.  A few of the 5th grade boys started tapping their chairs in sync with the beat in the song.  Not only did it sound really cool, but the other kids saw what the "big kids" were doing and joined in.  Everyone was engaged...from the youngest child to the oldest. 

I have obviously seen praise teams lead the way, but this time the kids in the audience lead the way with their "home made" drums.

Next time you are leading a kids' worship service, invite the kids to join in by playing their "drums" (chairs). You might be surprised at how many kids get involved for the first time in a long time.