RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

As 2023 quickly moves away from us, it is crucial that we look ahead and make plans for 2024.

This is no trivial matter. We must look ahead at 2024 and invest our time wisely.  We cannot enter the new year haphazardly. Rather we should enter with a heart of surrender and passion for the adventures God has planned for us.

Here is a good start for you. These are 10 ministry goals you should set and track throughout the coming year.  So...here we go. 10 ministry goals you need to set for 2024.

Salvations 

How many people are coming to Christ?  Of course, God is the only one who transforms people's lives and draws people to Himself.  But He uses people to share the Gospel with others. 

Are we reaching kids with the Gospel?

Are we reaching parents with the Gospel?

Acts 1:8 reminds us that we are to take the Gospel to the world.  But we do not go alone.  We have the Holy Spirit who goes before us and prepares the way. 

(see the class I developed at this link - it's called Starting Point and is an effective way to see children and their parents come to Christ)

Baptisms

This is another number that only God can make happen. If you are faithful to share the Gospel, you will see kids and parents follow Jesus in baptism. Here's another resource that can help you with this.  It's a class called "Baptism for Kids."  It's a class for kids and parents who are considering being baptized.  You can get more info. at this link.

Attendance

This will help you determine if you are growing or not.  Remember...anything that has life in it...grows.  God gives the increase and He grows His church.  We must get outside of the walls of the church and reach people with the Gospel. 

A going church is a growing church. 

You can't minister to empty seats.

Guests

Track how many guests are coming.  This will help you with follow up and assimilation.  Guests are the lifeblood for a church that wants to grow and reach people.

Guests return

In order to assimilate into the church, guests obviously need to come back and get involved.  It is important to track this.  This will also reveal how well you are doing at getting guests to return.  

The national average for guest return is about 7%.  Focus on guest return and you can see many more return.  At this link is a strategy that I used to go from a 7% return rate to a 38% return rate.  

New Volunteers

If I could only pick one goal to focus on, it would be this one.  Volunteers are the lifeblood of every ministry.  Grow your volunteer team and you will see your ministry grow.  The success of your ministry will rise and fall on the strength of the volunteer team you build.

Have you read my book "The Formula for Building Great Volunteer Teams?" This book will help you build a strong volunteer team.  It's available at this link.

 VBS (or whatever you call it) Volunteers and Attendance

VBS is still a great way to reach kids and families if you are strategic.  It's also a great way to enlist more volunteers.

I would encourage you to set a goal for both of these.  

Work hard.  Pray hard.  See what God does.

Ratios

It is extremely important that you have the correct volunteer-to-child ratios.  This is something you should keep an eye on weekly.  Here are the ratios I recommend for each age group.

Infants - 1 to 2 (1 to 1 ideally)
Crawlers - 1 to 3
Toddlers - 1 to 4
2-year-olds - 1 to 4
3-year-olds - 1 to 6-8
4-year-olds - 1 to 8
5 year-olds through 5th grade - 1 to 8 

Set a goal to follow the ratios you have laid out.

Budget

Determine your budget and stay within it. 

One helpful way to determine your budget is this.  Determine what it cost per child to run the ministry on a weekly basis.  Then multiply that times the number of kids in your ministry.  The good thing about doing your budget this way is it gives you the flexibility to ask for more funding as your ministry grows. 

Time Spent with Jesus and in His Word

The most important goal you will set is the time you spend with Jesus.  It is easy to get so busy working for Jesus that you stop spending time with Jesus.  Don't let this happen.  Guard your time with Jesus and don't let anything get in the way of your relationship with Him. 

Out of your time spent with Jesus will come the power you need to do ministry effectively. The only way you are going to reach your goals is through Jesus' power and blessing.

Set these 10 goals.  Pursue it.  You are going to be amazed at what God does in you and through you in 2024.

Most churches would say that children's ministry is a vital part of their church.  

Many talk the talk...but the reality is most are not walking the walk.

The choir wears expensive robes while the children's ministry budget is minuscule. 

The adult ministry space is first class while the children's ministry space is run down and dingy. 

There are plenty of staff for other ministries, but the children's ministry is way understaffed.

The church raises millions of dollars for a new, state-of-the-art adult worship center while the children's ministry has to cut corners for VBS. 

The carpet in the nursery is old and worn out while the expensive, wooden floors in the church foyer are shining.

It's time for churches to put their money where their mouth is.  I believe that children's ministry should have one of the largest budgets in the church.

This past weekend, I spoke at a church that walks the walk.  They are spending millions of dollars building a new, massive children's ministry facility.  I was encouraged to see a church that is committed to reaching and discipling the next generation.  They are showing by their actions that this truly is a priority for them. 

I believe that children's ministry is the most important ministry in the church.  If we don't reach the next generation, eventually churches will have to close their doors.  There is a church down the street from my house. I should say there is a church building by my house.  The roof is caving in.  There are weeds growing all over the building and there is a for sale sign in front of it.  

When I drive by this former church, I often ponder why they had to close their doors.  I can tell you why. They did not reach the next generation.  Any church that isn't reaching the next generation is terminal. Once the older members pass, there will be no one left in the church. 

I know that many of you reading this are frustrated.  You are doing your best to work with what you are given.  I've been there and done that. I want to encourage you to continue to be the children's ministry champion for your church.  Need a larger budget?  Make the ask.  Need updated or new space for children's ministry?  Make the ask.  Need more staff?  Make the ask.  

But don't forget this when you are making the ask.  When you make the ask, it should be an ask that is rooted and grounded in vision and in the benefits that will come from investing in children's ministry. 

Room to grow.

More opportunities to invest in parents.

Additional opportunities to reach families with the Gospel.

A stronger volunteer team.

Over 20 years ago, I was the children's pastor at a great church.  The only thing this church was missing was a dynamic children's ministry.  We needed updated facilities.  We needed more volunteers.  

I put the church to the test.  I asked for hundreds of thousands of dollars to create a new, exciting children's ministry space.  Church leadership responded and put their money where their mouth was. They invested the money in creating the space.  The church grew and we reached lots of new kids and families because of the investment we made.  

Here's the deal.  Churches will spend money on what is a priority for them.  It's time we help churches see that children are the greatest mission field in the world.  I believe the wisest investment a church can make is in their children's ministry. 

D.L.Moody, the famous evangelist who reached millions of people, made this statement at the end of his ministry.

"If I had my life to live over again, I would give my entire ministry to reaching children."

Be brave.

Be bold.

Be passionate.

Cast vision.  Show the benefits that will come from the investment in children's ministry.

Remember "why" you should make the ask.

God will bless the church that puts their money where their mouth is to reach children and families.

We've all heard the statement "Put your money where your mouth is."  

This is a very relevant statement when it comes to children's ministry funding. 

Many churches say they care about reaching the next generation, but you would never know it based on their children's ministry's allocated budget.  

Just like any other line item it takes funding to reach the next generation.

What does your children's ministry budget say in these matters?  What your church spends money on shows what matters to your church.

Here are a few reasons why we must make investing in children's ministry a top priority.

• Most people come to Christ by their 18th birthday.
  

• Parents choose a church based on their children's ministry.
  

• A thriving children's ministry is a growth engine for a church.
  

• We are commanded in Scripture to pass down the faith to the next generation.
  

Another indicator in this matter is staffing.  Ideally, you will have 1 full-time staff person for every 100-125 children.  With this in mind, how is your church doing in this area?

I cannot stress how important it is to pour your money into the greatest mission field in the world....children.  

Our enemy...the devil...is doing all he can to kill, steal and destroy the next generation.  In the last year alone, he has amped up his attacks.  We see him at work...aggressively taking his message to the next generation.  

It's a message that normalizes and celebrates what God calls sin.  

It's a message that marches behind a flag that represents an evil agenda.

It's a message that is planting itself in our schools at an early age without the consent of parents much less church leaders.

It's a message that shakes a fist at God and ignores His clear commandments. 

Is your church buying new choir robes while keeping the children's ministry budget very lean?

Is your church funding the resources needed to run an excellent children's ministry?

My prayer is that this will be a wake-up call for many of us. Our opportunity to reach the next generation is slipping away from us.  We must make children's ministry a top priority.  

What is your church's budget for children's ministry saying?

Money.  Money.  Money.  It takes money to run a children's ministry.  For most churches, the money comes from the tithes and offerings of the members of that church.

For other churches, the budget is funded by volunteers who buy their own supplies, curriculum, etc. 

For para-church organizations, the budget is funded by donors or other fund-raising efforts. 

For this article, let's focus on local church children's ministry budgets.  

How much should the budget be?

Here is a simple way you can answer that question.  This hack is going to make your budget planning a lot simpler.

• Research how much it costs per child to run the ministry each week.  This includes curriculum, events, supplies, advertising, etc.  An example would be a cost of $2.00 per child per week.  Let's say you have 50 children in your ministry.  50 children x $2.00 per child equals an annual budget of $5,200.00.

• This is especially helpful if you are a multi-site church. You can use this formula to determine how much budget money each campus should receive.

• Using this formula helps with budget distribution throughout the year.  If your ministry starts growing and you grow to 60 children per week, then you would multiply 60 x $2.00 per week. This would increase your annual budget to $6,240.00. 
  

Share how God is using the budget to reach children and parents with the Gospel.

Did you know you can pay people who give money to the children's ministry budget?  The way you pay them is to share with them how God is using their gifts to reach children and families with the Gospel.

Those who serve and give in children's ministry are not doing it for the income...they are serving and giving for the outcome.

Share the stories of children who come to Christ. 

Share the stories of parents who come to Christ. 

Share the stories of families that were reached and started attending the church.

Share the stories of marriages being restored. 

Share the stories of how the kids are growing in their faith. 

What about the staffing budget?  How many staff members should we have?

I often get asked this question.  For starters, your staffing budget should be a separate line item and not included in your operating budget that I described above.

The goal for staffing should be to have one full-time staff member for every 100-125 kids. 

If you would like to have a copy of a complete staffing layout based on the number of kids, you can email me and I will send it to you. 

I know you want to be wise with the budget money you have been entrusted with.  You can use this strategy to effectively fund your ministry and staff your ministry.

This is a question I often get asked. 

"How much money should it take to effectively run my children's ministry?"

There are a lot of factors involved in this - the size of the church, facilities, overall budget numbers for the entire church and debt ratio.

If you are a multi-site church, it can get even more complicated.  How much money should you give each campus?  How do you determine the amount to give each campus?

I've been there...done that.  Let me share some tips with you for determining how much your budget should be.

You can take the guess work out of it.  Do the research and determine how much it cost per child to operate the ministry effectively on the weekends and for special events.

Weekend service(s): 

This should include things like snacks, wet wipes, diapers, curriculum, copies made, volunteer on boarding process, volunteer appreciation, training costs, background checks, crayons, etc. 

Take the total amount you are asking for and divide it by the number of children that are in your ministry on an average week and then divide that by 52 weeks. 

Example - $12,000.00 divided by 125 average weekend attendance divided by 52 = $1.85 per child per weekend.

Then figure out how much it costs per child for events like VBS, camp, pre-teen retreats, high attendance weekends, etc.  Again, take the total amount and divide it by the number of participants you have for these events/programs.

Example  - $2,000 for special events / programs divided by 200 participants = $10 per child for events.

Add the per child numbers together.

• $1.85 per child per weekend (supplies for 125 kids) total of $231.25 ($12,025 for year)
  

• $10 per child for special events (200 attendance) for events total of ($2,000.00 for year)
  

This brings you to a total budget of $14,00.25 per year.  

Here's where you can determine your multi-site budgets:

Take the number of children at a campus and multiply by $11.85.  

If a campus has 20 children then their budget would be $1,924.00 (weekends) and $200 (special events/programs) = $2,124.00 total budget per year.

If a campus is growing, then you will need to increase their budget based on how many new kids they have added using the same budget ratios above. 

If a campus is in decline, you can decrease their budget based on the numbers shown above.

I trust this will be helpful in your budget preparations.  We are called to be wise stewards with the money God entrusts us with.