RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

How can you know if a church  values children's ministry? Some churches say they value children's ministry but their actions tell a different story. 

Let's put it to a test. Here are 7 ways you can know if a church truly does value children's ministry.

Volunteers

The church encourages people to serve in children's ministry. It is high on the list when it comes to volunteer opportunities. 

The best, most gifted volunteers can be found in the church's children's ministry.  The choir loft isn't full of volunteers while the children's ministry volunteer team is minuscule. 

The church knows this - the success of the church rises and falls on the strength of the volunteer team that ministers to the next generation. 

Facilities

When parents walk into your facilities, what are your facilities saying? 

Children are important here?

We care enough about the next generation to create quality environments for them?

Our children's facilities were designed with kids in mind...not adults?

Subpar children's facilities will make your children's ministry seem worse than it is while high quality children's facilities will make your children's ministry seem better than it is. 

Facilities for children matters...a lot. You can't stick kids in the basement in an environment that looks like a hospital and expect growth.

Your adult space may look great...but if your children's space isn't popping...then you will struggle to grow the ministry.

Budget

The children's ministry budget should be one of the largest budgets in the church. If a church says they care about reaching and discipling the next generation, then their budget allocations will reflect this. 

Money invested in children's ministry will pay for itself many times over in families who are reached.

Show me your budget and I will tell you how much you value children's ministry. 

Staffing 

A church that values children's ministry will have adequate staff.  I have created a staffing chart that shows how many staff you should have in your children's ministry based on attendance.  If you'd like a copy of the chart, feel free to email me and I will send it to you.

Visibility

The children's ministry will have high visibility.  This includes pulpit declaration, bulletin space, announcements, screen time, and an overall culture that says children's ministry is important to us.

Partnerships

The children's ministry will not be a silo. Other ministries in the church will partner with the children's ministry. There will be a partnership with student ministry. There will be a partnership with adult ministry.  The children's ministry will often collaborate with other ministries to reach and disciple families.  

Events

The church will invest generously to host children and family outreach events. Some examples are VBS, Easter outreach, summer camp, fall festivals / trunk or treat, Christmas events, etc. 

The entire church will get behind these events and will get involved by giving, volunteering, promoting, etc. 

Does your church value children's ministry? These are some good talking points as you lead children's ministry in your church. Feel free to share this article with your church leaders. 

A lot is at stake...we only have a short window of time to reach and disciple children.

Volunteers are incredibly important if you want to see your children's ministry thrive.

In fact, without volunteers there is no children's ministry. 

Leading volunteers effectively not only includes bringing them on the team, but keeping them on the team for the long haul.

Let me ask you a question.  How do you keep volunteers?  To find out the answers, you can look at what causes volunteers to leave.  

Let's look at 10 of the big reasons why we lose volunteers.

Don't thank them.  Did you know that 65% of volunteers say they rarely, if ever hear the words "thank you."  Determine that every single week you are going to look your volunteers in the eyes and say "thank you." 

You can also send them notes, cards and small gifts that say "thank you."

Expect them to serve 52 weeks a year.  Be intentional about giving your volunteers a weekend off now and then.  You might even give them the summer off and recruit sub teachers so your volunteers can have some time off.

Don't have proper ratios.  Having 30 preschoolers in a room with 2 volunteers is a recipe for disaster. At this point, the volunteers are just trying to make it out alive.  If this continues, they will burn out and quit.

Don't tell them what the wins are for the position.  Volunteers want to know they are making a difference.  Create 2-3 simple wins for each position.  Put it on the wall in the room and talk with them about it on a regular basis.

Don't communicate with volunteers during the week.  What happens during the week sets the weekend up for success.  

You can't keep your volunteers in the dark all week and then expect them to shine on Sunday.  Connect with them during the week via text messages, emails, website updates, phone calls, etc.

Don't keep your word.  Make a promise to a volunteer, but then don't write it down and forget to get it done.  Continued misses will cause volunteers to not trust you.  Your word must be your bond. 

Micro-manage them.  Get down in the weeds and tell them exactly what you want done.  Tell them how you want it done.  Then look over their shoulder and make sure they are doing it your way.  Don't give them any freedom to make decisions, no matter how small it may be.

Don't ask for their opinion.  Make your decisions alone.  Don't get input from them.  You always know what is best.

Ask them to stay over and serve an extra service.   They can skip worship and serve again for the next hour.  Don't worry about them burning out.

Get them serving in multiple roles.  Ask them to serve on Sunday and Wednesday and big events.  Turn them into a "super volunteer" with no worries of burning them out.

Life can be a scary place for today's kids.  They are growing up knowing they could be attacked anywhere they go. 

At...

school

parent's work

store

movie theater

concert

and yes...even at church.

And then there is the pandemic.

Parents are on high-alert when it comes to their kids being safe while they are at church. 

Churches that want to reach families in today's culture must have a clear safety and security plan.  They must also have a way to keep Covid-19 from being spread at church.

And this plan should be communicated to new parents as they are checking in and and being walked to their child's classroom / environment.  This will help new families feel more comfortable leaving their children in your care. 

These 20 keys are locks that you can use to keep the kids in your ministry safe.  None of them are foolproof when used alone.  But the more locks you add, the safer the kids in your ministry will be. 

These 20 keys can help you create a safe place for kids while they are on your property.  

Ready?  Let's check them out.

Background check.  Every person who serves must first have a background check ran.

Reference calls.  Yes. You need to actually call the references.  I was recently at a church where the previous pastor committed adultery and was dismissed from his role.  He went straight to another church and the same thing happened there as well.  This could have been avoided if the second church had simply picked up the phone and asked a few pertinent questions before hiring him.

No one ever alone with a child.  Not in a classroom.  Not in a car.  No place.  No exceptions.  I was recently made aware of a very high-profile church where a child was abused in the bathroom.  The volunteer should never been alone with the child.

No one go in the bathroom with the child.  This goes back to the previous point about not being alone with a child.

Minimum of 2 volunteers in each room (husband and wife doesn't count as two).  The volunteers in the room should have been through training and know the safety precautions they must take.

Lock the children's ministry doors once service begins.  Ideally, lock the hallway doors or entrance doors that lead into the children's ministry area.  At a very minimum, lock each classroom door once service starts.  This will slow down a shooter that is targeting that area.

Volunteer security team.  Enlist a team of volunteers who help with these steps.  Checking doors.  Making sure exit doors are secure.  Walking hallways. 

Hire a policeman.  You may think having a policeman in your kids' common areas is overkill.  Actually it is not.  Parents (whose number one concern is the safety of their children) will welcome this.  The officer should be in uniform.

Personal interview with each potential volunteer.  Sit down with them and ask the hard questions.  If you'd like a list of the questions I ask, email me and I will be glad to send it to you.

Ratios.  Proper ratios are crucial to keeping kids safe at church.  Putting 2 volunteers in a room with 30 preschoolers is not a good thing when it comes to keeping kids safe.  In this article, I share what the ratios should be for each age group. 

Put alarms on each door.  Place an alarm on each door that is not supposed to be gone through.  This will help you and your volunteer know if some is trying to access or leave through a wrong door.

Security name tags (check-in and check-out)  Establish the rule that no one (no exceptions - not even the pastor) can take a child without having a matching name tag.  This must be a non-negotiable.

Check the bathroom before a child goes in.  Have the child wait outside the bathroom while you take a quick step into the bathroom to make sure no one is in there.  The best plan is to only let kids use these designated bathrooms (kids' only sign on door).  Of course, the best scenario is to build bathrooms in your children's ministry areas so they don't have to leave the kids' areas.

Security cameras.  Install security cameras in each classroom and record when the children are present.

Only allow people with a security tag inside your children's ministry area.  Ask to see their security tag before they enter. 

Stay connected to the parents during the service.  This will allow you to contact them as needed.  You can use a pager system, text to a cell phone, numbers on the screen, etc.

Don't allow men to change diapers.  This one is pretty straightforward.

Have a lock down plan in case of an active shooter or intruder.  Train each leader about what to do in this type of situation.

Each room should have a window so people can see inside the room from the hallway. 

Ask about allergies.  Most parents will tell you, but play it safe by asking each new family if the kids have any allergies that you need to be aware of. 

When you follow these steps, you will create a safe place for kids and families.  Parents will feel comfortable enough to leave their child with you.  And your church will begin to reach and keep more young families. 

Your turn.  What else do you do to keep families safe at church?  Share your thoughts and insight in the comment section below.

• 66% of practicing Christian families say the church has a positive impact in the community.

• 27% of non-Christian families say the church has no significant impact in the community or even say the church has a negative impact in the community.

• 10% of all families, no matter their age, race or denomination, believe church is irrelevant. 

• The percentage of practicing Christian Millennials who agree the church is irrelevant today is the same as non-Christians who hold this view at 25%. 

• How to pray with and for your child. 

• Reading the Bible and devotion books with your child at bedtime.

• Making Jesus the center of your family. 

• Make church a top priority.  We are raising a generation of children who will be Biblically illiterate if they continue to only attend church once a month or even less.  They will grow up not knowing how to defend their faith or even articulate key doctrines found in the Bible.  Think about this - what if a child only attended school 1 week a month?  They would miss so much important teaching, wouldn't they?  They would have a hard time making good grades.   The comparison can be made with how often kids attend church as well.  If they are missing 50-75% of the teaching, they will have a shallow faith that may not stand when tested.

• Resist the urge to overly involve your child in sports that will take them away from church on Sunday.  Remind when we don't do this, we confuse our children and send a message that says church is optional and is something you only do at the holidays or if there's nothing else scheduled. 

• Encourage parents to take the long look.  Decide now what kind of person they want their child to be when they leave home.  What do they want their child to know about God?  What truths from the Bible do they want their child to follow?  What kind of character do they want their child to have?  Lay out a plan to begin teaching and emphasizing those things now.

• Help parents see what really matters.  Athletic success is a good thing.  Academic success is another good thing.  Social success.  Financial success.  All of these are good things, but the most important success is spiritual success.  It should the number one goal for parents to have for their children.

• Get families involved in serving.  As I mentioned earlier,  families who serve are the people who are at church more often.  Create a culture of serving in your church.  Emphasize it.  Honor it.  Cast vision for it.  Make it a requirement to serve if you are going to join the church.  The more people you can get serving, the better attendance you will have.  In this new paradigm, growth doesn't come from attendance.  It comes from engaging people to serve.  When you make this shift it helps close the back door.

• Create environments that have kids dragging their parents to church.  Kids who love coming to church translates into families who faithfully attend church.  In today's culture, many times parents take their cues from their children when it comes to attending church.  On more than one occasion I have heard parents say, "Yeah, I was going to stay home today and just watch the service online, but my son wanted to go to the church...so here we are."  Remember the key to the heart of a parent is their child.  Give kids a great experience at your church and make sure they are saying "yes" to the most asked question by parents - "Did you have fun today?"

• Help families get connected to a small group of people who knows them and misses them when they are not present.  For kids, it may be a small group with a caring leader, who sends a child a "miss you" card when they are absent.  A leader who prays for them each week.  Whatever format you use or whatever you call it (small groups, Sunday School, breakout groups, etc.), make sure children are part of a group (to clarify - a group of 6-8 kids - not a group of 20 kids - that's why ratios are so important).  For parents, the same can be said.  They need to be tied to a small group, Sunday School group, life group, home group, etc.  Small groups deepen relationships and people who have close relationships at church will attend more often.