RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY: #disneykidmin

Last week, I was at Disneyland in California. As usual, I was looking for things Disney is doing that I can learn from.

With 140 million people walking into a Disney park this year, there is much we can learn from them.

So here are 7 children's ministry tips I learned last week from Disney. All 7 have pictures that I took that tie into the tip.

#1 - Get on kids' eye level when talking with them.

We forget what it is like to be a kid looking up at an adult. When talking with children, get down to their eye level. You will make a better connection when you do this.

#2 - Be willing to change to connect with people.

This ride used to be called the Tower of Terror. But Disney changed up the name and experience of the ride. It is now called Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout. Be willing to change to reach new people. What do you have in your ministry that needs to be dropped or changed? What is outdated? What needs a fresh makeover? Don''t get so stuck in the past that it hinders you from future success.

#3 - Excellence is found in the small details.

Excellence is the small whisper that comes from a thousand small tasks done well. I took this picture while in line for a car ride. Notice how they made the gate toppers into tire wheels. Continuously strive for excellence.

#4 - It's all about families.

Thousands of engraved pavers. The names of thousands of families who have been impacted by Disney.

Wow! Talk about reaching families. Look at all of these strollers. How would you like to have a stroller parking area of that magnitude? Are you willing to do what it takes to reach young families?

#5 - Greeting people.

Notice the greeting hand on one of the cast members. Great idea. You can order these hands on Amazon and use them to welcome kids and families. Try it and watch. It brings lots of smiles.

#6 - Music adds impact.

As you walk through the Disney environments, you will see (or should I say "hear") that music plays a significant part in setting the atmospheres.

Use music in your hallways to set the tempo you want to convey. Use music in your classrooms to enhance service elements and parts of the experience. Music makes a difference. You will see this modeled throughout Disney environments.

#7 - Consistency builds trust.

For 70 years, Disney has been providing great entertainment for families. Yes...7 decades. It takes time to build trust. When you gain trust, you gain loyalty. Provide consistent ministry for families and you will earn their trust and loyalty.

So there you have it. 7 ministry tips from my Disney trip.

If you like learning from Disney, then you will love the book "If Disney Ran Your Children's Ministry." It is available at this link.

The year was 2016. My friend, Justyn Smith, approached me with an idea. A book about what children's ministries can learn from Disney. Justyn and I are lifelong Disney fans and have been inside Disney parks dozens of times.

Together, we decided to write the book along with our friend, Bruce Barry, of Wacky World Studios. Bruce has worked on Disney projects over the years and his father worked with Walt Disney, the founder, as a background artist.

The book is "If Disney Ran Your Children's Ministry."

We acknowledged that Disney was not a Christian company and while we did not agree with everything they were doing, we knew there was still so much we could learn from them about connecting with families. This year 140 million people will walk into a Disney theme park. The vast majority of those will be children and their families.

We are thankful for all God has done through the book to inspire, encourage, and help children's ministry leaders across the country and overseas. Thousands of people have read the book over the past 9 years. Here are the 10 chapters we cover in the book.

Cast Vision Like Disney Construct Teams Like Disney

Culture Like Disney

Connect with Families Like Disney

Capture Kids' Attention Like Disney

Creativity Like Disney

Cool Environments Like Disney

Committed to Excellence Like Disney

Change Like Disney

Customer Service Like Disney

Have you read the book? If not, we'd like to invite you to explore with us. The book is available in ebook and hard copy at this link. We also offer discounts if you'd like to order 5 or more copies. This is a great book to read with your children's ministry team.

What would happen if you implemented these principles into your children's ministry? Come join us and find out.