RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

Are you having a hard time getting older kids to engage with your lessons? Are older kids saying your lessons are "boring?"

Let me help you fix that. Take a look at this quote from the master of helping kids engage with you.  None other than the man himself...Walt Disney. Here is what he said about this. 

It was the first entertainment that Walt Disney had ever designed expressly for children. ‘But we’re not going to talk down to the kids…let’s aim for the twelve-year-old. The younger ones will watch…
they’ll want to see what their older brothers and sisters are looking at.'

Walt knew that you have to aim high. In other words, if you’re trying to connect with kids of various ages in a large-group setting, always target the oldest kids in the group. If you connect with the older kids, you’ll grab the attention of all the kids.

Marketing experts know and practice this principle. I took their advice and created these guidelines for children’s programming. 

Target the oldest boy in the group. In other words, appeal to your oldest boys and you will appeal to everyone.

Choose music that will appeal to the oldest kids in the group. Know what style of music the oldest kids in your group are listening to. Nothing will turn off your group quicker than playing songs that sound too “babyish.”

Feature older kids in your graphics and videos. Our elementary print pieces contain pictures of the oldest kids in the age group. If we do a video or skit involving kids, we normally use fifth-and sixth-graders as actors.

Use the oldest kids in the room on the praise team. If the oldest boys in your group are standing around with their hands in their pockets during worship, check who’s leading. Our praise team is comprised of the oldest kids in the room, junior and senior high school students, plus adults.

Use clips from movies that upper elementary kids think are “cool.” If your clips are from movies aimed at upper elementary kids, you’ll engage all grades.

Bring in upper elementary kids, and ask them to rate the “coolness” of your programming. They can quickly help you identify what needs to be adjusted.

Take cues from pre-teen marketers. They can give you valuable ideas on how to connect with today’s older kids.

Have the oldest kids sit up front. Before I saw this quote from Walt, I would put the youngest kids up front and the older kids in the back. That was a mistake. When older kids see "little" kids in front of them, they will disengage because it appears to be for the little kids. 

Flip that. Put the oldest kids up front. This will help you engage all of the kids. Younger kids will look up front and see the older kids are engaging and it will cause everyone to engage. 

If older kids are bored with your lessons or events or programs, try this simple idea from Walt and you will see immediate results.

Have you read the best selling book "If Disney Ran Your Children's Ministry?" It has lots of great tips for engaging kids with your lessons. You can get it at this link. 

Gen Alpha are kids who are currently 1-to-16 years old.  These are the kids who are in your nursery, your preschool ministry, your elementary ministry, and your student ministry. 

A lot of people are vying for their attention and some are very good at connecting them. 

In my last post, I shared the top YouTube channels and shows that kids watch. 

Today let's take a deeper dive into how to get the attention of Gen Alpha kids.

Gen Alpha viewing habits.

YouTube - 75%

Video on demand - 66%

Mobile games - 62%

YouTube shorts - 52%

Console games - 48%

TikTok - 38%

Facebook - 30%

Broadcast TV - 28%

Instagram - 26%

88% of parents say their 2-5-year-old prefers YouTube over VOD or broadcast TV.

Ages 2-to-9 prefer cartoons.

Ages 10-12 prefer comedy.

Boys favorite gaming channels

Flamingo

Lankybox

EthanGamer

Craftee

Unspeakable

Gaming w/Jen

Girls favorite gaming channels

Flamingo

Gaming w/Jen

Lankybox

Big School

Craftee

FGTV

43% of new movies are discovered by kids on YouTube.

55% of parents say they co-view YouTube with their kids. 

Cartoons are most popular for co-viewing.

Second screening (watching 2 screens are the same time) 

Almost half of Gen Alpha kids watch YouTube or play mobile games while watching TV.

Parents are also second screening - 39% play mobile games and 36% watch YouTube while watching TV.

YouTube ads drive 50% of parents to make a purchase for their child.

Influencers. 

80% of kids ask for something they've seen an influencer talk about. Toys and games make up over half of the requests.

76% of kids ages 10-12 remember ads created by influencers. 

32% of kids find new movies through influencers. 

Boys favorite mobile games.

Lego

Roblox

Plants vs Zombies

Disney Games

Bubble Shooter

Talking Tom

Among Us

Sonic

Girls favorite mobile games. 

Happy Color

Bubble Shooter

Disney Games

LOL

Among Us

Talking Tom

Lego

Roblox

Brands that have their attention.

Lego

Pokemon

Barbie

Hot Wheels

Fisher-Price

Play-Doh

Bluey

Crayola

Nerf

Collectible Interests boys share with their parents.

Lego

Marvel

Pokemon

Hot Wheels

Disney

Star Wars

Harry Potter

Roblox

Labubu

Pop

Jellycat

Sonny Angel

Collectible Interests girls share with their parents.

Lego

Barbie

Disney

Pokemon

Marvel

Harry Potter

Labubu

Jelly Cat

Pop

Roblox

Star Wars

Sonny Angel

It is interesting to see the stat of parents engaging with their kids in shared interest collectibles. This reminds me about partnering with parents. If we provide quality and engaging resources for kids and parents together, we can see parents getting involved in the discipleship of their kids.  Maybe the reason why we aren't seeing more parents taking the lead in discipling their children is because we haven't provided them with quality, engaging resources for this.

If you want to connect with kids, then mention some of the brands in this article. They will be impressed that you took the time to learn about their interests and you will have their attention. 

Here's an example. 

One Sunday I walked into one of the classrooms and noticed there was a boy sitting in the back of the room by himself. You could tell from his countenance that he was not a happy camper.  One of the leaders in the room shared with me that he had been disrupting the service and they finally had to move him back by himself.

I went over and sat down by him. I tried to talk with him, but he looked the other way and wouldn't acknowledge me.  After a minute of him ignoring me, I decided to try something else. Here's what I did. I ask him if he liked video games.  For the first time, he turned and looked at me said "yes...I love video games."  

I asked him what system he had at home and what his favorite game was. After a few minutes of talking about video games, I told him I was going to go up and participate in the worship song the other kids were now singing. I told him he could stay where he was or he could come up and join me if he wanted to as well. 

I went up front and started singing with the other kids. A minute later I felt a tug on my shirt. I turned around and it was the boy from the back of the room. He was smiling and said he wanted to join in the worship.  For the rest of the class time he behaved and participated with a good attitude. The cause...someone cared enough to enter his world.  

I would encourage you to use the brands and stats we have talked about in this article as a way to connect with Gen Alpha kids. 

Show them you care enough about them to enter their world. Talk about what has their attention during the week. By doing this you will get their attention and open the door to impact them for Christ.  

Many of the stats in this article came from precisify.com. 

I walked into the classroom.  He was sitting in the back of the room...away from the other kids. 

One of the volunteers told me he was having a rough day.  He wouldn't sing with the other kids during worship time. He was talking out and causing a scene. He was bothering other kids. They finally asked him to go to the back of the room and sit by himself.

I walked back and sat down beside him.  Let me see if I can get this kid to respond. You could tell he was not a happy camper.

I asked him several questions about how his day was going.  Was there something that was bothering him?  Did someone upset him?  Why didn't he want to participate?

Nothing.  He turned his head away from me.  No response. 

I thought to myself, "How can I get through to this kid?  How can I get his attention?

It dawned on me how I might be able to get him to talk with me.  The answer was one simple question.  Here is what I asked him...

What kind of video game system do you have?  A Playstation?  A Nintendo Switch?  An Xbox?  

When I asked that one question, he immediately turned to me and answered me.  It worked.  I had gotten him to interact with me.  

For the next 5 minutes, we talked about his video game system and what his favorite games were.  His mood got better. 

The kids up front were engaging in a worship song.  I told him I was going to go back up front and worship with them.  I told him he could stay in the back or he can join me up front.  His choice.

I left him and walked back up front.  In a few minutes, I felt a tug on my shirt.  It was him.  He smiled and joined me in worship.  He was engaged and smiling for the rest of the service. 

Why?  Because I talked with him about something he loved...video games.  I entered his world.  I showed that I cared enough to know what he liked and was knowledgeable about it.  

Remember...kids lives are changed through relationships.  Starting with a relationship with Jesus and then a relationship with a caring leader.  

It starts by finding a common subject you can talk about.  

For boys, video games are very important.  99% of the time a boy will engage with you when you bring up video games.  

For girls, it might be a YouTube star or a brand of shoes or the songs of a singer.

Be intentional to talk about things kids like. Do this consistently and show them you really do care about them. 

Your turn.  What do you talk with kids about?  How do you get kids to engage with you?  Share your thoughts and ideas in the comment section below.