RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

I still remember my experience as a child sitting in a boys' Sunday School class.  I can't remember the content of the lessons.  But I can remember, how boring the class was.  It was like torture.  Sitting in the classroom for an hour.  Listening to the Sunday School teacher ramble on and on with a voice that reminded be of the teacher on the Charlie Brown show.

Now don't get me wrong. I look back now and I have the utmost appreciation for those teachers. They faithfully showed up.  

But they had no clue about how to make the lessons come alive and engage us as children. All they knew how to do was lecture.  Read the verses from the Bible and then talk about the verses with a monotone voice.  

I also remember this. There were two teachers in one of my classrooms. One taught the lesson and the other teacher would sit quietly with us.  I can remember the teacher who was sitting with us going to sleep during the lesson.  The monotone lull of the teacher's presentation and content would cause the other teacher to go to sleep. It was that bad. One teacher droning away while the other teacher went to sleep. As kids, we endured the lesson while watching the other teacher slump into a deep sleep.

What was missing in the lesson?

What caused us as kids to disengage from the lesson?

What methods and techniques could the teachers have used to keep us engaged with the lesson?

What could have turned the worst hour of our week into the best hour of our week?

I can solve this with one word.  What is the word?

INTERACTIVE. 

If you want to make your lessons engaging, then you have to make them interactive. Here are 10 ways you can do this.

Play games. 

Kids obviously enjoy playing games.  Incorporate games into your lessons.  Not only review games, but games throughout the lesson.  One of favorite things kids love to hear at church is "who wants to play a game?"  

Interactive scripture reading. 

Instead of reading the verses yourself, have the kids read the verses. 

You can also make it fun by having kids use different voice variations while they are reading.  Have them read the verses with a low voice. Have them read the verses with a high-pitched voice. Have them read the verses with the voice of their favorite cartoon character. 

If you do want to read the verses as the teacher, then have the kids clap each time you say a certain word. 

Use motions when you are singing.  

Motions is a great way to get kids involved in worship.  One of my favorite worship leaders for kids is my friend Travis August.  We have 13 of his original worship songs available.  The song you see below is free and you can download it instantly.  Here is the link to the songs.

Have kids act out the Bible lesson.

Telling them the story about the disciples in the boat with stormy weather?  Turn over a table and make it the boat. Have some of the kids get in the "boat" and act out the lesson while you are telling it.  

Have kids make sound effects.  

Take the story I just mentioned.  Have some kids make the sound of the wind blowing.  Have some kids make the sound of thunder crashing. Have some kids make the sound of the tumultuous water.

Use hands-on activities.

Get kids up and involved. Provide hands-on activities that will allow them to use their creativity.  Instead of lecturing them, give them the opportunity to participate in active learning.  Here's an example. Have them use Legos to build a house with a hole in the roof.  Tie this into the story of the men who tore off part of a roof to lower their friend down to Jesus.

Have a scavenger hunt.

Kids love this.  Here's an example. Hide something that ties into the lesson. Give them clues they work through together to find it.

Use icebreakers.

Use icebreaker games and activities that will help kids get to know each other better.

Ask them questions.

Use open-ended questions that will get them talking and interacting with the kids around them.

Drawing.  

Most kids love to draw. Have them draw objects or people from the Bible story.  

These are just a few ideas that will make your lessons interactive. Use these tools to move away from lecturing and I promise you that you will see kids much more engaged with your lessons.  

What are some other ideas you have to make lessons interactive?  Share them with us in the comment section below.

This past weekend a mother stopped me in the children's ministry hallway. 

She said, "I wanted to let you know that my son loves coming to church.  He told me this week that he gets excited each month when you announce a new teaching series.  He loves the fact that there is a new teaching series each month."  

Once again, this confirmed to me that teaching series in children's ministry should be a month.  

I have found that after 4-5 weeks kids start getting "bored" with the same teaching theme.  

I have seen curriculum series that lasts 8 to 12 weeks.  Wow!  That's a long time for kids who are used to constant change in what they are viewing and experiencing.  I would encourage you to monitor this with the kids in your ministry and see if they are still engaged after a month.  If you look, I believe you will see them starting to check out after week 4.  

If you are looking for curriculum that has series that lasts a month, you should check-out Connect12. All of the series fit into a 4 week window and has review days when it's a month with 5 weeks.

You can get more information at this link. 

What are your thoughts on this?  How long do your series last?  What works best for you?  Share your input in the comment section below.

A recent poll by Ligonier Ministries has revealed that 30% of Evangelicals do not believe Jesus was God and 65% believe Jesus was created by God.

The data in the survey reveals the dire need we have for teaching the next generation Biblical doctrine. 

“…It’s clear that the church does not have the luxury of idly standing by. This is a time for Christians to study Scripture diligently, engage confidently with people in our culture, and witness fearlessly to the identity and saving work of Jesus Christ in the Gospel.” 

Dr. Stephen Nichols, Chief Academic Officer of Ligonier Ministries and President of Reformation Bible College 

Before children's ministry starts pointing fingers at adults who are Biblically illiterate, we must face the fact that many of them were raised in our ministries.  

So why do so many of them not know or understand basic Biblical doctrines? 

The answer is a simple one.  We didn't teach them Biblical doctrine.  Instead of making doctrine a key part of what we teach kids, we are teaching them lessons that are centered on character traits, lessons from movies and other topics while we marginalize teaching Biblical doctrine. 

The result is a generation of kids who don't know why they believe key Biblical truths and who can't explain basic Bible doctrines. 

It's time we stop pointing fingers at kids who walk away from the faith and start pointing fingers at ourselves.  We have failed them.  We have left them unprepared to articulate Bible doctrine.  We have left them without a strong Biblical foundation to stand on.  

Don't get me wrong.  I believe kids should have fun learning at church.  It should be an interactive, hands on, high-energy experience.  The key in this is not the format or teaching style, rather it's about the content we are teaching kids.  

We only have a short window of time to help kids get a solid Biblical foundation.  It is crucial that we carefully examine what we are teaching in the time God has given us to influence the next generation.  

Wonder how your ministry is doing when it comes to raising up kids who know the key doctrines of the faith?  The quickest way to find out is to ask them to explain what they believe.  Here are some examples of questions you can ask them. 

• Did God create the world and everything in it?  Why do you believe this? 
  

• Is the Bible God's Word?  Why do you believe this?
  

• Who is Jesus?  
  

• Who is God the Father?
  

• Who is the Holy Spirit?
  

• Why did Jesus die on the cross?
  

• What is the church?  
  

• Did Jesus rise from the dead?  How do you know this?
  

• Why is Jesus the only way to eternal life?  

A survey was done among a group of "nones."  By nones, it refers to people who have no faith.  They would mark "none" when surveyed about their personal faith.  

Here's the part that should be a wake up call for all of us.  78% of nones surveyed said they grew up in church.  Wow!  They sat in our classrooms.  They went to our camps and sat through the chapel services.  They sang the songs.  They participated in the activities.  But in the end, we look back in many cases and see that we taught them "fluff" instead of Biblical doctrine.  They walked away because we didn't give them anything worth staying for.  They said they simply don't believe anymore. 

24% of Gen Z kids say what we are teaching them is too shallow.  

It's time we take a hard look at what we are teaching the kids God has entrusted us with.  It's time we examined our "scope and sequence" and see if it contains the key doctrines of the faith.

A big part of seeing kids "get it" happens when they understand Biblical doctrine and then are challenged to apply it and live it out.  But we can't apply what we don't know.  The starting place is doctrine.  

With this in mind, I created a year long curriculum pathway that teaches kids key doctrines and how to apply them.  Each series is one month long.  The 12 series takes kids from the doctrine of salvation all the way to being a spiritual leader.  You can get more info. about that at this link.  Our curriculum is on sale for only $49 per series through tomorrow.

One of the key series is Pranksters.  This 4-week series takes kids on a deep dive into why we believe the Bible is God's Word.  It can be used for Sunday children's church, Sunday school classes, small groups or mid-week programming.  Here is more info. about this.  (p.s. it's on sale for only $49 through tomorrow)

13% of Gen Z kids claim to be atheist.  Compare this to the 6% of adults who say they are atheists.  If we keep on doing the same old same old, we will lose another generation due to Biblical illiteracy. 

But it doesn't have to be that way.  If we will be more strategic in what we teach, we can help kids develop a strong faith foundation that will last for a lifetime.

I am offering big savings on resources that can help you effectively reach and disciple kids and families in your community.

These resources are not just  "pie in the sky" ideas, but rather resources that have been tested and used with great success in local churches.  

Here are a few of the resources and the discount that will be available from Nov. 27 through Dec. 15.  

You can click on any of the resource titles below to see pictures and get more information.

10 Trends You Need to Know If You Want to Grow (seminar) $19 - reduced to $10 

Worship Album  $39 - reduced to $29

Elementary Curriculum - $79 -  reduced to $49 

Baptism Class - $69 - reduced to $39

Connect 12 Elementary Curriculum (1 year) - $700 - reduced to $500

Bible Presentation Class and Celebration - $29 - reuduced to $19

CSI (Easter lesson) - $29 - reduced to $19

Elementary Graduation Celebration Class - $29 - reduced to $19

Milestone Package - $199 - reduced to $129

Glow-in-the-Dark Lesson - $19 - reduced to $10

If Disney Ran Your Children's Ministry Book - $15 - reduced to $12 

If Disney Ran Your Children's Ministry Seminar - $19 to reduced to $12

Lead Well Book - $19 - reduced to $15

Live Online Training - $99 - reduced to $50

Parent & Child Dedication Class - $49 - reduced to $29

Starting Point Salvation Class - $69 - reduced to $29

The Broken Figurine Video - $12 - reduced to $5

Christmas Lesson - $29 -reduced to $15

The Formula for Building Great Volunteer Teams Book - $12 - reduced to $10

and much more.

These prices will begin on November 27 and run through December 15. 

Make an investment in your ministry and watch what God does. 

A recent report from Ligonier Ministries revealed that 30% of Evangelicals do not believe Jesus was God and 65% believe Jesus was created by God. 

Just to clarify, this was not research gathered from the unchurched.  It was from "Bible believing" churches that are supposedly guided by the doctrines taught in Scripture. 

This being the case, we have a lot of work to do.  Especially when we keep in mind that there are generations coming behind us that desperately need to know the doctrines of the faith.

“…It’s clear that the church does not have the luxury of idly standing by. This is a time for Christians to study Scripture diligently, engage confidently with people in our culture, and witness fearlessly to the identity and saving work of Jesus Christ in the gospel.”   Dr. Stephen Nichols

And it must start in the next generation's early years.  Yes...children need to be taught doctrine.  Without it, their faith will crumble as they grow older.  

Wake up call.  We can teach a lot of different things to the next generation.  But one thing we can't afford to leave out are the great doctrines of the faith.  These doctrines are anchors of our faith and must be passed on to those coming behind us. 

I want you to encourage you to take a hard look at what you are teaching the kids in your ministry.  Are you teaching them to be good?  Are you spending a month teaching them that they need to have responsibility?  Do this and don't be surprised when they end up walking away from the church because we didn't adequately prepare them to know and believe the doctrines our faith rests upon. 

As they grow up, they won't be questioned about being responsible.  In college, they won't enter a debate about being good.   

What they will have to be prepared to defend is why they believe the Bible is God's Word.  Why they believe Jesus was God.  Why they believe in the Trinity.  Why they believe the church is what God wants to do His work through.  Why they believe that Jesus is the only way to heaven.  

Time is short.  Before we turn around, the next generation will be grown.  What will they believe?  What will they be able to defend?  What will they believe about God's Word?

As church leaders, we have been granted by God, an opportunity to pass on the faith to the next generation of parents and their children.  We can't...we must not...miss this opportunity.  Too much is at stake.

I want to encourage you to take a hard look at what you are teaching.  Is it teaching kids doctrine?  What is the focus?  What is the pathway it is taking them down?  Is it time for a change? 

I'd like to encourage you to check out Connect12.  Connect12 is a 12 month curriculum for elementary kids.  It focuses on teaching kids doctrine and apologetics.  And it includes the fun factor that will captivate kids' attention and engage them in the lesson.

Here are a couple of examples.  This clip is from a series called Pranksters.  Pranksters helps kids see that there will be people who will try to prank them and tell them the Bible is not God's Word.  It prepares kids to defend their faith.  (If you are reading this through email and can't see the video clip,  you can go to this link to see it. )

Here's another series that teaches kids about the doctrine of God.  Here's a clip to check it out. (If you are reading this in an email and can't see the video - here is the link to watch it).

If you'd like more information about this teaching strategy, you can see all the series by clicking on the Connect12 below.  And....you also can get an Easter and Christmas lesson as well.  Connect12 starts with salvation and takes kids on a pathway that ends up with spiritual leadership. 

If you have questions or would like to talk more about this, feel free to contact me at dale@buildingchildrensministry.com.