RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

Are you intentional with the time you have with the kids before your children's ministry starts?

The 15-30 minutes you have with kids before you start is one of the best times to connect with kids.

But it takes intentionality.

Here's how to make pre-service a profitable time with the kids.

Cast vision with your team.  Ask them to be in place before the kids start arriving.  I know what you are thinking.  You're thinking "I can barely get them to show up at service time."  When people are passionate about something, they will get there early.  Emphasize the difference they can make before service even begins.

Have fun, interactive games in place.  Kids love games and pre-service time provides a great opportunity for volunteers to engage them with a game.  While we are talking about pre-service games, let's talk about what kind of games you should use.  I do not recommend having video games set up.  Never thought I'd be typing that but I am.  Here's why.  Today's kids have access to video games 24/7.  They probably played video games on the way to church on a phone or tablet.  So video games at church are no longer a big appeal to kids. 

But what is appealing are the old school board games.  Checkers.  Scrabble.  Sorry.  Connect 4?  Guess Who?  Candy Land to name a few.  Puzzles are also good. Get your volunteers involved in board games with the kids. 

Have active games ready.  Depending on how much room you have, high-energy games get kids moving.  Foosball.  4 corners.  Hula hoops. 

Have crafts available so kids can design things like bracelets, ornaments, etc.

Have art set up for the kids to show their creativity.  Coloring papers. Drawing.  Crayons.  Markers.  etc. 

Have mission projects set up.  Writing letters to missionaries.  Cards for kids and parents who are in the hospital.  Letters of appreciation for local fire fighters, policemen, parents, etc. 

The time we have to influence children is very limited.  That's why every minute matters.  It is crucial that volunteers engage with and invest in the children during the pre-service time.  When they do, here is what will happen.  When class/service starts, the children will be much more engaged with the volunteers.  Why?  Because the volunteers spent time with them.

When volunteers spend time with kids before service starts.  Just hanging out.  Talking.  Having fun.  It opens the children's heart to listen and talk and share with the volunteers during the class/service.

Time spent before the class/service with kids will enhance the time you have with the kids during the class/service.  The best place you can be before service is not at a red light, fractionally looking at the lesson for the first time on the way to church.  And it's not sitting in a back corner in the room, looking over your notes.  And it's not hanging out and talking in the back with other volunteers while the worship leader is encouraging the kids to sing and worship.  

The best place you can be...the most impacting place you can be...is with the kids.

Your turn to share.  What do you for pre-service time?  How do you engage kids and spend time with them before class/service?  Share your thoughts and insight in the comment section below.

Volunteers who work in the nursery, sometimes wonder if what they do matters.  The people they serve can't recite Bible verses they've taught them.  They can't tell their parents about the Bible story you shared with them.  They can't pray with you.  If you want to make a big difference in the lives of kids and parents, the last place you'd think about serving is the nursery.

In spite of that, many people do choose to serve in the nursery.  The reasons?  They may like babies and enjoy holding them, rocking them and caring for them.  Perhaps, their grandchild is in the nursery and it's a way to spend more time with them.  Or they may be in the nursery simply because that's where they were asked to serve when they signed up as a volunteer.

Ask a nursery volunteer if they believe they are making an impact in the babies' lives and you will get mixed responses.  If the volunteer says they feel like they are just babysitting cute little babies so dad and mom can enjoy the service, then it's probably because no one has shared with them the huge impact they can make in the lives of the babies in the nursery.

Some new research reveals that the nursery is one of the best places to serve if you want to make a difference in other people's lives.

Let's look at 3 reasons volunteers can make a huge impact on babies' lives.

The spoken word.  Babies usually start speaking their first words when they are 12 months old.  But new research shows that they understand a lot more than they say.  The University of Rochester ran tests that reveal that even at 6 months old, babies can recognize words that are spoken.

Volunteers in the nursery should understand that though babies may not be able to communicate back which words they understand, they understand much of what you are saying.

Help nursery volunteers see that the words of love, encouragement and validation they speak to the babies in the nursery, are heard and received.  Nursery volunteers can make a huge impact in babies's lives by...

• Reading Bible verses to babies.

• Sharing Bible stories with babies.

• Speaking words of life and encouragement to babies. 

• Singing songs to babies.

Make eye contact.  Research shows that when you are holding a baby, making eye contact helps the child sync up with what you are saying.  Looking into a baby's eyes translates into enhanced bonding and learning.

• When you are quoting a Bible verse to a baby, make sure you look into their eyes as much as possible.  It will deepen the impact it has on the child.

• Have a goal each weekend that every baby in your nursery will be held by a volunteer who looks into their eyes and tells them that Jesus loves them. 

Nurture the babies in your nursery.  A new study at Washington University in St. Louis says that nurturing babies can have a big impact on their brain growth.  Babies who were nurtured in their early years, ended up having better brain growth. You can nurture babies by...

• Having a good ratio of volunteers to babies.  Ideally, you want to have 1-on-1 care in the nursery...2 to 1 at the most.  Without a good ratio, volunteers will not have the time and ability to nurture the babies. 

• Providing training and insight for volunteers about nurturing the babies.

• Only placing people in the nursery who feel called to be there.  Nursery is one of the volunteer roles you might be tempted to fill with anyone who is breathing.  You might also have a policy that says if you have children in the nursery, then you need to sign up to serve there.  I don't believe that is the best way to impact babies.  Rather,  I believe the best way to staff your nursery is to find people who have a clear calling to invest in people at the most critical time of their life. 

• Pray Bible verse promises over the babies.  You can put the verses on the wall as a reminder for volunteers to pray the prayer promises over the babies. 

• Partner with parents.  Invite parents to join you in praying Bible verse promises over their child.  Give them a list of verses they can pray over their baby.  Make parents aware of the impact they can make in their child's life if they will be intentional about nurturing them, reading Gods Word to their baby, having faith conversations with their child and singing Bible songs with their child.

I love the truth found in 2 Timothy 3:15.

"and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus."

It's time we see the nursery for what it really is.  A critical time in a person's life that will mold and shape them for life.

If we will do what Timothy's mother and grandmother did for him, we will see more of the babies in our nursery grow up to love and serve Jesus.

If you want to know what kids like, then take a look at the toys they are into.  What they enjoy playing reflects what captures their attention.

Here are four toy trends that provide great insight into what kids like and how you can use it to connect them with God's Word.

Collectible Toys
Collectible toys is the biggest trend of the year so far.  The number of collectible toys has increased by 33% in the last twelve months to reach $1.8 billion in sales.