RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

Your volunteer culture is the values, beliefs and practices shared by your volunteer team.  It is shaped not just by what you do, but by how you do it as well.

Volunteer culture is extremely important and will make or break your team.  Volunteer teams with a great culture thrive and ones that are unhealthy struggle.

Cultures don't just happen...they are created.  Here are three steps that will help you create a great volunteer culture.

Foster a culture of FAITH
This is the foundation on which a great volunteer culture is built.  Volunteers serve with a sense of spiritual calling and purpose.  They are united with a common vision to reach and disciple the next generation.  A high priority is placed on helping volunteers grow spiritually which enables them to serve from the overflow of what God is doing in their own lives.

How to create a culture of faith...

• Have a clear vision that volunteers can articulate.  The vision should reflect a spiritual mission that helps kids and families come to Christ and grow in their faith.  Keep repeating the vision over and over and over.  Remember vision leaks.  You have to keep it re-filled.

• Take an active role in helping your volunteers grow in their faith.  Know where they are spiritually and help them take continual spiritual steps.

• Constantly remind volunteers why they are serving.  

• Help volunteers see that serving is a key component of spiritual growth.  

Foster a culture of FAMILY
Healthy volunteer teams are a family.  Volunteers build close relationships and do life together.  You will see them spending time together outside of their serving time.  Relationship is what keeps volunteers serving for the long haul.  Without a culture of family, you will have constant turnover.

How to create a culture of family...

• Do team building activities and icebreakers when you meet together.

• Share prayer requests and pray together each week before you serve. 

• Celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, births, etc. 

• Provide opportunities for volunteers to be in Bible studies, small groups and other types of groups together. 

• Have small groups of volunteers over to your house to eat together on a regular basis.

• Be there for each other in times of need. (providing meals when someone is sick, helping someone move, helping paint the house of a volunteer who is a widower, etc.)

Foster a culture of FUN
Great volunteer teams have a blast serving together.  They laugh together, play together and have lots of fun.  You see lots of smiles and there's an underlying spirit of joy.  Serving is something they look forward to instead of something they endure.

How to create a culture of fun...

• Get together with no agenda but food, fun and fellowship.

• Share jokes and funny stories when you meet together before serving.

• Take serving seriously...but not so seriously that you don't have fun.

• Party together...Christmas parties...summer cookouts.

• Surprise them with treats like ice cream...Starbucks...brownies...and other yummy stuff.

• Don't get stressed when things get stressful.  Keep things lighthearted. 

The biggest factor in seeing your volunteer culture become a place of faith, family and fun is leadership.  The leaders must be a thermostat that sets the temperature of the volunteer culture rather than being a thermometer that simply measures it.

When a ministry develops a positive culture it will achieve significantly higher levels of effectiveness. 

Looking for some pre-service games that will help kids connect and have fun while they're waiting for service to start?

In a recent article, we talked about the trend of using more hands-on, old school games instead of video games for this. 

Kids love simple, interactive games that help them connect with the leaders and each other. 

Here's 8 fun games that we're using for pre-service fun.

CHECKERS

DOMINOES

FOOSBALL

GIANT STACK CUPS

HULA HOOPS

CONNECT 4

JENGA

CHALK ART

What pre-service games do you provide for kids?  Share some ideas with us in the comment section below.

Were the kids in your ministry fidgeting this past weekend?

If they were, it's not because they're irreverent or rebellious.  They were fidgeting because they're wired to move and you weren't giving them enough opportunities to do so.

You can go with kids' natural wiring to help them learn and engage or you can force them to sit still and be quiet.  Force them into a prolonged sedentary state and they'll feel like they're in "time out" and will soon dread coming to church.

Am I saying that kids should never sit and listen quietly?  No.  I believe they should...but in small doses.  If you want kids to experience times of "being still and quiet" before the Lord, then balance it will lots of time for them to "dance" before the Lord.

Honor kids time to move and they will honor the time you ask them to be still and quiet.

Active learning has been proven to be more effective than quiescent learning.  Make sure your programming reflects this.  Here are five expectations we go over with the kids at the beginning of every service.

Talk when it's time to talk.
We give kids lots of opportunities to talk, discuss and interact with each other and their leaders.

Sing when its time to sing. 
We encourage kids to engage during the worship songs.  2 of the songs are upbeat and very active.  1 is a slower, more reflective worship song.

Listen when it's time to listen. 
When someone else is talking up front or in their group, show respect by listening.

Play when it's time to play.
There are lots of interactive learning activities and games.  We encourage kids to get involved.

Have fun.
We encourage a culture of fun.  We want their experience to be engaging, relevant and enjoyable.

Notice the percentages of the expectations listed above.

• Moving, interacting and talking - 80%
• Sitting still, being quiet and listening - 20%  

The 80% enables the 20% to be effective.  Take a look at your percentage.  If the kids are fidgeting, it's probably because the sitting still and being quiet percentage is too high.

What do the kids who walk through the doors of your church need?  Here's five key things to focus on.  If you can give kids these five things, you'll see their lives impacted.

Kids need to be known.  They need to hear their name spoken.  They need to be asked how their week went.  They need to be missed when they are absent.  They need relationship. 

Kids need to hear God's Word.  If their faith is going to grow, they must hear the Word of God taught in an engaging, relevant way.  Romans 10;17 tells us that, "Faith comes by hearing and the message is heard through the Word."  Kids need the Word embedded in their long term memory and be taught how to apply it to their life.

Kids need their parents to be equipped to lead them spiritually.  Kids need a ministry that will be intentional about providing their parents with spiritual growth tools and resources.  Kids need a ministry that will partner with their parents to celebrate their spiritual journey.

Kids need the investment and example of a godly leader.  Kids need a leader who will care about them, pray with them, teach them and show them what it means to follow Jesus.  One godly leader can make the difference in a child's life.

Kids need to have fun.  Kids need a place where they can laugh, giggle, play games, move around and talk.  Kids need a place where they will be able to answer "Yes" when their parents pick them up and ask those famous words, "Did you have fun today?"

Take a look at your ministry.  Are you providing kids with these 5 things?  How can you do a better job?  What do you need to start doing?  What do you need to change or do differently? 

Did you know that 97% of kids spend an average of 10 hours a week playing video games?  Kids love games.

It's important for kids to play games at church.  Here's 5 reasons why.

1. Games create an optimal learning environment.  Games place kids in the zone of proximal development.

This means they are placed in a situation beyond what they can already do, but not so difficult that they can’t do it with guidance, persistence, and encouragement.  In other words, they are placed between what they already know and what they are being challenged to learn.  In this zone, kids can effectively learn God's Word.

2.  Games help kids learn to persist.  Games teach kids not to give up but to keep going even when they fail. 

3.  Games can help simulate real life situations that help kids practice applying God's Word to their life.  It's vital that kids apply God's Word to their every day life.  Through games you can place kids in real-life situations where they have to live out what they've just learned.

4. Games help make church fun.  Games are fun.  Each time we conquer a game, we get a shot of dopamine in our brains which stimulates good feelings.  Games will bring excitement to your children's ministry.

5. Games help kids remember the lesson.  Repetition is a key to learning.  Review games help kids repeat back what you've taught them. 

The floor is yours.  Do you play games at church?  How do you use them?  What tips do you have playing games at church?  Is there a site or resource you use to find games?  Share with us in the comment section below.

How do you know if your children's ministry is unhealthy?  Here's 10 telltale signs and how to treat it.

Symptom #1 - Lack of volunteers - crisis mode. Classrooms are not able to open due to lack of volunteers.  The volunteers you do have are stretched thin.

Treatment:  Build your volunteer team.  In this post, I share proven methods of building a volunteer team, no matter what size church you are serving in.

Symptom #2 - Programs or events that are not effective are perpetuated.  They are continued because "we've always done it that way" or because "Sister-So and So started this years ago" or "the few families who attend would be upset if we stopped it."

Treatment:  Regularly examine everything you do.  Is it helping people grow spiritually?  Is it helping you reach new families?  When you get negative answers to these questions, be willing to adjust and change.

Symptom #3  - Very few kids.  The largest classes are senior adult classes while many of the kids' classrooms sit empty.  You rarely hear the giggles and laughter of kids echoing in the hallways and when you do, there's a good chance it's grandkids visiting from out-of-town.

Treatment:  Be willing to do what it takes to reach young families.  In this post, I share what young parents are looking for when they visit a church.  Remember...anything that is healthy will be growing.

Symptom #4 - No partnership with other ministries.  The children's ministry is a silo.  Other ministries are seen as competition for resources, volunteers and space.  There is no collaboration or strategizing together.

Treatment:  Move from competition to collaboration.  In this post, I share how to make this transition.

Symptom #5 - The "why" of children's ministry is not articulated.  Mission statement?  What's that?  The church sees children's ministry as "childcare."

Treatment:  Start with the why.  In this post, I share the why of children's ministry.

Symptom #6 - Volunteers don't feel valued.  They are shoved into classrooms with little or no training.  They never hear "thank you."  They are never asked for their ideas, input or feedback.

Treatment:  Shift your thinking from what you can get "from" volunteers to what you want "for" volunteers.  Say "thank you" every week.  Here's more about how to value your volunteers.

Symptom #7 - Little or no passion.  People are just going through the motions.  You hear more talk about the past than you do the future.  Volunteers see their role as a drudgery instead of a delight. 

Treatment:  Get fired up!  Everything rises and falls on leadership.  Be a thermostat rather than a thermometer.  A thermostat controls the temperature instead of just measuring it.  In this post, I share 5 ways to get your children's ministry fired up.

Symptom #8 - Kids are saying it's boring.  Parents are having to "make" their kids come to church.  Kids are forced to sit and endure the lessons.  They hear "shhhhh" quite often. 

Treatment:  Create fun, relevant environments that will have kids dragging their parents to church.  In this post, I share how to make church a fun experience for kids.

Symptom #9 - The only time you connect with parents is when you are asking them to serve.  Parents are seen as a resource for your children's ministry instead of your children's ministry a resource for parents.

Treatment:  Realize that if you truly want to influence kids, then you must influence their parents.  Begin partnering with parents and equipping them to be the spiritual leader of their kids.  You can find out more about how to do this here.

Symptom #10 - Run down facilities.  Facilities are a reflection of a children's ministry's attitude and commitment to excellence.  Run down facilities will make a children's ministry appear even more unhealthy than it may really be.  Parents will immediately make an assumption about a children's ministry based on what the facilities look like.

Treatment:  Keep your children's ministries clean and clear of clutter.  Update them when you can.  Don't have the budget for a new children's building?  Do what you can with what you've got.  It's amazing what a fresh coat of paint can do.  And remember...clean and tidy doesn't have anything to do with the size or scope of the building.

The floor is yours.  What are some other symptoms of an unhealthy children's ministry?  Share with us in the comment section below.

I grew up in Small Town, U.S.A.  We had 2,500 people in our town.  I have a special place in my heart for small towns.

The church I serve in now is a multi-site church.  One of our campuses is in the largest city in America...New York City.  Our campus there meets right across the street from Central Park and is surrounded by millions of people.

Another one of our campuses meets in a small town that is the opposite of New York.  Instead of being surrounded by skyscrapers, it is surrounded by farms, mom and pop stores and cow pastures.  It may not be in a hugely populated area, but there's no reason why we can't build a thriving children's ministry there.

If you are ministering in Small Town, U.S.A., you might be tempted to look at mega-churches that are located in heavily populated areas and feel like you're not as successful as they are.  Nothing could be farther from the truth.

Some of the best children's ministries in America are found in small towns.  And many of them, based on population, are reaching a larger percentage of people than mega churches in huge cities.

I am really excited about what God is doing at our campus in this small town.  Let's go on a tour and I'll share some keys to building a thriving children's ministry in a small town.

Make children's ministry a top priority in the church.  These are pictures of the adult auditorium.  We make sure we talk about children's ministry in the adult service.  The kids also come in and sing sometimes during the service.  Emphasize the importance of children's ministry to the entire church.


Invest your time in building a solid volunteer team.  One huge key to a thriving children's ministry is a thriving volunteer team.  The success of your children's ministry hinges on this.  Invest heavily in your volunteers.  Here is a picture of some of our volunteers praying together before the service.


Make sure every child is loved and personally known.  One benefit of a children's ministry in a small town is you have a better opportunity to know each child personally and help them grow in their faith.

Make your children's areas kid-friendly.   Even if you don't have a huge budget, you can make your children's areas appealing to kids.  Below are some examples.

USE KID-FRIENDLY COLORS

WE USE CURTAINS IN SHARED SPACE

Make safety and security a priority.  Even though the atmosphere in a small town may be more laid back, safety and security is still a must.  Parents want to know their kids are safe when they are at church.  Have a check-in name tag system.  If you can't do this electronically, then use hand-written security tags.

Get out into the community and serve.  Look for ways to support community events and get involved.  We make lots of great connections with families by doing this.  Because the community is smaller, you can really impact families personally.

Host events that families in the community can attend.  One example is hosting a Fall Festival.  We did this last fall and had lots of new families attend.
  
Take what you have and make it excellent.  What has God placed in your hand?  Give it your best.  It's not what you have, it's what you do with what you have.

Give first-time families a great first-time experience.   Just as in a big city, the biggest key to getting new families to return is giving them a great experience on their first visit.  Below is a first-time family check-in area we created.


Make your lessons fun, interactive and engaging.  No matter what size town they live in, kids want lessons that capture their attention and give them an opportunity to interact.


Have clearly marked signage.  Make it easy for people to navigate your campus.

Are you serving in Small Town, U.S.A.?  We'd love to hear about your church and what you are doing to reach the people in your town.  Share with us in the comment section below.

Here's 10 big questions about Children's Ministry....with my responses.

1. What should I be focusing on?
 If I had to be good at one thing in children's ministry, it would be building a volunteer team.  The success of your children's ministry rises and falls on the strength of the volunteer team you build.  Here's some tips for building a dynamic team.

2. What's the best strategy for equipping parents to lead their children spiritually? 
I have found the best way to impact parents is at key times in their lives.  These include when they are new parents, when their child starts asking questions about a relationship with Jesus, when their child is entering elementary school, and when their child is preparing to enter middle school.

These are times when parents come looking for help.  Have a class and time of celebration attached to each of these.  More about that here.

3. How do you know if a child is ready to begin a relationship with Jesus?
Here are a few ways.  They continue to bring up the subject on their own.  You sense they don't just "want" to invite Jesus into their life, but they know they "need" to invite Jesus into their life.  They also have a clear understanding of what sin is. 

Here's some help with leading kids to Christ.

4. How can we see our children's ministry grow?
I believe the way to see your children's ministry grow is to remove barriers that are hindering growth.  These can include lack of space, lack of volunteers, unwillingness to change, lack of vision, no follow-up strategy for first-time guests and more.

Take a hard look at your ministry and identify your barriers.  Then work toward removing them.

5. How can I keep kid's attention when I am teaching them?
This is not as hard as it seems.  One big, big key is to simply honor their attention span.  You've got about 1 minute for every year of their age.  So with 3 year olds, you've got about 3 minutes.

After 3 minutes, change and do something different.  This will re-set their internal clock and you will keep their attention.  Here's some more help for this.

6. Should we make church "fun" for kids?
The simple answer is yes.  The number one question parents ask their kids is, "Did you have fun today?"  Here's what they mean by this question.

Did they keep your attention?  Was it relevant to your life?  Did you get anything out of it?

If the answer is "no" then you'll have a difficult time growing your children's ministry.

7. How can I keep volunteers long term?
A great children's ministry team is made up of new volunteers and lots of veteran volunteers.  One big word that will help you keep volunteers long term...relationship.  Volunteers stay or go based on the quality of the relationships they have with the people they serve with.

Here's some help for keeping volunteers long term.

8. How can I get the leadership at my church to see the importance of children's ministry?
Here it is in a nutshell.  You've got to be the squeaky wheel.  Here's five ways to champion children's ministry in your church.

9. How can I get first-time guests to return?
The best way is to make sure they have an incredible experience on their first visit.  If this doesn't happen, it doesn't matter how much you follow up with them, the chances of them returning are slim to none.  Here's some help with this. 

That being said, having a follow up strategy helps a lot.  Here's a simple strategy that we've found to be effective.

10. How can I grow as a children's ministry leader?
One way is to do what you're doing right now.  Read.  Read books, blogs, articles, websites, and anything else you can get your hands on.  Here's 8 books I've read recently that have helped me grow.

Another way is to attend a conference.  There are lots of great conferences you can attend that will pour knowledge and inspiration into your life.  And with technology, if you can't attend a conference in person, there are online conferences available for free.  Here's a great online conference that's happening in October.

What are some other answers you've seen work for the questions above?  Share them with us in the comment section below.

What are some other questions you have?  Share them with us below and we'll be glad to connect with you.

Let's take time to smile today.  Here's 20 signs you might be in Children's Ministry.

1. If you've ever baptized someone who was splashing...you might be in children's ministry.

2. If you've ever had a "lost and found" box with 25 kids' Bibles in it...you might be in children's ministry.

3. If you've ever wished you had bought stock in the Play-Doh company...you might be in children's ministry.

4. If you've ever had an argument with a church janitor...you might be in children's ministry.

5. If you think serving in the nursery should be mandatory for all choir members...you might be in children's ministry.

6. If you've ever had someone say, "I don't want to volunteer...I like my adult Bible study class too much"...you might be in children's ministry.

7. If you've ever learned some very interesting family information from a preschooler's prayer request...you might be in children's ministry.

8. If you've ever taken a huge bag of coins to the bank...you might be in children's ministry.

9. If you've ever went to Disneyworld and left with 10 new ministry ideas...you might be in children's ministry.

10. If you'd rather paint a room green or orange instead of beige or gray...you might be in children's ministry.

11. If you've ever had a parent say, "I wish VBS lasted 2 weeks instead of 1" and wanted to strangle them...you might be in children's ministry.

12. If you've ever had someone pick up their child 45 minutes after service was over because they were "talking" to someone...you might be in children's ministry.

13. If you've ever been out of breath at the end of a worship song because of the motions...you might be in children's ministry.

14. If you've keep your local inflatable company in business...you might be in children's ministry.

15. If you've ever had a pie put in your face because someone won a contest...you might be in children's ministry.

16. If you've ever been jealous of the student ministry budget...you might be in children's ministry.

17. If your Sunday morning attire always includes a bright-colored t-shirt...you might be in children's ministry.

18. If you've ever ridden with a bus full of kids and it wasn't a school day...you might be in children's ministry.

19. If you've ever pushed a Bibleman video into a VHS player...you might be in children's ministry.

20.  If you've ever filled up an entire cooler full with water balloons...you might be in children's ministry.

Add to the fun by putting some more in the comment section below.

Ready for some fun?

Nursery pager signal sent...where is mom?

Name tag printer jammed...remaining calm...kinda.

Third grade boys...never a dull moment.

Looking for volunteers...everyone is running away.

Four-year-old crying...separation anxiety showing.

Child needs bathroom break...ten friends following.

Last day of VBS...out of energy.

Lesson preparation...stoplights on way to church.

Lesson done...adult service is going over.

Choir...hiding place for AWOL kidmin volunteers.

Kid moving to middle school...parent freaking.

Take home paper...litter on the ground.

50 bags of cotton balls...Wal-Mart shopping.

Copier...not working... at worst possible time.

If you like to talk to tomatoes.

Event over...one hour ago...child remains.

Praying for healing for dogs and cats.

All-night preteen event finished...thank you Jesus.

Deep question asked by kindergartner...left speechless.

Lost and found...30 Bibles stacked up.

Can't remember child's name...he is asking.

Out of breath...worship songs have motions.

Arm is cramping...holding up a puppet.

Driving to hospital visit...tonsils getting removed.

Parents asking...did you have fun today?


On a more serious note...

Child accepting Jesus as Savior...joy overflowing.

New family walking in church door...anticipation.

Listening to child pray...music to ears.

Parents going through divorce...wiping child's tears.

Volunteer going through tough time...praying fervently.

Dedicating parents and babies today...lots of smiles.

Kids are getting it...heart skipping beat.

Listening to kids sing to Jesus...goosebumps.

Family being baptized together...tears in eyes.

Looking at kids...seeing so much potential.

Tired...weary...little appreciation...worth it all.

Add some more seven word stories in the comment section below.  God will use your words to bring a smile to someone today.

Sometimes fun gets a bad rap when it comes to church.  You'll hear...

"Kids should learn to sit still and be quiet at church."

"Kids should have a sense of reverence when they enter the house of God."

"All they're doing is entertaining kids."

"Parents who ask their children if they had 'fun' at church today are shallow."

"It's contributing to the church consumerism mentality that permeates this generation."

99% of the time, these type statements come from churches that are dying or not reaching their communities.

My response - "Hey Children's Ministry Leaders - Make it FUN!"

Make sure you hear lots of laughter in the hallways.

Make sure you tell a joke or have a funny skit when you meet with your volunteers.

Make sure you incite laughter during your kid's services.

Make sure you tell a funny story when you're teaching.

Make sure you don't take yourself so seriously.

Make sure you pull practical jokes with your staff and volunteers occasionally.

Make sure your services intentionally contain elements that are meant to be funny.

Make sure you have a "party" atmosphere in your ministry.

Make sure you take time to celebrate the wins.

Make sure when parents pick up their children and ask, "Did you have fun today?" that the answer is "yes!"

Make sure you, as the leader, have fun!  You set the tone.  And if you're not naturally a person who likes to have fun, gather people around you who do know how to bring the fun factor.

Don't be discouraged by the "no fun" people.  Fun is good!

Do you want to know if kids like coming to your church or not?  There are two words you can ask them to find out.

These two words carry a lot of weight for a child.

The first word is FUN.  If you want to find out if kids enjoy coming to your church, ask them if it's fun or not.

Stand by the pick-up door and you'll hear this question asked by parents over and over.  "Did you have fun today?"

To a child here's what fun means.  I was engaged...they kept my attention...they taught using my learning style...it was interactive...I got to talk...I got to move around...I got to play a game...it was age-appropriate for me...it honored my attention span.

They may not articulate it like that...but when they say "fun" that's what they mean.

The second word is BORING.  When a child says something is boring, it means the opposite happened.  The lesson was not engaging...it didn't hit their learning style...they had to sit still...they couldn't talk...they were lectured to...it didn't keep their attention.

So...if you want a true picture of how effective your children's ministry is at engaging kids with God's Word....ask them what they think.  All you need to ask are those two words.  Is it fun or boring?

Our ministries are a work in progress...and always will be.

There are 3 simple steps you can take to improve your children's ministry.  Though simple, they can accelerate your ministry if implemented each week.

#1 - WALK
John F Kennedy said, "Walk slowly through the crowd."  It's a simple, but powerful principle.

Each weekend, make time to walk through your ministry and observe.  What do you see that's working?  What do you see that needs adjusting?  What do you see that needs replaced?  What do you see that needs repair work?  What do you see that needs updating?

Watch check-in.  Is it easy for families?  Watch dismissal.  Is it safe and secure?  Watch the services.  Are the kids engaged?  Watch your volunteers.  Are they smiling?  Are they connecting with kids and families?

#2 - TALK
Talk to kids.  Do they remember the main point of the lesson?  Are they having fun?

Talk to parents.  How can you improve the ministry?  What's an idea that would make the ministry better?

Talk to volunteers.  Do they feel empowered?  What needs to be fixed?  What can be done to improve the ministry?  What is missing?  What's one thing that would help them feel more empowered?  Is the curriculum effective and easy to use?

#3 - CHALK
In other words, write down all the ideas, input, and suggestions you gather.  Write it down as hear it...on the spot.

Then on Monday...transfer your notes to a list.  Work through the list.  Implement what needs to be implemented.  Tweak what needs to be tweaked.  Fix what needs to be fixed.

Follow these 3 steps every week and you will see a vast improvement in your children's ministry.  

Imagine a children's environment that draws kids to your ministry.

No matter your budget size, there is one thing you can do that will get kids excited about coming to your church.

Use paint and decorating colors that kids love.

Here's 5 kid-friendly colors and why you should use them.

RED

Red is associated with being youthful and bold.  It stimulates the brain and causes impulsive reaction.  Because of this, you will see a lot of fast food chains using the color.  This is also why so many clearance signs are marked red.

According to a study, images that contained predominately red tones received twice as many repins on social site Pinterest.  If you want to grab kids' attention and get them active and involved...mix in some red.

BLUE

The color blue is considered to be a color of trustworthiness, stability and professionalism. 

If you want to earn the trust and respect of parents, blue will help you.

A recent study says that blue images receive 24% more likes than photos with more stimulating colors like red or orange. In fact, the bluer it is, the better.

GREEN

Not only is slime green...but green is associated with taking care of the environment.  And that's a big deal with today's parents and their kids.

Using green conveys not only fun, but that you care about a cause that's important to kids and their parents.

YELLOW

If you want kids and parents to be in a happy mood at your church...use yellow.  Yellow is not only associated with cheerfulness, it also grabs kids' and parent's attention.

BLACK

Black is the epitome of sleek and is associated with power.  It can also make all the other colors above pop when used to outline or contrast them.

Your turn.
What other colors do you like to use in children's ministry?  Why?  
Share your thoughts with us in the comment section below.

This past weekend at the Kidmin Conference, I taught about how to invite people to join your volunteer team.  I asked my friends in the session to create prototype posters that would illustrate the principles that were taught.

They came up with some great ideas.  Here are their posters.  They created these in like 5 minutes.  They reflect several things.

• Invite with vision not need.
• Invite people to the "why" of "what" you do.
• People want to be part of something bigger than themselves. They will be drawn toward it.
• We are called to make disciples not volunteers.
• People want to be part of something that is family and fun.

Give families the opportunity to make memories together.  What event or experience can you create for families to make memories together?

Make check-in easy for families.  This is their new check-in system.  No more turnstiles.  Just swipe your ticket across the mouse ears, place your finger on the indicated spot, and you're in.  How can you make your check-in for families easier and faster?

Use creative thinking to turn ordinary items into fun.  This is a computer screen.  They encased it to look like an old storybook.  Take a look at the ordinary items in your ministry.  How can you put a fun twist on some of them?

Provide good signage.  Look through the eyes of a guest family.  Make it easy for them to identify areas.

You've got ideas you've been waiting to try.  What are you waiting for?  Go for it.

Be committed to excellence.  Families are drawn to excellence.

Effective ministry requires effective planning and organization.

Make your ministry a fun place to be...for kids, families, and your volunteers.  If you hear laughter and see smiles, you're on the right track.

It takes a team to reach families.   It's not what you can do, it's what you can empower others to do.  The most important thing you can do is build a strong volunteer team.

It's all the small things that add up to make a big impact.  This painting on the street was done with a broom and water by a Disney cast member who was simply sweeping the street.  What are some small touches you can add that will make a big impact?

Your turn?  What are some ideas you've gotten from Disney that can help us reach kids and families? Please share them with us in the comment section below.