RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

I believe the number one way a children's ministry grows is word of mouth.

When a parent finds a place that takes safety and security very seriously, they will tell other families.

When a parent sees his or her child come home from church excited, they will tell other families.

When a parent discovers a church that makes children's ministry a top priority, they will tell other families.

When a new mother walks into a nursery that is calm and loving, she will tell her friends.

When a parent asks his or her child what they learned today at church and the child knows....they will tell their friends.

When a parent walks into a children's area that is clean and well prepared, they will tell other families.

"Good gossip" will grow your children's ministry while "negative" gossip will have the opposite effect.

How do you know if you're creating good gossip?  You will consistently have new families walk through the door who heard about the ministry from another family. 

People will talk...what they say about your children's ministry depends on what you give them to talk about.

• take a cue from this mother and consider regularly writing your child a note of encouragement
• write notes and prayers of blessings in your child's Bible
• write a letter to your child during milestone events in their life like birthdays, spiritual decisions, etc.

Children's Ministry Leaders

• send handwritten notes to first-time guests
• send handwritten postcards to kids who are absent
• send notes of encouragement and blessing to kids in your ministry

There is so much power in written words.  Below are a few examples of the notes Stephanie sent to her daughter.  May it inspire and encourage us to use written words to impact kids' lives.

One reality that today's kids face is not growing up with their married mom and dad.  Over half of kids ages 15 to 17 do not live in a home with their married mother or father.  Over 40% of kids are born out of wedlock.

This means over half of kids will enter adulthood without the benefits of intact family life. 

Does this make a difference?  Let's examine the facts.  Children's raised by their married parents have...

• substantially better life outcomes compared to children raised in single-parent homes 

• higher education attainment levels

• better emotional health

• greater self-esteem

•  higher regard for marriage

• better chance of avoiding the pitfalls of high-risk behaviors (boys who grow up without a father in the home are more likely to engage in delinquent behaviors & girls who grow up without a father in the home are seven to eight times more likely to experience teenage pregnancy)

• better economic well-being (marriage decreases the chance of childhood poverty by 82%)

How are we going to change this? 

We must teach the next generation about the benefits and value of marriage.  We must hold up God's golden standard for the family which is one man and one woman married for life.

We must provide solid per-marital counseling for couples.

We must reach out to married couples who are struggling and help them journey back to a healthy marriage.

Marriage was designed by God and is the foundation on which a family is built.  

For more help on marriage and family ministry, I encourage you to check out the D6 conference that will be held this fall.  It is one of the leading conferences that equips churches to reach and disciple families.  You can get more information at this link.  

What picture comes to mind when you think of a "typical" family?

A bread-winner dad?  Stay at home mom?  Couple of kids?

Maybe 30 years ago...but not today.  There is no "typical" family.  Family structures are very complicated.  Research shows that no one dominant structure exists for families.

Kids are living in homes with married parents,  divorced mothers, never-married mothers, single fathers, grandparents, cohabiting parents, and a range of other situations.

In the 1950's, if you chose 100 children, 65 would have been living with married parents with the father employed and the mother at home.  Only 18 would have had both parents working.

Today, if you chose 100 children, just 22 would be living with married parents where the father is the bread-winner.  23 would be living with a single mother.  7 would be living with parents who are cohabiting.

6 would live with either a single father or grandparent.  34 would be living with married parents who both work.

Are you prepared to minister to today's families?