RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

How soon should we start teaching children about God and His love for them?

The answer is found in 2 Timothy.  It says this.

"From INFANCY you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus."

This verse clearly shows us that we should start teaching children about God and His Word from the time they are born. 

In many churches, the nursery is just viewed as baby sitting.  The "real" ministry for kids doesn't start until they are in kindergarten or even first grade.  If that is your mindset, please, please, please read the rest of this article.  

I believe the early years of a person's life are the most critical.  Children are learning so much by watching, listening and interacting with adults.  They are absorbing information that will shape who they will be in the future. 

Timothy is a great example of this.  He was from the Lycaonian city of Lystra in Asia Minor, born of a Jewish mother who had become a Christian believer, and a Greek father. The Apostle Paul met him during his second missionary journey and he became Paul's companion and co-worker along with Silas.  

From infancy, Timothy's mother, Eunice and his grandmother Lois, poured the Word of God into his life.  We see this in 2 Timothy 1:5.

“I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also” 2 Timothy 1:5 

Timothy became a great Christian leader because his mother and grandmother made spiritual investments in his life from infancy. 

Here's my question for church leaders today.  Do you view your nursery as a big spiritual investment opportunity in people's lives?  

From infancy we must help kids see they have a heavenly Father that loves them. 

From infancy we must pour worship music into children's minds. 

From infancy we must plant seeds of faith into children's lives. 

From infancy we must whisper into the mind of children that Jesus is the Son of God. 

From infancy we must pray over the infants that we are holding. 

From infancy we must have strategic curriculum that will start building the foundation of faith in children's lives. 

From infancy we must read the Bible to children.  

From infancy we must model for children what it means to follow Jesus. 

From infancy we must pray daily for the children God has placed in our life. 

From infancy we must point children toward Jesus. 

From infancy we must partner with parents and provide them with tools and resources for raising their children to love and follow Jesus.   One of your best opportunities to do this is during Parent and Child dedication.  Don't miss this opportunity to invest in parents and share with them how to raise their children to love Jesus.  You can get the class information about this by clicking on the picture.

Nursery volunteers...you are not babysitting.  You are planting seeds of faith into the lives of the infants and parents who you serve. 

Nursery volunteers...remember you don't know who you are rocking.  The child could be the next Billy Graham.

Nursery volunteers....there is a reason why God's Word talks about ministering to people from the time they are in the nursery. 

Nursery volunteers...when you minister to infants, you are sending a message to a day you will never see.  The little ones you are investing in now, will one day be the church leaders.

True success in life is not about how much "stuff" you can accumulate.  Rather, it's about who you can help raise to follow Jesus. 

Today's children are growing up in a culture that says there are many ways to God.  Do what is right in your own eyes.  Truth is what you make it.
 
This is in stark contrast to what God's Word says in this verse.  Look at it again. 

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

From infancy, we must teach children that the Bible is the final authority.  We must instill in them the wisdom that comes from God. We must teach them that salvation is only through faith in Jesus.  

It's time we get really, really serious about teaching children from infancy that Jesus is the Son of God.  That Jesus loves them.  That the Scriptures are the source for wisdom.  

Lead on nursery volunteers.  You matter and what you do matters...more than you know. 

Do your nursery volunteers know why they are serving in the nursery?

Do your preschool volunteers know why they are serving?

Do your elementary volunteers know why they are serving?

Do your volunteers who work with pre-teens know why they are serving?

How about your guest service volunteers?  Your greeter team?  Your worship team? Your security team?  Do they know why they are serving?

What if we walked into your ministry this weekend and begin asking volunteers why they are serving?  What would their responses be?

Many of them would probably defer to "what" they are doing.

"I'm teaching the Bible to the 3rd graders."

"I'm helping preschoolers learn Bible verses."

"I'm holding and rocking babies."

"I'm welcoming people to God's house."

"I'm running the A/V for the service."

While these responses would be true, they are not the main reason volunteers are serving...whether they know it or not.

As a leader, our job is to help volunteers shift from focusing on "what" they are doing to "why" they are serving.  

If you are not intentional about telling volunteers "why" they are serving in children's ministry, they will forget.  The natural tendency is to focus on the "what" since that is the tangible thing you are doing.

The "why" is your mission statement. If you don't currently have a mission or vision statement, now is the time to create one. 

This means from the time they are first asked if they will join your team to years later when they are a veteran volunteer, you consistently remind them of "why" they are serving. It's vital that you keep taking your volunteers back to the misson/vision statement.

Vision shared yesterday and is not revisited today will be forgotten tomorrow.

Remind nursery volunteers that they are volunteering so young parents can be impacted by the Word of God and not be distracted.  And remind them that they are spiritually investing in children at the beginning of their life.  Their words, prayers and songs are making an impact whether they can see it right now or not.

Remind small group leaders that they are volunteering so kids can get connected and learn God's Word.

Remind greeters that they are the first impression people will have of the ministry.  They are welcoming people whose family can be changed and put on a new path of life.

Remind worship leaders that they are ushering children into the presence of God as they worship Him.

Remind a/v volunteers that they are helping change kids' lives through the Scriptyres they place on the screen.

Remind preschool leaders that they are planting seeds that will come forth with spiritual fruit in the days ahead.

The "why" is your mission statement.  If you don't have a mission statement, that is your starting point.  Sit down and create a mission statement.   I always encourage leaders to make the children's mission statement as close to the church's overall mission statement as possible.

Here's an example.  If your church's overall mission statement is "Impacting people with the love and message of Jesus," you could make the children's mission statement be "Impacting kids and families with the love and message of Jesus."

Your mission statement is the reason your volunteers are serving.  You simply need to make the connection for them and then consistently remind of the "why."

I often say, "People won't line up to change a diaper, but they will line up to change a life."

Show volunteers why they are changing kids' and families' lives.  And then tell them again.  And then put it in writing. And then add it your email signature.  And then talk about it in the service.  And then keep showing it and showing it and showing it.

When volunteers know why they are serving, they will be more passionate about it.  And they will stick with it and go the distance with you.  

One pet peeve I have is people referring to children's ministry as "childcare."

The ministry that gets the "childcare" label the most often is the nursery.

Because babies can't sing worship songs, respond to questions, read scripture or memorize verses, we put the "childcare" label on them.

But the reality is nursery ministry is one of the most vital times in a person's life.  Kids learn more in their early years than any other time.  Brain connections are being made.  Everything is fresh and new.  I believe it is one of the most important times we have to minister to children.

Here's an example.  Recently the University of Iowa researched the impact it makes when you acknowledge and respond to babies' vocalizations.  They found that when parents are more attentive and responsive to their children's babbling, the children said more words at 15 months of age.

Nursery volunteers, you can make a difference in the lives of babies by talking with them.

I would say a large % of churches do not have any teaching or engagement strategies for their nursery.  Please don't miss the opportunity to impact children's lives at this stage.  Here are some ideas to help you start making a bigger impact through interacting with and talking with the babies in your nursery.

Play an age appropriate worship song and sing to them.

Talk back to them when they babble and share with them how much God loves them.

If you see they are responding or tracking with something in the room, use that object to share a Biblical principle.  For an example, if the child is pointing at a toy in the room, hold it in front of them and tell them God made everything, including the toy and them.  Then tell them they are special to Jesus.

Read an age appropriate Bible story book to them.  Watch for certain things in the book that they point to or respond to.  Expand on the picture or object they are focusing on.

Read a Bible verse to them.  Here's a great way to do this. Pick out one or more Bible promises and paint them on the walls (or you can use a banner or stick on letters) of your nursery and preschool rooms.  Pray the Bible promises over them each week they are with you.

Hold a small Bible in front of them.  Point to the Bible and say "The Bible is God's Word,  It is true and you can always trust it."

These are just a few of the ways you can impact kids in the nursery.  So let the baby talk begin.

How is your nursery ministry doing?  Lots of babies?  Fewer babies?

Nursery ministry is a key indicator of the future of a church.  Without the next generation, a church will eventually cease to exist.

What is happening in your nursery matters.  If you are reaching young families...young couples, your nursery should be thriving.

At the same time, we have to keep in mind the current overall birth rates, since this can affect your nursery attendance.  Let's look at the latest birth stats.

The U.S. total fertility rate has been declining for the past 10 years.  The number of women giving birth has hit a historic low.  In 2016, the general fertility rate hit a record low of 62 births per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44.  In 2015, it was 62.5

One factor is this.  Millennials, who are the new generation of young adults, are getting married later. The average age for men is 29 and 27 for women.  So far, Millennials are much less likely to have babies.  There is speculation about whether they are just postponing parenthood or simply choosing to not have children at all. 

Interesting enough, while the birthrate for younger women has decreased, the birthrate for women in their 30's and 40's has been increasing. 

Another interesting factor to watch and keep in mind is the number of unmarried women who are giving birth.  This includes single moms and mothers who are cohabiting.  In 2015, 39.7% of all babies born in the U.S. were born to unmarried women.  This also varies a great deal according to race and ethnicity.  Women of Asian descent had the lowest proportion of births to unmarried women (12%), followed by whites (28.4%), Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (47.7%),  Latinos (52.5%), American Indian or Alaska Natives (68.1%) and African Americans (69.7%).

If we're going to reach today's babies and their parents, we must be a church that celebrates diversity.  Everyone should feel welcomed and accepted, no matter their social status, age, ethnicity or marriage status.  We must also be place where single moms can come and belong even before they believe.  

While there are fewer babies being born, this doesn't mean there still aren't lots of babies and their families that need to be reached with the Gospel.  Gen Z, today's kids, are still the largest generation on the planet and we must be focused on reaching them.

If you want to see your nursery filled with babies and your church connecting with young parents, then here are some articles that can help you.  My prayer is your nursery will be blessed with lots of little ones.  Make it a priority.  Your church's future depends on it.

4 Big Reasons Why Nursery Ministry is not Babysitting

Why Nursery Ministry Makes All the Difference

How Nursery Volunteers Can Make a Huge Impact in Children's Lives

Nursery Volunteers...Don''t Underestimate the Big Impact You Make

Your turn.  The floor is yours.  What birth trends are you seeing in your church?  How can we reach more young families with babies?  Share your thoughts, insight and ideas in the comment section below. 

News flash.  Nursery ministry is NOT babysitting. 

It's time the church understands this if we want to reach the next generation.

It's time children's ministry leaders catch the vision for nursery ministry and make it a priority.

It''s time we help nursery volunteers understand the importance of what they do.

Nursery ministry should be so much more than just soothing away tears, changing diapers, keeping up with bottles and making rocking chairs rock.

The truth is this.  Nursery Ministry is ministry at the most critical time in a person's life. 

Here's 4 big reasons why nursery ministry is not babysitting.

Reason #1 - Nursery Ministry is Prayer Ministry.

Do you believe prayer makes a difference in someone's life?  If so, then the early years are a key time to pray for a person.  The early years are a key time to pray God's promises for a person.  The early years are crucial years, when a person needs spiritual warriors praying hedges of protection around them.

Think about the impact the prayers of nursery volunteers can make in the lives of children.

Pray for the child you are rocking.

Pray for the child you are holding.

Pray for the child you are playing with on the floor.

What if...you put Bible promises on your nursery walls and encouraged volunteers to pray those verses over the children while they were with them?

What if...you created a prayer calendar for parents and partnered with them to pray for their babies?

What if...babies and toddlers saw you talking to God as your best friend in the nursery?

Reason #2 - Babies can process information and be impacted by God's Word.  

I can tell you whether or not you think nursery ministry is babysitting or not.  Here's the test.  Do you teach a lesson in your nursery? 

Churches that know nursery ministry is more than babysitting teach lessons in their nursery.

You may be thinking, "Why teach a lesson?  They can't understand what I'm saying, so what's the use?"

Scientific research reveals something much different than this line of thinking.   

A recent study published in Science shows that babies as young as twelve months old are capable of syllogistic reasoning.  Through a series of tests by experts, it has been determined that even infants are able to entertain hypothesis about complex events and modify them rationally. 

Yes.  The lessons should be short.  Yes.  The lessons should be age-appropriate.  Yes.  The lessons should use visual pictures.  And Yes.  It will help build a foundation of faith in a child's life.

What if...you set aside time in the nursery for a brief lesson?

What if...you empowered volunteers to know when they teach even infants, it makes a difference in their life?

What if...you showed babies the Bible each week and told them it is the Word of God?

Reason #3 - You can show babies the love of Christ. 

They may be babies, but they are watching our body language.  They are listening to our tone of our voice.  They are sensing our attitude.

They know if they are being treated as a bother or a blessing.  Show them by your actions that they are a gift from God.

They can look into your eyes and know if you really care about them.  Let the love of Jesus shine through your eyes and into theirs.

They can hear how you talk to them and know if they are valued.  Use your words and tell them they are highly valued by you and by God.

They can observe your mode of operation during the sometimes stressful times of drop-off and pick-up.  Model the patience that is a fruit of the Spirit.

They pick up on how you interact with other volunteers.  Be an example of Jesus' commands to "love one another" and "think of others as more significant than yourself."

They watch as you sing along to the praise lullabies and worship Jesus. Be an example of what it means to be a worshipper.

They can sense the respect you have for God's Word as you hold it before them.

Reason #4 - Nursery Ministry Impacts the Entire Family.

Nursery ministry impacts the entire family....because parents with infants decide if they are going to return to a church based on how their child was treated and cared for.

Nursery ministry impacts the entire family...because they help lead parent & child dedication, which is a major milestone in a family's life.

Nursery ministry impacts the entire family...because it allows parents to hear the Gospel without being redistricted.

Nursery ministry impacts the entire family...because nursery volunteers can speak hope, encouragement and influence into the lives of parents during drop-off and pick-up.

Nursery ministry impacts the entire family ....because nursery volunteers can influence parents to pray more for their children.

Nursery ministry impacts the entire family...because it can extend what was taught at church into the home.  

If you serve in the nursery, may you gain a fresh perspective of what that means. 

If you serve in the nursery, may God renew your passion and vision to make a difference in the lives of kids and families. 

If you oversee a ministry, make the nursery one of your top priorities.  

If you have nursery volunteers in your church...remind them often that what they do is NOT babysitting.  It is ministry that matters...a lot! 

Join the conversation.  From your perspective, what are some other reasons why nursery ministry is not babysitting?  Share your thoughts, ideas and comments below. 

I believe one of the keys to seeing a child grow up to love Jesus and His church is the child making a personal connection at church.  I've often said this. 

It only takes one caring adult to make the difference in a child's life.  

Every time they are at church, children need someone who knows their name, looks them in the eye, tells them they matter and prays for them by name.  And it must start early, even in the nursery.

There's a new study that shows the impact it can make in a child's life when they make a personal connection with a caring adult.  The study found that when adults and babies look at each other, their brain waves sync up.  This creates what researchers call "a joint networked state" that helps them connect.  When babies make this connection, they will try to vocalize and communicate more.

A test was done by researchers at the Baby-LINC Lab at the University of Cambridge.  The test showed babies videos of adults singing nursery rhymes.  In the first video, the singers looked straight at the babies.  In the second video, the singers did not look at the babies, and in the third video, singers turned their heads, but keep their eyes directed toward the babies.  

While the babies were watching the videos, the researchers monitored their brainwave patterns.  The results showed that the babies' brains made a stronger connection when they could see the singers' eyes.  And the strongest connection was made when the singers had their head turned away, but were looking at the child.  Researchers believe this is because the babies recognized that the singers were intentionally looking at them.

Researchers then did the same test, but this time they used live singers.  Results showed that both the babies and the adults became more synchronized to each other's brain activity when eye contact was made.  When the singers looked away, the brain connection dropped off some.  The babies also made more sounds while they were making eye contact with the adults, showing they wanted to communicate.

A great goal for your ministry would be to make sure every child has a personal connection with a caring leader.

Encourage nursery leaders to spend time looking in the eyes of every baby while talking to them, telling them they are loved by God and the church, praying for them and reading God's Word to them.

Train your guest services team to look guests in the eyes while they are welcoming them.  This means looking at them, rather than looking past them.  There's a big difference and guests immediately know the difference.

Teach your preschool leaders to get down on their knees and make direct eye contact with every single child sometime during class.

Build a volunteer team in elementary, so every single boy and girl can be part of a small group (and small doesn't mean a ratio of 1 to 20) where a leader personally knows them and prays for them by name.

Have leaders in your pre-teen ministry that are involved in the lives of the kids and know when they are absent.

If you take a closer look at Jesus' ministry, you will see a pattern of personal connections.  He often looked for the one person He needed to connect with.  Zacchaeus.  The woman with the issue of blood.  Nicodemus.  The woman at the well. 

Discipleship doesn't happen in a crowd, but in personal connections.

Imagine the impact that could happen this weekend, if every child in your ministry was greeted upon arrival, by an adult who stopped what they were doing, looked the child in the eyes and said "I'm so glad you are here.  I've been waiting all week to SEE you."

That is how you change a child's life.  

I believe nursery ministry makes a huge difference in a church.  And I believe it provides the greatest opportunity to impact children.  There is no other time frame that has so much potential to lay a spiritual foundation in a person's life.

Babies' brains can form over 1,000 neural connections every second.  And these connections are the building blocks of their future.  Children who are read to from the Bible, talked to about God, sung worship songs to and given personal attention in the nursery will have better cognitive capacity and a better opportunity to grow up to follow Jesus.

And nursery ministry leaders that really want to influence and impact children in a significant way, will not only focus on the time they have with the children at church, but will also focus on influencing their parents.  Why?  Parents are the biggest influencers of their children.  A baby's spiritual foundation is most affected by their day-to-day experiences at home.  Coming alongside parents and giving them the tools, resources and knowledge they need to spiritually lead their children at home is a must. 

Please...please...please...make nursery ministry a priority at your church.  The youngest members of the next generation must have your spiritual influence now.

Here are some more practical ways your nursery ministry can impact babies and their parents.

How Nursery Volunteers Can Make a Huge Difference in Children's Lives

Nursery Volunteers...Don't Underestimate the Big Impact You Have 

Top 10 Nursery Tips

A Simple Tool for Partnering with Preschool Parents

How Parents Affect Their Children's Faith (the latest findings)