Sometimes I have a hard time trying to figure out why our kids don't matter as much as they should in our churches. Here is why I think they should:
1) They are our future. Our kids will be the next generation of the church. On an single church basis, they will one day be a deacon, an elder, the secretary, the youth pastor, the pastor...I grew up surrounded by awesome kids programs and I have strong belief that those programs are a lot of the reason I hung on to the idea of church. I grew up in our GEMS program, which was amazing being that I was never an outgoing kid. Every summer I looked forward to VBS programs and having fun learning Bible verses in a way I could understand - and I hold on to some of those today in the same way as I learned them then. Youth group was huge for me too. I don't think I would have ever went to church without going to youth group. Now, I'm the secretary of a church and am a huge advocate for our kids. The impact of kids' ministries is so important and real!
2) Catch the kid, catch the parents. This one sounds creepy, but it's true. Kids who love kids' church will bring their parents to church. When they go home and rant to mom and dad about Wednesday night Awana or GEMS, parents tend to want to see more. Sometimes, kids will drag their parents to church because they don't want to miss Sunday School. Parents love that their kids are taken care of and show great respect for churches that put kids first. Now that I'm a parent, this is a MUST for us. If I know my baby is being taken care of in a safe place and will grow up learning some life-applicable teachings from God's Word, that is a win in my book.
Safety is a must too. By safety, I mean no random adults wandering through my child's classroom and area. Just because everyone knows Joe Smith in the church doesn't mean the first-time dad knows him, and he shouldn't be just walking through his kids' area unless he works with the kids and has proof of it. If Joe Smith is an elder, first-time dad doesn't know that and will probably look twice and wonder why they're in there. Same with anyone not wearing Children's Ministry ID and attire. A safe place for JUST kids is a must. (See more about that below). Turn off the safety, you might as well turn on a big sign saying "we could care less about the kids of our church". This is the biggest turn off for new parents.
3) Kids will be the next generation of the Good News. Kids pick up on everything. They will grow passionate about God if they see how passionate we ware about Him and how much we care about them learning about God. God tells us to teach His Word to our kids, and when we fail to pass that along, we miss the mark and we face a dying generation of the Word. How is this not important? Proverbs 22:6
4) We learn from children. The faith of a child is the purest and most open. Adults put on the blinders, create biases, and question every word they hear and read. Kids take things as they hear and see them. When we approach God in such a way, we are so open to His imprinting and molding of our lives. This is why it is also important to teach children while they are young and open. Matthew 18:2-4
5) Jesus commands us to value our kids. Check out Matthew 18:2-6. It speaks for itself.
What we should be doing about it:
1) Give kids their own, safe place to come. Just like us as adults, kids love to go to church when there is something for them. Many adults love to go to church...when there is something they can take away. I heard this conversation just this week. Yes- we need to go to give back to God too, but growth is a very important aspect of this too. If we cram our kids in the smallest room in church and have it packed full of stuff made for adults, what does that say about our value for our kids? Safety, as I ranted about above is HUGE.
2) Kids need new, exciting, curriculum. This can be a tough one in churches because curriculum is so much of the cost. But, how much does your church pay to have a pastor teach a new message each week? I doubt the pastor uses the same messages year after year. I'm pretty sure if he did the people would probably start seeking another place of worship. How is it any different for our kids and youth? We need to value our adults, but I believe we need to value our kids even more. Giving them fresh, new stuff each year is a big part in creating the excitement in them for Children's Ministry.
3) Value those who value the kids. Volunteers and staff who work with our kids and youth are detrimental in growing faith-filled kids. It's hard to know the background kids come from and the adults that are in their lives, but you can guarantee they are getting some positive influence through the people at their church. This is to be a constant in their inconsistent worlds, and that is so valuable to our kids today. Treat volunteers and staff as inferior who work with our kids and you might as well kiss your quality kids and youth ministries goodbye.
What do you think?
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