Children's Ministry

I’ve coached my son’s basketball teams for five seasons. Each Tuesday evening we hold a one-hour practice and each Saturday we play a 40-minute game. Each of the boys I oversee fall into one of two groups. Youngsters who fall into the first group participate in those practices and games — and nothing else. The only time they pick up a basketball is in the gym with the team. Many times these young players — and their parents — wonder why their shots don’t go in, passes go errant, and dribbles bounce off their feet.

The other group of boys also attends practices and competes in the games. In addition, they play basketball at home during the week. At the end of each season, the boys who have played more than just the weekly hour and forty minutes of our program reach skill levels far past the first group — especially if parents or older siblings have worked with them on the same fundamentals covered in practice. The game makes more sense and becomes more natural for those who play consistently.

Likewise, Christianity will make more sense and come more naturally for kids who frequently interact with faith issues. Every church has key people outside of the children’s ministry team who benefit from that ministry’s success. These folks can add two important ingredients to help cook up plenty of faith interaction for kids: consistency and involvement.

Pastoral Support

Children’s consistent attendance serves as a foundation that makes building a relationship with God more likely. A commitment to high frequency will evolve into a churchwide value only when a church’s pastor understands the benefit to kids and the ultimate responsibility of parents. In a weekend message, Menlo Park Presbyterian Church teaching pastor John Ortberg challenged moms and dads to take their responsibility for family-wide spiritual development seriously by telling the congregation: “Parents, do whatever you have to do … because getting your kids into a consistent pattern of Promiseland [children’s ministry] attendance and involvement is the best help I think you can get with the most important parenting assignment you’ll ever face.”

Attendance is an issue difficult to address by the children’s ministry because its audience — kids — can’t drive themselves to church. A church’s pastor occupies the best platform to deliver this message.

Parental Involvement

In addition to the pastor’s active support, turn attention toward opportunities for the children’s ministry to connect with parents. North Point Church offers a creative program called KidStuf that parents and kids attend together in the hour between Sunday services. After they experience a dynamic time of learning, families leave with materials designed to stimulate conversations during the days to come — even questions specifically for car rides. Learning launched on Sunday continues to fly Monday through Saturday, propelled by the reality that repetition is the key to learning.

Ministry opportunities that impact the home exist past offering shared experiences and physically distributing materials. A leader can make a phone call to check on a youngster who’s absent a few weeks in a row, send a birthday card, or attend a basketball game. All these ideas are easy. And all create connections with kids and their parents. Imagine how much more receptive children will be to a leader or teacher who has become a family friend — a person Mom or Dad know and refer to by name. The expectation to set with parents is to be receptive to the leader’s efforts. Similar to the attendance issue, the pastor can most effectively deliver the message about receptivity.

The guarantee: A ministry’s efforts to partner with parents will be well-received. In every parent-teacher conference I’ve attended, I ask teachers the same question: “What can we do at home to help Erin (or Scott) succeed in your class?” If parents will adjust home life so that kids can better learn math, reading, and writing, won’t parents take steps to help kids learn the most important lesson in life — the need for a relationship with Jesus? The answer is “yes” when parents, the children’s ministry, and church leadership share a commitment to stand shoulder-to-shoulder and unleash the power of everyone.

Adapted excerpt from Leading Kids to Jesus by David Staal (Zondervan, 2006).

David Staal is the director of Promiseland, Willow Creek’s Children’s Ministry

Recomended Childrens Resources

Top resources to help your children's ministry:

Children's Ministry Team Edition DVD
Clarifying the Win DVD
The Best Hour Book
Flipt: Life By Jesus
Promiseland Curriculum

Promiseland UK & Ireland

A number of UK churches have embraced the Promiseland vision & values and adapted the material for their own situation. Find out more here:

What is Promiseland? 
Promiseland Mission & Values 
Gift-Based Ministry
The Promiseland Story

Want to find out more? Follow any of these steps to evaluate Promiseland's potential for your Children's Ministry:

• Explore Promiselandonline and download sample material (literature, music, videos)to get a feel for all that Promiseland has to offer.
• Email WCA UK & Ireland for a Promiseland Sample Pack (or Tel: 023 8071 0295)
• Contact the Promiseland UK & Ireland Champion (see below)

Promiseland Champion

Edda Lindner and her team at St James Gerrards Cross have successfully developed their Children's Ministry around the Promiseland model. Find out more about the amazing ministry at St James and contact Edda here.

Promiseland Conferences US & UK

The best way to enthuse and envision your team for a dynamic children's ministry is to attend the Promiseland Conference at Willow Creek. These are held every April. This includes 8 nights accommodation with a Willow family booked through WCA UK & Ireland.
WCA UK & Ireland also provides Promiseland workshops hosted by Promiseland Champions. Watch this space for details of the next workshop.
Check out the 'Conspire' website to see reviews of previous events and information on future childrens ministry conferences.

Other Useful Websites for Children's Ministry

Building Strong Families

Click here to download a free assessment tool and find out more information on how your church can help to build strong families.