Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
Growing churches understand the importance of a strong Children’s Ministry program.
But Children’s Ministry has many moving parts. It is more than child care while parents go to church.
It is an opportunity to sow into the lives of the next generation and help these kids learn Biblical principles for life.
Even small churches can have a dynamic kid’s ministry with a little planning and organization.
11 Tips For Creating A Children’s Ministry Kids Will Love
1. Use Age Specific Classrooms
A few years can make a big difference in children. Organize kids by age. Use logical age division that makes sense.
For instance, divide your kids into age groups: 0-2.5 years, 2.5-4 years, 4-5 years, Grades 1-5.
Smaller churches may need to have a larger age spread due to available volunteers. Choose your age groups based on facility and volunteer availability.
2. Create An Engaging Environment
Kids need stimulation.
Create an engaging environment by using kid-friendly furniture, colors, and decor.
Use the handy people in your church to help build and create theme-based classrooms.
Look for ideas and inspiration on sites like Pinterest, Instagram, or internet search.
Get parents and kids involved in generating ideas that stimulate learning and engagement in the classroom.
3. Provide Organized Classrooms
Organization is a must – particularly when dealing with kids. Create a system for organizing supplies, toys, and teaching materials.
Identify a volunteer who loves to organize (yes, there are people like that) and put them to work.
Provide a budget for organizing supplies. Give them responsibility for ordering supplies, organizing, and keeping the rooms stocked and ready for the kids and teachers.
4. Develop Inspiring Leadership
Every successful church program is the result of inspiring leadership.
Identify someone to oversee Children’s Ministry with a passion for the kids, a gift of leading, and a commitment to the church.
Work with this identified leader to create a process for inspiring and developing other Children’s Ministry workers to do the same.
Allow this leadership influence to flow through all areas of Children’s church. The goal is to have a succession plan for the next leader.
5. Conduct Volunteer Screening
It is sad but true that volunteer screening has become necessary for everyone who interacts with the kids.
Work with your insurance company to identify a vendor to manage your background checks for a reasonable cost.
Run an initial background check and then create a process to keep volunteer files up-to-date and have the volunteers re-screened every couple of years.
When you host a big children’s event (i.e. : Summer VBS) and recruit event-only volunteers, make sure you run a background check to ensure all volunteers have been screened.
6. Think About Volunteer Placement
A lot of people sign up to work in Children’s Ministry simply because they love kids.
This is a great characteristic. However, you want to make sure that the volunteer matches the job they are assigned to.
Place friendly people at the check-in desk, people with a gift of organization behind the scenes to keep things orderly, and those with a gift for teaching in front of the kids.
The last thing you want is a boring and crabby teacher interacting with the kids.
7. Write Policies and Procedures
We put policies in print to remind us of what we commit to.
All too often, we create a policy in our heads, but it will be difficult to enforce unless it is written down.
Write policies and procedures for every area of Children’s Ministry.
Gather a team and make a list of all of the areas that would benefit from a policy and procedure.
For instance, you may want to write:
- a procedure to check kids into church
- a policy for how to handle a difficult child
- a policy for how to communicate with an upset parent
- a policy on adult/child ratio, etc.
Write the policy, test the policy, update the policy, and then train the volunteers on your expectations for them to adhere to the written policies and procedures.
8. Train Volunteers
Training is key to any successful program. Volunteers want to know what to do as much as you want them to represent the church appropriately.
Orient new volunteers to the layout and organization of Children’s Ministry. Teach them about the policies and procedures that are in place to ensure child safety.
Teach them how to protect the kids from predators and to identify someone who may have wrong motives for being with the kids.
This multi-layer training will help to ensure those volunteers inspire the kids while keeping them safe.
9. Use Technology
Technology is a wonderful thing. Choose technology that can help you keep the kids organized, track attendance, and communicate with parents.
Many of the church software solutions now offer support for Children’s Ministry.
Find a solution that works with your church. Have someone go through the appropriate software training and ask them to help volunteers work with the technology.
10. Use Great Curriculum
The curriculum is what is used to teach the kids their weekly lessons. Some churches choose to develop and write their own curriculum.
However, there are many great resources for churches that can supply the needed, age-specific curriculum for your church.
A quick Google search for “children’s ministry curriculum” will result in many options to explore.
A great curriculum will help kids learn and grow in their spiritual walk.
11. Make It Fun!
Kids need fun! Make your Children’s Ministry interactive, engaging, and fun for the kids.
Recruit volunteers who enjoy interacting with kids and use activities to create and foster a fun atmosphere.
Play games, do crafts, and use the lessons to reinforce an atmosphere that makes kids look forward to coming to church.
Our Kids Are The Next Generation!
Our kids are the next generation of parents, leaders, and societal role models. Take the time to plan a Children’s Ministry program that engages kids while they learn the valuable Biblical principles for life.
We Have Done The Work For You!
If you are a member, you can access a variety of Children’s Ministry Job Descriptions by logging in here. If you are not a member, you can explore our growing library of job descriptions and church forms here.
