This is a part of ministry that is often hard to gauge and evaluate simply at different points in your own life it means a variety of different things and carries a wide scale of importance to you. So whether you are looking for a church or are part of the leadership at one, implementing and maintaining a quality children's ministry and student ministry is one of the many keys to seeing the health of a church and ensuring lasting depth in the people that attend who will hopefully become part of the family. Admittedly, before I had kids it was very low on my priority list. But now that I'm in the midst of early childhood with all four of my kids, I'm keenly aware of all the aspects of a children's ministry at a church and see how vital a role they will play. So much so that it will always be important to me no matter what our children's age.
First let's talk about why though before we talk specifics. Having been involved in youth/student ministry and children's ministry for the last ten years, I've seen many different strategies at work. Some good and some bad. There are two things that I believe shape a good pre-adult facet of a church.
First is this: children and teenagers are NOT the "church of the future" as is often said. They are today's church - an integral part of ministry now. What this looks like means shaping every part of pre-adult ministry to allow THEM to minister and serve. It's a lot easier so say here and a messy complicated process to figure out in each church culture. But it is vital that they all learn as early as possible the concept and heart of serving that was so dear to Christ. Ask this simple question of children's ministry and student ministry: are they serving?
Secondly is the target. What is the aim of each class and aspect of the children's ministry? Is it just the end of that class - to get the preschoolers into the elementary class or the middle schoolers to the high school ministry? Research has shown that over 80% of people that attended church throughout childhood dropped out of the body as soon as they graduated high school. Reggie Joiner attacked this concept in his book "The Slow Fade". The concept that he puts forth is this: that most key adult decisions are made between the ages of 18-25 but that the church's aim is often far short of that age. The idea being that every aspect of children's ministry and student ministry aim at the college age of post 18+ and helping kids and students become integral parts of the body by that point. Again, a simple concept to discuss, but it will look very different from church to church. But I believe that these two things shape a healthy pre-adult part of any church body.
That being said, the only way to really evaluate well is to get your hands dirty in these ministries. As is with many of these ideas on this series of posts, it's not about passing judgement on a church or it's leadership, but about honest evaluation. But this cannot take place unless you serve in the body somewhere. From a church looker standpoint, finding a way to serve is a huge part of choosing the right church. From the leadership perspective, it means asking yourself if you have you gotten your hands dirty in the deepness of pre-adult ministry, or have you let it slide off your mind because you don't have kids that age or have kids yet?
First let's talk about why though before we talk specifics. Having been involved in youth/student ministry and children's ministry for the last ten years, I've seen many different strategies at work. Some good and some bad. There are two things that I believe shape a good pre-adult facet of a church.
First is this: children and teenagers are NOT the "church of the future" as is often said. They are today's church - an integral part of ministry now. What this looks like means shaping every part of pre-adult ministry to allow THEM to minister and serve. It's a lot easier so say here and a messy complicated process to figure out in each church culture. But it is vital that they all learn as early as possible the concept and heart of serving that was so dear to Christ. Ask this simple question of children's ministry and student ministry: are they serving?
Secondly is the target. What is the aim of each class and aspect of the children's ministry? Is it just the end of that class - to get the preschoolers into the elementary class or the middle schoolers to the high school ministry? Research has shown that over 80% of people that attended church throughout childhood dropped out of the body as soon as they graduated high school. Reggie Joiner attacked this concept in his book "The Slow Fade". The concept that he puts forth is this: that most key adult decisions are made between the ages of 18-25 but that the church's aim is often far short of that age. The idea being that every aspect of children's ministry and student ministry aim at the college age of post 18+ and helping kids and students become integral parts of the body by that point. Again, a simple concept to discuss, but it will look very different from church to church. But I believe that these two things shape a healthy pre-adult part of any church body.
That being said, the only way to really evaluate well is to get your hands dirty in these ministries. As is with many of these ideas on this series of posts, it's not about passing judgement on a church or it's leadership, but about honest evaluation. But this cannot take place unless you serve in the body somewhere. From a church looker standpoint, finding a way to serve is a huge part of choosing the right church. From the leadership perspective, it means asking yourself if you have you gotten your hands dirty in the deepness of pre-adult ministry, or have you let it slide off your mind because you don't have kids that age or have kids yet?
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