Why Kids Ministry Needs to Excel

For some churches children's ministry is just glorified baby-sitting time. Other churches are stuck in the stone ages (I'm not even going to describe this, because your church might be still doing some of these things.). While it is ridiculous to think you can compete with Disney, we have to admit they have taught us a few things on how to make kids want to come back. The Kids area is one of the most impressionable areas to those considering a church or even church in the first place. More and more young parents are deciding to at least give church a try, because they want their children in a good moral environment. Therefore, it would behoove the church to put some of it's best and friendliest people into this ministry and do so in such a manner as the child wants to come back. Our goal is to teach Jesus in such a fashion that the children learn and want to know more. The process can be and should be fun. Kids like fun. Fun makes people want to come back. We want to be so effective at this that the child would pitch a temper-tantrum if the parents said they were just going to stay home from church that day. While I've never heard of that goal being met yet, recently we had something so close to it that I was inspired to write this. ---A family had decided they were just going to stay home on Sunday (it was cloudy and potentially rainy day...you know how that goes). But that Sunday morning there was a knock on the door. One of their children's friends had gone to church with the family the week before, and he/she asked if he/she could go with them today. Ha-stinkin'-hah! Out of the mouth of babes! Evidently, the family looked at this as a sign from the Holy One, and came to church. ---Hey church, keep doing your best. Love on the children in such a way, teaching them in fun ways that they don't want to miss...and they drag the neighborhood with them. :-)