All of us want to see our Children’s Ministries grow. We want the number of kids we have to grow numerically each year. And we want the kids who are coming to grow spiritually. It seems like some churches do this really well and others…well, not so much.
So what’s the secret? What is it that those churches who do this well do?
I think they embrace this principle:
Think big when you’re small; think small when you’re big.
What does that look like?
If you’re “small” you do things that a larger church would do. You do background checks. You have orientation meetings. You plan your calendar out 6 – 12 months at a time. You do everything you can to have the best website possible. You’re on Facebook and Twitter. You have a policy handbook. You don’t let adults be alone with kids…ever.
On the flip side if you’re “big” you do some of the things smaller churches do really well. You make sure every kid has an opportunity to be known by at least one leader and a small group of peers (8 – 10). When you do events you don’t make all of them ginormous. You do simple things like rent a roller skating rink for a couple of hours. You have family movie nights in the worship center. You have volunteers write hand written notes to all their kids.
It’s less about a formula and more about a mindset. It’s less about a technique to get more kids and more about preparing for the growth God wants to give you. It’s less about downsizing because of budget cuts and more about creating space in your schedule to connect with the families in your ministry.
If you’re at a small church how can you think bigger?
If you’re at a big church how can you think smaller?
Jeff McClung 