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Get Creative For Kid's Sake |
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Where a Kid Can Be a Kid
So, how do you develop
a children’s ministry that is better than any other church’s? You
don’t. Other churches are not your competition. Your competition is
Chuck E. Cheese. And Nickelodeon. And Xbox.
Kids today are
conditioned to need high stimulation, to be fully engaged – if we’re
going to grab and sustain their attention. Whether they’re surfing the
Internet for cheat codes to the latest Lord of the Rings PS2
game or checking out your kids’ program, what they find had better be
fun and interesting. Because boring or intimidating just doesn’t cut
it.
In a world where our society pushes adults to have and
achieve more, parents have been known to extend that mindset into their
parenting practices. So the last thing your children’s program should
be to an “overscheduled” child is this: another obligation. How can
they come to know how much Jesus loves them if they don’t even want to
be there? Right, you say. And precisely how do we avoid the boring and
intimidating syndrome? Glad you asked.
First, think like
a child. (And by this we mean: not like an adult who has preconceived
notions of what’s “proper.”) If you can’t spend a service in one of
your kids’ classes (and we use that term loosely) without saying, “Man,
I wish church had been like this when I was a kid!” then something is
seriously missing.
Second, think like a parent. (As in,
needing a major break from your kids – while knowing that not only are
they in good hands, they will quite possibly be leaving in a better
mood than the one they arrived with.) As precious as children are to
us, their parents are even more so. Because it all rolls downhill. So
if we hit it out of the park with the parents, their children will
benefit in huge ways.
Third, think like a volunteer. (And
by this we mean: Yikes! Children!) Even the most maternal (or paternal)
of volunteers will get frustrated if there is no leadership and there
are no systems in place to make their tasks easier. And burnt out if
they’re so overscheduled that they never get a weekend off.
Fourth,
think like a newbie. Is your children’s center an inviting place? A
place that takes guests a bit by surprise? It doesn’t have to cost an
arm and a leg, you know. Bright, fun colors and themed rooms are more
conducive to kids’ learning than “institutional looking” rooms.
Plus,
there’s a side benefit to these creative kids’ spaces. According to
Stevens and Morgan in Simply Strategic Growth: “Volunteers are more
likely to better serve children in a room that is fun, engaging,
interactive and exciting.” Why? “Because they don’t feel like they have
to bring all the fun and excitement with them; it’s already built into
the environment. They can just offer themselves.” And what kid couldn’t
use a little more interaction with an adult who considers him a
masterpiece of God?
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