Children's Ministry - Strategies

(Teaching for the Association of Evangelical Pastors in Cusco, Peru, March 20, 2002) ..... - - > (Index)

Common problems in churches

This paragraph is not intended to offer quick solutions for difficult problems. Rather I would like to show how some frequent problems have their roots in the way how the church treats children and teenagers.

The teenagers abandon the church

Were they really born again, or were they only "socialized" in an external religiosity? (Sometimes we say they "backslided" while in reality they never were Christians.)
Do they feel under pressure to act according to habits of the church which are not based on the Word of God? (Sometimes we give more importance to the traditions of our church or denomination, than to the Word of God. Especially teenagers are very susceptible to this.)
Do their parents and teachers understand the meaning of adolescence, the particular problems related to this age and the appropriate way to treat with them? Do the teenagers have somebody in the church in whom they can trust and who takes them seriously?
Do we give them opportunities to make real experiences with the Lord?

The "Third Generation problem" ("Third Generation Christians" are becoming lukewarm and traditionalist):

This problem traces from the question: Are we really evangelizing our children, or are we only "socializing" them in the habits of our Christianism? If they grow up in a "Christianism" which is measured according to the external conformity of the child's behaviour with the Christian group surrounding them, then we cannot expect that they develop a real, personal relationship with the Lord.

The disintegration of families:

This issue is very important because the family is the major influence in the development of children and their realtionship with God. (For example, the child's first concepts of God the Father are shaped according to the example of his/her earthly parents.)
It is better to prevent than to cure. Are we supporting and helping families to stay together?
Normally it is much easier to restore the lives of the children than the lives of the parents. Are we helping children to be healed from the emotional wounds they suffered in their families, to recover their trust in God, and to establish a better foundation for their own future family?

Copyright Notice:

All materials contained on the pages of "Hijos del Altísimo", where not otherwise stated, are copyright by Hans Ruegg. You may copy and distribute this material under the following conditions:
- You are not allowed to charge any payment for this material, except the actual costs of reproduction.
- You must reproduce this material unaltered, and you must include this copyright notice in your reproduction. Changes in content or presentation require previous approval by the author.
- You must include our web address in your reproduction: http://www.a-ai.net/altisimo

We offer our materials for free to everybody who wishes to use them, but we are also thankful for every voluntary support in benefit of "Hijos del Altísimo".

1. Teaching and discipleship with children

- According to Scripture, the responsibility for teaching children is primarily the parent's. So the most important strategy consists in encouraging and helping parents to teach their children. (See Point 3).

The example of Jesus:

He Himself gives the example (teaches and does miracles): Matthew 4:23
He calls the disciples to be with Him; shares His life and ministry with them.(Mark 3:13-14a)
He sends the disciples to do the work, but He still supervises and advises them. (Mark 3:14b-15)
He retires, and the disciples do the work themselves. (John 14:12)

The example of Paul in Acts 19:8-10:

Three months of evangelism; two years of discipleship.
He separes the disciples (= those who show a real commitment to the Lord) and teaches them separately.
The ministry multiplies; Paul's disciples spread the Word in all Asia.

The "teaching" (information), no matter how interesting, is not enough. Children need a spiritual ministry. This implies, among other:

Every group of children needs constant teachers, so they can edify a relationship of confidence. A teacher should stay at least a complete year with the same group.

there should be two teachers present in each class, so they can help one another. (This means that in total we need 3 or 4 teachers resp. assistant teachers per group, so they can replace each other if one of them is absent.)

It is very important to chose the appropriate person as Sunday School director. Some requirements would be:

If the responsibility of the Sunday School director includes all age groups including adults, there should still be a person appointed as leader of the Children's ministry who fulfills the mentioned requirements, and given the corresponding authority and position.

Every branch of the Children's ministry needs a good annual planning regarding:

2. Child Evangelism

In the first place, we need to evangelize the children of the church members themselves.

Believing children are perfectly capable of evangelizing their friends, schoolmates, neighbors, ... if we teach them how to do it. As an additional help, the Sunday School can from time to time organize special events where the children can invite their friends.

We can also reach children by means of evangelistic groups in the place where they live. These groups need a lot of support from the church! (Prayer, moral and financial support for the workers, maintaining contact with the children's parents, etc.) A church which maintains such a group should consider it as one of their mission fields and support it as such.

Note: This kind of group will normally reach only children of the immediate neighborhood. Having to walk more than three blocks or to cross a large avenue, is a hindrance which will avoid attendance of a child, except in special circumstances.

It is NOT recommended to organize large evangelistic campaigns for children; or only if the personal counselling for the children is carefully organized, and if the campaign is closely related to a continous ministry in the same place. In all cases, we must avoid any method which would incite the children to make "pseudo-decisions" based on the emotion of the moment, fear of pressure or the like. We must also make sure that the children will be accompanied in their future spiritual growth, which is very difficult if the person who counsels the child is a stranger to him/her. And we must also be aware of all the practical problems which can arise in a large crowd of children: fighting, children getting lost, children being trampled, etc ... - if something like that happens, the testimony of the organizers will be seriously damaged. In conclusion, for evangelizing children it is much better to establish a personal contact in a small group or based on existing friendships, and to reach them from that base.

3. Family Ministry

- Parents need to be prepared for their duty and responsibility towards their children, by means of special classes for parents about subjects like these:

- Whole families should be involved together in the church, instead of being fragmented even more by so many activities in separate groups (children / youth / women / etc.).

It would be very desirable to find a way how to disciple whole families, not only individuals. Such a family discipleship program might include, for example:

Learning how to live out the relationship with the Lord together in family, being a church in the home
Sharing together (between parents and children, husband and wife, among brothers) everyone's personal experiences with the Lord
Improving communication and interpersonal relationships within the family
Seeking together as a family God's will regarding important decisions and problems which affect the family
Seeking God together regarding His special calling for the family and for each of its members
Learning how to be a "ministry team" as a family, and how each member can find his/her specific place in this team, according to his/her personal gifts and talents.

It is important, in this process, to respect the particularity of each family. Each family has its own dynamics, and each family has different strengths with which they can minister to others. We hould not force them to "do everybody the same thing".

Some ideas how whole families can serve the Lord together:

Opening their home for a cell group of the church, or a group of children.
In evangelistic outreaches, families can participate and serve together in some area, for example in intercession, praise, presenting a song or drama, inviting and counselling interested people, etc.
Families can collaborate together in practical tasks in the church (cleaning, decoration, etc.)
Some families can assume responsibility for specific prayer requests and pray together in their homes for these requests.
More stable families can extend their ministry by discipling other families, accommodating in their home people in a personal crisis, needy people, or adopting children in need.

- In the Sunday service, families could stay together, instead of separating the children (at least from time to time). This is possible, but it will be necessary to modify some things.

In order to work with families in this way, probably the whole church will have to be structured differently. This requires a conscient effort by the pastor and the leaders. We must also take into account that working more with families means reducing the activities in separate groups. The reward will be healthier and more stable families, and in consequence, a healthier and more stable church.

A possible program for family services

The following hints have produced good results in a church in England which celebrates EVERY Sunday service as a family service. (Other churches will probably have to experiment a little and adapt these hints to their particular situation, or discover other ways how to include children and teenagers.)

A time of praise with some simple songs where the children can participate, and some modern rhythmic songs which teenagers and young people like.
The teenage group presents a drama or the like, representing the Biblical story on which the sermon is based. A teacher gives a small application for the children.
The children receive a worksheet, a drawing to paint or some other little work (related to the Biblical Story) which they can do seated together with their parents during the sermon.
Sermon for the adults, 20 minutes. (The sermon can be short because the peacher does not need to explain the Biblical text itself; he just builds upon the text which has already been represented in the drama.)

4. Recruiting and training teachers

If we assume that half of the population are children and teenagers (in Cusco), and we need at least a teacher for every 8 children, this means that at least one out of eight adult members should collaborate in Children's ministry. (When we take into account the great importance of this ministry, and the need of reaching children outside the church, then we see that we need even more.) How do we accomplish this?

Facilitating the start for new Sunday School teeachers

Visit different Sunday School classes without any commitment (up to three visits, for example).
Commitment as an assistant of an experienced teacher during a determined time (for example, six months). During this time, the assistant is a disciple of the teacher. He learns by observing the teacher and helps him in practical issues (distributing materials, helping children with their crafts, maintaining discipline, etc.) According to his progress, he might also lead praise times, prayer times, or teach parts of a lesson.
Receive a basic formal training for new teachers.
Commitment as a teacher of a class, for one year.
After some time of experience as a teacher, he will look for a new assistant teacher and train him.

First, we must apply what was said earlier about the reputation of Children's ministry before the church, and "canalization" of workers towards this ministry.
Some church members, especially young people, might basically be interested in working with children, but be afraid of having to teach without knowing how to do it. See the suggestions at the left: "Facilitating the start for new Sunday School teachers".
We can awaken the potential for leadership in the children and teenagers themselves. (In my basic training courses for teachers, up to now I have had six children under 13, and more than 50 teenagers, who started afterwards to teach in Sunday School.)
Mothers can be good teachers or assistant teachers (also fathers, if they have time). For Sunday School they should have time since this is a time when they do not have to worry about their own children. (It is preferrable that they do not teach in a class where their own children are!)
When parents learn how to teach their own children, there will be less need for Sunday School; and some families could even start evangelistic groups for new children..

Avoid discouragement and exhaustion. Many teachers stay only one or two years, and this is not enough to gain the necessary experience. We must give them the spiritual, emotional and material support they need in order to go on for more time.

A church has never "too many" teachers - except if they are not the appropriate people for this kind of work. If there are more teachers than needed for teaching the children of the church, they will always find more children outside the church to reach them for the Lord.

The teachers need also somebody whom they can ask for advice and help, and who can serve as an example for them! The Sunday School director should be such a person. Then we will see a constant improvement: The director trains and disciples the teachers; the teachers disciple the assistant teachers; teachers and assistant teachers disciple the children and teenagers. - it is even better if the church has a full-time worker specialized in Children's ministry (for example at a regional level) who trains the teachers.

The preparation a Sunday School teacher needs:

Biblical knowledge
Development of his own spiritual life (communion with God, living according to His Word, not doing things in his own strength but in the power of God, etc.)
Getting God's vision of children (regarding their spiritual and psychological situation, their needs, their potential for God, etc.)
Knowing and applying different teaching methods
Practice in teaching
Practical and creative capacities, such as: drawing; making crafts; playing a musical instrument; singing; acting or playing puppets; elaborating educational materials; etc. (Not every teacher needs all of these capacities, but he should have at least some of them and develop them more.)

1. Among the members of your church who currently do not work with children, in which ones do you see a potential for ministering to children? (Write at least 5 names):

2. Among the members of your church who currently work with children, which ones have a potential for leadership and perhaps for full-time ministry? (Write at least two names):

3. Which current leaders in your church did a good work with children and then let it behind in order to assume a different responsibility?

Discuss in your group: (For every question, mention practical steps your church is already taking, or might take in the future)

4. What can you do as a pastor or leader to encourage and support the people whose name you wrote at Question 2, so they could specialize as leaders for Children's ministry?

5. What can you do to encourage the church so they might support these (future) leaders?

6. What can you do in order to win again for the Children's ministry the people whose names you wrote at Question 3?

7. What practical steps can you take to free the Sunday School teachers from other burdens they carry (responsibilities in other areas of the church)?

8. In what areas of your work can you reduce the time you invest, in order to spend more time with the leaders of the Children's ministry?

9. Write down at least 3 practical ways how to raise additional funds for the Sunday School, without occupying more of the teacher's time:

10. What could be changed in the way of leading your church services, in order to involve children more - not "exposing" them, but considering them a normal part of the congregation?

11. a) ¿Are the Sunday School teachers "important people" in your church? ___ Yes ___ more or less ___ No

b) What can you do in order to make them more "important"? (Write down 3 practical suggestions how to improve the visibility of the Children's ministry during the main service.)

12. Write down 3 suggestions, observations or criticisms you received from the Sunday School teachers, or from the children, during the last three months, and share them with the group:

13. What can you do in order to improve your communication with the Sunday School director and the teachers?

14. What are the current requirements of your church for a Sunday School teacher, and for the director? - Share with the group, then discuss how you could modify these requirements in the future, to make sure the Children's ministry will receive the best workers:

15. What options can your church offer (now and in the future) to families who desire to contribute to the ministry as a whole family together?

Conference: "The pastor's role in Children's Ministry"

Part 3: Strategies for the development of Children's ministry

Common problems in churches

1. Teaching and discipleship with children

2. Child Evangelism

3. Family Ministry

4. Recruiting and training teachers