Your ministry to children is one of the important ministry arms of your church congregation. Sunday school classrooms and Wednesday night youth groups are where we train up the next generation of kids for Christ, and it is our responsibility to teach our children about Jesus. It doesn’t matter if you have youth or not, and it doesn’t matter if you are 20 years old or 75 years old. Your contribution to the children’s ministry in the church is vital to the spiritual health of your church 20 years from now. It is true that most children don’t attend the same church as adults, but they will serve the Lord in other churches around the world if they are taught right from wrong in the early years of life.
One of the biggest challenges of ministry to children today is in trying to keep their attention during youth services or Sunday school. Younger kids can’t wait to get home to play with Barbie dolls or video games, and teenagers can’t wait to get home to hang out with their friends. We have to come up with creative ways to teach the children so we can keep their attention.
For children in elementary school, we can use creative mini movies that the kids will love. There are many ministries that produce professional children’s videos and animated series that teach kids about the message of Christ in the way children can relate. Children today are more willing to pay attention to cartoons and creative media than they are to a boring Sunday school teacher! Don’t be afraid to invest in resources in your ministry to children that will preach the Gospel in a way kids can understand. If you are serious about your ministry to children, you can make a major impact in their lives at an early age.
Children always love puppet shows. Puppet shows are great because they always get the kids engaged in paying attention. You don’t need to invest thousands of dollars in puppets to have a puppet show in church. You can easily build a stage where you can have puppet shows that help teach kids about Christ.
Older youth aren’t going to care for puppet shows! You have to be more creative with teenagers to get their attention. One of the best ways to do this is through mini movies. As technology has improved, it has become easier than ever for people to make funny videos to use in youth group meetings and other church settings. If your church has a PowerPoint projector and a laptop, you can easily show videos in youth church services.
Movie clips for sermons are great because they break up the monotony of your sermon so that the youth don’t lose interest in the message for that day. It is critical for your church to put a lot of emphasis on your youth group, as this is the age when most youth decide if they want to live for Christ or if they want to live for the world. » Read more: Ministry to Children – 21st Century Church Ideas for Reaching Out to Kids
