Humans have circumnavigated the globe, put men on the moon, and built satellites to explore deep space. We have invented planes, trains, cars, refrigerators, microwaves, smartphones, acid-wash jeans and bumper stickers that brag about our carnivorous dinosaur eating somebody else’s straight-A student. Yes, we are an advanced race.
Yet for all of humanity’s achievements, each summer children’s ministry leaders face a gargantuan task: preparing for the new kids ministry year!
Man your battle stations! Call in the National Guard! Set phasers to stun!
INCOMING!!!
Planning for a new kids ministry season isn’t exactly raising the Titanic, but it sure feels like it sometimes! After all, it’s a big job. Your role as a kids ministry leader is a high calling from God, who commands every generation to “tell a future generation the praiseworthy acts of the Lord, his might, and the wondrous works he has performed” (Psalm 78:4). And the precious kids we serve are an impressionable, vulnerable group that greatly needs our gentle, loving care.
So we’ve got to get it right. But there are so many details. It can all feel a bit overwhelming.
Serving in the church (both in kids’ ministry and elsewhere) should be a cultural value within your congregation that the pastors and elders champion.
Fear not! As you prepare to welcome families back this fall, we’ve got you covered with tips for success.
Legends of the Fall: 8 Tips for Preparing for the New Kids’ Ministry Year
Finalize Your Curriculum
Knowing what your teaching curriculum will be this fall is a top priority! This will determine much of what will happen in your hallways on Sundays. If you haven’t determined your curriculum yet, entering children’s ministry curriculum or something similar into an online search engine will give you more-than-enough options.
Choose one that fits your church’s needs, but make sure the material you select focuses less on being trendy and more on teaching kids the life-changing gospel of Jesus Christ!
Once you’ve selected your curriculum, create a weekly schedule (for the whole year, if possible) so you and your kids ministry team can plan accordingly. Make sure to accommodate special dates when you might pause your curriculum’s normal sequence, such as the weeks leading up to Christmas and Easter, or see if your curriculum has options built right in (like with Wonder Ink)!
You’ll also need to create a system for your teachers, small group leaders, music leaders, etc., to access the curriculum and schedule. These dear servants will love you for giving them advance notice about each Sunday’s lesson.
Wonder Ink’s 3-year, 52-week children’s ministry curriculum offers kids space to fully find their place in God’s Big Story. Children discover they are Known by God, Loved by Jesus, and Led by the Holy Spirit.
Recruit, Recruit, Recruit!
For many, summertime is filled with popsicles, beach trips and lazy days at the pool. But for kids’ ministry leaders, summer is prime-time volunteer recruiting season. Now is the time to be setting your volunteer rosters for the fall. Recruiting during summer will take a little creativity since so many folks travel.
So create a plan to consistently keep the opportunity of serving with kids (and yes, present it as an “opportunity” more than a “need”) in front of the church. You can do this through the church’s website, e-newsletters, print bulletins and flyers, onstage announcements on Sundays, etc.
Warning: Don’t attempt this alone! Enlist help from your church’s leadership. Serving in the church (both in kids’ ministry and elsewhere) should be a cultural value within your congregation that the pastors and elders champion. As that priority trickles down from leadership, kids’ ministry will benefit. If you’re the only one banging the gong for volunteers each year, the noise is more likely to fall on deaf ears.
Training Time
As a children’s leader, you live and breathe kids’ ministry! But most volunteers probably don’t. So it’s imperative to set up kids’ ministry team training dates before the new year kicks off. (Note the plural “dates” since you’ll never get 100 percent attendance on a single day!)
Your agenda at these gatherings should include curriculum, Sunday schedules, classroom management tips, child safety procedures and anything else your team needs to know to make Sundays smooth and successful.
But don’t just go over administrative details; make these meetings fun. After all, this is kids’ ministry! Find ways to surprise, delight and laugh with your volunteers. Serving families is a joy, and your training meetings should reflect that.
When the Lord incarnated and came to earth, He stooped low, joyfully opened His loving arms and let the little children come to Him.
Child Safety
Every kids’ ministry worker—both adults and teens—should be properly vetted by you and your staff. Create a system that includes a thorough volunteer application and a process where all kids workers go through criminal background screening and a national sex offender registry check. Everyone who has access to kids should be known by one or more trusted leaders in the church.
Now’s the time to also make sure you have other child safety protocols in place, such as a secure check-in/check-out process; a two-approved-adult rule; emergency procedures; restricted kids’ space that’s only accessible by approved individuals; and safe, sanitary rooms.
Keeping dozens (even hundreds!) of crumb-crunchers safe each week is no small task. But it’s imperative. The greatest, most exciting Sunday programming in the world is a failure if we don’t return kids safely to their parents at the end of service.
Communicate with Parents
Other than child safety and the gospel, nothing in kids’ ministry is more important than communication! Before the start of your new year, make sure all parents know what to expect, where to go and what to do on kickoff Sunday—and beyond.
Communicate with Volunteers
Similarly, make sure your amazing volunteer team knows what to expect, where to go and what to do each week. Choose an easy, effective communication method to make sure your weekly teams are adequately informed and feel consistently appreciated.
Host a Kick-Off
Consider hosting a kick-off event to start your new kids’ ministry year. It can be as big or as simple as you want, depending on your budget, space, etc. Use the time to meet families, promote fellowship, communicate the values of kids’ ministry … and have fun! (Good food doesn’t hurt either.)
Partner with Parents
Our job as kids’ ministry leaders is not to replace parents in their roles as primary caretakers of their kids. Our job, rather, is to come alongside them and support them as they point their kids to Jesus—not just on Sundays but throughout the week.
There are countless ways you can do this: Write and send encouraging notes and/or parent devotionals. Create a recommend resource list for parents. Hold midweek events. Whatever you choose, pick what works for your context and show parents that you’ve got their backs.
Kick-off Sunday is approaching. The task before you is great. But so is your calling as a kids’ ministry leader.
Your preparation for the new kids ministry year might seem like a monumental and thankless task. You might have already caught yourself thinking, Pffft. Those Apollo 11 astronauts had nothing on this!
But remember, dear leader, you are doing the work of the Lord God Almighty. For when the Lord incarnated and came to earth, He stooped low, joyfully opened His loving arms and let the little children come to Him.
