10 Tips to Make Your Kids' Ministry Fun
Kids' ministry is vital to a church, its outreach, and the discipleship of young minds. Many families come to know the Lord through this very avenue. Every children’s ministry must be kind and inviting to reach souls for the kingdom. But it should also be fun. Here are 10 practical tips for making your kids's ministry fun.
Use Themes
One of the ways to make kids' ministry more fun is to include a theme. This can be a theme of the month, for the season, or even a theme for the year. For example, when studying Paul’s ministry in the New Testament, you could use the theme of running a race or even a sports theme. You could have activities surrounding the theme and even do dress-up days! Many children will connect with a theme and have a fun time participating.
Include Visuals
When teaching a Bible study, Sunday School, or even a children’s sermon, include visuals to make a topic more appealing and help children connect to your teaching. This is a good way to show them how to apply what they’ve learned about the topic. For example, when teaching about how sin pollutes our lives, you could use a clean white shirt and rub it in the dirt to show how sin can change the look of something. Visuals like this help illustrate the message.
Have Friendly Competitions
Children love the thrill of a friendly competition. When possible, include a friendly competition to help motivate. This competition could go on for weeks or even months to encourage children and families to come week after week. For example, children participating in your children’s ministry could earn something each week. You could also include competitions during your events to increase participation.
Incorporate Trips and Events
One way to reach out to your community and increase participation in your children’s program is to host events or incorporate trips throughout the year. For example, you could have a festival or street fair to evangelize in your neighborhood. Or you could have an ice cream social and invite families in the area. During the summer, you could invite families to take short day trips to the zoo, pool, museums, or even just a community park. Another way to reach out to families is to host a Park Bible Club with Bible studies, crafts, and games. The more events and/or trips you include, the more your church’s name and the name of Jesus will get out into the community.
Host a Vacation Bible School
Most churches have a vacation Bible school every summer to reach out to their communities and get to know families in the area. However, vacation Bible school doesn’t need just to be a summer event. It can also happen during the school year. Ever wonder what to do with all of your past VBS material? You could do a shortened VBS where you have a couple of three-day events (one in the fall and one in the spring), and use one of your old themes. You could also do a month-long event on Wednesday nights where you do the VBS activities.
Include Hands-on Experiences
Some children learn by hearing, seeing, and doing. One of the best ways to help a lesson stick and ensure students apply what they learn is by including a hands-on experience. Give them a project or task they have to complete. For example, instead of just teaching them about how the wise man built his house upon a rock, include a science experiment and have them build a model house on sand and one on rock to see which one is sturdier.
Hands-on experiences don't just make kids' ministry fun - they can provide lifelong lessons and memories.
Hold a Movie Night
Children and their families love to watch movies. Many schools will have movies to provide a fun atmosphere for families. Churches can do the same thing. So many Christian movies have a strong message of truth and the gospel. Why not bring the movies to your church? This is a fun way to get to know families in the community and a great way to illustrate the lessons you teach. For example, after teaching about Moses, you can invite families to watch the Prince of Egypt. Children love to look forward to something, and this provides just that as they learn about a topic.
Invest in the Whole Family
Minister to all the members of the family, not just the children. If you want families to bring their children to events, have children’s events. However, if you want families to bring their children and come with them, then have events that include the entire family. Invest in the mothers, the fathers, as well as the children.
Ask Questions
Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Make children think when you’re teaching the Bible. Sometimes, the way to get them engaged is just to ask questions that make them think and give them wait time to see what they come up with. Don’t just ask questions with yes or no answers; instead, give them questions that allow them to dig deep and ponder what they are learning.
Get Excited About Your Fun Kids' Ministry!
Meet with your staff. Get a committee together to plan kids' ministry fun and get excited about what God is doing in your church. That excitement will rub off on others when you are truly passionate about your work. We were made to imitate what we see. When we see someone excited and joyous, keeping it from affecting us is hard. Children are especially impressionable. When they see you excited, they will be just excited!
By following these ten tips for making your children’s ministry more fun, you will find your church excited and passionate about what is happening in your children. You will see God work, and your church will be blessed by following Him.
Learning about God CAN be fun!