Here are some pracitcal ideas for each of the four areas mentioned in “How Did David Get To Be David? Creating conditions for kids in our ministries to love God, follow God and trust God.”
Providing opportunities for children to explore skills, talents and abilities:
• give them jobs.
• assign bite sized roles.
• provide musical lessons – at any level at your church.
• provide other opportunities for kids to engage in craft and ministry – special classes, break out groups, one-shot Saturdays in puppets, art, drama, video, website, photography, dance, mime, cooking, hair, cleaning, painting, and wood working, etc. Pray for people to lead these things.
• utilize drama and art (delegate creative leadership).
• utilize puppets.
• invite older kids to help serve younger kids.
• get kids involved in missions.
• give kids chances to be involved meaningfully in the church, in worship, in ministry, in mission – ushers, leading younger kids, helping in VBS, taking them on day long mission trips, making cards for nursing home residents, etc.
• highlight when kids have experienced good stuff – share it through notes, email, newsletters, bulletin boards, videos.
Give them opportunities to experience, serve, grow – both big and small.
• have some jobs that are divided up each week during children’s meetings – technology, line leaders, assistance, snacks, TV operator, etc.
• invite older kids to help serve younger kids
• get kids involved in missions
• give kids chances to be involved meaningfully in the church, in worship, in ministry, in mission – ushers, leading younger kids, helping in VBS, taking them on day long mission trips, making cards for nursing home residents, etc.
• pray for obvious opportunities for kids to grow and plug into the ministry.
Don’t dress them in your armor and your style of fighting.
• styles and ministries change, though the message is the same.
• reaching friends of the kids has to be done in the way that is most natural to the kids.
• styles of learning are different than they used to be.
• technology, as a way of learning is important. Begin to utilize it and begin to develop / invite people to help you utilize it.
• communication with families and parents has to be top priority – we go to them and make it as easy as possible (to register, plan dates, etc).
Talk it, Live It, Pass it Down
• upkeep for your devotional life and discipleship.
• purposefully include God stories and language in your everyday vocabulary.
• share your story of faith – perspective you had as a child, stories from your childhood or when you became a believer, etc.