As more and more churches begin to realize the importance of quality ministry for children, it seems that here in my country, many churches are starting brand new Kids Ministries. It is also encouraging to see many existing ministries are moving away from a "baby-sitting" model of children's ministry and are creating space in their ministries for kids to have genuine encounters with the presence of a God that is alive and well.
If you are in that boat - either starting fresh or revamping what you currently do - you might be asking, where do I start?! Good question! But the real starting point happens even before you recruit your first volunteer leader or teach your worship leader his first guitar chord. The first step happens in your heart!
I'm sure you've read the story in Matthew 19, where Jesus is teaching and some parents want to bring their children to Jesus so that He can bless them. The disciples reacted the way that , sadly, some churches react. They said... "Shh! The big people are busy with big people stuff. You guys can go into the overflow and watch Veggietales". But the Bible says that Jesus rebuked the disciples and then he did some things that are important for us to catch.
Firstly, Jesus welcomed the children. He wanted to let everyone know that having the kids there was as important to him as having the "big people" there. Secondly, he set them up as an example for the rest of us to follow. "The kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these." And lastly, He blessed them! He laid his hands on the kids and brought blessing into their lives.
Jesus valued kids.
As we follow the example of our master Jesus, we should examine the motive behind our kids worship ministry. Too often I have seen churches that have kids programs because it is the thing to do, because it is what parents want, or because it keeps the kids occupied during the sermon. But as you build or revamp your ministry to children, make sure that your starting point is a love for the children that you are responsible for. If you do, your goal is to going to be building young disciples and worshippers of Jesus. You won't babysit, but you will create space in your ministry for them to worship God and spend time in his presence.
I've heard it said that children should be seen and not heard. That's not the case. God wants to not only see our kids, but hear them worshipping as well. First off, we need to value kids enough to give them the chance to genuinely worship God. As you start out, why you do what you do is much more important than how you do it.
--Click here for other helpful articles from Discover Worship about building and growing a kids worship ministry.