(Re)Launching Your Kids Ministry? 3 Tips From Those Who Have Done It

by | Jan 18, 2022 | Ministry

An active kid’s ministry is vital for healthy congregational growth.

So what do you do when you need to launch – or relaunch – a children’s ministry with few to no children in your congregation? Pastors over the past few weeks kept bringing this challenge up in consultations. When we asked the Church Marketing Facebook group, three common themes rose up.

Embrace what these leaders have experienced. You’ll launch with more confidence with the tips below guiding the way.

Mindset is everything

“We kept saying to ourselves that we prepared each week as a prophecy that one day families would come.” – Kylie

Proper vision casting is vital. How you talk about your children’s ministry sets the tone and keeps everyone aligned.

Remember the why behind the ministry. God is at work here, and we get to be a part of a child (and their family) growing in faith. While seeing only a few children can discourage some, you can choose to instead celebrate and nurture those that do attend.

Showing up week after week also shows families that you value the ministry. That it’s important. If the ministry is important to you, then their children will also be important to you. And that’s important for parents to see.

So prayerfully, patiently, expectantly be ready for the children.

Test and refine your kid’s ministry

“Engage what you have now, and be ready for any growth as it happens. If you wait to engage, the few you have will disappear.”
-Kevin

No one wants to put a ton of time, energy, and money into a program that fails.

This fear keeps too many leaders from launching. It may seem more prudent to wait until there are “enough” kids. But, as Kevin noted above, that critical mass will not likely occur.

Rather than launch a full program, test and refine.

  • Shawn’s church ran a 4-week pilot program. He recruited leaders, set the vision for the program, and clarified the mission. Leaders all prayed together and retooled their definition of “success” beyond numbers.
  • Heather talked about thinking beyond “normal” kids’ ministry. Her church has a new Parent’s Night Out planned, with a program for kids and a time of community and fellowship for parents at a nearby restaurant.
  • Glory shared that she “pay(s) attention to who does come, (and) survey(s) their needs.”

Talk to parents, develop a test run, and see what you can learn! Along the way, you’ll get to know people better, have more conversations, and get a clearer picture of what your ministry could look like.

Need to send out a survey to a larger group of families and not sure how to do it? Get your copy of our free downloadable family ministry survey + guide.

Use trusted resources already available

Look to material already created, rather than trying to create something from scratch. Your time and energy are too valueable!

  • Kylie said her church uses the free resources from Life.Church. There you can find “years and years of video-based curriculum for toddlers and kids, so it isn’t a massive burden to prepare sessions.”
  • Tie things together for families. Borrow Glory’s idea of “making ‘mini-messages’ – abbreviated, age-appropriate versions of the main sermon and posting them.”

You got this! Go launch your kid’s ministry!

​To sum up: Align your team so all have the same missional mindset. Test and refine your ministry. Reuse what’s available.

And remember Beatrice’s words as your rallying cry. 

“Build the system, create the environments, show parents that this is something you value and the kids will come!”

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