Relaunch, part 2: Something's gotta change.
Here's a statement. Get ready. It's a doozy.
"We believe it is sinful to bore kids with the gospel." - Jim Rayburn, founder of Young Life
Strong words. Audacious. Words that demand a response. How does that statement make you feel? Think about that for a bit.
At the end of my description of part 1 of my Kids' Church relaunch, I asked myself this question: "Did my church have the kind of Kids' Church that was going to give us the opportunity to tell God's story to every one of the thousands & thousands of kids in our community?"
The honest answer was no. And fun had a lot to do with it.
All I had to do to get that no answer was to look at the numbers. Tony Morgan & The Unstuck Group estimate that, at a healthy church, "the average range for kids attendance is between 19 and 23 percent of total attendance."
I've been at this church for about a year now. It's an energetic church that targets young families. Not very many folks who would be considered elderly. And yet we were averaging around 10% before I arrived. We're up to around 13% now. But not close to 19-23 percent.
Somethings gotta change. And fun has a lot to do with it.
Our Kids' Church wasn't bad. There are committed leaders who love kids and get the vision. It's safe. After 16 years as a mobile ministry, this church purchased & moved into it's own building about 4 months ago. We're able to purchase what we need, and what we want. We've used a couple of popular curriculum options, and large group lessons were delivered effectively. Small group times were going according to plan.
But something had to change. And fun has a lot to do with it.
As my leaders and I brainstormed, we landed on this phrase to describe our Kids' Church: There are many fun elements to our Sunday experience, but I don't think kids would describe the experience as fun.
We were doing a whole lot right. There were some fun video elements. Some fun object lessons. Fun small group activities. We were doing everything we were supposed to be doing. And if you asked a kid if there were some fun things, they would have said yes.
But if you asked those same kids at the end of the morning, was that fun? I think you would have got a whole lot of shrugs.
Because fun has a lot to do with it.
So something's gotta change.
The typical kid who comes through the doors of our church has very little, if any, background with Jesus. We're located in a large, metropolitan, post-Christian East Coast city. Our desire is to engage these kids right where they are, and help them on their journey back to God.
And fun has a lot to do with it.
Let the change begin.
Stay tuned!
"We believe it is sinful to bore kids with the gospel." - Jim Rayburn, founder of Young Life
Strong words. Audacious. Words that demand a response. How does that statement make you feel? Think about that for a bit.
At the end of my description of part 1 of my Kids' Church relaunch, I asked myself this question: "Did my church have the kind of Kids' Church that was going to give us the opportunity to tell God's story to every one of the thousands & thousands of kids in our community?"
The honest answer was no. And fun had a lot to do with it.
All I had to do to get that no answer was to look at the numbers. Tony Morgan & The Unstuck Group estimate that, at a healthy church, "the average range for kids attendance is between 19 and 23 percent of total attendance."
I've been at this church for about a year now. It's an energetic church that targets young families. Not very many folks who would be considered elderly. And yet we were averaging around 10% before I arrived. We're up to around 13% now. But not close to 19-23 percent.
Somethings gotta change. And fun has a lot to do with it.
Our Kids' Church wasn't bad. There are committed leaders who love kids and get the vision. It's safe. After 16 years as a mobile ministry, this church purchased & moved into it's own building about 4 months ago. We're able to purchase what we need, and what we want. We've used a couple of popular curriculum options, and large group lessons were delivered effectively. Small group times were going according to plan.
But something had to change. And fun has a lot to do with it.
As my leaders and I brainstormed, we landed on this phrase to describe our Kids' Church: There are many fun elements to our Sunday experience, but I don't think kids would describe the experience as fun.
We were doing a whole lot right. There were some fun video elements. Some fun object lessons. Fun small group activities. We were doing everything we were supposed to be doing. And if you asked a kid if there were some fun things, they would have said yes.
But if you asked those same kids at the end of the morning, was that fun? I think you would have got a whole lot of shrugs.
Because fun has a lot to do with it.
So something's gotta change.
The typical kid who comes through the doors of our church has very little, if any, background with Jesus. We're located in a large, metropolitan, post-Christian East Coast city. Our desire is to engage these kids right where they are, and help them on their journey back to God.
And fun has a lot to do with it.
Let the change begin.
Stay tuned!
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