Most Alabama Baptists are familiar with the proverb, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
Yet, while many churches offer separate Sunday School classes and activities for children, many children’s ministries are not flourishing, according to James Blakeney, an associate in the Sunday School office at the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions.
“A lot of churches are not reaching children like they used to because they are older congregations,” he said. “Children are the future of your church.”
Accommodating children
To rejuvenate their children’s ministries and meet the needs of children and parents in their community, more congregations are utilizing innovative techniques and designing their children’s activities and facilities to make learning about Jesus easier for children.
In August, Cottage Hill Baptist Church, Mobile, began offering Living H2O (Water), a worship experience designed for children in grades one through six. Offered in the church gym every Sunday during adult worship, the service includes creative characters, skits, videos, Bible study and other activities that help reinforce the week’s theme.
Each week, an eight-child praise team leads the worship service with one adult director. Later, 20 adults work together to teach the children in 10-minute segments.
“I’ve been more and more convinced that you have to lay a foundation for Christ at an early age,” said Keith Nicholson, children’s pastor at Cottage Hill. “In the world that we are living in, kids are being bombarded with so many things at such an early age that it is vital to instill biblical morals in them at an early age. If they have that foundation in Christ, then they can make a stand for Him.”
Cottage Hill has seen great success in their children’s ministry with this new worship experience. In just two months, 50 more children have begun attending church and 22 children have made public professions of faith, according to Nicholson. With at least 15 visitors each week, he has noticed that children are beginning to bring their friends with them to church.
“I think we are just beginning to scratch the surface because the kids want to be there and that’s exciting for us,” he said. “Parents are coming to us and saying, ‘My child is begging me to come to church.’ The thing that has meant the most to me is parents are saying that their kids can tell them what they are learning in church.”
Hunter Street Baptist Church, Hoover, is also using innovative methods to reach children. In January 2003, the church built a 40,000-square-foot facility that can house up to 1,800 children from birth to grade 6, with three Sunday Schools and two worship services for each age group.
“The building is a tool that we use to train children to be Christlike and to give adult leaders an opportunity to use their gifts, talents and abilities,” said Ric Callahan, children’s pastor at Hunter Street. “It’s designed to educate kids and give them an opportunity to worship God.”
Based on Luke 2:52 and Proverbs 3:5–6, the ministry called Kid Quest requires about 200 volunteers to teach, lead worship or work with the 1,100 children who attend church each Sunday.
“Our building is designed in such a way that when families and children enter the building they know that Hunter Street loves kids because we have invested money and time and creativity in the design,” said Callahan. “The building is themed with timeless colorful décor. The worship rooms are designed to intrigue and inspire children to worship God.”
Four themes run through the entire facility, according to Callahan. Children from birth to age 3 attend Tadpole Park, an area designed with whimsical characters and an array of color. Toadsville is a similar space for children ages 4 and 5.
Presenting life themes
Grades 1 through 4 attend Outfitters 2:52 (Luke 2:52), which is an environment created around adventure and living life to its fullest. Fifth and 6th graders attend Route 56 (Prov. 3:5–6) in a worship space designed with a ’50s theme.
A drive-in theater backdrop with a road painted around the perimeter of the room signifies the transition that this age group experiences.
“Our goal in Route 56 is to help kids who have heard Bible stories and Bible truths for years, learn to apply those truths to their lives prior to reaching adolescence,” Callahan said. “We know parents of young children are searching for something spiritual for their children and for balance in their lives, and the church is where that is offered.
“Parents want their children to be involved in an environment that is safe, offers an opportunity for them to learn something and that is fun,” he said. “Our main goal is to lead children to Christ. God has blessed us with a tool that helps us do that.”
While many large churches have extensive budgets to sponsor innovative children’s programs, churches don’t need a great deal of money to reach the youth in their community.
When churches contact LifeWay Christian Resources regarding their children’s ministries, experts generally recommend that they observe effective programs in their area and seek ways to implement those programs on a smaller scale in their churches.
Blakeney noted, “I think you can do a creative program without spending a great deal of money, but if you’ve got the budget you need to adequately provide for children’s ministry.”
He recommended that churches take advantage of seasonal events to reach children. Some activities include summer camps, sports clinics, missions work and holding festivals around holidays such as Halloween.
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