Sharpening our ministry to children

With a worldwide advertising budget of two billion, the golden arches of McDonald's are now second only to the Olympic rings as the most recognized symbol in the world.¹ Now think about this. Forty percent of McDonald's profits come from Happy Meals sales, targeted at kids under the age of eight.² How has this company managed to make 40 percent of its money off a market segment with no income and no spending power?

Talk to the adults who are sitting at the tables while their kids are jumping in the ball pit or climbing on the jungle gym. They'll tell you they aren't there for what passes as food, but their kids have talked them into coming anyway. No wonder McDonald's is now the world's largest toy distributor.³

From a marketing perspective, McDonald's has hit the nail on the head. By marketing to kids, you get their parents. That's a huge lesson for churches. While McDonald's is not our model, it is stimulating to ask if our churches are as family-friendly as McDonald's is. Here are three areas to consider in answering this question.

Physical needs

Children are obviously smaller than adults, but all too often churches overlook that simple fact, even when it comes to the rooms where children's programs are held. We must make sure the things kids use are sized appropriately. It's easy to assume that nine- or ten-year-olds are big enough to use adult chairs. Are the chairs in your church the right size so that when children sit, their feet are flat on the floor? Can children reach the drinking fountains? The toilets?

During church most children have a fabulous view of only the backs of the heads in front of them. No wonder they get squirmy and turn around so much. There are faces behind them to look at! Providing booster seats for small children can help their attention span, simply because they can see what's going on up front.

Most children's tummies have been programmed for lunch at about the time you stand up to preach. Don't forget that hungry children are cranky children. Do children receive a snack in their class before coming to church? If not, are you and the rest of the congregation favorably disposed to parents who allow children a tidy snack during the service?

Child development specialists declare that it is unrealistic to expect a toddler to sit still for an hour or more. In fact, church is the only time during the week when we expect that of small children. If you don't have a nursery, parents of toddlers will spend the entire worship service trying to keep their kids quiet, which will rob them of the blessings of worship. In turn, they may decide church is too much work and either skip it or go somewhere where nursery service is provided.

The interest factor

Are children's classes active and interesting? Or are adults simply lecturing at the children who have tuned out? Do classes take into account the different ways in which children learn, so each child receives information in a way they understand? Do programs make emotional connections for the kids? Do teachers help students make the application from the Bible story to their own lives? Children will drag their parents to church and try to get them there on time if they're excited about what's going on in their class.

The worship service can be a bigger challenge when trying to appeal to kids, but it's certainly not an impossible task. Think about the songs kids love. They're active, joyful, fun. Does your worship service include that kind of music? Do children ever participate as Scripture readers, musicians, actors, or in featured ministries? Do you make a point of including families in the worship service?

Examine your sermons. Do you use illustrations children will under stand? Most kids have an uncanny ability to sense the start of a good story. When they hear it begin, they'll sit up for it. We mustn't overlook the importance of charts, maps, pictures, film clips, or other visual enhancers. Children and adults, for that matter will stay with you longer if there's something for them to look at as well as listen to.

Give children an incentive to listen to the sermon. When I was a kid our pastor gave us a word to listen for every week. It was printed in the bulletin, and he announced it at the start of the sermon. We counted how many times he said it during the sermon and after church gave the number to him or his wife, who was the official counter. There was a small gift or treat for any child who got the correct number (and usually for those who were anywhere near to being close). That also put the pastor and his wife in touch with the kids, because each week we hunted them down after the worship service. They both knew our names and used them when they greeted us.

The truth is that children's attention may still wander. So provide children's bulletins, Bible-centered crafts, and quiet bags for children of lower elementary school age.

Finally, analyze the elements of the worship service. How much time are you spending on announcements, the offering, etc.? Even under the best of circumstances, children have only so many minutes to give you before they start to fall apart. Don't squander them on preliminaries.

The battery and the lighthouse

For years we have tended to think of the church as a lighthouse, with families being the batteries that power it. It's time for a paradigm shift. Family friendly churches view the families in their congregation as the lighthouses in their communities, and the church the battery that powers the homes.

Do church members look to the church for parenting support? Family-friendly churches equip parents by offering parenting seminars and family life speakers. They provide lending libraries of books, videos, and audio tapes on parenting topics. Their pas tors work parenting tips into their sermons. They organize family socials and other opportunities for families to connect with one another. They sponsor Mother's Day/Night Out programs. They host support groups.

They exist to meet the needs of the family. Family friendly churches are that way by intent. Creating a church that truly meets the needs of its families takes careful planning, lots of work, and above all, a family-centered mind-set. The rewards are worth it.