More and more I’m learning that Kid’s Min isn’t about Sunday.
When I first started in Kid’s Min, I read a book about making Sunday the best day of every kid’s week.
I was pumped, so that’s what I tried to do.
But it wasn’t enough, I knew deep down that Sundays couldn’t just be an end in themselves; there had to be more.
Then I read another book that said Sundays should be about starting a conversation with kids that they carry into the week with their parents.
That’s it! I thought.
That’s what Kid’s Min should be about.
We call it doing Kid’s Min the Week in Mind.
Sure we still have a lot of fun on Sundays, but fun isn’t the ultimate goal.
Our ultimate goal is inspiring kids to have spiritual conversations with their parents and vice-versa in the midst of…school…work…practices…homework…meals…sleep…computers…TVs…smartphones…drive time
You think Sundays have competition? There’s a whole lot more during the week.
So how can you use Kid’s Min to cut through all the busyness of the week, and help families make some room for God?
1. Use Your Words—When you do announcements, remind kids to talk to their parents about them. Right before you end your Large Group, tell kids to talk with their parents about what they learned. When you pray, include parents. In Small Groups, have leaders encourage kids to talk with their parents about what they learned. At checkout, remind kids to talk with their parents on the drive home about what they learned. You get the point. Whenever you have an opportunity, remind kids to include their parents in what they learned.
2. Give Kids and Parents Tools—Many curriculums come with Family Devos; use them as a handout and/or email for parents. Send parents helpful parenting articles, videos and podcasts to help them grow (you can find great videos and articles at theparentcue.org). As they’re leaving, give kids a piece of paper with a couple questions to ask their parents on the drive home.
3. Use Technology—Use email. It isn’t dead, especially with parents! It’s super easy to set up using a website like Mailchimp.com, and it allows you to connect with parents even when they aren’t at church (which is pretty often if you’re like us). Another thing you can use is texting to let parents know their kid accepted Jesus, or that you’re praying with them about their kid’s prayer request, or to simply encourage them. And of course there’s Facebook; it’s simple to set up a group for your Kid’s Min, and you can invite all your parents using their email addresses to join it.
4. Start things that naturally extend into the week—I mentioned giving parents a Family Devo to do with their kids. At our church, we use Day 1 of the Family Devo for our Small Group activity time. We show kids how easy it is to do, and then challenge them to do the rest of it with their parents during the week.
It’s all still a work in progress, and we’re not undefeated, but we’re certainly making headway.
We believe that it takes a family truly putting God at the center of the home (not just token putting Him there) for kids to develop a strong, meaningful and sticky faith.
With all the competition, that isn’t easy, but we’re committed, and you can too!
How do you use Sundays to push God into the week in your Kid’s Min? Leave a comment.
And it would really help me get the word out if you would like and share this post on Facebook!
This article originally appeared here.
