10 Cool Ways to Update Your Kidmin

It’s that time again: back to school! Whether the kids want to admit it or not, most of them are excited to get their new school clothes and head back into the classroom. Here are 10 cool things you can do to get the school year started with a bang in your church.

1. Update the environment. Give the kids something new to look at. Change the set on the stage, create some new banners, paint a wall. We just remodeled our basement at home, and it’s really gotten our family excited to head downstairs. New environments do that to people. Try making a few changes that will make a big impact.

2. Begin a new series. There’s no time to start a new teaching series with kids than back to school time.

3. Do something unexpected. Let the boys and girls switch sides. Get a new song leader. Teach your lesson at the beginning instead of the end. Start using PowerPoint. The sky’s the limit, but catch them by surprise.

4. Start a contest. Don’t save the contests for camp and the missions offering at VBS. Create a contest that runs through the month of September or through the fall. When you create your contest, be intentional. Use the contest to push forward an initiative or something that is significant.

5. Get your volunteers fired up for a new year. Spend some money and buy them all matching t-shirts. Give them all a $5 Starbucks gift card. Have a kick-off meeting and pump them so full of energy that they want to explode.

6. Prepare the parents for the best year ever. Make this year the best year ever for communicating with mom and dad. Maybe it’s time to start a Facebook group or a new website just for parents to stay engaged and informed.

7. Switch your pastor spots for a week. Fill the pulpit for him and let him have some face time with the kids. This will go a long way with everyone involved and will communicate to the church that kids matter to your pastor.

8. Organize all the stuff. Take the next few weeks and organize the cabinets and closets around the church. Invest in some plastic bins and a label maker. Organize the resource room and make it easy for volunteers to get to the stuff they need.

9. Train your volunteers all year long with K! Magazine. A ton of churches get bulk subscriptions to K! Magazine for their volunteers. This is a smart move because it keeps your volunteers trained, resourced, and current with trends in children’s ministry.

10. Pray like never before. After all, our plans can fall flat on their face without God’s blessing; right? Pray and ask God to give you the best ministry year ever!