Family Ministry: How do we build well?
One of the most asked questions I have received is "What are you going to do about kids?" As a parent, this is a fair question. I've given it much thought and I hope this article helps answer your question.
It seems like a simple question that should have a simple answer. But when I began thinking about family ministry for Kingdom Community Church, I never realized how many questions I would stumble in to. That one question requires a lot of questions to be answered. Questions like...
How?
- do we encourage parents to take spiritual responsibility for their children?
- do we recruit volunteers?
- do we train teachers?
- do we prevent burnout?
- do we keep everyone safe?
- do we know when a child is converted?
- do we provide for special needs?
When?
- do we offer programs?
- do we change what we offer?
- do we baptize children?
What?
- programs do we provide?
- curriculum do we use?
- ages do we provide classes/childcare for?
- what are expectations for teachers?
- do we do if there are more children than our space or volunteers can cater to?
Who?
- makes budget decisions?
- chooses curriculum?
- oversees teachers?
- finds volunteers?
- manages classroom needs?
- cares for teachers?
- decides on programs?
- handles difficult situations?
And this is just scratching the surface.
But these questions are worth asking and answering because family ministry matters.
My greatest desire is to build a gospel-based family ministry. The purpose is to equip families to disciple the next generation. Here is how we plan to accomplish that.
It seems like a simple question that should have a simple answer. But when I began thinking about family ministry for Kingdom Community Church, I never realized how many questions I would stumble in to. That one question requires a lot of questions to be answered. Questions like...
How?
- do we encourage parents to take spiritual responsibility for their children?
- do we recruit volunteers?
- do we train teachers?
- do we prevent burnout?
- do we keep everyone safe?
- do we know when a child is converted?
- do we provide for special needs?
When?
- do we offer programs?
- do we change what we offer?
- do we baptize children?
What?
- programs do we provide?
- curriculum do we use?
- ages do we provide classes/childcare for?
- what are expectations for teachers?
- do we do if there are more children than our space or volunteers can cater to?
Who?
- makes budget decisions?
- chooses curriculum?
- oversees teachers?
- finds volunteers?
- manages classroom needs?
- cares for teachers?
- decides on programs?
- handles difficult situations?
And this is just scratching the surface.
But these questions are worth asking and answering because family ministry matters.
My greatest desire is to build a gospel-based family ministry. The purpose is to equip families to disciple the next generation. Here is how we plan to accomplish that.
The Priorities
We prioritize children because Jesus did. Jesus cares about children's ministry.
13 People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. 14 When Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the little children come to me. Don’t stop them, because the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” 16 After taking them in his arms, he laid his hands on them and blessed them. (Mark 10:13-16)
There are three primary views regarding family ministry that you can read about here. I subscribe to what is called family equipping ministry. I've read a ton of books in preparation for our future, and there are four that have influenced my family ministry philosophy the most: Family Ministry Field Guide, Trained in the Fear of God, Build on Jesus, and Shift. I think you can consolidate these books into the words feed, help, and equip.
FEED parents and children with God's Word.
HELP families to gather together with the church.
EQUIP parents to be better able to teach their children.
As I stated earlier, our main goal is to equip families to disciple the next generation. Parents need to know God's Word, learn how to teach it and model true worship for their children.
13 People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. 14 When Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the little children come to me. Don’t stop them, because the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” 16 After taking them in his arms, he laid his hands on them and blessed them. (Mark 10:13-16)
There are three primary views regarding family ministry that you can read about here. I subscribe to what is called family equipping ministry. I've read a ton of books in preparation for our future, and there are four that have influenced my family ministry philosophy the most: Family Ministry Field Guide, Trained in the Fear of God, Build on Jesus, and Shift. I think you can consolidate these books into the words feed, help, and equip.
FEED parents and children with God's Word.
HELP families to gather together with the church.
EQUIP parents to be better able to teach their children.
As I stated earlier, our main goal is to equip families to disciple the next generation. Parents need to know God's Word, learn how to teach it and model true worship for their children.
The People
Before I dive into the practicality of family ministry, it's important to recognize the people that we anticipate coming. If we start our first Sunday with 10% of Stevens Street members, we would have 150 people (adults and children). The breakdown would look like this:
Children and teenagers are expected to make up at least a third of our church, if not more. Family ministry is one of the most demanding things a church does. It truly takes the entire church to accomplish our goal of feeding, helping, and equipping. There are four groups that make family ministry happen.
Pastors lead and shepherd.
Family Ministry Directors organize and execute.
Members maintain children's ministry.
Parents build a robust partnership.
All of these areas work together to accomplish the goal of discipling the next generation. We must share the load to reach and teach our kids.
Pastors lead and shepherd.
Family Ministry Directors organize and execute.
Members maintain children's ministry.
Parents build a robust partnership.
All of these areas work together to accomplish the goal of discipling the next generation. We must share the load to reach and teach our kids.
The Plan
Before we look at the plan, here are some outcomes we want to see.
Keep Kids Safe.
We will have an efficient check-in system and ensure our staff and volunteers are properly vetted and trained.
Manage the Classroom.
We will provide robust guidelines, tools, and direction for all volunteers so that they don’t feel clueless on what to do.
Pursue Creative Excellence.
We want to create a fun, engaging, and welcoming environment. We will never compromise truth, but will seek to make learning fun and engaging.
Intentional Discipleship Plan.
The Bible is our foundation and the gospel is our story. It will be the focus of everything we do. We want to see children become mature followers of Jesus.
Here is what an ideal Sunday will look like.
Keep Kids Safe.
We will have an efficient check-in system and ensure our staff and volunteers are properly vetted and trained.
Manage the Classroom.
We will provide robust guidelines, tools, and direction for all volunteers so that they don’t feel clueless on what to do.
Pursue Creative Excellence.
We want to create a fun, engaging, and welcoming environment. We will never compromise truth, but will seek to make learning fun and engaging.
Intentional Discipleship Plan.
The Bible is our foundation and the gospel is our story. It will be the focus of everything we do. We want to see children become mature followers of Jesus.
Here is what an ideal Sunday will look like.
My goal for Sunday morning is to connect what we are doing with what is going on in the home. One of the ways that I intend to do this is by utilizing a catechism. If you aren't familiar with a catechism it is a summary of Bible teaching in question and answer format. It's an extremely useful tool for the discipleship of your kids (and for yourself).
Our plan is to use the New City Catechism. I like this catechism because it comes in a 52 question/answer format. This helps us foster a helpful rhythm in our church and home life. It also comes with a free mobile app that includes a kid version, adult version, Scripture references, commentary, and a song for each question and answer. This is the primary way we intend to connect Sunday morning with the rest of the week. Go over the catechism at the dinner table, quiz each other, sing the song, and make it fun.
On Sunday mornings we will begin with kids coming together to hear the question, answer, Scripture, and song for that week. After this, the kids will go to their rooms to begin working through The Gospel Project. The Gospel Project is a three year cyclical curriculum, created by Lifeway, that walks you through the entire Bible, showing you how Jesus is the centerpiece of the story. It includes videos, lessons, crafts, activities, games, and everything a teacher would need to make learning the Bible fun and engaging.
During this time, adults will be participating in seminars. These seminars will consist of teaching and discussion centered around various topics such as theology, church history, parenting, marriage, apologetics, etc. These environments will be a place of fellowship, but the primary focus is to fill our minds and hearts with truth, so that we can be better equipped to teach others.
After Sunday School, families will come together to worship Jesus. Kindergarten and up will be in the service with their families. If you desire, we will have child care available for babies through five years old.
I have a lot of other plans as it relates to milestones such as parent/child dedication, baptism, purity, entering adulthood, etc. These things will come with time. Our first focus needs to be on nailing Sunday mornings.
Our plan is to use the New City Catechism. I like this catechism because it comes in a 52 question/answer format. This helps us foster a helpful rhythm in our church and home life. It also comes with a free mobile app that includes a kid version, adult version, Scripture references, commentary, and a song for each question and answer. This is the primary way we intend to connect Sunday morning with the rest of the week. Go over the catechism at the dinner table, quiz each other, sing the song, and make it fun.
On Sunday mornings we will begin with kids coming together to hear the question, answer, Scripture, and song for that week. After this, the kids will go to their rooms to begin working through The Gospel Project. The Gospel Project is a three year cyclical curriculum, created by Lifeway, that walks you through the entire Bible, showing you how Jesus is the centerpiece of the story. It includes videos, lessons, crafts, activities, games, and everything a teacher would need to make learning the Bible fun and engaging.
During this time, adults will be participating in seminars. These seminars will consist of teaching and discussion centered around various topics such as theology, church history, parenting, marriage, apologetics, etc. These environments will be a place of fellowship, but the primary focus is to fill our minds and hearts with truth, so that we can be better equipped to teach others.
After Sunday School, families will come together to worship Jesus. Kindergarten and up will be in the service with their families. If you desire, we will have child care available for babies through five years old.
I have a lot of other plans as it relates to milestones such as parent/child dedication, baptism, purity, entering adulthood, etc. These things will come with time. Our first focus needs to be on nailing Sunday mornings.
Conclusion
So, I return to the initial question, "What are you going to do about kids?" If you were one of the people that has asked me that, I hope this article was clarifying for you.
Recently, I visited an old pastor of mine to ask some questions about church planting. I told him that this is one of the most frequently asked questions I get. He told me that I need to flip it. Instead of being asked this question, I want to ask you the same.
What are you going to do about kids? Are you going to play a part in equipping families to disciple the next generation? This job is important. It will take all of us.
Recently, I visited an old pastor of mine to ask some questions about church planting. I told him that this is one of the most frequently asked questions I get. He told me that I need to flip it. Instead of being asked this question, I want to ask you the same.
What are you going to do about kids? Are you going to play a part in equipping families to disciple the next generation? This job is important. It will take all of us.