Too often serving in the church nursery can seem like a thankless job. One of the key tasks for children’s ministry leaders is to help volunteers understand their importance. With that in mind, I offer these following 7 reasons why serving in the church nursery is important.
Please feel free to copy these and distribute them in your church. Download this article as a Word document for easy printing.
Reason #1
God is in the church nursery. This may come as a shock, but the Bible has specific promises about God’s presence when children are welcomed and loved in Jesus’ name. You can read my article about this titled God Is In The Church Nursery.
Reason #2
Your service in the church nursery allows church goers to focus on worship, rather than worrying about their children. In a very real sense you ministry makes it possible for the pastor to fulfill his ministry.
Reason #3
The first (and sometimes lasting) feelings a child will have toward church is formed in the nursery department. While not everyone agrees, I believe that a positive experience in the church nursery is essential.
Reason #4
When you serve in the nursery, you are being entrusted with the most important (and vulnerable) members of the church family. There is no greater treasure on this side of heaven than the little ones God has given us. You must be someone special to have a job that is so important.
Reason #5
Your service is essential for your own spiritual growth. You may have never looked at it this way, but a growing Christian is always a serving Christian. Jesus was known for putting others first, when you serve in the church nursery you are walking in his example.
Reason #6
The church nursery is the first contact young families will have with your church. Your friendly greeting and exceptional care for their children can make a great first impression for your church. If they don’t feel like their children are safe, they will not return – and rightly so.
Reason #7
Your service in the church nursery is a powerful opportunity for prayer. If every nursery worker would spend several minutes praying over the children in their care, imagine how God might begin to change this coming generation. There is no better way to create an environment of spiritual nurture than to pray while you serve in the nursery.
I hope this article will be useful to you and your church. If so, leave a comment to let me know. Your feedback is an encouragement for me to post articles like this.
What do you think about this list? If you have an 8th reason, just leave me a comment below.
Remember that God blesses those who serve his children.
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my nursery coordinator was blessed to read this article I forwarded to her.
thanks
Thank you so much, this article has helped me so much. God bless you!
I have been the children’s ministry director for four years now. It has always been a struggle to persuade people to see the Nursery as much more than a ‘baby sitting’ service. Why is it that the volunteers won’t take the time to read to the children the Bible stories? These stories reveal Gods testimonies, His promises, stories that reveal Him, who He is and His mighty power. We are instructed (parents, teachers, leaders) to do this in the Scriptures again and again.
Instead, time and time again, I see the volunteers conversing with each other, ignoring the children, merely keeping the children from hurting themselves physically. While this is important, the children’s greatest need is to ‘know’ Christ Jesus. The nursery can be a tool that I believe God would be delighted to use. Thank you for encouraging me, reinforcing the need for a Christ centered Nursery.
Ephesians 1:4-5
KP
Reason 7 has got to be #1 in my book. I have been so moved by this reason above all others, although the rest are very good. I cannot quit crying because of how powerful and life changing Reason 7 is to me. Thank you for posting this! I will be using this in my next meeting. I am the nursery director at out church.
Many blessing to you, and praise be to Jesus.
Thank you for your encouraging words. It’s exactly what I was hoping to find and be able to share with the ladies in the nursery/preschool classes at church!
Thanks just starting out as Nursery Director very help ful!
Thanks for the info I am putting it in the bulletin this week!!!!!
Thank you so much for this wonderful way to tell church nursery volunteers how important their job is. I will be handing this out at our next meeting.
Wow. Thank you so much . I have been Nursery Director at our church for a little over four years now. We have just recently remodeled and completely restructured our nurseries from just child sitting to more ministry based concepts. This has been something that I have been prayerfully trying to accomplish for several years. Your articles really hit the nail right on the head as to why we all should be doing what God has called us to do and the importance of it. It is really refreshing to know that others share this ministry with same passion as I do. I will definitely be able to use your articles as I encourage our volunteers in our nurseries. May God bless you tremendously for sharing this with us.
Just a note of encouragement to others who may be reading this- since the restructuring of EVERYTHING in our nurseries we have more than doubled our nursery attendance and God has faithfully continued to provide the workers that we need. PRAISE THE LORD!
Thank you for the time and energy you invested in the preparation of this material. It has been useful!
This is awesome! Thank you so much for sharing your heart!! It is a great encouragement, and I will be able to use this to encourage my nursery volunteers. Something else that God is showing me, is that the concept of reaping and sowing is also at work in our service to His children. When we take the time to serve and to teach children about the Lord and who He is, I believe we reap that, and God will begin to reveal to us a deeper revelation of who He is.
Great list, Tony.
I know many think nursery work beneath them or unimportant. Nothing could be further from the truth.
GUNNY HARTMANs last blog post..War is young men dying and old men talking.
this has really helped me. we are missionaries and it is a new concept here for someone to leave their child in a nursery. we’ve really worked hard to have our nursery workers ready and willing, but i believe sharing this article with our nursery workers and the mothers that this will really help our nursery ministry.
As a co-coordinator of our church’s nursery, and trying to plan an informal meeting of our volunteers to thank and encourage them (and nurture their spiritual growth), this article is PERFECT!
Thank you, and God bless!
Great Article, I’m going to give it to every member of our church!
My church is very small it is 2years old and there are only two children. Can you still start a church nursery? How would you start it up?
Thank you very taking the time to talk to me.
Mary Anne
I agree with all, but what do you do when the nursery is a “dropping post” for people who simply desire socializing. Wednesday evenings seem to be the only issue.
I walked by our nursery and the worker had 14 infants and toddlers with no other volunteers. I have witnessed this for quite some time. I have spoke to the church leaders and yet it continues.
Should we emplement a strict nursery policy or address that the nursery is a blessing not a place to escape from your children.
Thank you so much for this. We are putting it in the bulletin this Sunday.
This is so encouraging to know after more than 5 years as a children minister in my church,you think nobody appreciate you?God does.I must pass this around.Thank you so much.God Bless you
Oh such a wonderful and encouraging article.Thank you so muchhh.
Thanks! I find this information useful. I think first impressions are definitely lasting ones. We don’t get many visitors in the infant room but, being the nursery leader, I will definitely try these suggestions. I have the problem of getting the Mom’s to leave the nursery and go enjoy the service! The babies are only 6-9months. I only have 3 babies in there. Our toddler class, however has about 12 kids! I’m excited to see how God moves each Sunday and how this list of reasons will make a difference in our workers now and the ones God has called (and that will be coming!)! Thank you and God Bless, Susie!
I am rewriting my church website. I was doing research for our nursery ministry as to what to write and how to describe our ministry. I cane across your article of “7 reasons why…” I found it to be very well written and very insightful. I would like to post it on my web site and give you all the credit for it. Including all the links to you and this site. Please let me know if that is acceptable. Again The article was great no matter what you decide.
You have permission as long as a html link points back to the original on our site. May God bless you ministry!
I thank you so much my pastor called me tonight ask about the nursery when will i start being cordinator to start the ministry i was going through on how to format a nursery and get it started I came across the seven steps and thank you for that beautiful peace. It help me out a lot Keep doing God work and you are truly bless Mary