Ministry-To-Children.com » Children’s Church

How to Get Kids to Behave in Church

Mimi Bullock — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 10:43:21 +0000

Every parent and teacher knows, if given a choice, kids would rather get up and play than sit still for long periods. However, some children have difficulty behaving even if attending a fast-paced, exciting children’s church. There are plenty of reasons why a kid would feel a compulsion to behave badly but a frazzled parent doesn’t have time to stop for counseling sessions in the middle of a service. If you are having difficulty getting kids to behave in church, there are a few things you can do to make the experience a little easier.

Share Your Expectations

Kids know church is special but it’s up to you to explain why. Talk to kids ahead of time about how to behave in church. You should explain to them what’s expected and how everyone else will behave. Have this discussion in advance of church but remind kids again on the way to church. Give your child a good meal before church so hunger pangs don’t encourage bad behavior. Avoid giving kids candy, like chocolate or sugary drinks that make little nervous systems fidgety before service.

Strategic Seating

I loved this idea as soon as I heard it and I can attest that it does work. When my oldest was small, long before I became involved in children’s church, I used the “seat game.” On the first visit to our new church, we sat on the back row. When we arrived at church, I told my son Jesse that if both he and I were both good, we would sit on the next row, just ahead of us, the following service. We sat on bench seven, then six and finally two. The seat game really worked for my son who loves a challenge. After a few weeks, we were almost on the front row. However, if this doesn’t work for your child, don’t be discouraged. A good seat on the back row will suffice until your child gets a little older.

Special Church Bags

Pack a special backpack just for church. Put small games and toys in the bag and don’t let kids play with it until you’ve arrived at church. Special bags make this time even more exciting for little ones. Please observe sanctuary rules about snacks and drinks. These are no-no’s for church except for infants.

Enforce Time Out

If you have to leave the sanctuary during church for a “timeout” don’t reward children with a visit to the nursery. Make your child sit quietly for timeout in an out of the way place, like the restroom where you can monitor him. Timeouts should be short though. The minute rule is best for enforcing timeouts. For example, one minute of seat time for a one-year old.

Encourage Worship

Show kids what church is all about by leading by example. Encourage worship by praising God with singing and clapping your hands, if appropriate. Smile frequently at your child to involve him in the service.

Sunday Best

Kids like dressing up, there’s no denying it. Donning new or special clothing makes Sunday School and church seem even more exciting. Set aside a few outfit for church and don’t allow the child to wear them any other time.

Kid-Friendly Churches

Attend kid-friendly churches. While all true churches love all the members of the congregation, some are more kid-friendly. Find a congregation that places an emphasis on family ministries or that have understanding, supportive members.

Read more about Mimi on her blog, Encouragement for Christians.

8 Ways to Rediscover Your Passion for Ministry

Tony Kummer — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 05:50:47 +0000

The weeks after Christmas are some of the toughest in your ministry year. Long winters bring discouragement and dull the passion of even the most devoted.

Let me share a few ways I am preparing my heart to make it through discouragement in the ministry this winter. Feel free to comment and add to the list.

1. Focus on the long term vision
Short term setbacks can really kill my morale. I get discouraged when my teaching falls flat or when I lose a busy volunteer. Ask yourself, “What am I trying to accomplish in the lives of these children 20 years from now?” Stay faithful to the vision and do the little things well. Then trust God to work things out in the long term.

2. Be thankful for past success
Take the time to step back and see how much has been accomplished this year. Write down five ways that God has touched lives through your children’s ministry. Give thanks to God and trust him to continue his work next year.

3. Pray
Nothing energized me for ministry like getting close to God. Very few real gains have ever come without prayer. Fight discouragement by seeking direct support from your Heavenly Father.

4. Remember that kids matter to Jesus
When God was calling me to work in children’s ministry I was amazed to discover all the Bible verses that spell out God’s love for children. Always remember that his passion to reach the little ones will always exceed your own. All you have to do is get in line with his purpose.

5. Encourage others
One of the best ways to get over discouragement is to become an encouragement to someone else. Look a Sunday school teacher in the eyes and say, “Your work matters to God and is making a difference.” Do this every week.

6. Spend more time with hurting children
Sometimes I forget the pain that many of these children are facing in their own lives. Take time to connect with a child who is suffering from a rocky home life.

7. Visit unchurched families
Few things energize me for ministry like getting into the “rough” homes of some of our kids. Remember, only the Gospel can break the cycles of sin that destroy so many families.

8. Love the unlovable
Identify the child that causes you the most stress, the one that you may have written off as a trouble maker. Then make it your personal project to love that child and become the presence of Christ in their lives. If you succeed, you will never forget it.

Editor’s Note: This post was first published in 2007. We’ve updated it to help you start 2011 off right. Click here to leave your comments.

Fall Sunday School Decorations (or Kids Church)

Mimi Bullock — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 21:27:44 +0000

If you want kids to show up for your children’s ministry with excitement, rather than seeing them pushed down the sidewalk to your room, you will have to keep it interesting. No matter how much your kids love you (and they do) they get bored with sitting and learning in the same old surroundings. As the weather changes it becomes difficult to take your class or church outdoors for an old-fashioned outdoor tent church or the play yard. You will need to rely on cool fall decorations for children’s ministry to get kids excited again. Try these easy, low cost Sunday School decorations on a greeting table, in a window or anywhere that kids can enjoy it without knocking it over.

Scarecrow Centerpiece
Make up your own scarecrow and prop him up on a table or in a mini rocker. Stuff some kids’ clothes with hay and tie the ends off with rubber bands. Leave some straw hanging out of his pants and shirts. Use a Styrofoam ball covered with fabric for his head. Paint or draw on a friendly face. Scatter fall leaves around the scarecrow for pretty decorations. Alternatively, make standing scarecrow cut for kids to take their pictures in. Decorate a large refrigerator style box with a fall scene and a scarecrow minus the face. Snap photos of kids standing behind this fun decoration. You could hang a sign or banner that says, “Don’t Be Scared of Kids Church.”

Turkey Themes
Turkeys are a beloved character often used in fall decorations. Buy a battery operated turkey that dances or says funny sayings. Place him a turkey platter and put a small wooden sign in his hand that says, “Don’t Be A Turkey… Come to Sunday School!” For a craft one afternoon in kids’ church, have kids make handprint turkeys from construction paper. Cut them out and have each child put his name on one of the fingers. When kids are a way from class, take a few minutes to write the chapter and verse for a scripture on each one. Surprise kids by asking them to look up the scripture found on their hand. Then they could look up the scripture on their best friend’s hand.

Grapevine
Celebrate with fall grape theme by making a grape themed bulletin board. Cover the board with brown paper and cut out large purple circles. Attach some real grapevine, like the kind you find at a craft store, to the top of the bulletin board. Hole punch the purple circles and attach the circles to the grapevine with green or brown yarn. Place each child’s name on the purple grapes for a fun decoration. You might put, “We’ve Been Grafted In” or “We Are His Fruit” below the grapevine.

Children’s Bible Story Lesson Plan: Jesus Is The Bread Of Life from John 6:22-40

Tony Kummer — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 11:03:44 +0000

This Bible lesson plan for children can be used in Sunday school or kids church. You can download this children’s church lesson as a Word document from the following link — Children’s Bible Lesson Plan: Jesus Is The Bread of Life John 6:22-40.

You can also download my other Children’s Church Lesson Plans

Bible Teaching Lesson: Jesus Is The Bread Of Life

Text: John 6:22-40

Learning Objectives: After this lesson, children will demonstrate understanding of three claims Jesus makes in this passage … by restating these truths in their own words.

1. Jesus can give eternal life.

2. Jesus is the bread of life.

3. Everyone who believes in Jesus will have eternal life.

Target Age: Kindergarten – 5^th

Teaching Setting: This lesson was first taught in our broadly graded children’s church on Sunday morning to about 35 children. Our kids begin in the sanctuary with their families and are dismissed to children’s church before the pastor’s sermon. Before the lesson the children participate in several songs and group Bible memory exercises. I aim for no longer than 15-25 minutes with each lesson plan depending on learning activities.

Items Needed:

Marked Bible for this passage. Prepare the copy in advance by highlighting the significant points to emphasize. Underlining words or ideas that will need additional explanation. I typically make small notes in the margin.
Clue Phrases: Write the underlined words from the statements above on single sheets of paper. Eternal life, bread, believes in Jesus
Paper and drawing/coloring supplies. The children will have an opportunity to illustrate ideas taught in the lesson. You will need enough supplies for every child to have a piece of paper and drawing/coloring supplies. To add variety you can have the children paint or use other methods to illustrate the ideas.

Explanation: This story builds from last weeks lesson where Jesus fed the five thousand. The crowds begin to follow Jesus looking for more bread, so the Savior uses this as a teaching moment. He explains that bread alone will not satisfy their deepest need. Rather, they can have eternal life by believing in Him.

This lesson presents a good summary of the Gospel promise of eternal life. However, it is best suited for children who have a solid foundation in Bible teaching. Many of the concepts present in this story will require previous knowledge. These include: manna from heaven, eternal life, the nature of true faith and how Jesus died to purchase this salvation.

The symbolism of Jesus as “bread from heaven” may be difficult for preschool aged children. This rest of the chapter continues this theme and should be read as you prepare to teach.

Jesus Is The Bread Of Life – John 6:22-40
Sunday School Lesson For Children

One Page Teaching Plan

Hook
Ask the learners, “Have you ever gone without eating for a whole day?” Explain that your body begins to get weak if you don’t get food. Food is one of our basic needs – we all must eat to live.

Last week we learned how Jesus fed 5,000 families. He met their basic need for food. Today we are going to learn how Jesus can give us something we need more than food.

Book
Active Listening: Introduce the children to the three clue phrases you’ve written on pieces of paper. If possible display these on the wall or on a marker board. Ask the children to listen carefully for these phrases as you tell the story.

Read (and summarize) John 6:22-40. Be sure to engage the children with good story telling. Key points include:

1. Jesus can give eternal life.

2. Jesus is the bread of life.

3. Everyone who believes in Jesus will have eternal life.

Review: Remind the children of the three key phrases you’ve displayed. Read the following statements aloud. Ask for volunteers to raise their hand and match one key phrase with the right statement. Repeat for all three statements.

Jesus can give ______________
Jesus is the ___________ of life.
Everyone who ______________ will have eternal life

To use this lesson for Children’s Sunday School, you will want to add additional learning activities here like a craft to complement the Bible lesson.

Look/Took:
Picture It: Divide the class into three groups. Assign each group one of the statements. Ask them to draw/color a picture that explains their key statement. After several minutes have volunteers share their illustration with the class. Write the appropriate key statement on each child’s project.

Test / Another Way To Say: Read the key statements one at a time. Ask the children to think carefully about what those key statements mean. Have volunteers suggest another way to say the same thing with different words.

Prayer: Lead the children in a time of prayer. Pray specifically that they will believe in Jesus and his promise of eternal life.

Jesus Feeds The Five Thousand (Children’s Church Lesson) from John 6:1-14

Tony Kummer — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 17:59:18 +0000

This Sunday I continued my series of New Testament stories in children’s church. This Bible lesson plan for children can be used in Sunday school or children’s church. You can download this lesson plan as a Word document from the following link: Children’s Bible Lesson Plan: Jesus Feeds The Five Thousand from John 6:1-14.

You can also download my other Children’s Church Lesson Plans.

Children’s Church Bible Lesson: Jesus Feeds The Five Thousand

Text: John 26:1-14
(you can also find this story in Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:32-44; Luke 9:10-17)

Learning Objectives: After this lesson, children will demonstrate knowledge of the key people and events in this passage … by retelling the story back to the teacher at the end of the session. Key points include:

Situation: Large crowd follows Jesus up the mountain.
Problem: No food for all the people.
Complication: Jesus tells his disciples to feed the crowd.
Complication: A young boy shares his lunch – but it’s not enough
Resolution: Jesus performs a miracle by multiplying a small boys gift.

Target Age: Kindergarten – 5^th

Items Needed:

Marked Bible for this passage. Prepare the copy in advance by highlighting the significant points to emphasize. Underlining words or ideas that will need additional explanation. I typically make small notes in the margin.
Snack. If you have snack in your children’s church this would be a perfect way to integrate the snack and the lesson. You could keep it basic with goldfish or go for something bigger with real bread and cooked fish.

Explanation: This story has several great themes to bring out for the children. Sometimes it has been reduced to a story about sharing, but the main focus is on Jesus supernaturally providing for his followers. There is a lesson in the fact that God chose to use the young boy’s gift, just don’t let that overshadow the main point about the divinity of Christ.

There is also the theme of compassion in this text. When Mark tells this story in Mark 6:34-44, he points out that the miracle was motivated by Jesus’ compassion for the crowd and a concern that they might faint without food returning home. There is certainly a lesson here about caring for the hungry.

This miracle is also a set-up for an upcoming lesson on Jesus as the “bread of life” in John 6:25-40. You might hint to the kids that Jesus is going to give the people something better than food next week.

Jesus Feeds Five Thousand, John 6:1-14
Sunday School Lesson For Children

One Page Teaching Plan

Hook

Take out your snack and begin to eat it in front of the class. Wait for someone to ask you to share. Assure them you will share after the lesson, but ask them to think about how they would feel it there wasn’t enough food for everyone. Say, “In today’s story, we are going to learn about a time when Jesus make food for 5,000 families out of one small snack.”

Book

Active Listening: Ask the children to listen carefully for the details of the story, so that they can re-tell it to you afterward.

Read (and summarize) John 6:1-14. Be sure to engage the children with good story telling. Key points include:

Situation: Large crowd follows Jesus up the mountain.
Problem: No food for all the people and they are getting really weak.
Complication: Jesus tells his disciples to feed the crowd.
Complication: A young boy shares his lunch – but it’s not enough
Resolution: Jesus performs a miracle by multiplying a small boys gift.

Review: Read the following statements. Have the children stand up if this was something that happened in this story. If it didn’t happen in this story they should sit with arms crossed – even if they are true statements taught in other parts of the Bible the children should remain seated.

Jesus turned regular water into wine to save a wedding party.
Jesus told his disciples to feed the 5,000 families.
A young boy offered to share his five loaves of bread and two fish.
Satan tried to get Jesus to turn stones into bread.
God sent down bread falling from the sky to feed the Israelites.
Jesus told the disciples to pick up all the leftover bread.

To use this lesson for Children’s Sunday School, you will want to add additional learning activities here like a craft to complement the Bible lesson.

Look/Took:

Talk About It: Ask the children to discuss the following questions to better understand the story.

Why do you think Jesus wanted to feed the 5,000 families?
What do you think the little boy was feeling when he saw Jesus use his gift for the miracle?
What does this story tell you about whom Jesus really was?

Test: Ask several volunteers to come up to the front to re-tell the story to the class. If they need help prompt them with questions like “what happened next.”

Sunday School Safety and Security

Tony Kummer — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 14:29:05 +0000

Safety and security is one of the biggest topics in children’s ministry today. This is true for both small and large churches. Keeping kids safe should be a priority in every church. In this article, I will discuss the leading concerns about Sunday school security and offer some ways to improve safety at your church.

Security and Safety Concerns For Sunday School

Many of the articles I’ve read about children’s ministry safety do not clearly state what dangers we need to address. I believe that is a mistake. We need to be responsible when accessing threats so we can avoid extremes. Here are the dangers that churches must work to prevent:

Accidents: Kids can always find some way to get hurt. Accidents are the most common safety danger for children in Sunday school. Often they are minor, but we should be concerned that every ministry setting is a safe place to learn and play.
Food Allergies: This is an increasing concern, and rightly so. Many food allergies are life threatening if not treated properly. Kids love snacks, but we should always be aware of the dangers of food allergies.
Kidnapping: This is every parent’s worst nightmare. While it may be a rare, Sunday school programs should establish safeguards to make it impossible to steal a child from any church program.
Sexual Abuse: Few things are more devastating to a child, especially when the predator uses religious authority to accomplish their crime. Churches have not done enough to prevent the sexual abuse of children.
Other Children: It doesn’t make the news, but the most common threat for sexual abuse is one child abusing another child. This is devastating for everyone involved. Never allow children unattended in the church facility. Even Pastor’s kids should not be set free after the church program. We have a designated game room where volunteer’s children can play until their parents are free to go.

Sunday School Safety and Security Checklist

One way to think carefully about church safety is to audit your Sunday school program according to the following categories. We are also talking about safe kid check policies in our children’s ministry forums.

Are Your Sunday School Facilities Safe and Secure?

Classrooms should be in high traffic areas and have windows. We recently installed windows in every classroom door. Since we have a volunteer church handyman, the project cost was very reasonable.
If your Sunday school classrooms do not have windows, keep them open unless two adults are with the class.
Children’s ministry areas should be up to building and fire code. This would include emergency exits, smoke alarms, and fire extinguishers.
Is the furniture safe and appropriate for children? Make sure that bookcases are secured to the wall, desks do not have splinters, and chairs are in good repair.
Use safety plugs in all electrical outlets. This needs to be checked often, since these tend to get lost. Use safety plugs in the hallways and adult areas too.
If there is overhead storage, on a shelf or a cabinet, make sure it is secure and items will not fall on children if they bump up against the cabinet.
Control the access to your building. In larger churches this becomes a big concern. There should be a limited number of entrance points to your children’s ministry area.

Do You Insist On Safety For All Sunday School Activities, Snacks and Crafts?

Scissors, glues and craft materials should be safe for children.
Avoid object lessons that could be unsafe. We learned from experience not to burn anything inside the Sunday school classrooms!
Some games are not safe for small rooms. If you don’t have enough floor space for a suggested Sunday school game, go outside or substitute another activity.
Never serve a snack with nuts unless you have personally cleared it with every parent. With peanut allergies on the rise, it is better to be safe than sorry.
Do not serve hot liquids; it’s okay if the hot chocolate is a just warm.
Supervise children closely during snack time, even older children can choke on their food.

Have You Selected Volunteers And Teachers That Are Safe?

Every volunteer should be screened and interviewed by the church leadership. Many churches are even purchasing criminal background checks for all church volunteers, especially those that work with children. That is a good step, but don’t forget to use common sense and judgment. Many sexual predators abuse many children before they are caught, so the criminal background check is only a limited safeguard.
No one is every allowed to be alone with a child. Make this a rule with no exceptions.
Even in counseling situations have another adult volunteer present.
The best safeguard against abuse is preventing opportunity for abuse. As much as you can, make it impossible for children to be harmed at your church.

Do Your Policies And Guidelines Promote Security and Safety?

All the best policies won’t help unless you train your teachers. So, make training Sundays school teachers about safety and security a priority in your church.
Make 2-by-2 the rule. No child (or group of children) should even be alone with an adult volunteer.
Ask your volunteers to get trained on CPR and first aide. We have several retired nurses in our church who are great resources for minor accidents.
Establish a check-in and check-out procedure that gets every child back to the right parents after your program. This will help to prevent children from being unsupervised in the facility.
Do not allow children to be unattended before or after Sunday school programs. As one reader stated, “Children stay with parents and remain the parents’ responsibility.”
Have a definite drop-off and pick-up time. These should be clearly posted and enforced. The children of volunteers should remain with their parents or be supervised in one location. We do not allow early drop-offs.
Ask for hall monitors or greeters to patrol the facility during and after your ministry programs.
Do you have clear bathroom policies? This more of a concern for younger children, but

Resources For Improving Security and Safety In Your Sunday School

Read these articles about Children’s Ministry safety from ChildrensMinistry.com
Browse these resources for Children and Youth safety from one insurance company.
Read my post 5 Ways Christians Can Prevent Child Abuse and Neglect
Read the Southern Baptist Convention 2007 Resolution ON PROTECTING CHILDREN FROM ABUSE
Read the Statement on Abuse From the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood
If you know of a good resource, leave me a comment below.