Comments on: What Is Your Biggest Challenge In Children’s Ministry?

By: Donita Banks

Donita Banks — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 17:03:22 +0000

To whom much is given, much is required. As children ministers we have been blessed with so much to have someathing to give. Being in children’s ministry allows you to see just how blessed we are. It would be an ideal situation to have the people, space, supplies and cooperation in dream world for minstry but the reality of it is is that “it is what it is”. I minister at an extremely small church; old, small building, fixed income members, no electronics, a Wal Mart speaker system and on and on. But the fact of the minisstry is kids come, broken kids. On to the biggest issues I face in ministry are ADHD children, learning disabled children, and children who are split between parents on weekends. Being the only youth minister, trying to meet the challenges of the ADHD kids while sharing Jesus with those who know the purpose, having materials for the learning disabled and continuing your series with the kids who only get to come two Sundays out of a month…..I stand on the Word of God that says He will never put more on us than we are able to bear and depend on increased faith to meet the needs.

By: Poll: What challenges have you faced in children’s ministry?

Poll: What challenges have you faced in children’s ministry? — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 02:42:31 +0000

[...] asked readers to share what struggles they experience in their ministries. (read it here and here) The point behind all this is a book I’m putting together. This poll is the next step in my [...]

By: reyannin

reyannin — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 04:56:16 +0000

well, i’ve only got twenty years of living experience under my belt and now our children’s ministry leaders at our church are stepping down. I have been picked to take over! I have volunteers every night.. but they stand in the back of the room while two or maybe three of us on a good night handle all of the 30+ kids we have come on wed. nights. It’s frustating to me. I am probably a good 15 yrs. younger than my volunteers.. how i do i ask them to actually help when they come instead of sitting in the back and talking? And make it sound respectful but still let them know that i am serious? I need help and they are there.. just not doing anything.

By: Val Lawrence

Val Lawrence — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 18:16:29 +0000

I would ditto most of the above but right now I would say my biggest frustration would be lack of commitment by many (not all) teachers. You can certainly tell who is simply giving and hour on Sundays or Wednesdays and very little else. I am trying to lead by example, giving them tools that are easy but effective, offering encouragement and ideas, etc. But if the commitment is not there – hmmm? I would love to say I have people waiting in the wings to help out but that is not the case so sometimes a caring person for Sunday mornings is better than an empty seat?

By: Dawn

Dawn — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 16:39:50 +0000

Yes, and yes to all of the above! The most aggravating problem I have is parents taking their children out of my class to play sports at school. (I do the wednesday night kids class). There is either a practice or a game. And of course, there is baseball, basket ball, football, judo, karate, and on and on. One week I have a room full, and the next week, only a few kids. I have asked the parents to please let me know ahead of time if they are not going to be there, but seldom do I get that respect. I plan a lesson and include a game with teams, and then there are not enough kids to do it. I was brought up with Bible basics–put God first, have no other gods before me, forsake not the assembling of yourselve together, we are members of the body and need each other, etc. All these doctines are just basics to me, and yet, these days it seems like the things of the world are more important than worshiping God and learning His word and fellowship with our brothers. Are sports important for fun and excercise? Sure they are, but when they come before God, something is wrong with our priorities. I don’t believe this is legalistic, just putting the Almighty God number 1. We are not to love anything more than Him. We are to crucify our flesh and not conform to the patterns of the world. Take a stand about practice and games being on Wednesday (or whatever night your service is on) and, although it is hard, pull your child out if they refuse to change nights. Hard? Sure it is. But when you put this up against Daniel and the 3 Hebrew boys, uhhhh–get it? How can you teach these stories and talk about standing up for the Lord and you can’t even give up a game? Take up your cross and follow me is still in the Bible. We are such a spoiled generation that we whine about the most pathetic things and there really are people giving their lives for the Gospel in other parts of the world today. Shame on us! Yes, you are right about leadership. Watchman on the wall–Blow the Trumpet–Warn the people.

By: Stephen Harrier

Stephen Harrier — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 17:32:30 +0000

Although volunteer recruiting can be a big challenge, our #1 challenge is getting parents to be spiritually engaged with their childen (Dt. 6). We have made several adjustments in our Sunday ministries, but many parents are only marginally involved in the spiritual development of their children. We have adopted a “family” approach this year. It will take a number of years to change the culture of our church. Thanks.

By: Ruth

Ruth — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 01:54:46 +0000

Our church might be small in numbers but we have approx 17 children attending on a weekly basis. Our main struggle is that there is nowhere for the kids to meet & have Sunday School within the building we are using Many of these children are bored, running around making a noise. I am going to put together an activity pack each week that includes puzzles, coloring in etc, where the children will have to bring their bible to look up their answers. At the end of the night if they complete everything in their activity pack, they can choose a prize from the reward box. Does anyon else have any ideas on amusing children during a sermon? Gone are the days where the parents provide anything

By: Gina

Gina — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 10:59:23 +0000

I share the views raised so far. In our ss, we also have the issue of limited volunteers bcos of that I find it very difficult to miss out on a sunday, since my work is demanding, it really takes a toll. I never get to listen to the sermon at church and we the teachers miss a lot. The difficult thing about it is that, no one seem to care to create a system to enable us ss teachers fill in on what we miss at church. I fill that in by using the kids lessons as my sermon but I would love to hear others. One other challenge I face comes from parents. Even some of those who are christians seem to think ss is just for convenience ( to allow them have a children-free church service ) and they chose when their children come to ss. Oh boy, they don’t seem to realise that these kids are souls just like them hence the inconsistency in ss attendance. It really is a bother.

By: Laura Pickett

Laura Pickett — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 03:49:44 +0000

My biggest problem is scheduling. We have basically 2 sets of kids…children with parents who bring them, and children who ride the bus (no parental involvement). WE can get the parents to bring their children early so they have choir time and then we can start SS, but the bus kids don’t arrive at the same time each week (it depends on how many are coming, if they are ready on time, etc) and after they have their choir time and then want to eat breakfast, there is very little time for a lesson…while the children who were there on time have to sit and wait. There have been a few times when I have taught the same lesson twice in one hour.
Unfortunately, this makes the parents decide that there is no reason for them to get there early so they begin to slack off as well. Downward spiral!

By: Jeri Tanner

Jeri Tanner — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:10:21 +0000

Devin,

That is certainly a tough problem, and one with which our church is certainly familiar. I realized last year that just as in a family’s household, there must be order, respect, discipline, etc. in God’s household when we are gathered. It’s a disservice to the children and dishonoring to the Lord to let rebellious behavior go unchecked. You need a plan with other adult leaders and parents, and hopefully in agreement with the parents of the unruly youngsters. It’s not wrong to ask and require of children and their parents that order and respect be maintained. We decided on a plan to separate our unruly children from the ones who could behave and listen, so that teaching could take place. Do what you have to do in the genuine and sincere love of Christ and in thoughtful accord to the truth of His word, with generous amounts of communication.