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. Click here for a print-friendly version of this article to share offline.
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 your 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.
7 Reasons to Serve in the Church Nursery
New Sunday School Curriculum: Our Bible lessons are designed to keep the kids’ attention and show how God's Word makes a difference. Every series is flexible enough for a wide-age group and affordable enough for small churches. Download a free Bible lesson in pdf or view our latest Sunday School curriculum for small churches.
This is a wonderful article. I have been Nursery Coordinator for my church for 30+ years. My twin and I are the longest tenured members of our church of 62 years, saved at age 7. The bed babies section is our Sunday School class and has been for about 20 years. We are now keeping the babies of the parents that were also in our nursery. I am convinced that this is the most important part of the church as it is the beginning. I am shocked when people don’t want to sign up for the volunteer roster because I could spend every Sunday there. Your article really emohasuz s the importance of the nursery. I wish everyone was this enlightened. My church is Maytown Baptist in Maytown, Alabama.
Thank you so much for these articles on the church nursery ministry. I was entrusted to be the director at my church a year ago. here has been an amazing give and take of workers on my list. Someone would step out, but God would always give another in that one’s place. I’ve always had JUST enough workers to cover all the services each each month. (Although on months with a 5th Sunday, I often have to use some people twice.)
We just finished a revival week with a popular evengelist team as special music and speakers. It was stressful for me trying to get nursery well staffed each night. It was like pulling teeth. By the end of the week I was almost begging for volunteers, making phone calls, leaving voicemails and texts asking point blank if they could cover tonight. I was so dicouraged. So I started looking on the internet for articles relating to church nurseries, directing volunteering, etc. I came across this one. I printed it and am going to print out the others you have linked here. I need education and inspiration. Thank you for these and any idea I get from them that will help me be a better director and servant to those God has led to serve in the nursery. I am not their boss and they are not MY workers, but rather I am THEIR helper. I am there to help them in their service to the Lord and to the babies and parents. I need to learn how to better serve them so that they feel more inspired to step in and step up.
Reason #8….Children can learn and learn young. We can’t neglect teaching spiritual truth to our infants and toddlers. Think about all those brain pathway connections that are being formed in those first few years! We need to teach them truth from God’s word with simple, age-appropriate methods.
Thank you for writing this article for us, I have learnt a lot form it. I am currently heading children ministry. I have never worked with children before in my entire life. When I got the news that I was appointed all I said was “Lord use me to do your will”. Our ministry is fairly new and last year in December I had to organize the play “The Birth of Jesus” I only met the children on the 09 September 2018 and our play was scheduled for 02 December 2018. Praying, fasting and commitment from the children and the other two teachers has played a vital role. Through Christ who strengthen us all things are possible. Our event was successful both children and the parents were pleased with my organisation skills. By God’s grace I have managed to organize 25 costumes. This year we have more than 35 children who have joined our Sunday School. So far we have split the class into 2 groups. I really need volunteers I don’t know how to approach the people because they are all saying that they can not handle children. I pray daily for God’s grace upon our lives as teachers and also pray for our children for spirit of unity. I love my Sunday School children. I am looking for teachers guide or support group or study material or even enrol and get a qualification because most of the parents are encouraging me to open a preschool. They say that their children behaviour and thinking capacity has changed completely. I am residing in South Africa.
The children are well taken care of. They are well mannered, they sit in class until they parents come and fetch them. There’s order in the house of the Lord.
While I agree with all of this, many parents use it as a free babysitting service. And at the same time, the children never learn that they need to sit quietly during the service. It should be used to train a child by eventually taking them back into the church, don’t just leave them there.
This was exactly what I have been trying to put into words!! thank you very much for Posting this! I honestly do not think people understand the impact the nursery has on a growing church!
Thank you for this! You made some great points, some of which I’d never even considered! I am having a meeting with our nursery workers after service tomorrow and will be sharing this with them. This will be such an encouragement to those who serve.
I completely get that some use church nursery as a free babysitting service. We run busses on Sundays and Wednesdays. Some parents send their children and never come. Those children are such a blessing. There are entire families there now who are very active in church because their child was once a bus kid!
We have nursery as well as children’s church. That currently goes through first grade, but since we are looking at doing services a little different in the future, that may start going to third grade. In children’s church, things are much more structured, but the children do still have time to snack and play. We make a big deal out of graduation from children’s church at the beginning of every new church year. When a child graduates, we then allow them to take notes from the sermon in exchange for a prize after services.
Maybe if your church doesn’t have a children’s church, they’d be interested in starting one. I like for our own children to start going to children’s church by 3 years old, but they’ve all usually started going with their older sibling at about 2. Some need nursery a bit longer, so there is no hard rule on that.
(I’d also like to add that when we first began children’s church, I was completely against it. I was raised that children needed to learn to sit still and behave out there at a young age, so our oldest didn’t go at first. Then God showed me what a blessing it was. It’s great when you have awesome teachers who can teach on their level instead of forcing little ones to sit under preaching and not be able to understand very much of the sermon.)
In Christian Love,
A fellow Pastor’s wife (Associate Pastor) and Nursery/Children’s Director
Other reasons to volunteer in the nursery:
For older people: Getting your ‘baby fix’ for those who miss when their children were little and for those whose grandchildren are far away.
For younger people: Learning from others with more experience how to care for babies and young children. Learning how to change diapers and calm crying babies are important skills for all to learn. (and I think that changing dirty diapers can lead unmarrieds to think about the consequences of sex.)
I have been leading our nursery at our church now for 8 years. When I started, I had plenty of people who worked in the nursery. I and my husband are the only adult nursery workers in the nursery. I have asked couples in our congregation to serve, but all I get is a resounding no.
Thank you for sharing this…I will get it printed and share with my church family. Have a blessed week!
Hi Victoria, it’s been a while since you posted. How have things turned out for you as nursery director? any lessons or insight you want to update us with? I am interested in your journey. Thanks for the post.
When do the nursery volunteers get to hear the sermon? Someone who is always serving away from the main congregation will feel excluded. I’ve never understood why this is acceptable. I feel that it’s the parents responsibility to look after and teach their children in church. Short Sunday school sessions could be held before or after the service, or one service a month could be dedicated to the children.