Absolutely!
The church growth people tell us that kids are one of the top three reasons why people choose a church.
1. Pastor
2. Worship
3. Kid’s ministry
I discovered this early on. I was helping my youth pastor plant a church in Michigan. I had all the kids in one room because we were just starting out.
I was teaching on the Sword of the Spirit. I purchased a real machete and used apples to represent temptation. I would throw the apples in air and slice them with the machete.
A new family showed up with a three-year-old. I was concerned what the three-year-old would think of the crazy man with the machete.
I went ahead and taught the lesson on the Sword of the Spirit, but I still wondered what the new kid would say to her parents.
I was pleasantly surprised to see the new family come back the next week. Dad came up and said to me, “We were discussing which church to attend this morning. Brook suddenly spoke up, ‘Mom, Dad, I want to go to the apple slicing church.’ We didn’t know what she meant but we knew that she liked this church.”
A good kids program may not bring new people in, but it absolutely brings them back a second time.
Parents are the decision maker, but kids have a lot of influence with the parents. If kids like your church it carries a lot of weight with their parents.
How do I get the kids to help me grow my church?
1. Make it Fun.
2. Remember their name.
3. Teach The Bible. Make it deep. Give them something they can fight the devil with.
4. Do Small Groups. This helps kids make friends.
5. Get Kids Involved Serving. When kids are on the schedule to serve Mom and Dad have to come too.
What types of things do you do to get kids to bring their parents back to church?
