On the Sunday
after Labor Day, I found myself at an old-fashioned Rally Day at
Ebenezer United Church of Christ near Buffalo, NY. It was worship on the
church lawn, under a big white tent, dinner on the grounds, and
start-up for all the children's Sunday
school classes. Kids were everywhere! I visited with many of their
teachers - some of whom have been in the classroom for more than 50
years; one twenty-something was picking up teaching for her grandmother,
to carry a tradition forward. For all the tired, dead Rally Days out
there, Ebenezer still knows how to throw a good fall party and rally the
neighbors and their children!
In my work with Ebenezer, we
will focus on further strengthening their ministry to children and
families in the year ahead. The leading reason cited by de-churched
families for their returning to participation in a church is their
interest in giving such an experience to their children.
About this time last year, I
found myself at Cornerstone Church in Watertown, SD, where more than
one hundred elementary-aged children and their parents shared in a
high-energy Bible-learning time with music, drama and well-choreographed
learning activity. A bit more cutting edge than what they do at
Ebenezer, and a key to the on-going strength of Cornerstone!
However, the majority of churches in America have empty Sunday
school rooms. The congregations have aged, and they are disconnected or
oblivious to the many children that live all around them. Many churches
threw in the towel, grumbling about people's priorities for choosing
soccer over Sunday
school. (Memo to grumpy churches: soccer brings very tangible benefits:
teaching children discipline, team work, motor skills, and even
leadership. Many parents cannot figure out what, exactly, Sunday school gives a twenty-first century kid that will help them in life.)
Churches that thrive in the twenty-first century will almost universally excel in children's ministry. If soccer blocks them on Sunday, they will gather children on Wednesday. Twenty years ago in a church with six children on Sunday, we created a community children's ministry on Wednesday evenings that drew ten times as many children, and used the same curriculum we had been using on Sunday.
We knew that great children's ministry was not optional - and we found a
way to make it work. In rural and central city settings, churches can
go in together to create non-Sunday
morning children's ministry and youth ministry programs that can gather
a critical mass of participants and impact young people deeply during
their formative years. Where there is a will, there is a way. Children
remain the most enthusiastic population of potential churchgoers, decade
after decade, post-Christendom or whatever. And young children bring
parents with them!
- Popping in a bad video rather than engaging directly in storytelling, playing and relating to children.
- Cutesy Vacation Bible School with elaborate pirate outfits and almost no biblical content.
- Depressing 1960s cubicle rooms with weird smells and low wattage lighting: that could form a set for a new season of American Horror Story
- Seasonal experiences that run for 8-12 weeks, two or three rounds per year.
- Programs that target a broad-based community population (far beyond the children of church families) and may include music, recreation and food.
- Experiences designed for parents and children to share together, that equip and coach families for faith development work at home.
- The Godly Play movement - Montessori meets Sunday school
- Programs that meet at times other than Sunday morning
- Churches that show up on or near the soccer fields, before and after games
- Monthly events that last three hours instead of 45 minutes
- Clarity of learning goals for each year in Sunday school - so that parents know clearly what life skills and faith principles we are seeking to teach their kids.
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