4 Easy Ways to Make Your Ministry Space More Inviting
We all appreciate inviting spaces. You know the ones I’m talking about--the places that make you immediately feel at home. That’s how we want every child to feel when they walk through the doors of your children’s ministry. Here are four easy ways to make that happen.
1. Smile
I know, I know...you were probably expecting a decorating tip, but there's way more to an environment than décor! Genuine smiles will light up a room and make it more inviting than anything you can put on the walls. Your check-in volunteers, door greeters, small group leaders, large group communicators, worship leaders, and tech volunteers should be smiling.
I’m not talking about a fabricated happiness. It’s just that we get to share the incredible news of God’s love for us every single week – and that should make us smile. Most of us don’t have a “resting” smile, so remind your teams to do it consciously. It will make a world of difference for your children and reassure your parents that their kids are in good hands.
2. Create a Buddy System
The hardest part about going to a new church is not knowing anyone. That’s true for adults and doubly true for children. So create a buddy system. Choose a handful of your regular kids and task them with being buddies for new children. Have them show the new kid around the room. Ask your buddies to introduce them to at least three other children. Have them play with the newcomer prior to the service, sit with them during the large group portion and during the small group time.
I love this one because it not only creates an inviting space for first-time guests, but also gives your regular kiddos a chance to serve in a meaningful way.
3. Eliminate clutter
Cluttered spaces are inherently uninviting. I spent the first hour or so every Monday cleaning up my room from the previous weekend. I removed anything I wouldn’t need for the following weekend. It was more than mere housekeeping – it was eliminating distractions for the coming weekend.
It’s easy to use our children’s ministry spaces as storage – thinking we can just shove things into the corners, and they won’t notice. But they will. Clutter is distracting. Buy a couple of bins you can toss things into and stow them in a closet or even your office if there are no other options.
4. Provide fun pre-service games and activities
When kids arrive at the door and see that the room is stocked with incredibly fun games and activities, wild horses won't be able to hold them back. Even better, it provides incentive to arrive on time. When my kids were younger, they would get mad if we were late and they didn't have enough time to play the pre-service games. If you're looking for ideas, I've written 2 eBooks full of suggestions (one for elementary and one for preschool). You can get them for free by clicking the images below.
There you go! Four simple ways to make your ministry space more inviting. I know, they’re super simple. But being inviting doesn’t need to be hard. If churches did these four things with consistency they’d serve every child – and every family – well.
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