Here’s the deal.
Kids want church to be engaging. You want it to be transformational.
So often it feels like we have to choose one or the other – but we don’t. Church can and should be both.
Here are five tips to make your services engaging and transformational.
1. Internalize the Message
We can’t give what we don’t possess. We need transformation just as much as our
kids do. So, before you get caught up in the tasks necessary to pull off a Sunday
service, spend time with the lesson devotionally. Pray through it. Reflect on it. Ask
God to show you where you need to grow and ask Him to mold you into a more
faithful representative of Him.
2. Memorize the Lesson
We know. Memorization sounds absolutely daunting. But it really doesn’t have to be
– and the more you do it the quicker you’ll get.
Memorization matters because there is nothing less engaging than someone
reading off a piece of paper. When you’re tied to a script, you can’t make eye
contact and you’ll be tempted to slip into a monotone voice. Cue boredom.
If you want to engage the kids in your ministry, put in the preparation time. It will be
far more engaging and far more transformational.
3. Enter Their World
Take the time to get to enter into the world of your kids. What shows are they
watching? What toys are they loving? What music do they like? What do they do in
their free time?
Entering their world will not only engage them – it will make them feel loved and
understood. And transformation is far more likely to happen when they feel loved
and understood.
4. Invite Them Into the Story
Our tagline here at GO! Is “Join the Story.” We mean that literally.
Kids get “talked at” all week long. Don’t force them to be spectators at church –
invite them to be participants! Rather than simple telling them the Bible story, have
them read it for themselves, act it out, or creatively participate another way.
Not only is this a more engaging approach, it communicates that the Bible is for
them. That God is interested in them. That He wants to transform them.
BTW...no one does interactive storytelling like GO! Curriculum. See some of our
5. Be a Facilitator
When you transition from large group to small group, your role transitions, too.
During large group, you served as a teacher (albeit a teacher who invited the
children to participate in the teaching). During small group, you serve as a
facilitator. Don’t confuse the two.
Small group is a chance to hear from the kids. Do more listening than you do
talking. Do more asking than you do telling. Engage them and gear up for
transformational conversations.
Church can and should be both engaging and transformational because God both engages and transforms us. As His representatives, we should value both, too.
