12 Reasons to Rethink Your Midweek Madness

You walk into the room worn out from the workday and see children running everywhere—madness! They’re tired of sitting in school all day, and you are expected to spend the next hour or two teaching them about God. What do you do to grab and keep their attention? to memorably teach them about God? to accomplish more than being a glorified babysitting service? Do you give in and teach a quick lesson, have a snack, and play a few games so they have fun and want to come back next week? Or are you just convincing yourself and others that your ministry is truly reaching and teaching those children? Are you truly getting the job done in a systematic, fun, and engaging way? It may be time to rethink your midweek ministry and consider how to get rid of the madness, how to do ministry more efficiently and effectively. Here are 12 reasons.

Christians should desire to see their churches grow both numerically and spiritually. It is their mission! So how do you help grow your children’s ministry? Here are five “must-haves” to provide:

A safe atmosphere where parents are comfortable leaving their children
A fun, exciting program that the children cannot wait to attend (they’ll be begging their parents to allow them to come).
A quality Scripture-filled curriculum that teaches the truths you believe are the most important to teach in the little time you have with the children
Activities and events that welcome children and parents to interact with your church congregation
A time to evangelize the lost: Matthew 28:19 commissions believers to “go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Realize that this commission is relevant not only to missions around the world, but also to your community. If you reach a child early in life, that child has his entire life to serve God.

If a program is exciting and engaging, children will want to attend. Think back to your school or college days. What classes interested you the most? What classes made you want to study and come back the next session? Was it the class where the teacher spoke in a monotone, stared blankly at the back of the room as he spoke, and did not interact with his students? Or was it the class where the teacher was excited about the lesson, thought of interesting ways to engage the class, had exciting visuals or object lessons, allowed hands-on activities, and made learning the materials fun and interactive? Those were the classes I loved! I could not wait to see what the teacher was going to do next. More importantly, I learned and retained the most from those classes and activities. Creating a ministry with a similar feel will give the children an exciting, motivating, and memorable learning experience.

If you are like me, you do not want to teach children something they will only use today. I want to teach children so they have a deep foundation upon which to grow their faith in God. Using a systematic, Bible-doctrine–based curriculum designed to deepen and build upon what the child has already learned allows children to deepen their relationship with God and provides a foundation for spiritual growth. Children begin to understand the Bible, not see information as fragmented pieces disconnected from the whole. Instead they can visualize all parts fitting together like a beautiful puzzle.

My husband and I had the privilege of raising five children. We had four boys. Each differed from the other three in many ways. From the book learner, to the verbal, to the hands-on, to the techie—each of them learned in his own way. Add our daughter to the mix, and we had even another style of learning! Because children have different learning styles, a children’s ministry should incorporate different methods to accommodate the different styles. We want to reach all the children, not just ones that learn through hearing or seeing or hands-on doing—whatever our favorite method might be. A mix of different learning methods, review activities, and program activities helps to engage all children in the learning process.

My greatest desire as a parent is for my children to know, love, worship, and, most importantly, glorify God. If they do, then I know I am a successful parent. A single teacher who taught all five of my children in the Christian school they attended told me, “Each child in my class is ‘my’ child.” She loves them for the rest of their lives. She invests in them, praying for them even after they leave her class. I feel the same way about the children who come through my church’s children’s ministry. Therefore, I desire for them to know, love, worship, and glorify our God. The only way they can do this is if they truly know God and have a relationship with Him. Does the curriculum you use in your children’s ministry point kids toward really knowing God and developing a relationship with Him?

I am passionate about helping children know what Christians believe and why they believe it. If we fail to teach both what we believe and why we believe it, our children will succumb to the world’s beliefs and philosophies. I have often said that I want my children so grounded in what they believe and why they believe it that if the Bible was taken away from them, they could carry on the Christian faith. This has happened throughout church history, and we may see it in our own time. Are you confident that if their Bibles and teachers were taken from them, the children you are teaching would be able to carry on the Christian faith? Do they have enough Scriptural teaching and memorization that they could carry on without the Bible or a church? Would they be strong in their faith without you?

There is nothing wrong with a curriculum that teaches Bible stories, Bible lessons, or Bible survey. In fact, a balanced children’s ministry should have curriculums and programs that teach Bible doctrine, Bible stories/lessons, and Bible survey. In any case, make sure your children are being taught Bible doctrine. Many church kids have grown up knowing Bible stories and Bible survey but not Bible doctrine. When they become adults, they stop attending a solid, Biblical church—or any church—because they do not truly know what they believe and why they believe it.

Several years ago, children whose family belonged to a cult started attending our weekday children’s ministry. Our curriculum teaches strong Bible doctrine in a Q&A format with Bible texts that the children took home and studied with their parents. Through the study time, the parents realized they were not in a Bible-believing church, but in a cult. They came to our adult services and came to a saving knowledge of Christ. It did not take long for the father to become active in our midweek children’s ministry as a small group leader, which helped him grow in his faith and in his knowledge of what is true. He would go home and teach his family what he had learned during club. This family has been forever changed. They are strong in their faith and belief in Christ and are now leaders in their church. The curriculum we used provided a firm Bible basis for what to believe, while the Bible texts they memorized showed why they should believe it.

Many midweek programs bring in children from other churches and even other religions. Does your program ground children in solid Bible doctrine? Are your children learning what they believe and why they believe it? Or are they attending your program simply to have fun?

Deuteronomy 6:6 and 7 say, “And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” To help equip parents in guiding their children spiritually, children’s ministry workers can provide or point to resources such as student books or papers that are taken home, children’s devotional materials, online Christian resources, Christian biographies and books, and much more. Some churches have resource libraries available for teachers and parents to use, while other churches choose to list resources on the church website. These methods are helpful in equipping parents to disciple their children, help them grow spiritually, and reinforce what you are teaching during church services.

What excites children about coming to church? An exciting, active program. This does not mean you need to have the latest multimedia, flashy, loud entertainment that some churches use with their children. You also do not need the most creative classroom. I have seen some clever room setups, but they are not necessary. You do, however, need leaders who love the children and are excited about their ministry to them. Children can sense if leaders are present only to fill a position or if they are there because they truly want to be there. When leaders are excited, children are excited to learn. You do not need to be the most elegant speaker. You do not have to have high energy—although it helps! What you need most is love for the children and love for God. Children need to see that you are not concerned about them fitting into the mold of a “perfect” Christian boy or girl, but that you love them and want them to know about God. Christlike love means the world to any child, but especially to a child who comes from a difficult home life or is going through a rough time.

I remember a child who visited my husband’s and my Sunday School class. From the start, it was obvious he was different from the other boys in the class. For one thing, he seemed older than he should be for a first grader. As I talked with him, I began realizing that he was from a rough home or perhaps in a foster home. He did not seem able to sit still, was flustered when he got soap on his shirt in the bathroom, and moved from seat to seat during the lesson. Had he been one of my regular boys, I would have scolded him, knowing that his parents would be unhappy with his behavior. However, I knew a scolding was not what this child needed. He needed to see love from my husband and me. So I sat beside him, not saying much, giving him only a light “shush” when he started drumming his chair. We finished class and went to the church service. From the choir loft I saw him sitting with a woman and made a note to introduce myself to her after the service. Then I saw his face light up, and he waved at me from the back row. He recognized me and was happy I was his teacher. It made my day. Why? Because he could already tell that I loved him and cared more about him than about his behavior in class.

When you evaluate your ministry, ask, Are the leaders filling time, or are they really teaching children truths they will remember? Have the children heard the Bible story or lesson so many times they could tell it themselves? Okay, so they have. What are we as a ministry going to do about it? Are we going to let them be bored, or will we teach lessons in a different, exciting, and engaging way? What if teachers allowed students to act out the Bible story and then apply it to their lives, asking questions such as, What do you think God wants us to know about this story or lesson? Why is it in the Bible? How is it relevant in your life today? That kind of lesson engages a child! Now the teacher has the child’s attention. Does preparing this kind of lesson take more time and effort? Yes, more than likely. But is it worth it if you want the children to understand the truth and for it to stick with them for life? Most definitely!

On a side note, if you find that you are teaching the same truths across multiple services, it may be time to rethink the curriculum you are using. Do you have a balanced children’s ministry that focuses on all three key teachings: Bible doctrine, Bible stories/lessons, and Bible survey? If not, it is time to rethink the curriculums you are using.

Each church is unique and meets different needs. That is why, for example, all the Baptists in an area do not attend the same Baptist church. Each church has different needs and issues to address. This being the case, why should a publisher dictate how a curriculum/program should be used in any given church? Shouldn’t the church be able to adjust and use a program so it fits the needs of its unique ministry? Does the curriculum you use allow you to tailor it in a way that fits your needs best, or do you have to implement it only in the way it is outlined?

Throughout this article, I have referred to the children’s ministry at my church. We use Kids4Truth Clubs curriculum. It teaches 120 essential doctrines through questions and answers about authentic Christian teaching, and the clubbers learn supporting Bible verses for each doctrine. The program is flexible, since the curriculum was designed to be adjusted to meet the needs of each ministry that uses it. Kids4Truth Clubs staff is available to help churches adjust the program to fit their own needs. Do you use a program designed to fit your needs? Your ministry can benefit greatly when you use a program designed for you.

Marrena has worked in various areas of children's ministry at her church for over 35 years, including bus ministries, puppet ministry, children's Sunday School, children's church, evangelistic services, children's missionary conferences, and Vacation Bible School. Over the years, she has helped develop Kids4Truth Clubs. She has a deep desire for children to be taught the Word of God and to develop a relationship with our Lord, and enjoys training workers how to effectively minister to children through training events, children's ministry seminars and conferences, and Christian school educators' conferences.

12 Reasons Midweek Matters

Children Matter to Your Ministry

You Want to Grow Your Children’s Ministry

You Want to Create Excitement about Learning God-Focused Truths

You Want to Build a Firm Foundation for the Future

Children Learn Using Different Methods

You Want Children to Know, Love, and Worship God

You Want Children to Learn What Christians Believe and Why They Believe It

You Want a Curriculum Grounded in Solid Doctrines Children Should Know

You Want to Equip Parents to Disciple and Help Their Children Grow Spiritually

You Want Children Excited to Come to Church

You Want Children to Learn Truths That Will Stick with Them for Life

You Want a Program That Will Fit the Unique Needs of Your Ministry