I visited a great little church last Sunday called Evangelical Covenant Church in Des Moines, IA (ECC).  It was refreshing to see their high level of commitment to Children’s Ministry with an exciting space, use of creativity, allocation of resources and passionate volunteers.

The morning started with kids arriving to a really cool space with upbeat music playing and a room filled with board games, video games, legos, foosball, pool, and ping-pong tables.  The lead teacher was ready at the door with a big smile and high-fives as kids arrived.  The service continued with video worship music, relevant teaching, relational/age-specific small groups, and life application.

This church models a lot of what I have seen at large churches, even though ECC’s numbers are small in comparison.  Actually, some of what I saw at ECC was even better than what I’ve seen at a lot of large churches:  the tech equipment was modern (it didn’t look handed-down), the board games looked brand-new, and the volunteers took the initiative to plan extra activities without relying on a staff member to prepare everything for them.

I also picked up some ideas I haven’t seen before:  Their volunteers work every week for a month, then have a month off, rotating year-round; and they use a different Bible presentation for each of their two services so that the kids who attend both services (because their parents are volunteering somewhere in the church) experience new teaching each time.

Have you had an opportunity to learn something new from another church lately?  When we visit other children’s programs, it not only allows us to learn new things, but it pushes our creativity and refuels us to take our programs to the next level. It also helps us builds connections with others who have the same ministry passion.

If you haven’t been to another church lately, I’m urging you to do so.  It’s a good practice to learn form others in this way because no matter how “happening” our ministries are, there is always room to grow, learn and be inspired.  I love the phrase Ed Young wrote in his book, The Creative Leader, “The moment you stop learning is the moment you stop being an effective leader.”   So get out of your church, see what you can learn from others, and have a great time doing it!

Need more ideas, or want help totally overhauling your ministry?  Contact Dynamic Children’s Ministry to assist you in making your Children’s Ministry…Dynamic!

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