Evaluate Your Children's Ministry

The United Pentecostal Church of Goodlettsville, Tennessee, recently conducted a thorough review of their entire children's ministry program.  The end result is a clearly-focused ministry that has become more effective in ministry and in outreach.  We thank them for sharing their story.  Pastor Tim Zuniga and his staff are to be commended for their commitment to reaching children!

                                                  

We remodeled our fellowship hall into a kids center in January.  It doubles as both when needed. Our upstairs got a facelift as well. We decided that kids services were held in the room more often than dinners and after all what is more important? So we made it available for both uses but adapted it for kids and youth in the décor. We have definitely put it to good use with 3 children's churches every other week and youth service on the opposite weeks.

                                       

Our 2^nd friends day this year at Goodlettsville was another success. Our goal was 500, we toppled that with 566! 136 of those were kids! We divided into 2 services with our Community Kids Church at 9 and Kid Zone at 10. Children's Evangelist, Bro. Jonathan Ramsey from Pascagoula, MS was with us and did a fabulous job. Our new CKC church that we started in May has had as many as 64 in attendance this month and 50 last Wednesday night.  Kids are walking from the neighborhood and parents are stopping by to see what the fuss is all about. GOD is moving!  Our new Kidzpraise for 3-6 year olds and Kidz Zone for ages 7-11 have hit their highest numbers in August/ September. 6 received the Holy Ghost in August!

So far our re-evaluation of how we could improve our kids programs has been a success and looking ahead for how to handle more kids.  The kids comment that they are getting more out of classes and services since we revamped what we are doing. Our issues were discipline, space, enthusiasm, and a host of other concerns in our program. We sat down for several weeks and wrote down all those things that worked and did not work currently and the issues we had to work on.  We prayed for answers and for God to prepare us to lead more kids to him.  Our focus has changed and now we not only focus on helping the kids to receive the Holy Ghost, but also to help them maintain a lifelong relationship with HIM. We broke down the age groups and evaluated each one and asked the kids what they wanted.  It was a long process, but the Lord opened our understanding and gave us vision to see how to get where he wants to take us. We visited 13 other kids programs in our area and talked to the directors and gained some awesome insight. The teachers are more enthused, the kids are learning more and responding better, and the discipline issues are not a big issue anymore. As you can tell my enthusiasm for what God is doing is bubbling over!"

                                                  

Evaluate Your Church's Program
1.  Identify your problems.  (Discipline, lack of enthusiasm, space, etc.)
2.  Write down what you are currently doing that works - and what doesn't work.
3.  See what others are doing that is effective.
4.  Focus on your target (children) and what you want to accomplish.
5.  Develop a written plan.


Deänna Alexander
Children's Ministry Director

                                              
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