LifeWay

Kids Ministry

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Crafts, Family, Fun, Games, Parent Helps

5 Ideas for Indoor Fun

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Depending on where you live, the winter months can be brutal, with temperatures so low that taking the kids outside isn’t an option unless absolutely necessary. Even if you live near an indoor amusement park or an indoor swimming pool, those can get crowded during the winter months—which is also the height of flu season!—and the entry fees and/or costs to play can add up.

On days when you’re all stuck at home, what can you do to keep the kids—and yourself—from getting cabin-fever? While letting your children watch TV or play video games for a reasonable amount of time is fun for them and gives you some time to yourself, plopping your kids in front of screens all day isn’t good for them, can trigger waves of guilt in you, and does nothing to promote your family’s bond.

The benefits of family bonding are well-established and far-reaching. Making time to communicate positively with your children can boost their self-esteem and lower the incidences of childhood depression and anxiety. Moreover, making time to establish a close bond with your children can improve their school performance, problem-solving skills, and relationships with teachers and peers.   

There are many ways to spend quality time at home with our children that include bond-building communication and fun, and exclude reliance on screen time. Here are 5 fun (and cheap!) activities to do at home with your kids when it’s too cold to go outside.

At the end of the games, be sure to hand out prizes to each child whether the prizes be homemade medals or, if you can plan ahead, inexpensive pre-ordered gold medals.

  1. Set up an indoor campground. Bring the sleeping bags and tents up from the basement or down from the attic and turn your family room into an indoor campground. No sleeping bags or tents? No problem. Create a campground by arranging chairs in rows of two in the family room, draping a bedsheet over the chairs to create the tent, and piling pillows and blankets underneath to create a sleep area.

    You can make your indoor campground as elaborate as you’d like with items you already have in your home. String Christmas lights across the top of the tent to create a starry night scene. Enjoy the glow of a campground “fire” made with paper towel tubes, tissue paper, and LED candles. Set up lawn chairs outside the tent and serve hot dogs, chips, and trail mix; play cards and board games; or do an easy craft like making beaded necklaces or braided bracelets.

    Add to the camping aura by having the kids help you make indoor s’mores in the microwave, oven, skillet, or, for a more “outdoorsy” experience, over a well-ventilated sterno flame.
  2. Host indoor Olympic games. If you look in toy boxes and closets, you’ll probably find that you have enough games and activities at home to arrange back-to-back and create a challenging obstacle course for your kids to compete in, tantamount to a kiddie indoor Olympic course!

    You can kick off the indoor “Olympic games” with an opening ceremony in which each child gets to parade onto the course to a theme song of his or her choosing. Depending on your child’s age, he or she may want to grab a favorite teddy bear to serve as his or her Olympic mascot. At the close of the opening ceremonies, get your stopwatch and scorecard ready and time your little Olympians as they compete in consecutive games of skill and physical fitness such as: a ring or beanbag toss, a mini golf course competition (a broom, a Ping Pong® ball, and a plastic cup can be used in place of a golf club, golf ball, and hole), or a ball throwing  competition into boxes of decreasing sizes, with a point given per successful shot for each of these activities:
    • a sack race or a boiled egg and spoon race with a demarcated finish line and points given to the first person over the finish line;
    • a hula hoop competition with a point given for each second the competitors can hold up their hula hoop
    • a pyramid cup-stacking race with points given to the first person to successfully stack his or her cups into a stable pyramid;
    • a physical endurance competition where points are given for the number of jumping jacks, push-ups, and sit-ups the child can do in three 30-second intervals; and
    • a mad dash crabwalk to the final finish line of the indoor Olympic games.
  3. Send the kids off on a scavenger hunt. Staying indoors can be a blast when the kids are set off on a scavenger hunt to seek and collect common household items. The scavenger hunt can be subject to a time-limit where each child competes alone or are organized by teams to see which team collects the most items first. Print out a free indoor scavenger hunt checklist listing 40 everyday household items for seekers to find here. 
  4. Throw a costume party. Let your kids raid Mom and Dad’s room for hats, scarves, and costume jewelry to put on a costume party. Add snacks and a tea set to make it a tea party-themed costume party. For a quick and easy costume, take out several rolls of toilet paper and wrap your kids up like mummies (without covering the nose and mouth area). For a fun competition with several family members, split the group up into teams where one person volunteers to be the mummy while the other does the wrapping. The team that can wrap up their mummy the fastest and the neatest wins.
  5. Hold an art show. Grab smocks for your kids and spread out watercolors and brushes, crayons, markers, and colored pencils on a table along with poster board and construction paper. Provide glue sticks and safety scissors to allow for added artistic touches. Once your little artists have created their masterpieces, hang up the artwork and host an art show complete with glasses of apple juice “champagne” and hor d’oeuvres.

Make spending a cold day at home fun and educational for you and your child with these activities and remember that carving out quality time for your child is important at any time of year, in any weather!

Dolores Smyth writes about parenting and faith. A perfect day for her includes running, reading, and spending time with her husband and three kids. Follow her on Twitter @LolaWordSmyth.This article appears in the January 2020 issue of ParentLife. For more information or to order, visit www.lifeway.com/parentlife.

Family, Fun, Games, Parent Helps, Parenting

It’s Cold Outside: 3 Things to Do in Winter with Kids

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Winter is knocking on our doors. As you approach this season of long days stuck inside with bored kids, take some time now to prepare for a little fun. 

Box O’ Fun

Purchase a tub and fill it with tons of creative supplies. At our house this tub contains:

  • Construction Paper
  • Blank Paper
  • Scissors
  • Glue
  • Markers
  • Crayons
  • Colored Pencils
  • Coloring Books
  • Play Dough
  • Kinetic Sand
  • Washi Tape
  • Pipe Cleaners
  • Googly Eyes
  • Watercolors
  • Paintbrushes
  • Stamps
  • Ink Pads
  • Glitter
  • Glitter Glue

Make a visit to your local dollar store and load up on any craft supplies you can find. Keep the TV off for a few hours and encourage your kids to craft their hearts away! Make thank-you cards for Christmas gifts, use cardboard boxes to make robots, cars, or homes for stuffed animals. The possibilities are really endless and you will be amazed at the creations your kids will come up with. 

Living Room Slumber Party

Tell your kids to throw on a fresh pair of pajamas and bring their pillows and blankets to the living room. Pile everyone up on the floor and turn on your family’s favorite movie. Make sure to pop some popcorn and grab a sweet snack to share. When the movie is over, let each child pick a board game to play. Everyone gets a turn! Our favorites include Hedbanz®, SushiGo®, and Chutes and Ladders®. Looking to really surprise your kids? Pillow fight! The laughter is sure to ensue.

Indoor Snow Storm

Keep a spare ream of white copy paper and a large bag of cotton balls around the house just for days like this. Give the whole stack of paper to your kids and encourage them to make as many paper snowflakes as they can. When they’ve finished, tape them to the windows and anywhere else you want! Cover the house in snowflakes. You can even string them from light fixtures, stick them to bathroom mirrors, and attach them to your door frames. When the house looks like a snowstorm hit it, divvy up the bag of cotton balls and throw an indoor snowball fight! Let your inner child come out as you play along with your kids!

Nancy Cornwell is the content editor for ParentLife magazine and the mom of three kids. She is always looking for good ideas to keep them entertained at home.This article first appeared in the December 2019 issue of ParentLife.

Advent, Christmas, Family, Fun, Games, Kids Ministry, Parent Helps, Resources

Christmas Activities for Kids: Christmas Tree Bingo

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Looking for a fun activity for your Birthday Party for Jesus or Christmas session? How about Christmas Tree Bingo? This isn’t your normal sit-at-a-table Bingo game. This is more active and way more fun.

Download the Christmas Tree Bingo card here.

Object: Find every item and mark every square on your Christmas Bingo card.

Option if time is limited: Play traditional five-in-a-row or require two Bingos, one horizontal and one vertical.

Preparation and planning:

  • Print one copy of the Christmas Bingo card for each child. Printing two per sheet makes them roughly 5.5-by-8.5-inches and saves paper!
  • Choose 35-40 tree decorations to correspond with your Christmas Bingo card squares. 
  • Print icons or words on a sheet of address labels. Icons are best for younger kids but may be harder to find. Each word should correspond with an ornament on your tree. Using standard size address labels, printed two words on each label then cut them in half. This will be square stickers kids will use to create their Christmas Bingo cards. Click here to download a sample list of some ornaments you could include. 
  • Decorate a Christmas tree with your chosen Christmas Bingo ornaments. Add more ornaments, garland, lights, or other tree decorations for additional challenge and fun.

The last time I played this game, I set our Christmas tree in a place that the children could not touch it. This was for obvious reasons, like I didn’t want someone to knock the tree over, but also to add an additional challenge. Part of my instructions to the kids included “You may not get within reach of the Christmas tree.” Kids had to find the items from a short distance away without touching the tree. There are 24 empty squares on each Christmas Bingo card so my goal was to have 35-40 ornaments, some represented by stickers and some not, and have at least 30 different words/icons on stickers to add variety.

Instructions:

  • As kids arrive, guide them select one blank Christmas Bingo card. 
  • Kids select a different sticker (from the cut address labels) for each square and place it on his/her Christmas Bingo card. Stickers may not be on a card more than once. This allows each child’s Christmas Bingo card to be different, adding challenge and creativity.
  • After each square has a sticker, kids are guided the Christmas tree to look for each item on their Christmas Bingo card. When an item is found, kids should mark that item off on their card. You can use stamps, pencil, or marker to mark off found items.
  • If a kids finishes quickly, she can color her Christmas Bingo card to decorate a border or draw a picture on the back.
  • If desired, have a prize for the first child who gets a “bingo,” or a prize for each child as he completes a “bingo.”

Download the Christmas Tree Bingo card here.

Christmas, Family, Fun, Games, Kids Ministry, Large Group, Parent Helps, Resources, Teaching Kids

Happy Birthday Jesus! 3 Tips for Throwing a Birthday Party for Jesus.

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Kids love birthday parties. At least, every kid I have ever met does. 

Download the free Take the Fun Home card for parents.

Jesus’ birth into the world is one of the most important events in all of history. Even the way we number our years is related to Jesus’ birth. For example,  AD 2020 is “in the year of the Lord 2020.” Jesus’ birth is also, of course, one of the most important events in salvation history. With Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem, all the history of the Old Testament would begin to come into focus. Jesus’ birth can also be seen as the launching pad for everything that followed this pivotal moment in time. If this isn’t enough reason to throw a party, I don’t know what would be!

So why not celebrate during the month of December with a birthday party for Jesus? Here are three tips for throwing a Birthday Party for Jesus.

Tip #1 – Make it a PARTY!

  • Celebrate with decorations. Inflate balloons, hang streamers, give out party hats, and so forth. Decorations can be elaborate without being a burden on your budget and will give your space an instant face-lift. 
  • Celebrate with a one-day schedule change. If your kids ministry typically meets in separate classrooms, explore the option to bring everyone together for the party. 
  • Celebrate with invitations. Mail postcard invitations to every child on your roll. Provide additional invitations to each child and challenge kids to invite a friend. Everyone loves being invited to a party!
  • Celebrate with singing. Not just “Happy Birthday,” though I would recommend singing this one too. Sing other Christmas carols that share the joy of Christmas.

Tip #2 – Make it FUN!

  • Make it delicious. Have cake or cupcakes and juice boxes. Few things will raise the fun factor the way passing out cake will. Don’t forget to post an allergy alert and have a quick standby option for those with food allergies. 
  • Make it engage. Wearing party hats and providing noise makers can be an instant hit.
  • Make it memorable. Give out party favors when kids leave. Have a small bag of goodies for each child to take with them. Bonus if each goodie bag item points kids to the gospel (i.e. glow-in-the-dark necklace for “Jesus is the Light of the World”)
  • Make it active. Playing games will likely be a bullseye on the fun target. 
    • Assign kids to teams and play for points.
    • Collect large scraps of paper or buy a pack of colored construction paper, mark a line down the center of your space dividing kids into two teams, and have a “snowball fight”
    • Minute-to-Win It type games are usually easy to prepare and can be a huge hit.
    • Check out Kid Min Toolbox: Great Games that Teach for a great source of quick games

Tip #3 – Make it about JESUS!

  • Don’t forget to tell the Christmas story. Keep it short. Read the Bible passages or show a video, but be sure to include the reason for the party.
  • Keep Jesus at the center. Don’t lose Him in the fun and games.
    • Debrief each game with a gospel connection.
    • Connect each party favor to a Bible truth.
  • When choosing songs to sing, choose songs about Jesus’ birth and other worship songs to focus kids voices and hearts on Jesus.

Bonus tip—Provide this Take the Fun Home card with some suggested ideas for parents to have a Birthday Party for Jesus in their home and invite other families to join together. 

With a little creativity and preparation, kids in your church and community will be engaged in a fresh way with the joy Jesus brings this Christmas season.

Family, Parent Helps, Thanksgiving

Helping Families Give Thanks This Thanksgiving

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The family feast is coming, and I’m looking forward to it as much as anyone. My normal contribution to the spread each year includes a few pies and a side dish or two. These goodies are a fun part of the annual Thanksgiving festivities, and items that we’re all grateful to have. But, other than wolfing down another slice of pumpkin pie, do you ever stop to count your other blessings, “naming them one-by-one” as the old hymn suggests?

When we think of our blessings broken down in this way, we have so much to be thankful for! But before we become proud in thinking this has anything to do with our own goodness, we need to keep some things in mind: God is the provider of all good things in our lives. In Psalm 121:1-2 we read: “Where will my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”

As a reminder, things in life as we know them can disappear so quickly! We must change our mindset to one of thankfulness each day — not just in November. So, after we get this “attitude of gratitude” drilled down into our thinking, how can we enhance and pass on this philosophy to our kids early in their lives?

Through the Senses

Help your child with hands-on projects to show thankfulness for what she has by sharing with others. Use sight, taste, touch, hearing, and smell to get a start with these outreach projects.

  • Preschoolers can create a watercolor picture as a Thanksgiving “card” for an elderly neighbor.
  • A simple fall-scented candle would make a great gift for a friend of any age.
  • Record a cheerful message from your child(ren) on your phone and then text it to relatives and friends who live too far away to visit in person.
  • Share your homemade goodies with some international students who are “stuck alone” on campus over the holiday.

Through Relationships

When you hear of a friend or family member experiencing a challenging situation, take note of it. Find ways to include your kids in reaching out as a way of showing gratitude for the ability to help during this difficult time.

  • Take some food to a friend or family member who recently lost a job.
  • Buy additional baby items (diapers, bottles, formula, pacifiers) for a young family you know who may be a little tight over the holidays.
  • Provide a “free” night of childcare for someone with young kids, knowing they are typically stretched financially.
  • Invite a single adult from church or work to your home for the holiday mealtime fun if they don’t have a place to go to for the day.

Through the Community & World

Keep yourself updated on needs in your community and (for older kids) the world. When you see a way your family might help, discuss a plan for meeting some of those needs.

  • A project such as Operation Christmas Child® is a great way to enlarge your child’s focus toward people outside his immediate circle of family and friends.
  • Check community boards at local gyms and churches for tangible ways to help in surrounding neighborhoods with service projects, or provision of clothing or food items.

Always remember to verbally express your own thankfulness for God’s goodness when interacting with your family members. Your children especially will enjoy hearing your excitement as you recount God’s blessings in your life.

Dixie Walker has been in childhood ministry with families and teachers for the past 20 years. She and her family reside in the metro Atlanta area.

This article first appeared in the November 2017 issue of ParentLife.

Advent, Christmas, Devotional, Family, Kids Ministry, Parent Helps

2019 Family Advent Guide

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In the opening verses of the Gospel of Luke he writes:

“Many have undertaken to compile a narrative about the events that have been fulfilled among us… It also seemed good to me, since I have carefully investigated everything from the very first, to write to you in an orderly sequence, most honorable Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things about which you have been instructed” (Luke 1:1-4, emphasis added).

Luke wrote an orderly sequence of Jesus’ life so that Theophilus and all other readers could have confidence in the gospel message. During the Advent season, we have the opportunity to encourage the parents we serve to guide their children toward a similar goal of having a confident hope in Jesus’ birth. 

Hope, love, joy, and peace are a few of the good gifts God has given to us. During this Christmas season, let’s remember and celebrate Jesus’ coming to earth as a baby, making a way for us to experience these gifts. Our prayer is that families will spend time each week celebrating Jesus’ birth and the hope and joy He offers.

Click here for the free Family Advent Guide.

Share this resource with families in your community to help them focus on the hope, love, peace, and joy that only Jesus can bring. He is the gift we proclaim. Let’s celebrate!

Kids Ministry, Parent Helps

6 Budget-Friendly Backyard Games for Kids

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“I’m bored!”

Those words can trigger waves of anxiety and eye-rolls in any parent, especially during the summer months when a child’s daily schedule is often wide open while the parent’s is cresting to its fullest.

If summer camp isn’t a feasible option, your patience may have peaked to the point where you’re tempted to jump ship and let the kids get glassy-eyed for hours in front of their screen of choice.

If you’re looking for an alternative, look no further than your own backyard for enjoyable and affordable ways to have summer fun. Here are 6 budget-friendly activities to keep your kids busy having a blast in your own yard.

#1:  Set up an obstacle course.

Backyard obstacle courses are loads of fun, can be easy or elaborate depending on the age of the child, and can consist entirely of objects you already own.

For younger children, an obstacle course can include:

  • Hula hoops to hop in and out of
  • Buckets to weave around slalom-style
  • Yoga mats spread on the grass for forward rolls
  • A low balance beam to walk across
  • Balls to toss into laundry baskets
  • An inflatable or plastic pool to jump into at the end of the course

For older kids, a more challenging course can consist of:

  • Folding tables to crawl under
  • Planters to jump over
  • Water balloons to transport by spoon without dropping
  • Balls to toss into boxes of decreasing size
  • A hose to knock down items lined up on a table
  • Newspaper pages to place underfoot with each step while racing across the yard toward the finish line

#2:  Channel a classic with a game of lawn Twister®.

To make a grass version of this classic game, purchase cans of marking paint in red, blue, yellow, and green from your local hardware store.

To create the game grid:

  • Use a plate to trace a “Twister dot” on a piece of cardboard or poster board. Trace a small circle for the smaller hands and feet of young children or a large circle for older players. Cut the circle out to create a hole in the cardboard or poster board and, voila, you have a Twister dot template.
  • Place the cardboard or poster board template on the grass and spray paint through the hole in the template to create rows of dots. Be sure to place the dots close enough so that children can easily reach over from dot to dot, and be sure the game grid area is large enough to accommodate the number of children playing.
  • Once the dots are all painted onto the grass, grab your (indoor) Twister spinner and start playing! If you don’t have a Twister spinner, write down each of the four directions (left hand, right hand, left foot, or right foot) for each dot color on separate index cards or slips of paper. For example, one card will read, “Right hand. Green.”
  • Call out each direction and watch players stretch, reach, and balance as they strive to be the last kid standing on your lawn Twister board!

#3:  Make a slippery splash pad.

Have your kids change into their bathing suits for some slipping and sliding with this giggle-inducing activity. All you’ll need is a large tarp and a hose. Lay the tarp down in an area with plenty of space around all sides of the tarp. Run the hose on the tarp until it’s soaked and slippery. Keep the hose running as your kids splash on the tarp and slide on it barefoot or Superman-style. Give the kids boogie boards if you have them for added slippery fun.

#4:  Throw a fiesta with water balloon piñatas.

Your kids can keep their bathing suits on for this wet and wild game of water balloon piñatas. For this activity, you’ll need water balloons, string, a strong piece of rope, and a plastic bat.

  • Tie the rope between two trees or two other sturdy structures.
  • Fill the water balloons with water, close each with a knot, and then tie a string around each knot.
  • Tie several water balloons to the rope using the attached strings so that the balloons hang overhead like a row of piñatas.
  • Have each child take a turn swinging the plastic bat to see how many balloons she can burst in 30 seconds. Use a blindfold with older children to further test their skill.
  • Don’t forget to pick up the balloon pieces when you’re done!

#5:  Blast the sprinklers.

For more water play, your kids can stay cool in an at-home spray park, courtesy of your lawn sprinklers. If you have an oscillating sprinkler system, scatter water-friendly toys around the sprinkler unit for each child to scoop up before getting soaked by the swinging water stream.

#6:  Get creative with colorful water art.

Bring out your child’s inner artist with this game of water-squirter art. Fill water squirters with water mixed with food dye, using a different color for each water squirter. Set down sheets of paper on the grass or tape sheets of paper onto trees and enjoy watching your kids paint colorful masterpieces.

Get your kids to release their Judo-grip on their tablets or phones this summer by turning your backyard into an activity-filled playland, all without breaking the bank!

Dolores Smyth is a faith and parenting writer. Find her on Twitter @LolaWordSmyth.

Looking for more? Connect with ParentLife online at facebook.com/parentlife. Order at lifeway.com/parentlife.

Parent Helps, Parenting, Podcasts

Equipping Parents to be Spiritual Leaders in the Home

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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Parents should be the spiritual leaders in their homes, and we can equip them. Delanee Williams, Kids Ministry Special, shares ways to equip and partner with parents.

Delanee Williams serves as a Ministry Specialist with LifeWay Kids. She is a graduate of Baylor University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.  Delanee has served in kids ministry for over twenty years.

 

 

Family, Family Ministry, Parent Helps, Parenting

Making Memories

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Kids Ministry 101 welcomes this article written by Wynter Pitts. Wynter lived with a passion to introduce young girls to Christian values in a way that they’re able to understand, so they can walk passionately and boldly in who God has created them to be. Wynter authored For Girls Like You Tween Devotionals and founded For Girls Like You Magazine. We are honored to continue her legacy! #wynterslegacy

I imagine the conversation will go something like this:

“Mom, remember that time you wanted us to do a craft together and you looked on Pinterest?”

Silence – immediately followed by an uproar of contagious giggles and uncontrollable laughter.

You see, I am not the craftiest of girls, but God blessed me with four sequin-wearing, glitter-paint-splattering, and sugar-loving darlings, so I try.

The reality is, I am actually the mom who …

  • Has an entry-level Pinterest board named, “Projects I think I Can Handle.”
  • Buys a kit to create your own gum, only to burn it in the microwave.
  • Takes three days and a dozen YouTube videos to figure out how to turn rubber bands into a beautiful work of art and a colorful accessory using a “Rainbow Loom.”
  • Tries to bake an edible cookie bowl … I can’t even think of the proper words to describe how horrifically this ended. It was pure pandemonium as a party of 10 girls tried to scoop ice-cream into a pile of burnt crumbs.
  • Paints nails. And cuticles.
  • Always has to double the amount of suggested flour in order to stop the homemade play dough from becoming a permanent placemat.
  • Forgets to turn on the oven light when making a “Shrinky Dink.” Causing us to entirely miss the point—the shrinking.
  • Successfully bakes reindeer cupcakes (from Pinterest!) but then arrives too late to the class party … missing the unveiling and enjoyment of my labor.

And this is just the beginning! I am serious—this list could go on and on! Regardless of my many failed attempts, my ultimate goal is to never stop adding bullet points.

Let’s just call it a work in progress.

The specific activities may not be my proudest parenting acts, but combined they are what define the most significant contribution I give to my girls.

My time.

So, I imagine my girls will have endless stories from their childhood … and I am prepared to be the punchline for most of them! However, it’s the first few words of their stories that are the most important to me, “Mom, remember …”

Memories are not defined by perfect scenarios. It’s the present—the daily and the quality time we spend with our children that will guide and provide the substance of future conversations.  

Enjoy the activities, but focus your best efforts on the memory.

 

Kids Ministry, Leadership, Parent Helps

Cokes & Cheetos: Does what kids ingest impact their behavior and development?

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I have a distinct memory of a child who was in the kids ministry at a church where my wife and I served in California many years ago. We were young first-time parents at the time, and the care and handling of our own infant daughter was something that we were both very concerned with and aware of. We were intentional to feed her a healthy balance of yogurts and cereals and fruits and vegetables in appropriate quantities and at the right times in order to help her grow physically strong, develop on schedule, and stay in good health. It was within this context that we encountered the Coke-and-Cheetos kid, and simultaneously became acutely aware that different people measure success in childrearing by different standards. The first time this child was dropped off at Sunday School with a breakfast consisting of half a family-size bag of Cheetos and a spill-proof cup filled with Coca-Cola we were … surprised. But, hey, everyone has a rough morning occasionally, and sometimes you just feed kids whatever you have handy. I get it. It soon became evident, however, that this was not a fluke; this was the norm. The little girl was perfectly happy. She was more than willing to indulge in this chip-and-soda breakfast. She was also proud to show off her orange-stained fingers and the tell-tale prints they left on everything she touched.

Would you be surprised to hear that this child had a difficult time concentrating at church? That she could not sit still to listen to the lesson? That she didn’t retain much of the Bible story content? Would you be shocked to hear that she swung from bouncing off the walls at the beginning of class because she was on a sugar and red-dye rush to crashing into a whiny coma by the end of Children’s Church? Would you be stunned to hear that she displayed behavioral challenges that distracted and disrupted others? No. You wouldn’t be surprised at all. Why? Because you know that what you put into a kid directly affects what comes out of that kid. Sugar, caffeine, and artificial orange food dye are not exactly the recommended input if you desire health and growth and concentration and general wellness.

For the record: I believe strongly that we need to extend all the grace we can to families who are trying to make it through another rough day. My purpose in sharing this is not to shame or belittle this family. I share this example to make the point that what we feed our children directly affects their health and behavior and development as they grow. Please also note that the responsibility for this falls on the adults, not on the child. Of course, kids want Coke and Cheetos and candy and cake for breakfast. They are kids. Children don’t understand that there can be negative long-term effects of a fast-food/junk-food diet. It is we, the adults who care for them, who have to take responsibility to teach our children good and healthy habits because we know it will be far better for them in the long run.

While we may shake our heads at the literal nutritional practice of feeding kids Coke and Cheetos for breakfast, many kids ministries dish out the spiritual equivalent in regard to the biblical diet we feed to kids in our churches. It can be tempting for leaders to substitute candied and caffeinated attractional programming for solid meaty spiritual truth, believing that they can draw in more kids with a Coke-and-Cheetos kids program. Be very careful of this potentially dangerous mindset. But we must be aware of the risk that this approach might ultimately do more harm than good. Attractional junk-food content lacks the real spiritual nutrients that real kids need to grow real faith in the real world. Kids need a clear and true understanding that God rules, we sinned, God provided a way for forgiveness through Jesus who gives us as forgiveness and salvation as a free gift, and that we must respond to what God has done through Jesus. They need to understand that salvation comes by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. And they need to grasp the power of the truth that we do not behave in good ways to earn God’s favor, but that our good behavior is as a result of being changed from the inside out. The goal of our kids ministries must not be to produce Christian-looking kids but to generate mature adult believers who don’t walk away from the church after they leave their youth group. What we teach matters.

James 3:1 warns of the additional burden of responsibility we carry as teachers of God’s Word. We must take seriously our call as ministers of the gospel to teach Jesus to our kids. If we have loads of fun but sugarcoat the message, we will have missed the mark. Look around your kid’s wing to see what color fingerprints your kids are leaving.

Chuck Peters is Director of Operations for LifeWay Kids. A graduate of Columbia Bible College, Chuck has served vocationally & voluntarily in Student and Children’s Ministry for many years.

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