Kid's Ministry Volunteers Training

Workshop 1

Recognising the Centrality of Children in God's Kingdom

Across the global church, there is a spectrum of opinions and practices relating to how prominently children should feature in church life. While some hew to a practical perspective ("we need a place where kids won't get into trouble"), others adopt a more strategic view ("if children are the leaders of tomorrow, then we should start investing in them now"). Most fall somewhere in the middle, where children are both simultaneously a problem to be tackled as well as an opportunity to be seized.

But what is a Biblical view of children? What does God's Word have to say about kids and where they fit in God's plan of human redemption and reconciliation? As we explore this topic through the lens of Jesus' interaction with children during His earthly ministry, we will discover why He made the famous declaration: "let the little children come to Me", and what it means for us as a church today.

Workshop 2

Engaging Children Effectively in Children's Ministry

Children view and approach the world differently than adults. They think differently, feel differently, and act differently than us! In order to effectively engage them, we need to be able to put aside our own perceptions and pre-conceived ideas!

In this session, participants will learn how they can effectively engage children by approaching and entering their world, through a better understanding of every child's preferred learning style, as well as how different children express themselves differently!

Workshop 3

Facilitating a Conducive Environment in Sunday School

"If it worked for them, it should work for us." There is no worse assumption than the one where we simply take what worked for someone else, slap it on our own church or ministry, and then expect similar results. The truth of the matter is that every congregation is unique, and every demographic subgroup within a church is unique too. The good news is that while there is no "one size fits all" model that we can apply to create an environment where children feel welcome and excited to come to, there are universal principles every church can learn that they can then adapt to their own unique circumstances.

In this session, participants will learn key principles for facilitating a conducive environment for children to learn and grow in, and how teaching and leading is not just the responsibility of the person or team that's "on stage".

In closing, participants will be invited to design and share their vision of what kids' church looks like in their own church context. Through the cross-sharing of ideas and perspectives, participants will be able to glean creative ideas and best practices that will help their children's ministry to grow. Time will also be set aside for participants to ask the speakers any questions that they have pertaining to the topic.

 

Workshop 4

Interactive Teaching

Workshop 5

Classroom Management

 

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