The Future of Children’s Ministry – Karl Bastian

We kick off our series on The Future of Children’s Ministry with Karl Bastian, the Kidologist.

Read more about the series here. And be sure to check out how you can be part of the discussion on Kidology.org and possibly be part of the published ebook we will be creating (see details at the end of the article)!

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The Future of Children’s Ministry – Karl Bastian (Article 1)

In answering to the question, “What is the Future of Children’s Ministry?” I’m always faced with a very real dilemma. Do I respond with my Predicted Future, or my Preferred Future? Because in many ways, unfortunately, they are very different when I look over the children’s ministry landscape today. So, I will give you both. Forgive the use of hyperbole, as I may exaggerate a bit to make you think. But if our goal is to form disciples who will walk with Jesus through high school and into their adult life, we must seriously consider the long-range impact of the strategies we employ today.

The stats are in. Despite all the modern advances of children’s ministry, kids aren’t stickin’ with Jesus after they leave the kids ministry. And blaming parents isn’t the answer. While supporting families is critically important, in our culture, less and less children belong to healthy Christian families, so there will be a growing need for strong children’s ministries to reach those kids missed by godly parents. So let’s take a look at two possible futures and then you can make your choice.

My Predicted Future

The demise of the children’s pastor and children’s ministry. Both have been usurped and swallowed by family ministry. Misunderstanding the distinct difference between children’s ministry and family ministry, churches opt to roll the children’s ministry into family ministry. Rather than embracing family ministry as a church-wide responsibility that should coordinate with and work in concert with children’s ministry, it is seen as the solution and biblical mandate that renders children’s ministry obsolete. Of course, this happens slowly. First the children’s pastor is replaced or simply cut. “Budget cuts” is the excuse. Next, the word “ministry” is dropped from children’s ministry. “Children’s programming,” a disguised name for “child care,” is used instead. This is denied emphatically, but the lack of evangelism, discipleship and truly solid biblical teaching is the proof – those having been delegated to parents. Volunteers are no longer trained to study and teach and lead children to Christ. Instead, they are only trained in safety standards, how to run video equipment, and to foster caring environments. Worship is emphasized and is central to the experience at church. All of which are important, but do not fulfill Jesus’ mandate to “Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations.” (Matthew 18:19-20) Teaching is limited to highly entertaining programs, mostly video based, revolving around bible stories, and virtues based on biblical principles, often using poor hermeneutics in order to make the Scripture fit the theme. Processing large groups of children through similar group experiences with as few volunteers as possible is key. Resources that make volunteering as easy as possible with as little preparation as necessary are the best selling. And of course, neither children, nor volunteers, bother bringing their Bibles to church anymore, because they simply are no longer needed in the Lord’s House.

My Preferred Future

The resurgence of the teacher and a return of the student. Kids at church are again referred to as “students.” I would like to envision both the children’s pastor and volunteers studying the Bible during the week. I’d like to see children again memorizing Scripture and completing assignments at home. I see them logging on to a website with their parents to interact with materials the church has provided to help them engage with what the church is teaching them. I see Dad getting a text message during the week from the children’s pastor with a question he can ask his son about the main point of the week in class and/or Mom getting an e-mail with ideas for discussion questions the family can use at dinner time about the theme of the month from the family pastor. I see the family ministry and children’s ministry working together; the first being far broader than families with kids – and the latter being far broader than kids with a mom and dad. Where they overlap, there is a lot they do together, but where they don’t, they have learned that merging them leaves too many left neglected. So the family ministry is reaching far more than the children’s ministry ever could, and the children’s ministry is reaching more than families ever could. Oh, and on Sundays, the pastor of the children, (this is a role, not necessarily their title) is actually teaching from the Word, with a Bible in hand, and the children are following along in their Bibles, some even underlining, learning to correctly handle the Word of Truth. (2 Timothy 2:15)

What the future of children’s ministry needs most for success is a return to an emphasis on the study of and teaching of the Word of God, and less on making ministry easy for volunteers, attractive to families and processing large groups of children through fun environments. That hasn’t produced disciples who will walk with Jesus for life. The future doesn’t need more technology – it needs deeper and better relationships. If technology can foster more connectivity or methods of relating, fantastic!  But too often we look to the future as though it has some new thing we need for success, when the truth is we already have everything we need.

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.” (2 Peter 1:3)

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As the founder of Kidology, Karl Bastian is a follower of Jesus Christ, the lucky husband of his best friend Sara, and the proud father of Luke. When he isn’t with his family, or hurrying back to them, his second favorite thing is to creatively minister to kids, and equip and encourage others who share that passion… Read more about Karl

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We invite you to head over to Kidology.org and join the discussion today!  Your comments may be included in the ebook to be published at the end of the series which will contain all 18 articles!

Help us spread the word and create a larger discussion about this vital topic.  Use the links below to tell your friends, and be sure to include the hashtag #FutureOfCM on Twitter so we can find your Tweets!

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All articles in this series reflect the opinion of the author and may or
may not reflect the opinion of Greg Baird and KidMin360.