There are many things I love about being at a small church. The facilities are not really one of them. We have a really beautiful church. It suffered major flood damage a few years ago and has since been repaired, so it is in pretty good shape. But it was never really built to sustain a kids’ ministry. When I got there, I had to just about beg just to be able to “take over” a corner of the fellowship hall. I was given permission to do that and it has been a process of transforming that corner of the church into an exciting place for kids to worship and learn, but it is not without its problems.
First of all, to get to the nursery from the sanctuary, you have to go through our kids’ church (and I mean directly through it). And for the kids in the nursery to use the bathroom, they have to go back through it. If we had a stage in the front where I speak from, they would actually walk onto the stage. Nearly every week, screaming kids go right through our kids area and it often happens right during the response time. I know this sounds like poor planning on my part, but where we are is honestly the best place.
Another thing that bugs me is that since we are in the fellowship hall and we serve breakfast on Sunday mornings, there are always tables set up in the only space we have to play games or do activities. Our church has no yard, so unless we can play the game in the gravel parking lot, we have to try and keep things limited. I could take the tables down every week and put them back up, but there would have to be a very quick turnaround because of the timing of our services. Once in a while, I will make sure that the tables get taken down right before kids’ church, but more often than not I try to tailor the game to a smaller level or pick a game that takes less space.
There are other difficulties with the facilities, but the point of this little message is not to complain and gripe about what we do not have. Let me tell you, ministry happens in our church, even without the fanciest facilities. I hope to put up some pictures soon of what we have done to make our church an exciting place for kids. We have taken the very little that we have and made it into something extraordinary. I have seen better, for sure, but never in a church our size. In my opinion, we have the best kids’ church in the area we live, and that is one thing that makes us unique.
I do not care what kind of facility you are working with, be it a basement, a fellowship hall, or a Sunday School room, you can make it exciting. With a little creativity, much prayer, and a whole lot of leg work, you can make your ministry stand out. So, what are you waiting for? Get out there and make something happen. Anything. Remember, Jesus worked with a whole lot less, but ministry happened because he went out and did something.
Serving Him together,
Pastor Jared
Great post. Before we moved into our new church building in Jan. of this year, we were crammed into small rooms with little space for games or much of anything. However, we have such awesome KIDS R.O.C.K. teachers that the kids seldom noticed! They always came up with games that required little movement, or took them outside if the weather was cooperating that day. We decorated what small spaces we had to go with our theme of study. In short, we did the best with what we had. We are blessed now with larger spaces and a great place to play outdoors. But, I agree. You need to just go do the very best you can with what you have. Kids will learn… they will respond if you love them and prepare. They just know you care!
I pray that someday we will have a facility that is designed with kids’ ministry in mind. Until then, we are going to keep doing the best we can. The key to what you said is your last line, “They just know you care!” This is why I try to create a unique environment for the kids. Not so much for the entertainment value, but when parents and kids see that you have put the time and effort into preparing something just for them, they feel valuable.
Jared,
I admire your persistence and dedication. God asks us to do the best we can with what we have, and you are a shining example of that. I don’t know what your budget is like (probably tight like everyone else’s), but would a wall, fake wall, rolling wall work in that space? What about a long curtain? It might not cut down on screaming kids, but it might cut out some of the visual distraction?
I’ve thought about a curtain before. The problem is that anywhere that would be helpful to the distractions would drastically cut into our space. I do not want the room to feel crowded. I think it will just be one of those things that we have to deal with. Even as I type this though, I’m trying to think of a way to make a curtain (most likely option for us) work. There is surely something that would help, it’s just a matter of figuring it out.
You ought to throw the situation out there on the Ministry-to-Children, Kidology and CMConnect forums. There are people on those who are super creative who may come up with something you haven’t thought of yet.
The location of our area definitely has its challenges and frustrations. I think that one thing that is helpful is that the kids are used to it. I know it’s distracting, but it’s not as distracting as it would be if our kids had been in another children’s church that did not have that issue. We are the definition of kids’ church to them. It’s all our area has seen. We’ll work together to continue to raise the standard for children’s ministry in the community and to improve our facility. Still, for now, keep that in mind, if it’s any consolation at all.
I’ve never thought about a curtain before. I’m not sure how we could make it work with pastor’s office door being where it is. It would also cut into our “treetops.” Maybe we could get a room divider thing (They have some cute ones for studio apartments and stuff) and put it up during service. It would have to be fairly long though. I don’t know…just typing as I think. We’ll keep brainstorming. … Love you, Pastor Jared! 🙂
I can totally relate to the small space. We meet in a small house and have had as many as 40 people. It is very difficult to maneuver with games, etc., but somehow we manage. God is good. We are all anxiously awaiting our building committee to get with the program. Money is tight in this economy, so for now we keep reinventing the wheel and hanging in there being grateful for what we have. It is nice to know that others face some of the same challenges and deal with them “chin up!”