Back-to-School and Weekday Ministries

It's that time of year again: back to school. And with that comes a flurry of activity in Children's Ministry. We have programs to line up, curriculum to review, schedules to set, teachers to recruit and train, bulletin boards to decorate and kids to assign to classes. We also need to communicate what we have to offer to the families in our church and community. Above all, we need to keep Christ in what we do and prayerfully prepare for a new season. Here are a few ideas for an exciting beginning to your fall programming.

Fall Programs Kick-Off Meal

Schedule a church-wide cookout or covered dish meal to promote your Fall Children's Ministry Programs alongside Youth and Adult Programs the week before you regular schedule begins. Enlist help from your Family Ministries or Education Teams. Set up a table with brochures, schedules, carpools and other information parents might need to know about your ministry. Look at what you put out with the eyes of someone who has never seen what you have to offer. Don't forget to display photos from some of the fun events you had last year! This is a great way to showcase your Sunday night and Wednesday night programs. It also gives families an opportunity to fellowship together as a group. After the meal, encourage multi-generational participation in games such as egg toss, sack race, egg in spoon race, water balloon toss, three-legged race and maybe even a bubblegum blowing contest! You might gain a volunteer or two in your ministry when they see how much fun you're having.

Back-to-School Prayer Service

This is another opportunity to involve the entire church in your ministry. Schedule a Back-to-School Prayer Service on the Sunday evening before school begins to lift up the names of children, teachers, staff and their families as the new school year begins. Include special music from the children if possible (VBS songs are easy to use for this) and enlist a few children to take turns reading the names from the prayer list during the service. Make sure you remove any duplicates from the list when you combine your sign-up sheets.

A few weeks before your service, make sign-up sheets available in common areas near Sunday School classrooms. Posterboard on an easel works great for this just remember to attach a pen to make it easy. Also, ask your pastor to send an invitation to the local School District Superintendent as well as administrators, teachers and staff of local schools. You might be surprised to see how many educators turn out for this type of event.

Although some churches have children who attend year-round school, many still remain on a traditional track only. If you have children on dual tracks, you might consider offering a Back-to-School Prayer Service the Sunday before each track begins or combine into one service midway through the beginning date of each track.

Promotion Sunday

Many churches recognize the promotion of children from one grade to another during a Promotion Sunday service. This can be held during the Sunday School hour or during worship. Perfect attendance, benchmark completion and other acknowledgements can be made during Promotion Sunday. It is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the children being promoted to youth. You can also recognize teachers during the service, especially those who have volunteered for multiple years.

If you hold Promotion Sunday during the Sunday School hour, consider having a breakfast following the service in honor of the children who are being promoted to youth. After the breakfast, encourage children to visit their new classroom and meet their new teacher if time allows.

Consider making a special presentation to children starting kindergarten during Promotion Sunday. A few suggestions include: The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn, Big Thoughts for Little People by Kenneth N. Taylor and Will I Have a Friend? by Mirian Cohen. If you present a book, write a personal note on the inside cover to the child starting kindergarten telling them how much you, the church and God loves them!

You may also choose to present Bibles to rising 3^rd graders during Promotion Sunday. Cokesbury will imprint the child's name on the cover for you. Be sure to order a child-friendly version with some illustrations and footnotes. If you have several 3^rd graders, consider offering the Learning to Use My Bible curriculum from Cokesbury during Sunday School or Wednesday Night.

Midweek Programs

If your church offers a midweek meal such as Wednesday Night Supper, be sure to offer children's programming after the meal. You may choose to highlight a special mission each week or offer short studies on topics such as Baptism and Holy Communion. Some suggestions for mid-week curriculum include: FaithWeaver Friends (www.group publishing) and Touch the Water, Taste the Bread (Baptism & Communion Study) at

One room Sunday School curriculum can be adapted to a Wednesday night program (also available from Cokesbury). If you have a small group, consider combining K-5^th grade into one classroom. The older kids can help you with the younger ones if you are short on volunteers.

Wednesday Night is a great time to offer acolyte training, tone chimes and cherub choirs. Choose a Wednesday night to introduce kids to Cookie & Card Ministry by baking cookies or making rice krispy treats with cards for shut-ins. Wednesday nights are also great for making crafts and Christmas cards to sell as a fundraiser for your ministry or to give as thank you gifts to volunteers. Plan a special midweek event like a Pajama Party, Costume Party or Movie Night.www.cokesbury.com.

Some clever names for midweek programs include:

K.I.N.G.'s Kids (Know Invite Nurture Grow Serve), K.I.D.'s Club (Kids in Discipleship), M & M Club (Missions & More), K.F.C. (Kids for Christ), K.O.O.L Kids (Kids of Our Lord) and PACK Club (Puppets and Christian Kids).

Getting Ready

Before Fall programming starts, make sure you:

1. Recruit & train volunteers (including Safe Sanctuaries policy)

2. Review, choose & order curriculum

3. Create a weekly schedule (September-May or September to December) meeting at the same time each week

4. Promote your schedule in church bulletins, newsletters, on your church website and by mailings if possible. Consider mailing an invitation to Fall programming to kids who attended VBS but don't attend your church. If your church has a Food Pantry, include flyers in the food bags.

5. Get an updated information sheet on each child (including medications, allergies and parent cell phone numbers)

6. Pray daily for your ministry, your volunteers, the children and their families

Prayerful planning of your Fall programming will reap tremendous rewards in your Children's Ministry!