Although adults usually find church to be a place of spiritual refreshment and growth, children may sometimes find themselves a little bored and restless on Sundays. The reason why is fairly simple: kids have a ton of energy, have minds that are running a mile a minute, and they often don’t understand the reason why they’re there in the first place. If this sounds like your child, this blog is here to help with some easy ways that you can make church more fun and appealing to your kids. Church shouldn’t ever be a place that people visit solely because it’s “fun”, but you might find these ideas make church more enriching for everyone, not just kids!
Kids Have Different Needs
One pitfall adults face when planning activities for kids is thinking about what adults would like, and not what the kids themselves actually like. Anyone who has kids will tell you that they have very different needs when it comes to getting something out of an activity. First of all, physical activities top the list of things kids want from church services. This doesn’t just mean crafts (although those are fun too,) kids want to use all their boundless energy to run, jump, and play. So what does this mean in a particular sense? Any skit or activity that involves physical movement will be beloved by the kids in attendance. In addition, kids love music and singing but their preferences are a little different: they prefer fast beats and again, the opportunity for physical movement.
If You Can, Take It Outside
Although it’s not always practical, kids love going outside. If you’re able, showing off the beauty of God’s creation (or even just the fresh air and sunshine in the open field next to the church’s parking lot) can really go a long way when it comes to engaging kids. It all ties back to physical movement and the opportunity to explore, which are extremely important to a child’s ability to gain satisfaction or enrichment from a given activity.
What’s the point of all this? Simple: you want your children to have a lifelong relationship with God, and the best way to do that is to make sure they have a positive impression of church from the get-go. Incorporating the ideas in this article will help do that, which will give your children the greatest gift of all: a deep love for God and fellowship with other Christians.
My name is Jessica Cox, and I love telling people about the strength I gain from my personal relationship with the Lord. If you’re interested in having me share my life story at your convention, meeting, or faith-based gathering, call me at 520-505-1359 or contact me on my website.