Children Are Leaving - What Are You Doing?

More and more families in your church are leaving the church, and their faith. This means more and more children are leaving your ministry. Now, some of these children are able to continue to go to church with their grandparents IF the children want to go. This is a big IF. Sadly, more and more children are deciding they do not want to be part of a church's Children's Ministry, so they do not go any longer. What do you do when this happens?

Do you do nothing? Do you not even give these children a second thought? Do you let them, "slip through the cracks"?

These are vital questions for you to stop and think and pray about. Talk with the grandparents in your ministry and listen to them - truly listen. They very likely feel like they are alone, so along with grieving the choices of their grown children they love with all their hearts, they have the grief of watching as their loved grandchildren turn away from their faith as well. Then on top of this, they feel alone and like the leaders in their church have failed them, the ones they love, and just do not care. The pain just compounds.

How do you make sure your Children's Ministry is a place where children want to be when they are able to make the choice? Consider the following . . .

• First of all, make sure your words are backed up by your actions. When you say you want each child to know how much they are loved, but then do not follow up with children who are not there, they end up believing your words mean nothing and you really do not care about them.
• Make sure your ministry is truly engaging. Make it a place where children actually want to be - and don't measure this by "church kids". They do not have a choice if they will be there or not. Measure this by the children who are there only IF they want to be there. Again, talk with the grandparents.

Our churches and Children's Ministries are losing children - more and more every year. When you lose them as children, it is much more difficult to get them to come back for the Youth Ministry or Adult Ministries. Make sure your Children's Ministry is a place where children really want to be and be certain your follow up and stay in touch with children who are not there - don't let them "slip through the cracks."