5 Ways to Bring Children's Ministry Home

Kids participate in children’s ministry programs for just a few hours each month, but those hours can be valuable stepping stones to a lot of growth for your family. Here are five ways to build on what your child learns at church.

1. Win by doing a hard thing

Let’s be honest: it can be really hard to commit to regular attendance at anything. But participating in weekly worship and children’s ministry helps kids meet the God who loves them, see how God’s salvation plan unfolds through the Bible, develop solid faith habits, and build friendships. That’s a win-win-win-win. (So is asking your children’s ministry coordinator to save extra take-home papers for you when you do miss a week.)

2. Be a detective

Ask your children’s ministry coordinator to share with parents the list of Bible stories your child will be exploring each week. Knowing the story topic ahead of time makes it much easier to talk with your kids about it. 

3. Let your kids be teachers

Kids may feel like they’re on the “hot seat” if you grill them one-on-one about what they learned in Sunday school. But if you talk about the story as a family, you give kids a chance to teach what they have learned. Set aside time each week to look through and talk about the take-home resources your child receives in church. Mark "Storytime" on your calendar in advance as a reminder.

4. Ask essential questions

After you read the story together, ask questions that get at the meaning of the story, not just the content. You can ask questions like these:

• What does this story tell us about God?
• What does this story tell us about people?
• What do you wonder about this story? 

5. Pray together

Talk about what the Bible story means for us today. How might it change the way we love God, love our neighbor, and care for God’s world? Pray together that God will help your family do those things in your daily life.

For more ways to connect children’s ministry and family faith formation, check out the Dwell at Home resources at DwellCurriculum.org/home.