Tips for Children’s Ministry | Part 6 | Disciple Them Until They Get It For Themselves

It has really been bothering me that we as a movement are seemingly ok with bus kids coming until they reach the age of 15 or 16 and then never coming back. It’s like we’re just hoping that we put enough into them as young kids that one day when they get serious about God that they’ll come back. And this is good. And this is something that does happen.

But I do not believe this is the will of God with every child we pick up on our bus routes. I don’t think that has to be the normal sequence of events. There’s a better way that we never have to lose them to begin with. Of course we’re going to have people that make their own decisions. We can’t program them to do whatever we want them to do. They’re still humans and they can still decide for themselves but we can at least make it as easy as possible for them to stay

Sometimes we make the choice far too easy for these kids when their lives start being more complicated and when they can make their own decisions about career choices, relationships etc. When they have to decide between all of the things that they deal with in life and one hour of Sunday School that choice many times is just TOO EASY for them to make.

These kids have so many things on one side of the equation pulling them away such unsaved friends, sports, family, prom, relationships, jobs, higher education, career choices, drugs, Hollywood and one hour of Sunday School on the other. Of, course we have the ultimate wild card, Jesus, His spirit and His anointing but we are still losing kids at this complicated age.

We don’t have all the answers by any means but we do know one thing, that we MUST have more than one connection to those kids if we are going to see them all the way through to the end. I suppose there are exceptions but every success story I have heard about bus riders making the transition to becoming a “church kid” ALWAYS happening because someone stepped outside of Sunday morning!

Sunday School and bus ministry is a GREAT starting point but it is just that… a starting point… not an endpoint. Having them get the Holy Ghost is AWESOME! INCREDIBLE! But again, it is just a starting point.

We have to make their decision of whether they are going to come to another day of Sunday School or if they are going to stay home and play video game more difficult

But how do we do that?

The answer is… CREATING MORE CONNECTIONS WITH THE CHURCH!

We have to tie them into the church in EVERY WAY POSSIBLE and the BEST connection is a someone who will just be their friend followed immediately by a personal bible study on a different day during the week than Sunday. In fact, you will likely find that they are going to get a whole lot more out of a one-on-one bible study than they ever will from a group Sunday School lesson.

ALSO, BRING THEM TO EVENTS THAT THE CHURCH OFFERS PEOPLE THEIR AGE even when it is INCONVENIENT FOR YOU!

At ILC we try to bring them (the ones that have earned the privilege) to every event you can such as Monday night basketball, junior camp, children’s events, Youth Prayer, Youth Bible Study, Youth trip, Youth Explosion, Youth Connect, Magic Mountain, Youth Retreat, Family days, Night services (Sunday and mid-week) and everything else like that.

The more connections you have the better and soon, they AND THEIR FAMILIES soon will not be seeing the church as a outside influence but a part of their lives but they aren’t visiting YOUR church, now they are attending THEIR church.

We started what we tentatively called, “Adopt a bus kid” which is were each bus worker takes a kid under their wing which they take to all events especially Sunday night and mid-week services. They sit with them, pray with them in the altar and just SPEND TIME WITH THEM!

And it has made ALL the difference! And it will for you as well.

Part 1 – Have a Burden For Your Students 
Part 2 – Get More Kids To Come To Sunday School
Part 3 – Make Them Want To Come Back
Part 4 – Teach Them How To Be Saved
Part 5 – Give Them the Opportunity to be Saved
Part 6 – Disciple Them Until They Get it For Themselves