Children’s Ministry in a Church Plant
Here’s the quick overview of what we do in our children’s ministry.
Name: KidVenture
Location: We use one theater for elementary children
(k-5th), one for babies (0-2 years) and one for preschool (3-5 years).
Each environment has a different theme. The Ocean is for babies. The
Jungle is for 3-5’s. And the elementary environment is called The
City. We had 91 total children and workers involved in KidVenture last
week.
Curriculum: We use First look for the preschoolers. We started out with KidMo
for our Elementary kids. It’s DVD based and allowed us to jumpstart
without having a bunch of volunteers. It’s pretty easy to use, with
large groups stuff on DVD and then small group material to follow up.
I would recommend this for most church plants. Beginning this week, we
are switching to 252 Basics. It
fits a little better with our overall strategy for KidVenture, and in
my opinion, is the best children’s curriculum out there. It does take
a couple of extra leaders – like a storyteller and a host for the large
group time. And the small group stuff is a little more detailed. But
in my opinion, it’s better.
Check In: We use label stickers to check kids in. We have
one table for regular attenders. They just fill out the sticker and
they are done. We have a separate table for guests. They fill out the
registration card and get extra help.
Security: Kid wears half of the sticker. Parent keeps
half. They have to show it to get back in the hallway, and we just
match halves when releasing children. Fellowship One has a great check in option with their church management system, and eventually, we’ll use it. Like when we get some money.
Biggest Challenge: Volunteers, hands down. This is one of
the reasons we are going to two services in January. I think we will
be able to involve some new volunteers since they won’t have to miss
the service.
Dana is our KidVenture director. She’s part time on our staff and holds one of the most important jobs on the planet.
Behind the Leaf 
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