Have you ever dropped your children off to their kids church or Bible club activities and felt a wave of thankfulness for the dedicated leaders and helpers God has provided?
Have you ever watched from the sidelines as these same leaders navigate crazy games, encourage joyful singing or initiate conversations with your children that not only make them feel valuable but nudge them closer to Christ?

I wonder if you’ve ever marveled at their energy and enthusiasm? Or if you’ve been struck with amazement at what they continue to do for your kids, week after week after week?

Leading children’s ministry isn’t for everyone, and it can be hard work. Sometimes even the most enthusiastic and energetic children’s ministry leaders can feel worn out and depleted.

So, how can we help build these dedicated people up so they have what they need to keep going? Are there ways to support them which do not involve signing up to lead Sunday School ourselves if that is not a possibility?

Yes, there are many different ways to express your thankfulness and encourage those in kids ministry. One very practical way is to sponsor and enable children’s ministry leaders and helpers to participate in training conferences. This can be helpful for a number of reasons:

• it shows an appreciation of the effort kids ministry people put in
• it allows them time to fellowship with other leaders in similar situations, share stories and be encouraged
• it provides opportunities for training and the gathering of new ideas and enthusiasm
• it can build team dynamics, especially when more than one member of the children’s ministry participates
• it allows opportunities to think deliberately and strategically about their ministry, and to build skills and resources for the future

Supporting your children’s ministry leaders to attend a training conference may include paying for registration, offering to child-mind so those with kids can attend or gifting a financial contribution towards buying resources. This can be done from an individual, or as group commitment from the church family.

So, where are these conferences?

I imagine there are children’s ministry training events all over the place, and your kids church leaders may like to choose which one is most beneficial to them at a particular time. In Sydney there are two coming up soon:

• Kidsreach Conference is an inter-denominational children’s ministry day. They often have internationally renowned children’s ministry leaders speaking and have very practical workshops and ministry resources for sale. This is a great conference to encourage your whole church kids ministry team to attend.

• Sydney missionary Bible College, one of Sydney’s theological colleges, holds an annual children’s ministry conference. This year’s theme is ‘Know them to grow them: pastoring and discipling kids in Jesus’. Again, there is good teaching and a range of workshops, including a special stream for those who minister to under 5s.

Some international conferences I’ve heard of, but have not attended, include:

• Faith Forward in Chicago, USA.
• The D6 Conference in Louisville, USA.
• The Messy Church Conference in Hertfordshire, UK.

Maybe you are aware of some other children’s ministry training events? Please list them in a comment below and then consider sharing this article with your kids ministry leader or senior pastor.

Let’s encourage and support those who commit themselves to the faith development of our children. They are certainly worth the investment!

Penny