For leaders of a small kids ministry, it can be tempting to feel inferior to churches with a larger membership. However, running an effective children’s ministry isn’t about gaining members; as long as you adhere to your mission and are helping children to build a strong relationship with God, your church is a success.
Ministering to children can be challenging, particularly when trying to explain difficult concepts or complex bible stories, so working with a small group may actually be beneficial in that it allows you to pay more attention to every child’s progress and understanding of their studies. Plus, leading a small group allows you to maintain a stronger relationship with each individual attendee, which can enhance their learning experience and help them to feel as enthusiastic as possible about their lessons.
The chances are that if you have a small church group, you’re likely to have fewer staff members and volunteers, meaning that you have to plan every detail of ministry management carefully to ensure that everything runs smoothly. Having fewer staff members and smaller classes doesn’t need to be a hindrance, but it does mean that you have to tailor your management plans to your ministry’s particular needs.
To find out how to effectively run a small kids ministry, keep reading.
How to Manage a Small Ministry Group
Plan Activities for Small Groups in Church
When planning your Sunday School activities for small groups, it is highly important to tailor your lesson plan to your group size. To ensure that every child feels confident in the group, it is always a good idea to do ice breaker exercises to help kids get to know one another, as this can facilitate easier discussion and therefore more effective learning.
An excellent activity for small church groups is to plan field trips. While outings can be difficult to plan when working with a large group, a smaller group can be managed more easily, meaning that you can make the most of all the wonderful learning opportunities that lie outside of the classroom. With small groups, you can also plan plenty of fun craft activities, as these will require fewer resources than you would need with a large group, making them much more financially viable.
Choose a Strong Children’s Church Curriculum
Ministering to a small group can be challenging in that there are fewer children to participate in discussions. Therefore, it is vital to select a strong and comprehensive children's church curriculum that will help engage children and encourage lively discussions. At Playlister, Think Orange is one of our top picks for children’s church curriculum plans. With specialist plans for different group sizes and ages, you’re sure to find a package that suits your needs.
Grow is also an excellent option for smaller ministries, as you don’t need a large church network or a huge pool of volunteers and workers to harness the benefits of this curriculum plan. Grow prioritizes the smaller church, and is built to be accessible to every church, no matter the size. Plus, the basic package is very affordable, making it ideal for smaller ministries that are on a budget but still want access to a substantial curriculum.
Invest in Efficient Church Software
Even the smallest of church groups need effective management and media sharing software. If you have a small leadership and volunteer team, it is particularly important to ensure that you have access to appropriate software that can help you manage everything from the church curriculum to member details and handling administration.
For advice on How to Use Software Efficiently as a Small Church Team, check out our guide on how to effectively divide tasks among your team and conduct comprehensive training that will help volunteers feel confident in their abilities to use your ministry software. When working in a small team, it is always best to keep the amount of church technology you’re using to a minimum to keep things as simple as possible for staff.
Searching for a do-it-all software program? Playlister provides a place for you to store all of your church media so that everything will be accessible when staff members enter the classroom. You can schedule when the pre-built lesson appears in the classroom, and volunteers can instantly import the curriculum to save time and eliminate the need for endless USB sticks. This means that group leaders can focus on supporting young church members in their learning, rather than worrying about working with unreliable and outdated software.
Attend Conferences for Inspiration
If you want to grow your small ministry but are unsure how to go about this, one of the best ways to obtain ideas and inspiration is to attend kid’s ministry conferences. These are held all across the country, and often have large turnouts of fellow ministry leaders with whom you can discuss ideas and create action plans to help develop your church.
If you’re searching for the best conferences to attend, be sure to read our guide to The 5 Best Kids Ministry Conferences for 2022. By attending one of these events, you’re sure to gain new perspectives on how to manage your kids' ministry in a way that best suits your needs as a smaller church. And they’re not just for pastors; whether you’re a volunteer or a classroom assistant, you can benefit from the training courses, guest speakers, and workshops that these conferences host.
The result? You’ll be brimming with ideas to help grow your ministry and maximize its efficiency, meaning that you can focus on what’s really important: helping young people to understand Christianity and bringing them closer to God for a faithful relationship that will last a lifetime.