Evangelizing Through Children's Ministries

Ministry on the Front Porch

Years ago, the front porch served a place for talking and laughing with neighbors in the passing hours of the evening. From the front porch, we were able to survey the neighborhood and feel connected to the pulse of its life. The front porch was a symbol of community life; it was a place of observation, invitation and meaningful connection with others.

Today, this same "front porch" function in many congregation happens through children's ministries. Schools, early childhood education centers and other specialized children's ministries serve as the front porch of the church; they offer people outside of the congregation a place of observation, invitation and meaningful connection with the body of Christ. These children's ministries serve as a way for congregations to strengthen families and ultimately the entire community. Parenting classes, support for step-parenting, single- parent support groups, family counseling, and 12-step ministries grow within congregations committed to the lives of children.

The "front porch" of congregationally-based children's ministries is a non-threatening way to introduce non-believers to the body of Christ. The front porch is less formal than the inside of a house; it serves as the in between ground where invitation is extended and relationships are begun. A few visits on the front porch preceed an invitation inside for deeper conversation over a meal. Children's ministry programs are the front porch for people without a connection to the church; they are the place where invitation is extended and relationships with believers are begun. From the front porch of children's ministries, newcomers to the faith are invited into the body of Christ for deeper conversation over a meal once shared by Jesus Christ with his disciples.

What are you now?

When you were growing up, were you ever asked the question: "What are you going to be when you grow up? "Think back to what your response was to this question. Were you ever asked "What are you now?" There is an underlying assumption in our society that childhood is a time to prepare for life. In reality, childhood is life. A child isn't getting ready to live, a child is living! Of course, there are years of formation and development. But a child does not simply store up all that is learned until reaching adulthood. The skills, attitudes and beliefs formed in childhood lived out every day of a child's life. When children are baptized, the congregation proclaims, "We receive you as fellow members of the body of Christ, children of the same heavenly Father, and workers with us in the kingdom of God." We call the ones baptized "members," not "soon to be members."

Until the last century, the family itself was the main source of social, emotional and material support for most of the world's population. Children were nurtured primarily in the home with important contacts in church, school and community. These four elements contributed to the development of young people. Children heard similar stories with consistent messages, themes and advice for life. While each of these four elements continue to be important, the relative amounts of time and influence of each has changed dramatically.

In many of our communities, street gangs substitute for families and schoolyard insults end in stabbings. The majority of children murdered in this country are killed by parents and stepparents. More than 1 million cases of child abuse or neglect are confirmed each year in the United States. Nearly 15 children are killed by firearms each day. Every night, an estimated 100,000 children go to sleep homeless.

Growing numbers of children in the United States come from a variety of racial, ethnic, cultural and language backgrounds, family types, parent-education levels, and income strata. Into this blend of diversity, congregations can be valuable "front porch" places where values are learned, families are supported and children are nurtured in the Christian faith. The church can be a safe place where children can grow in all the gifts they have been given by their Creator. The Church can help youngsters begin to deal with the questions "Who are you now?" and "Who are you going to be when you grow up?"

How Do We Get From A to B?

How is Jesus calling us to minister today? How can our congregations be "front porch" places for younger generations of believers and newcomers to the faith? Your congregation can begin by assessing the needs of children in your community and the services currently offered to support them. Conducting a feasibility study is a structured method of getting the data and information needed to make decisions about congregationally-based children's ministries.

The Feasibility Study and Planning Workbook for Weekday Childhood Ministries (available through the ELCA Division for Higher Education and Schools, Donna Braband, 1-800-638-3522 ex. 5074. The study is free.) walks the congregation through four major steps:

• Learning about weekday childhood programs in the community.
• Surveying parent needs and interests.
• Examining the state/local requirements and analyzing the congregation's current facilities.
• Summarizing the current needs and resources for review by the congregation council.

By conducting a feasibility study, your congregation will focus its planning, resources and programming on the kinds of children's ministries which have the greatest potential to disciple children in the congregation and beyond its walls in the community.

Education is an important part of our Lutheran heritage. Today, Lutherans sponsor a support schools for children from their youngest stages of development through advanced secondary education. More than 2,300 congregations in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America provide either an early childhood education center, elementary or secondary school. These programs are an integral part of the ministry of these congregations as they carry out their baptismal vows to nurture the spiritual formation of younger generations.

Lutheran schools and centers can be found in urban, suburban and rural settings serving a quarter of a million U.S. children. The children and students enrolled in these schools often are not Lutheran. It is not the intent of congregations to operate schools solely for members, but rather as a way of reaching out and cooperatively joining efforts with the community in providing quality education for the whole child. More than one third of the students enrolled in Lutheran elementary and secondary schools and almost one quarter of the school staffs are African-American, Hispanic or Asian, Lutheran schools have played a vital role for congregations in opening their doors to those who are not from traditional ethnic Lutheran communities.

Starting Young: Early Childhood Education Ministries

What is an Early Childhood Education Center? There are a variety of congregation-sponsored ECE centers serving primarily 3, 4 and 5 year old children. Programs are offered part-time a few days a week as well as full time with extended hours from morning to late afternoon. Some centers offer kindergarten and the primary grades as a part of the early childhood education experience.

Why do Lutheran congregations operate these Centers? Congregations live out their commission to teach and their baptismal promise to nurture young children beyond the font by providing early childhood education ministries. Through these ministries, a congregation builds Christ-centered positive relationships with a growing child and her or his family. A congregationally sponsored ECE helps children to prepare for elementary school. It provides children a good start in their subsequent years of schooling. ECE programs help meet one of the eight National Education Goals: By the year 2000, all children in American will start school ready to learn.

How is an ECE part of a congregations total ministry? The Early Childhood Education Center brings the congregation into the realities of people's lives in the community. Early childhood programs are more than neighborhood social outreach. Through these programs congregations bring the Word to life. Age-appropriate devotional materials invite families new to the faith into a deeper awareness of God's presence in their lives. Those who have not been baptized are invited into the life of the local faith community. A church home is offered to families seeking a renewed spiritual life. ECE's provide a powerful means for evangelizing children in the Christian faith.

What do children do in the Center? Children are involved in group experiences and individual activities developmentally appropriate for their age. They learn through hands-on involvement and active participation with the guidance of professional and caring teachers. The age-appropriate curriculum and learning environment enhances emotional, social, spiritual, intellectual and physical growth. Research has shown that children who are enrolled in these programs show a greater readiness to learn in the primary grades than children who do not have this experience.

How do these centers help children grow in the faith? A child's faith is nurtured at a congregationally-sponsored ECE by being in the presence of teachers and staff who believe and care. Teachers live out their faith in the personal relationship with each child as well as the activities of the day. Bible stories, songs, and prayer all work together to foster the spiritual growth of children enrolled in ECE's. Children respond to the Gospel and grow in the faith as they experience acceptance, trust and forgiveness.

Why are ELCA congregations opening these centers? More than 2,000 early childhood centers are being operated by ELCA congregations. Those seeking to open centers are motivated by the increased need for child care in most communities and in response to family requests in their neighborhood. Some congregations find the center as a way of opening its doors more fully to its neighborhood through this deliberate outreach ministry to a particular population of residents. Other congregations are motivated by a strong passion to fulfill the Great Commission of "making disciples of all nations; teaching and baptizing in the name of Jesus Christ."

Who provides the leadership? Typically, a sponsoring congregation has a congregational board or committee responsible for oversight of the program. This group hires a director of the program. The director provides professional educational expertise and leadership as well as manages the program from day-to-day. The pastor, as spiritual leader of the congregation, serves as the spiritual leader in the ECE program The pastor, director and committee collaborate in setting goals, establishing policies, recruiting staff and maintaining a strong relationship to the total life and ministry of the congregation. The early childhood staff works together to develop a curriculum and promote a positive partnership with students, parents, the congregation and the larger community.

How are centers funded? Most centers are funded primarily through tuition and fees. Congregations that recognize the center as an integral ministry may also make a financial commitment to the program to achieve the goals of Christian nurture, quality education, evangelistic outreach and community service. Financial assistance for families in need also assists the congregation in reaching a greater number of children in their community.

Educationally Disadvantage Children

DID YOU KNOW? A recent study showed that almost half the U.S. pre-school age children today have one of these 5 high risk factors:

• The mother has less than a high school education.
• The family is below the official poverty line.
• The mother speaks a language other than English as her main language.
• The mother was unmarried at the time of the child's birth.
• Only one parent is present in the home.

In fact, at least 15% of the 3-5 year old children in this country are affected by 3 or more of these risk factors. These children are educationally disadvantaged they are "at risk" of school failure. Children who have a structured pre-school experience exhibit a higher emerging literacy rate. They are more "ready for school."

Nurturing Younger Generations: Elementary/Secondary Schools

Where do you spend eight prime hours a day? For most adults the answer is working either in or out of the home. Children spend that much time in school or school-related activities. More than a quarter of a million children ages 3-18 are in a Lutheran nursery, day care, elementary and secondary school of the ELCA during those hours.

Children do not compartmentalize their lives as adults often do when they separate work and family life. School, home, community and church blend together to make the total picture of a child's life. The consistent messages children hear and see will be the most powerful formative directions for a child. Lutheran schools provide these consistent messages for children in their care.

How do Lutheran Schools evangelize children and youth? Teachers and pastors in Lutheran schools are present and ready to provide spiritual guidance and direction to children. Particularly during those high emotion times of birth, death, moving, anger, and family division, the staff is able to put these issues in a "Jesus" context. A child doesn't have to wait to go home or to church on a Sunday morning. Their faith and life questions are answered daily in the context of a faith-supporting atmosphere at a Lutheran school.

Lutheran schools teach the Christian faith in ways that children can understand. Children, particularly young children, are very tactile. Tell a child about the crown of thorns placed on Jesus and the child may remember; show a child and the child may understand; but give a child the crown to hold and that child won't forget! In Lutheran schools, children learn about the love of Christ in the laboratory of eight hours of school each day! They learn by living the Gospel every day.

Lutheran schools provide the education foundation for students to be able to some day make a living. But there is more to the story. Young people in these school also learn how to live the abundant life! These are classrooms where life-long value are developed and faith in a loving God is formed. "One becomes what one does" is a principal of human development. This is particularly true during the formative years of childhood and adolescence. Research has shown a close connection between spiritual and psychological development for children and youth. Children have a natural need to know "why." Those who live out their vocation as Lutheran school teachers help to answer those questions as they talk, tell the story, witness to their faith and live out the Gospel in the classroom.

Evangelism with children is not a "one shot" arrangement. Like intellectual, emotional and physical growth, faith is a gradual process of development. An intentional daily curriculum, the songs, devotional life, prayer and example of Lutheran school staff provide the context in which the Holy Spirit works. Lutheran schools make those eight prime hours a day a time when Christ is present and real to students!

Lutheran schools and public education: Partners in Education.

Lutheran congregations provide these schools while at the same time supporting the role of public education. Horace Mann, often noted as the father of American public education, agreed with Luther when he advocated for educating all children in "reason and conscience." Public education is a foundation block for a free society. It is that free society which then welcomes a diversity of schools and educational opportunities. Lutheran schools are not better than public schools. Rather, they are different in their mission and purpose. For example, just as Lutheran schools have looked to the public sector for technological expertise, public systems have sought out the assistance of Lutheran and other non-public schools in areas of family development and character formation.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America advocates for just, fair and quality education for every child. Affirming every teacher, parent and student is a value consistent with the Lutheran heritage of education. Public and Lutheran schools do not compete in one sense, but rather compliment one another. Supporting a Lutheran school or supporting a public school does not indicate a dislike or non-support of the other. As the people of God, we seek to provide the best educational programs possible for all children.

Children's Ministries at Breaks: Vacation?

Vacation Bible School is having an identity crisis in many areas of the country. Who is on vacation and when? The traditional one or two week program in the summer is still very popular in some parts of the United States. But, in other areas, particularly urban and suburban, other forms of children's ministries are growing. The structure, timing and purpose of Vacation Bible School is transforming into a variety of new and innovative children's ministries.

Summer Vacation Bible School can serve as a core component in serving a broader constituency. When a congregation offers only a half-day VBS program, children in day care and other full-time care programs won't be able to participate. With more children in full-time programs, many congregations are adapting their VBS to include an afternoon session. Children then stay for lunch and have a variety of other activities added in the afternoon. Many congregations hire and pay for qualified staff funded by charging participants and adequate fee to cover the expenses of the program.

Vacation Bible School is also a time when more intergenerational activities can take place. Children spend more time with their peers than ever before due to increased facility-based child care programs. Conversely, they spend less time with a variety of age groups. Offering an evening component to VBS to include whole families can be a great adaptation to the program! The evening program also permits more parents who work out of the home during the day to participate in a meaningful Christian education program with their children. During the summer, in many areas of the country, this may also be a more comfortable time to be together than the hot hours of the mid- day. It is also feasible to recruit more volunteer staff during the evening hours.

Why limit VBS to a week or two? This format is based on a family structure and vacation tradition which is no longer reality for many American families. Consider expanding the program for more weeks as well as extending the day-time hours of the VBS. Many ELCA congregations have increased the number of weeks throughout the summer months when a day-camp program is offered to children in their congregation and community.

Vacation times are not limited to the summer for children. These "other" vacation times are also stressful for families because there is a limited vacation time often available to parents. Parents working out of the home have more difficulty making childcare arrangements and finding activities for their children during extended vacation periods like Christmas and Easter. Congregations can offer Vacation Bible School at these times in the form of a full-day camp program.

Through a variety of day camp and VBS programs, congregations can extend hospitality in the name of Jesus Christ to the neighbors in its community. Children's ministries during times when school is not is session are a valuable evangelism and discipline ministry with younger generations and those who are without a church home!

So What Will It Be: Front Porch or Back Deck?

Your congregation has an opportunity through children's ministries to provide a front porch experience of the Gospel! Through early childhood ministries, before and after-school care, VBS programs, and Lutheran schools, your congregation can be a place of observation, invitation and meaningful connection to the body of Christ for younger generations and their families. Children's ministries serve children, families, congregations and communities in the name of Jesus Christ! Decide now to get out on the front porch with the Gospel! Open your congregation to the possibilities of evangelizing through children's ministries!
 

Writer: John Scibilia

Copyright © by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, 8765 W. Higgins Road, Chicago, IL 60631. 800/638-3522.  Produced by Christian Education of the Division for Congregational Ministries.

Permission is granted for congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to reproduce this resource for local use.