Front stoops are places for both observation and invitation. The front stoop is often where we greet our friends and neighbors, talking and laughing with them. Such encounters help build community in a country that has become increasingly exclusive and privatized.

Schools, early childhood education centers, and other specialized childhood ministries can be foundational components in a congregation that is a Safe Haven for Children. Such centers can serve as the front stoop for congregations. They provide a way for congregations both to contribute to and participate in the community by furnishing quality child care and educational opportunities.

Through such a front stoop, your congregation can gain a greater sense of the needs of the community from which other forms of ministry and service might grow. The front stoop, because it is informal and serves as an in-between ground, is less threatening than entering congregational life immediately through the front door. A few visits to the front stoop will bring an invitation to come inside--now a more comfortable invitation, coming from a familiar face. Once inside, new friends can share joyful conversation focused on the Gospel.

What is an early childhood education center?

Early childhood education (ECE) centers primarily serve 3-, 4- and 5-year-old children. Programs range from part time, with services a few days a week, to full time, with extended hours from morning to late afternoon. Centers offer infant and toddler care, as well as kindergarten and sometimes primary grades, as part of the early childhood education experience.

Why is an early childhood education center important?

Children spend as much time or more in school or at school-related activities as adults do at work. Children don't compartmentalize their lives the way adults separate work and family. School, home, community, and church blend together for children, making the consistent messages they hear and see the most powerful formative directions for children.

Lutheran ECE centers provide consistent messages for families that attend church regularly. For those who don't yet have a church home, the centers provide an opportunity for invitation. In reaching out to families, the God's word is then also heard. These messages and invitations are delivered in a comfortable school setting.

Why do Lutheran congregations operate early childhood development centers?

Congregations are to live out both their commission to teach and their baptismal promises by nurturing children. Building Christ-centered, positive, and trusting relationships encourages the spiritual growth of children. ECE centers build supportive relationships with families, which can create a more healthy home life. Strong families are vital to children, particularly during their early years.

How is an early childhood education center part of the congregation's total ministry?

ELCA congregations are operating more than 2,000 ECE centers. Those seeking to open centers are often motivated by the increased need for child care in most communities and in response to neighborhood family requests. For some, a center is a way of opening its doors every day to "new neighborhoods." ECE centers are ways that congregations welcome people from cultures and ethnic groups not traditionally a part of Lutheran congregations.

Moreover, ECE centers bring congregations into the realities of people's lives in the community. More than a social outreach, these programs bring God's word to children through a regular and age-appropriate devotional life. The opportunity for baptism is raised up to those who have not yet been baptized. A church home is offered to those families that are seeking a renewed spiritual life.

What do children do in an early childhood education center?

Children are involved in group experiences and individual age-appropriate activities. Children learn through hands-on and active participation with the guidance of professional and caring teachers. The age-appropriate curriculum and learning environment enhance 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.

How do these early childhood education centers help children grow in faith?

The child's faith is kindled and nurtured 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 through the activities of the day. Children respond to the gospel and grow in faith as they experience acceptance, trust and forgiveness, and as they explore the world God created. Families are significantly impacted by such experiences as well.

Who provides the leadership?

A congregational board or committee leads in tandem with a program director. The director provides professional educational expertise and leadership, as well as managing the day-to-day operation. Pastors, as spiritual leaders of congregations, serve as spiritual leaders in ECE programs.

A pastor, the program director, and a committee collaborate in setting goals, establishing policies, recruiting staff, and maintaining a strong relationship to the total ministry of the congregation. The ECE staff works together to develop the curriculum and to promote a positive partnership with parents and the congregation.

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, outreach, and community service. Financial assistance for families in need also demonstrate a congregation's commitment to all families who wish to send their children to the program.

Where does our congregation start?

First your congregation must agree and commit to initiating or expanding childhood ministries. It's then very important to consider where the needs are and how the congregation can best address those needs. Conducting a feasibility study is a structured method of getting the information needed to make these decisions. The Feasibility and Planning Workbook for Weekday Childhood Ministries walks a congregation through the major steps.

Conducting this feasibility study helps the congregation to be responsible in its total planning. In addition, it is a way of moving the congregation beyond the walls of the church and into the community for conversation.

Step 1
Analyze needs and identify assets and resources

• community programs
• parent involvement
• congregation's facilities
• summary report

Step 2
Determine program goals

• program focus and church relations
• program type
• facilities

Step 3
Develop the start-up plan

• facility renovation
• staff
• budgets
• time table
• program proposal

So what will it be?

Childhood ministries serve families, communities, and congregations. Will your congregation be a welcoming front stoop? Will expanding or integrating early childhood education become a part of your congregation's Safe Haven for Children? There are opportunities to proclaim the Gospel to those who have the innocence of a child.

"In Christian love you have presented these children for Holy Baptism. You should, therefore, faithfully bring them to the services of God's house, and teach them the Lord's Prayer, the Creed, and the Ten Commandments. As they grow in years, you should place in their hands the Holy Scriptures and provide for their instruction in the Christian faith, that, living in the covenant of their Baptism and in communion with the Church, they may lead godly lives until the day of Jesus Christ.

Do you promise to fulfill these obligations?"

From the service for Holy Baptism, Lutheran Book of Worship, p. 121.