I’m sometimes amazed at the regularity with which Sunday morning seems roll around. There are weeks it seems as if there is merely moments from one Sunday to the next. Whether you purchase curriculum or you write your own lessons, preparation requires time. It is important to prepare yourself, the students and the material you are teaching if you want to be effective.

Kids’ ministry should be fun. However, we also need to be careful our ministry is not one-sided. How do you create an environment that kids are excited about each Sunday while making sure you’re challenging them to consider how the Holy Spirit is working in their lives?

Children learn best through play. Play has been heralded by educators and psychologists for centuries as the “ideal activity for the development of young children” (Cheng, 2012). Through play, as they mature, “children develop their capacities in creativity, problem-solving, logic, social knowledge, communication, self-regulation, cognitive processing and social development” (Henderson & Atencio, 2007).

Your large group or kids church time gives you the opportunity to create a space for kids to learn God’s Word in a dynamic, age-appropriate environment. The best way to maximize the time that you have with your kids is to craft an experience in which they want to participate. Here are some techniques you can use to create a large-group experience that is engaging and educational.

Want to know one of the things I love most about being in kids’ ministry? We’re expected to have fun. People aren’t shocked when we do things that are a little abnormal or when we act a little silly.

I was leading a small group discussion with fourth and fifth graders related to the death of Jesus when Lizzie, a fifth grader asked, “Does God love us more than He loves His Son, because He let His Son die instead of us?”