Children's Ministry

Effective children's ministry has never been more important to the life of the church than it is today. In my generation children went to church because their parents told them to. My parents were not particularly concerned whether I was having a good time at church. When I would ask my mother if I had to go, she would always respond, "No, you 'get' to go to church.' That dynamic has completely reversed; parents now go to church if their children want to go. In a growing congregation, ministry to children cannot be a back-burner issue.  Not only do children often determine if and when the family goes to church; the reality is that most people who commit their life to Christ do so before they are eighteen years old. When we focus on the adults and hope for the best for the children, we are missing the major opportunity of the twenty-first-century church. - Geoff Surratt, Ten Stupid Things That Keep Churches from Growing, pg. 78