I believe one of the things we have to constantly keep a pulse on as “Children’s Ministry people” is what all goes into a family’s experience on Sunday. It’s very important for us to be active in putting ourselves in their shoe’s when they walk into our doors so we know what it feels like to be them each week.
So, what goes into their experience? I believe four things do…
- the people
- the environments
- the attention to detail
- the material
Let me briefly elaborate on each…
The people are the volunteers! These are the first people a family sees at check in and the one they trust to love on, care for and teach their child. They do it all and they are priceless to a family’s experience being the very best it can be!
The environments are the rooms, the halls, the ambiance of what our Children’s ministry looks like. Families want to know they are stepping into an environment that is CLEAN, SAFE and FUN! This take their experience to another level!
The attention to detail is what we do to go above and beyond. Is “check in” the quickest and friendliest it can be? Are we there to greet families at the door each week in their child’s room? Taking note of the small things and executing is a huge WIN for a families experience.
The material is what and how we teach them about Jesus. Parents always ask two questions…”what’d you learn?” and “did you have fun?” Over 80% of the their time with us is spent learning…so it has to be fun and memorable for the kids! 
Here’s the interesting part for me…items 1,2 and 3 are what impresses the family while they are with us! However, items 1 and 4 are what they will walk away with and decide if they will come back.
If we fail on 2 and 3 but if we get 1 and 4 right, there’s a good chance they’ll be back. Because a volunteer cared for their child and their kid had fun & learned something! That’s a win for them! Tragically, the inverse isn’t always as true and we aren’t called to mediocrity so we must improve on all cylinders…but still, very interesting!
So, where’s our attention? How are our families’ experiences going? What have you learned about this that might help us all?