100 Best Ideas to Turbocharged your Preschool Ministry (26 page)

How do we shift the mindset of our church members from baby sitters club to strategic ministry?
Squeak, squeak, squeak.
You know the old saying, “The squeaky wheel gets the oil.”
It’s our job as children’s ministers to champion our preschool ministries.
Take the lead and let the people in your church know why preschool ministry is so important.
If you want to change the baby-sitting mindset, then tell people why it’s not baby-sitting!

• Connect with leadership. I’m blessed to be in a church that truly values preschool ministry. It’s considered one of the key ministries of our church. Not in a situation like this? Then take the initiative. Sit down with your church leaders and, with a humble spirit, talk about the importance of preschool ministry.
  
• Share stories. One of the best things you can do is tell stories about how your ministry impacts preschoolers and their families. Look for opportunities to share. Every Tuesday our church staff meets for faith-sharing and prayer. I enjoy telling stories about how God is working in preschoolers’ and their families’ lives. This reminds everyone of why we do what we do.
  
• Portray the image you want. Does the name of your preschool ministry reflect your vision, such as Bible Discovery Zone? Are there tag lines you can use to cast vision, such as “Discovering That God Is Everywhere!”?
  
• Constantly remind your team that this is ministry, not baby-sitting. Start with your volunteers. When they grasp the importance of their ministry and get excited about it, they’ll spread the word to others.
  
• Highlight preschoolers. Have a children’s day once a year where the entire church’s attention is turned toward the children’s ministry. Let preschoolers have a part in the main service, and use this as an opportunity to share your vision of preschool ministry.
  
• Publicize what happens during preschool ministry. Invite parents to observe preschool ministry. Record preschool worship, and play it in your hallways and other key areas in your building. Use take-home papers and bulletin boards to draw attention to what preschoolers are learning.
  

A church that sees preschool ministry for what it truly is will support it with finances, resources, and people.
Very few people want to be part of a baby sitters club at church—but there are lots of people who want to be part of a vital ministry that lays the foundation for children to become lifelong followers of Christ.

—Dale

I’m your typical guy.
I won’t stop and ask for directions until after I’ve driven around lost for several hours.
It’s cost me lots of time and gas over the years.
Finally, I wised up and bought a GPS navigator for our car.
Now I just type in the destination and this awesome piece of technology calculates the route.
It even talks to me along the way and tells me where to turn and how many miles I have left to go.
No more wandering around lost with a male ego in the way of getting help.

Lesson learned: If you’re going to effectively reach your destination, you need a calculated route.
The same is true with your preschool ministry.
If you’re going to take children to a destination, you need a calculated route to get them there.

Decide on your destination.
First, sit down with your team and grapple with these questions:

• Where do we want preschoolers to end up when they transition out of our ministry?
  
• What do we want them to know and believe about God?
  
• What key biblical truths do we want them to know and be living out?
  
• What spiritual growth markers do we want them to reach?
  
• How will we partner with parents to see all of the above happen? (A first step is to involve parents in working through these questions with you.)
  

Calculate your route.
After you’ve determined your destination, you’re ready for the next steps.

• Decide what curriculum will take kids to what you want them to know and believe about God. What curriculum will communicate the key biblical truths you want children to know? The curriculum should contain Scripture that communicates these truths. The main point is not specific Bible events, but the truths the events illustrate.
  
• Create evaluation tools to help you measure how preschoolers are living out the biblical truths you want them to know. For example, are they showing kindness by sharing toys? seeking forgiveness by saying they’re sorry when they hurt others?
  
• Design a plan that enables preschoolers to reach the spiritual growth markers you choose.
  
• Create ways to partner with parents in all these areas through tools such as car tags with questions about each week’s Bible point, take-home papers with mealtime discussion starters, and music videos or CDs of worship songs kids are learning.
  

Time is too precious to let children wander aimlessly through your preschool ministry.
Between age 3 and kindergarten, there are only 156 weekends.
Don’t squander any of them.
Every weekend must be part of a calculated route if you’re going to see preschoolers arrive at the destination.
God wants to use you to guide them each step of the way...helping them navigate toward a strong biblical foundation on which they can build a lifetime of faith.

—Dale

Budgeting for a preschool ministry presents a unique challenge because of all the age-specific needs.
The requirements for ministry to 3-year-olds aren’t the same as those for 4-year-olds; the 4-year-olds’ requirements are different from the kindergartners’.
Your budget needs to be created from multiple points of view because crafts, manipulatives, games, and teaching aids target particular learning stages.

The easiest way to develop this budget is to break it into simple steps.
Start with the fundamental questions and needs that you encounter every year.

1.
How many children are in this department?
Don’t forget to look at your church growth statistics and increase the number by that percentage.

2.
What are the curriculum needs?
What supplies and teaching aids need to be replaced in your curriculum?
Is your curriculum age-appropriate?
Do you need to purchase new curriculum?

3.
How much do you need for supplies and consumables?
What do you need to purchase for snacks or food experiences?
What do you need for general classroom supplies such as tissue, wipes, and paper towels?
What do you need to purchase for crafts?
Will you need new toys or props?

4.
What do you need for volunteers?
Don’t forget to budget for small gifts or an appreciation dinner for your volunteers.
What training opportunities will you provide?

5.
Are you offering special events for your preschoolers?
Do you need to budget for VBS?
What other special events will you offer for preschoolers?

6.
Is your preschool ministry’s security/check-in system adequate?
What’s the cost for upkeep on your current security system?

7.
What are your facility needs?
Do any of your tables or chairs need replacing?
Tables and chairs for 3-year-olds will be a different size than those for 5-year-olds.
Make sure your rooms are comfortable for your preschoolers.
Do your rooms need paint or decoration?

Once you’ve answered all these questions and calculated your budget, spend time preparing to present the needs of your ministry.
This is as important as the time you’ve spent preparing the numbers.
Remember these important points:

• Never present a lump sum. The total amount will appear on the bottom line, but the best way to begin your budget presentation is to show how much you’re spending per child, per week.
  
• Account for increases since the last budget. If your budget’s increased from the year before, give a clear explanation. For example, is it due to growth, addition of programs, furniture needs? Make your increased needs understandable.
  
• Be ready to compromise. Realize there’s always a possibility that your budget will need to be cut. Figure out ahead of time what you can eliminate, and have these numbers ready.
  

—Barbara

Security in a preschool ministry is a concern that’s resulted in the release of dozens of books, lectures, training sessions, church consultants, and a huge variety of check-in systems.
Many churches, though, especially small ones, feel they’re safe from predator dangers.
Some churches refuse to consider the possibility that an incident could possibly occur.
But an atmosphere of trust, grace, and lack of suspicion leaves a church more susceptible to incidents of abuse or abduction.
And, unfortunately, there’s no “test” that will identify a possible molester.

So how do you protect your preschoolers?
No simple solution guarantees safety.
You need a system of checks and balances that provide different aspects of security.

Background checks
—The average offender won’t attempt to volunteer if he or she is required to fill out a volunteer form.
But background checks can give a false sense of security.
A background check is really only good for that day; a person could commit a crime the next day, and you wouldn’t know it.
Make it a habit to randomly select and process previously filed background checks every few months.

The six-month rule
—Establish a length of time a person must be a church member, such as six months, before he or she can volunteer to work with preschoolers.
Even then, people should begin as assistants and not as lead teachers.

Two-adult rule
—Always, always, have two adults in a classroom no matter how small the class size.
If the two adults are related, there should also be another adult with them in the preschool room.
The age of 18 is generally considered adult, but some churches prefer their teachers to be 21.

Visibility
—Have a window or some means of visibility in every classroom and teaching area.
Never allow children and teachers behind closed doors.

Diaper changing
—Allow diaper changing in one location only, such as your nursery, which is usually staffed with several people.
If needed, have extra volunteers walking the halls to take children who need their diapers changed to the nursery.
This also ensures that one teacher isn’t left alone with preschoolers for any period of time.

Restroom policy
—In a preschool department, there’s no way to avoid the fact that children will have to be accompanied to the restroom.
Even if parents are asked to take their preschoolers to the restroom before class, you need to have a restroom policy and procedure.
Most important, make sure that no one teacher or volunteer is allowed to take a child to the restroom unattended.
As with diaper changing, have extra staff available to take children to the restroom and then back to class.

Identification verification
—The most common threat of abduction in a church setting is from a noncustodial parent.
You need a system to identify that the right person is picking up each child.
This system can vary from very expensive scan systems to a simple system of matching tags or numbered name tags.
However, a church can’t enforce a custody agreement unless it’s given a copy of the ruling.

Awareness
—Last, but not least, keep a watchful eye at all times.

—Barbara