by Tracy Carpenter
- What: The children's ministry at Crossroads
Christian Church in Corona, California;
- Where: Where kids are the stars Who: Reaches
1,100 kids from birth to sixth grade;
- Why: Kidsworld attracts kids to God by letting
them feel and know God's love that'll make them want more!
We create environments that stir kids' hunger for God's Word by
giving them experiences they can't get anywhere else. We inspire
kids to grow spiritually by showing them Jesus in the lives of real
people. Kidsworld is known for Silly String wars, food fights,
sliming kids, Hershey's syrup tug of wars, water slides, and real
snow. Kids make their own pizzas with gummy worms, tomato sauce,
pineapple, and candy. Or we shave kids' heads live on stage for a
"shear the sheep" object lesson. Kids compete in outrageous
challenges such as making a "peanut butter and jelly kid sandwich"
and racing through sloppy obstacle courses. Kids look forward to
"Shrek Sunday," wearing their bathing suits to church, and their
own potluck dinner.
Kidsworld has gotten the attention of kids of all ages. We have
the reputation at local schools as the "cool church." Divorced
couples tell us their kids are desperately making deals with both
parents to be at Kidsworld on certain days and nights based on what
event's planned. Antics such as wedding cakes dropped on people's
heads and kids eating bugs keep kids talking about Kidsworld all
week. Bull riding, Dance-a-thons, and milking a cow are things most
kids have only witnessed on television or in movies -- unless they
come to Kidsworld. Kidsworld is a place for kids to experience
things they can't get anywhere else -- and they live the lesson!
They learn about God through real-life experiences and
relationships. Kidsworld has spiritual, dynamic, kid-led worship
and prayer. Our kids are hungry for more of God and more of
Kidsworld.
In making our programs "kid- targeted" and "kid-inspired," we've
learned these things along the way.
• Kids want choices. Our culture tells kids their opinions
matter. Television alone is paving the way with shows such as
American Idol and Kids Choice Awards -- where kids get to vote. The
Internet is also a fundamental part of this process with Web sites
that allow kids to interact on every level possible. One of the
ways we've implemented this philosophy has been to enlist kids as
partners in our program development process. We created ballots
with hundreds of program choices. We filled the ballots with
everything from becoming a human hamster ball to eating Chinese
food with chopsticks. Our slogan was "You want it...you got it."
(For a sample ballot, click
here.)
We were shocked at what kids voted for. We figured they'd want
the most expensive things. What we found in polling them week after
week was they wanted kittens and puppies and things we weren't in
touch with. The #1 vote was to eat Chinese food with chopsticks.
They picked toilet papering all the counselors' cars as many times
as they chose real snow in Southern California. They elected Silly
String wars as many times as rock climbing. They anxiously waited
week after week as we held out on what the winners were. When they
found out, they'd scream, "I voted for that!" Voting gave kids the
feeling of ownership and importance because Kidsworld conveyed that
their opinions mattered. Hundreds of kids flocked in, and we did
some of the most outrageous things ever. We fulfilled our promise
and brought their top 12 adventures to them. Kids got to experience
activities only a kid could create. We went a step further and
allowed the kids to choose the lesson, the verse, and every element
of this kid-inspired program.
• Every kid wants to win. Any kid can win at the contests we set
up. We gave prizes for kids who brought their toenails in a baggie
or who painted their nose green. We had our own prize patrol where
kids filled out slips to win the entire children's ministry team
visiting their house with food for their entire family. These crazy
contests transformed kids' experience at church.
• Visual aids must be appealing. We made an amazing calendar
that looked like it stepped out of Nickelodeon Magazine (see
sample) so the kids could mark the dates they wanted to attend. It
was interactive with prizes given to those who read it and did what
it said. This calendar allowed kids more freedom to start begging
parents days in advance to attend an event. With the secular
competition and the busyness most families face, this calendar was
a hit with everyone.
• We need to utilize current media. At any given moment, we can
tell you what the release dates are for movies all the way into
2006. We keep in touch with trends through magazines such as
Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., Entertainment Weekly, and KidScreen
magazine. Being in sync with the latest trends helps us communicate
with kids in their lingo as well as steer them through the hype. We
can't endorse all movies, but we're always ready to discuss the
pros and cons of a given movie. We incorporate elements of
blockbusters in our teaching. We keep current on all cartoons and
usually integrate a cartoon into what we're doing when we know
millions of dollars have been spent advertising it.
• Programs must be highly eventful. We've found the less
downtime the better. Kids need anticipation and a change of scenery
to really engage in a program. For us this means a lot of
transitions in our programming. We keep things moving and we don't
stay in one segment longer than 10 minutes. We change the stage
every quarter along with the opening videos, worship music, and any
other audiovisual stimuli.
• Kids want fun, wackiness, and things they think their parents
don't approve of. There are many things kids dream of doing that
Mom or Dad would never let them do, such as making a huge mess or
eating with their feet. So we incorporate food fights or something
as simple as letting them crack eggs and make pancakes. We try to
surprise kids. We want them to say "no way" or "I can't believe we
milked cows at church," because we want to change the belief that
church is stuffy and boring.
• The bigger, the brighter, the bolder, the better! With this
generation sometimes being referred to as the Internet Generation,
it makes sense to include state-of-the-art technology around every
corner. Usually what we think is fast, they think is slow.
Thrill-seeking is a key component to Kidsworld. We've had rock
climbing, kids' "Fear Factor," a bungee trampoline, a 22-foot water
slide, and even a fire juggler to reinforce important lessons. The
expense of adventure is probably the highest. Every week can't be
high adventure in terms of budget, but monthly or even quarterly is
a must.
• Kids want to interact in every way imaginable. Kids don't just
want to see something; they want to touch it, taste it, try it,
build it, smell it, take it, and at times, even break it. We
incorporated a zip line into one of our Sunday services. Kids flew
over 28 feet in the air across the church parking lot to learn how
to hold on tightly to God. When interaction becomes a key element
of the lesson, the Bible comes alive.
• Kids respond to other kids. Every time we have an opportunity
to place children in front of our audience, we take advantage of
it. We make kids the stars by allowing them to teach lessons, be
volunteers, lead worship, and lead prayer. Kids love being the
center of attention and with the use of creative programming we've
found ways to highlight kids. We have talent shows, show-and-tell
Sundays, Bible spelling bees, and various lessons to open the door
to their lives. When kids share their lives with us, we become part
of their lives. When we become part of their lives, God comes with
us.
• Discovering kids' "funny bone" can take a ministry from
mediocre to magnificent. Humor is the backbone of our ministry and
admittedly it's the most difficult to obtain. Kids laugh at the
oddest of things. They laugh at things adults would least expect.
Kids laugh at physical comedy, Captain Underpants, whoopee
cushions, someone getting messy, any element of surprise, animals
that talk, dumb costumes, mispronounced words, cartoons, sassiness,
dancing, burping, improv, and bad singing.
• Kids want what we had but they don't know it. If we loved it
as a kid, chances are our kids will too. Rubik's Cubes, Strawberry
Shortcake dolls, Twister, lava lamps, Charlie Brown, Silly Putty,
and Pogo Sticks are just the beginning. For those churches that are
teetering on the brink of boring and suffering from a lack of
creativity, this is a great pool of fresh ideas. Giving kids
avenues to express their interest in our heritage immediately bonds
us together. We've designed many opportunities for them to relive
the past by making homemade jam, watching Davey and Goliath videos,
and, remarkably, playing whipped cream Twister.
• Kids universally love sugar. Not surprisingly, candy is a big
motivator for kids, especially new cool candy they've been unable
to get elsewhere. Our team works hard to find new cereal, snacks,
or drinks kids will go absolutely crazy for.
• Kids respond better to positive people. Kids aren't that much
different from adults in this area. They like friendly people who
show genuine sincerity when talking to them. Negative authority is
a sure way to undo all that your ministry has worked hard to do. If
kids can't see God's love exemplified, they won't believe anything
we have to say about God. We've cultivated a place for kids to feel
at home. Home is a place you know you're welcome, where your likes
and dislikes are accepted, and your interests are encouraged. A
place you know you can come any time of the day, where there are
people who love you. Everything seems better when you're there.
Home is comfortable and at ease; ready to receive visitors.
Usually, home is the place you can't wait to get back to. Not all
kids today have a place to call home, but all kids can make your
church their home. If they feel that church is home, they'll spend
the rest of their lives coming home.
Tracy Carpenter is director of children's ministries at her
church in Corona, California.
Please keep in mind that phone numbers, addresses, and prices
are subject to change.
