Today’s post comes from Spencer Click.  Enjoy his thoughts.

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Thanks Matt for letting me be a guest blogger on your site! Let me introduce myself to your readers. My name is Spencer Click, I’m the Children’s/ Operations Pastor at Bethel Church in Hampton, VA. I’ve been in Children’s ministry for about 24 years…I started when I was 12.  In that time, God has allowed me to serve in churches from 75 – 2500+. I am honored and blessed to be able to do what I get to do every day…

Matt asked me to write something about what I see on the horizon for Children’s Ministry, perhaps looking at innovations to come. I’m no futurist, but I’ll take a stab at it.  Greg Baird provided a nice resource from Ed Stetzer called “Meeting the Horizon” and issues churches need to face in the next decade. Ironically, it fits in line with what I was thinking, so I’ll build off it.

I believe in the near future, since we are living in a post-Christian culture, churches and children’s ministries will learn to again be missional organizations. Not missionary – as in sending out people around the world, but missional – as in focused on fulfilling the vision and mission of God in the community. Brian Zahad has a book called “Beauty will save the World” – a quote he borrowed from Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Zahad contends, the church will transform the world when they learn to once again show the beauty of Jesus. This effort will invade and redefine how Kidmin is done.

A couple of years ago, Jim Wideman challenged those in Kidmin to teach kids to love their Bible. The edu-tainment of the 90’s and early 2000’s has already started to give way to more discipleship-oriented models, I think this trend will continue. I believe focuses like the Legacy Pathway by Brian Haynes and Orange by the rethink Group will continue to gain prominence in local congregations. And, while these ministries are wonderful resources, I believe as individual churches grab hold of the value of family ministry – we will see more and more unique models pop-up that serve the individual church better than a macro-model can. In this focus on family ministry, I believe discipleship will be redefined. The gap in many churches has moved from losing kids when they graduate high school to losing when they transition from Children’s to Youth ministry. Losing kids at 6th grade is heartbreaking! As churches involve parents as the lead disciplers of their children, I believe this gap will close.

The final thing I want to comment on is how we (Children’s Pastors and churches) will communicate with families. It’s all going to soon be about the digital connection. Paper take-home papers, letters, postcards, etc. are being replaced with Facebook posts, downloads, email blasts, and mobile apps. Several churches utilize these methods already, and have for years, but with the revolution in how easy websites are to maintain and affordability of mobile content development – these mediums are now becoming accessible to smaller ministries.

I know when the current state of the Church is talked about, it is often depressing. Churches are closing everyday, money is tight, Christian culture no longer has the influence it once did. These are realities, but they don’t have to be scary! They present an opportunity for the church and Kidmin to change, evolve and do what we do best – win people to Christ! As the digital world continues to make the physical world smaller and more connected, the Church has the opportunity to come together in an unprecedented manner and innovate!