Relationships…

Discipleship happens best in relationships. Or as we like to say at Restore discipleship happens best in community.

Discipling Family Disciplers

For kids that come every week to our ministries, we get between one and three hours to disciple them. For kids that aren’t consistent, it’s even less. The primary spiritual influencer in any child’s life will be the caring adult they live with. This means, to be the most effective ministry leaders we can be, we need to prioritize discipling families as much as we prioritize discipling kids.

This begins with helping parents, grandparents, and other caring adults feel supported, encouraged, and equipped to be this influence in their kids’ lives. That means helping them feel like your ministry is a place where they belong.

First Impressions

While your tendency may be to make sure that kids feel welcomed and known as soon as they walk through your doors, it is important to make sure that their whole family feels that way. That means being intentional about connecting with the person dropping them off. Check in with them. Chat with them. Show them that you care about them—not just their kids in your ministry.

Relationship Building

One of the best ways for families to feel like they belong is not just being connected to you and the church but to one another. This happens with an intentional focus on outreach, togetherness, and fun! We will host Family Events on a regular basis. These events are more than just things to do—they are strategic relationship builders. As families connect with one another at church, they will more and more see that we are God’s family on mission together to help the next generation know and grow in Him.

Showing Up

Face to face connections, consistent communication, and relationship building will help your families know that you care and that your church is a place they belong. As you get to know them, show up for them. Let’s support your families by showing up outside of your church walls and events. Be a network of care when they are in need. Be their biggest cheerleader and a shoulder to cry on. By showing up, you will help both kids and their families know they are seen, known, and loved.

Sundays…

At Restore, WE LOVE KIDS! Our church is often filled with more children than adults, and we take pride in creating an atmosphere that keeps them engaged and enthusiastic while also allowing parents to worship with limited interruption. We know the importance of providing children with an age-appropriate environment to learn and thrive on Sundays, and we also understand the significance of teaching them how to worship alongside their families.

The reason we believe so strongly in this approach is due to the fact that children are naturally more “hands-on” learners and can have shorter attention spans. The themes discussed during worship services can often be too complex for young children to fully comprehend and a traditional sermon delivered as a monologue is not as effective in holding their attention or helping kids relate what they’re hearing to their own lives as an age-appropriate lesson in our classes.

This is also true when it comes to worship. Kids love to sing! They will sing along to most songs for a line or two. But songs that are designed to benefit adults will simply not resonate with kids the same way a song designed for kids will.

When children can’t engage well in what they're hearing they can begin to daydream or get fidgety. Then, parents get frustrated and are unable to focus on the message or worship that is intended for them. Their focus can be drawn away from meaningful worship or a deeper focus on the sermon while trying to keep their kids from being too much of a distraction. At this point, parents start providing children with random distractions (usually anything within arms reach) or allowing children to wander or play. By getting caught in this cycle we are essentially teaching our children to tune out in big church! This approach does not encourage engagement or active participation in worship, and it does not contribute to their spiritual growth. Being told to sit still and be quiet can unintentionally create negative feelings towards church which will make it increasingly more difficult to get kids to engage in any form of church life as they get older. Which is the exact opposite of what we set out to do!

This is why RestoreKids has a tiered approach to kids ministry. As students advance to the 5th grade, they transition from participating solely in children's ministry to attending regular church services.

Our children's programs start with age-appropriate lessons, worship time, and games and activities to encourage community. We value teaching children how to love and communicate in a safe and nurturing environment with trusted adults, as much as we love sharing biblical lessons. As children grow older, we gradually introduce them to the main church service to encourage their active participation.

Why are we here....Relationships