Cokesbury Kids Blog

I’ve had a goal of becoming more conversant in technology and how it can be used in ministry for some time. I’ve watched longingly at Student Ministry programs who seem to move nimbly through social media and streaming technology and wished to be that tech-savvy. But if you are like me, you pushed this goal to the back burner thinking, our kids don’t really communicate with us in this way anyway, so as long as we provide their parents with information we should be great.

Well colleagues, I believe we have stumbled into a time where we must quickly become students of technology and use its resources to connect to our kids and families. They are hungry for guidance, reassurance, and God’s presence and it is our job to facilitate this search for meaning in the virtual ministry world. As well, it is not just parents that we have the opportunity to reach on these platforms, but now their children while they shelter at home.

This week, our children’s ministry team developed an engagement plan to meet the changing needs of our families in our first week of distanced living. We tried to build into the week an opportunity to experience the typical ways we connected previously, like a children’s sermon from worship, but also prioritize as many new ways to reach out to teach and to connect as possible. We knew we wanted to include worship, learning, fun, community, and prayer in our plan. After a week of experimenting, we will offer these daytime connection points at 10 am, so families know when to look for our posts. Because we post on Facebook and Instagram, our LIVE posts also can be viewed after the connection point is over, giving our families added flexibility. Our daytime engagement schedule looks something like this:

Sunday: Our children's sermon will be released as a part of worship with a follow-up challenge posted to Facebook & Instagram.

Monday:  A parent post focusing on how to help kids cope, provide encouragement, or resource share. We hope these posts help parents embrace the role of faith developer in their family, particularly now that the rhythm of church gatherings are interrupted.

Tuesday:  A Sunday School style lesson for families released on Facebook Story or Facebook Live. We will be connecting to our sermon series to dovetail on what was shared and hopefully demonstrate how the Bible passage and message are applicable in our everyday life. Knowing that parents are already overwhelmed, we want this offering to be easy, but we also know this is a chance to do some parent education as well!    

Wednesday: A Lenten moment where we will talk more about what Lent is, teach about a Lenten discipline, and explain why we take on new ways to grow closer to God during this season. For our first session on prayer, we introduced Bubble Prayers, as an active way to incorporate an everyday, outdoor activity with faith posted to Facebook & Instagram.

Thursday:  A virtual playdate where a team member will lead a craft or game on Facebook Live with materials easily found at home.

Friday: We will host a kids’ interactive prayer time, utilizing a Zoom meeting so we can see each other’s faces that can be broadcast to Facebook Live to broaden our reach. 

Saturday:  We will post announcements or any additional engagement videos created by our staff or church family.  For instance, we have a beloved early childhood music teacher that has made a video to share with our WeeJoice crowd!

In addition to these short daytime engagements, we are also sharing a bedtime story, Monday-Friday at 7 pm with familiar faces from our church on Facebook Live. This time gives our pastors, Sunday School teachers, VBS Director, and music directors all a chance to read to our kids and remind them that we are still a church family when we’re not in the church building.  Our hope is that these evening story times give our kids some comfort and provide a little levity in these difficult days. Note: we are making a point to include the book cover, title, and author’s name in the post along with a link to where families can purchase that book to add to their library. We want to support these authors’ works and encourage purchases at our local bookstore and other small businesses.  

So far we’ve learned a few tips that we’re happy to share:

• Sign on 5-10 minutes before you are scheduled to engage just to make sure all is well.
• Try new platforms to see which ones make engagement easiest for that specific day.
• Have a partner in ministry manage the comments and use the comments section to really engage and ask kids about their day.
• Keep engagements brief for short attention spans and this different medium.
• Educate your folks on how to use these connecting technologies because they are probably new to them too!
• Don’t be afraid to try and fail. We are all learning about how to do this well and our families appreciate the work we are doing to connect with them, even if it isn’t perfect.

This is a great time to revisit what your core purpose is and consider how to reimagine your ministry plan in this new reality. Make a list of your priorities and think about what your kids really need in this unprecedented moment. Reach out to the parents or other staff people in your church who are great communicators or have experience utilizing these connecting technologies to help teach you what tools are at your disposal. The bottom line is this: It is still possible to share faith, equip families, grow community, and reach new kids with the Good News of Christ in this pandemic.

We can do this!

Eleanor Christiansen
Dir of Children & Family Ministry
Trinity UMC, Homewood AL