Nearly every local church offers a children's ministry program. Recent survey data from the Barna Group (2/14/05) shows, though, that only 13% of senior pastors list "ministry to children" among their church's top three priorities. Is the importance of children's ministry on the rise, or in a state of decline? Bill Hybels shares a very clear perspective on what should be the answer to that question.

On a number of occasions you've said, "Senior pastors, if you have one ministry card to play, invest in your children's ministry." What do you mean?

Throughout the years, society offers the church just a certain number of entrance ramps into the "non-church" world. At times it's been sports. Then came marriage enrichment. Today I believe the single remaining common interest or entrance point for non-churched people into the life of the church is children. No matter how lost a guy is, he still usually loves his son. And no matter how off track a woman is, she still has a soft place in her heart for her kids. This means we have a wide open door to almost every family in every community worldwide when we love and serve their kids. If a kid comes home from a children's ministry and says, "I met some kids, I had fun and loved it, and I want to go back," most of the time a parent will say "Okay" and then return to that church. From a strategic standpoint to reach families, it's a wise investment. From the perspective that a lot of volunteers are raised up, it's also a win. There are church-wide benefits on all sides of a thriving children's ministry.

What's your outlook for children's ministry throughout the Kingdom?

Seven or eight years ago during my travels, I really thought children's ministry as a part of the church was going to die. For years I never heard of a single positive children's ministry breakthrough in any of the countries that I visited. But that's changing. For example, at the first Promiseland (Willow Creek's children's ministry) conference, just a few hundred leaders from across the country gathered to get real serious about the future of children's ministry. Then the next year several more came, and even more the year after that. Now more than 4,000 attend. It's clear that an increasing number of leaders are devoting themselves to changing the belief system for the future of children's ministry; they are not going to let children's ministry fade away and die.

You give a fully yielded life to God and let your passion for children get stoked on a regular basis, find your spiritual gifts, honor volunteers and put your work gloves on every day—then God will build a great ministry through you because he will notice. Second Chronicles 16:9 says, "For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him." These are the people helping all of us believe there's going to be a whole new run, a whole new day, a whole new revolution in children's ministry.

Senior pastors play a vital role in shaping their congregation's image of the children's ministry. If the only words a church body receives revolve around the need for volunteer help, an anemic image will emerge. Contrast that common practice with what happened in February at Willow Creek Community Church. A large, nearly all-kid music team from Promiseland joined the adults to lead worship during weekend services. After the last song, Bill Hybels demonstrated his support for the children's ministry program and its volunteers when he shared the following comments:

The ministry of Promiseland has such an impact on the children of our congregation and on our community as well. I don't know how familiar you are with the ministry of Promiseland, but they do incredible work. For example, all the kids you saw up here today receive fantastic, age-appropriate teaching about Christianity, the Bible, the person and work of Jesus Christ, and plenty more. In addition to the teaching, the children in Promiseland meet in small groups. They learn, at a very young age, to do Christianity in community. They build friendships where they talk about their lives, and discuss the struggles they face as fourth-graders trying to follow Christ. And each group is led by a loving leader.

I ask those of you who are regular members of this church to periodically pray about this ministry. For parents with kids in the Promiseland program, once in a while send a note to your child's leader to say, "Thanks—for living beyond yourself and for the contribution you make to my son or daughter."

Both of my kids grew up attending Promiseland, and it proved pivotal in their lives. In fact, they both became Promiseland student helpers. This ministry has made a huge difference in my family.

I know we have some Promiseland volunteers with us in the service tonight, so let's all thank them for their great work.

Copyright © 2005 Promiseland.

Read more from 'Leadership'

Words Kids Need to Hear To Help Them Be Who God Made Them to Be by David Staal If you could choose just seven statements to share with children, what would they be? Each chapter in this compelling book focuses on a single statement elementary-age kids need to hear from parents, children's workers, and other close adults. These seven statements are simple to share, yet guaranteed to profoundly impact children. They are: I believe in you. You can count on me. I treasure you. I'm sorry, please forgive me. Because. No. I love you. will educate, equip, and motivate parents and children's ministry teams to carefully choose words that building up kids' hearts, to say them frequently, and to do so in creative ways. What children hear from trusted adults significantly influences their self-image, their current relationships, and future relationships—including that all-important relationship with God.