Fresh ideas for Kids Spots

30/01/25

Annemarie Rivers is the Children’s Ministry & Primary SRE Advisor for the Western region

What are you aiming to achieve in the weekly kids spot?

Every week, in many churches across our city there is a 5-10 min ‘kids spot’ (let’s not get into the “what should we call them?” debate). It’s an opportunity to speak to children, parents and the wider congregation, whether they are actively involved in kids’ ministry or not. And with that privilege, comes the responsibility of making the most of it.

Answering the purpose question is the first step. What are you aiming to achieve? As a Ministry Advisor, when I ask this question, leaders have all kinds of answers. They’re equipping parents to disciple their children. They’re demonstrating that this is a church that cares about kids. They’re doing something in the intergenerational space. They’re doing a ‘sermon lite’. I often wonder what the congregation think the purpose of a kids spot is. Do they know?

With the start of a new year, here are some fresh ideas for kids spots. I encourage you to evaluate their suitability for your context based on your convictions about the purpose of that time.

1. Take home conversation starters

One of the more surprising findings from research into children’s ministry in recent years is that informal conversations about Jesus at home have a big impact on faith formation.[1] Whether it’s with a parent, grandparent, family friend, godparent or random congregation member, informal conversations about what God is like, how faith impacts everyday life and why the Bible can be trusted (these are examples) are disproportionately influential, even beyond the home. This is great news in a world where parents and leaders feel they are in an uphill battle against the influences of culture streaming in via screens.

Imagine if we used our kids spot time to introduce a conversation topic for after church and during the week? The topic could be unpacked and interest ignited before being given the challenge of having at least one, two or three conversations during the week. Or a conversation could be roleplayed up the front as a way of demystifying the experience. The topic could be chosen according to the particular needs and interests of parents or kids, or it could be linked to the part of the Bible being explored in the sermons or kids’ program.

My church is looking at Revelation this coming term, so a possible question to explore could be: “What do you think the new creation will be like? “

2. Memory verses or catechism

I’m sure I don’t need to convince you of the value of memory verses. Kids’ ministry is often the number one place where these are an important part of the program. At what age do we grow out of memory verses? Mmmm… actually, never.

Wouldn’t it be great if the whole church learned a memory verse together? It’s an opportunity to foster conversations across the generations and offer encouragement and support. The kids spot could be a time of unpacking the verse, defining key terms, thinking through different implications and applications and practicing learning it by heart. Different members could have a go at demonstrating if they’ve learned it word perfect and talk about how the verse encourages them in daily life.

Congregation members could share short video clips of the family or a family member reciting the verse at home, or in different settings. Kids love seeing themselves on screen and there are the added benefits of avoiding stage fright and bringing joy to older saints seeing the youngest members learning the wonderful truths of our faith.

Simple catechism is another option along the same lines. Learning summaries of key truths of our faith is beneficial for adults too. This also sets up an opportunity for conversations to continue at home and informally. Sam Davidson, the Director of Family Ministries at Norwest Anglican, has been promoting catechism among their congregations in recent months. He observes, ‘It’s a way to give a shared language to a church community. Kids and adults learn best when things are explained and articulated in similar ways across multiple contexts. We can explain concepts of sin, the gospel, the new creation, etc. in the same way at both church and home. It’s been beneficial for the church for centuries - who am I to argue with that?’

3. Faith stories

The idea of interviewing parents to share ideas about home discipleship up the front is not new but what if we widened the scope? Make it bigger than home discipleship. Ask someone to tell the story about how they became a Christian in the dark ages before iPhones, or a teenager to share about their faith journey. Invite someone to share what it means to be a follower of Jesus at work.

You might be thinking this doesn’t sound like a kids spot but children love stories. A few tweaks make it much more accessible for both children (and adults).

-            Show some photos.

-            Ask the person to bring an object or two (eg. A member of my family is in law enforcement, we could easily bring some item of protective clothing that kids would love to see and try on).

-            Give the person specific questions to answer, and prepare with them to keep it on point, interesting and Jesus-centred.

-            Make it an interview. It naturally makes it more interactive, and you could also invite a child to ask a question of the interviewee.

Who to ask? It could be the people the children wouldn’t otherwise ever interact with. It could be kids’ church leaders and helpers, so the wider congregation as well as the children can get to know them. It could be people with particular roles, like the music leader (“How does music help you grow as a disciple of Jesus?”).

These are unfinished ideas for your kids’ spots. It’ll be the unique polish you give them to suit your context and achieve your purpose that will make them shine.

What could you try this week?

[1] Smith, C., & Adamczyk, A. (2020). Handing down the faith: How parents pass their religion on to the next generation. Oxford University Press, p53