Today on the podcast, Sean talks with Sean Marshall, the K-3rd grade pastor at Destiny Church, about preparing kids for preteen ministry.
With most churches each ministry does there own thing which makes it difficult to prepare kids to move into different ministries as they grow up. Sean Marshall looked at what Elevate was teaching so that he could make sure than when the 3rd graders transitioned over they were prepared. By understanding the vision of the next ministry the kids will be heading into, the job of the younger kid’s pastor is to make sure that those students moving up are ready to be in that new ministry.
Some of the ways Sean Marshall is preparing the kids for transition is really making sure they know who is who in the Bible. Currently they are producing a curriculum that will go chronologically through the Bible with a two-year plan to look at the characters of the Bible. Some smaller things that you can do is having the preteen pastor make an appearance in the kid’s ministry service on occasion, so the kids know who the pastor is. A fun idea is an ice cream Sunday right before they come into the new ministry so that the kids and their families can get to know the preteen ministry team. Additionally, the 3rd graders are planning to come over and sit in on a portion of the preteen service before they actually transition over. Showing the partnership between the ministries shows continuity. Making sure they are excited to move onto the next step is key to an easy transition.
Have a question about preteen ministry or a unique preteen ministry idea that we can feature on our podcast? Send it to podcast@fourfivesix.org. Looking for a great community of preteen leaders that you can plug into? Join us at http://fourfivesix.org/.