How to Do Kids & Youth Ministry During COVID-19
These can be trying times for church leaders as they try to figure out how to do kids & youth ministry during COVID-19. But with keeping the proper perspective and making the most out of every opportunity, we can continue to minister to congregations and families represented in the church.
With social distancing, keeping connected with the kids and youth in your church would be challenging, but it’s something your church should be doing continually. Failing to do this could result in disengaged kids and youth when you’re actually able to meet in person again. Instead, we should be making the most of this time to keep connected with them.
Doing something intentionally will not only keep kids and youth engaged, but it can be a huge boost for your other ministries when the doors to your church open in the future, as well. It shows the parents in your church, that you care, not just about the adults, but about the whole family.
You want to meet their needs on as many levels as possible. So, let’s make the most of this opportunity, reaching them right in their homes.
In this blog, we want to share with you some ways you can continue to have church with your kids and youth through social media.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
Who should share?
How should you share?
What should you share?
Now, you may have reservations about using social media. Perhaps you think it’s not a great platform because of all the negativity that can be shared and uncensored a lot through it. I understand that completely. I have my concerns with social media too.
The truth is, we could really say that about any platform, from books to TV. Any platform can be misused. However, what’s great is that the church can leverage these platforms to share the gospel to grow the church and to minister to its congregations.
We can use social media too, as Paul put it in Colossians to make the most of every opportunity. Social media is another opportunity for the church. The great news is most of these resources are free. And people have all the equipment they need to do it, right in their pockets.
That means we want to steward these opportunities well. As with any media platform, parents should be aware of and participating in these activities with their kids. So, as you communicate how you’ll be interacting with the kids, be sure to speak to the parents and encourage them to take their kids to those platforms. Rather than just having kids login unsupervised.
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Let’s start with who should be sharing on your social media platforms.
First of all, here’s your question, “Who from your church should be reaching the kids and youth in your church?” Essentially, you want the child or youth to see whoever they see on a weekly basis.
So, if you have full time staff that minister to your kids, those are the ones who should be posting frequently and reaching out to the families, encouraging and sharing hope with them. Now, if you don’t have paid staff, but you have key volunteer leaders, those are the ones.
I would encourage them to do the same thing to help them reach the families to engage with them. But also, on that note, especially if it’s volunteers, help the families get connected with them, so that there’s some familiarity, especially if they don’t have the title pastor. You want to do your part to help those families get connected with your key leaders who are going to be sharing with them.
Let’s move on to how you should share.
There are a wide variety of opportunities, too many to go into a lot of detail right now. If you’re new to social media, you may need to do a little research and self-education to see what’s best and what works for you.
Church Website
So, let’s quickly look at some of these opportunities. First of all, your church’s website. If your church has a website, depending on its capabilities, you can have online church by posting videos or downloadable content, like activity sheets. Kids can download, print and do these at home.
This is a great opportunity because you can quickly and simply direct people to this resource. You can just say go to (give them the church’s website) and get them there pretty quickly. But it’s definitely not the only way. Obviously, you’ll have to have an ability to post online or have someone who can do that for you.
YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, etc.
YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, etc. offer a lot of the same opportunities to reach into the homes of your church. They all have value and I’d recommend that your church at some point, start using all of them.
If I could recommend one for now, I’d recommend Facebook because it seems to be a great combination of all media. It’s one that most families are probably familiar with, and most likely have an account with.
With Facebook you can post text, pictures, videos, as well as go live with videos. This gives your church an opportunity to actually have a live inexpensive service where the kids and youth in your church can log on as a group chat and interact with the live event.
One way, of course, that’s kind of old school now, is email. While we’re encouraging you to use social media, you’re going to want to direct them on how to get that content.
Emailing your congregation is very important too, it’s vital. We didn’t want to leave email out, but it’s kind of a steppingstone to getting them engaged in all these other ways
However, you don’t want to necessarily flood an inbox with emails because that could become white noise. But you can use it to point people in the right direction. Follow these kids and youth leaders on these platforms. Check out what they’re doing online, make sure you’re checking out their YouTube channel or following other kid’s or youth pastors online.
Those are ways that you’re able to use email to get people to point them in the right direction to either your website or to social media.
Direct them to Other People
Another way to minister to youth and kids in your church is by directing them to other people. There are kids and youth ministries that have online resources available. Churches like James River Church, Church of the Highlands and Life Church. They all have online kids and youth experiences.
So, if you’re unable to produce content at this point, perhaps you could direct them to another ministry that’s providing content that can continue to teach the kids and youth while your church is not meeting. And these churches are not in your community, so you don’t have to worry about your folks bailing on you to go to their church.
Now, while these are great resources, I would still say it is not the end all. It is not a substitute for what “your” church can do. Because you’re their pastor, you’re the one who’s feeding them. So, it’s not a substitute.
I would encourage you to utilize those resources but only “in addition” to what you’re doing. If you’re going to direct them to other ministries, you want to make sure that that you’re feeding them as well, that you’re keeping engaged with them, as well.
So, again those online resources from others are not a substitute for what you’re doing. They are great additions, not substitutes. Now, if you’re interested in these kinds of resources, we’re posting links to these ministries, so you can check them out if you’d like.
Okay, so this brings us to what should you be sharing?
Now, that is up to you, of course, but we do have a few suggestions.
You can share online your weekly curriculum. If you were doing a series in the kids or youth area when you stopped meeting in person, keep that series going online. You can incorporate as many service elements as possible like worship, Bible lessons, fun object lessons and prayer.
All of these can be done from home and posted online, especially at–home activities. Remember, it doesn’t have to be all about church. Kids and youth aren’t just missing church. They’re missing the fun interaction they have when at church.
So, we need to do things online that engage them, like wacky challenges or games they can play at home. It will help pass the time. It will increase engagement in what your church is doing, as well. If you’re posting fun content, they’ll share it with their friends. Interest in your church can grow just by having fun online.
When the doors to your church open again. You could have new people checking out your church just because of a random game their kids played online.
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If you have special challenges or activities for kids and youth to do, encourage them to post these activities. Tag your church in any posts. Tag your kids ministry in the posts. Tag your youth ministry in the posts. Tagging helps promote your church as a whole
Another thing you could post is special prayer times. So, you could have moments when you’re calling the kids and youth to pray for what’s going on. Give them specific things to pray for and challenge them to daily go before God with their needs, and the needs of the world. Use this time to help them understand that their prayers are powerful, and that when they call on God, great things can happen.
The most important thing to remember is to keep letting the families in your church know you’re praying for them, that you’re excited to be able to see them once again in person. If they need anything, you’re there to help as much as possible.
Go ahead with the thoughts of huge plans for your church. His plans are bigger than any challenge we may face or any news report we hear. God is bigger.
When we make the most of every opportunity, God will use you to minister powerfully to the families and even grow your church. We’re praying for you that God will bless you and your church during this time.
RESOURCES MENTIONED:
James River Church: https://jamesriver.church/kidsonline
Church of the Highlands: https://churchofthehighlands.com/kids/service
Life Church: https://lifechurch.tv/kids/media
CampTown Media: https://camptownmedia.com
RELATED RESOURCES:
Should We Cancel Church Due to Coronavirus?
13 Tips for Churches During COVID-19
How to Post a Church Service Video on Vimeo
How to Post a Church Service Video on YouTube
How to Set Up Church Meetings with Zoom
How to Post a Church Service Video on Facebook
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