The old saying “people don’t care how much you know until they know how much your care” holds true in children’s ministry and in the church. If all we have is programs and we’re not touching our students’ lives, our programs are worthless.
Jesus taught the multitude, but He also spent one-on-one time with His disciples and with many of His other followers. He set the standard for ministry that we should emulate.
But, as with every other resolution I’ve covered, if we don’t have a plan, it will fall by the wayside as busyness takes over. Here’s a few ideas to plan one-on-one time with students.
Don’t try to do it by yourself. If you have a children’s ministry team, have them help you with building relationships with students. That will free you up to pour into student leaders.
Acknowledge birthdays. You may decide to send a card, make a phone call, or give a little gift in children’s church. But make sure you acknowledge birthdays in some way.
Go to extra-curricular activities. Let your students know that, if they inform you of sport’s events, dramas, and concerts, you will do your best to attend.
Visit the hospital. Any time a student of yours is having surgery or is in the hospital, it should become a priority for you to visit her.
Have a certain time each week where you make phone calls. Maybe schedule an hour each week, and go down the list of students. Don’t only call students who are absent, call the faithful as well. It will make that student’s day to get a call from his children’s pastor.
Visit each student in your children’s ministry once a year. If you have more than a hundred student, this will require help from your team, but it’s more effective in reaching out with compassion than any program you could come up with. One word of caution – always schedule an appointment with the parent before making a visit.