🤍 What You Should Expect From Church Children's Ministry

Happy Monday and Welcome if you’re a new subscriber! All Natural Christian Mom (NCM) emails will have the white heart emoji (🤍) in the subject line to help you easily find them on your inbox.

🧒 Safety in Church Children’s Ministry: What You Should Expect As a Parent

Maybe you’re a new parents, or new to church; maybe you’re feeling pressured to drop off your children at the nursery or children’s classes on Sunday, but don’t feel ready. Or you’re a seasoned parent who simply wants to know the ins and outs of a solid and safe children’s ministry.

We hear of cases of sexual assault and abuse against children often these days (in and out of the church). The idea behind this piece is not to encourage fear, but to know what are some reasonable expectations you can have of your church community.

1. First things first: You don’t need to take your children to the nursery/kids’ church/children’s ministry if you don’t want you, aren’t ready, or if your children aren’t ready. Follow your gut (i.e. your God given discernment).

2. Noise level: Yes, noise can be an issue if your kids stay with you during service. Bring toys and actives to keep them busy and be considerate. You know your church best. If you get a complaint, talk to the pastor/leaders/staff at the church…if the complaint is coming from them: consider a different church that can be a better fit for you and your family in this season.* You may also want to consider the reasons why you’re not comfortable with your children' attending the provided classes to help you asses your next steps.

3. We encourage you to take your children to the classes provided by your church. It is a wonderful opportunity for them to hear the Word of God and for you and your husband (or just you) to get some uninterrupted time in the Word as well. But of course, this is not for everyone.

Expectations

Baseline: All children’s ministry volunteers get a background check before being approved to serve. This is basic in 2024. This requirement stands even if just serving for a few days during VBS. Also, at least 2 adult volunteers must be present with the children at all times (this is particularly important for babies and toddlers who can’t speak for themselves, there must always be two witnesses in case something serious goes wrong. For this same reason, the two volunteers shouldn’t be related or from the same household).

Idealbaseline: The background check is required annually. All children receive a name tag that matches the parent’s name/phone number so they’re the only ones authorized to pick them up. These two are less common in smaller churches, specially names tags as in small congregations it’s very evident who the parents are.

Access to children’s area: If an adult is not assigned to volunteer in the children’s ministry that day, he/she does not enter the children’s area before, during or after service as long as children are present. Non-children’s volunteers never access the area. This can be a loose rule at many churches, again particularly small churches where everyone knows everyone.

Please know, if someone who is not a children’s volunteer is consistently accessing the area and it’s making your uncomfortable/you have concerns: please talk to your pastors. It could be a sweet old lady or teenager who both love Jesus and also love to kiss/pinch the toddlers’ cheeks…or it could be someone who truly shouldn’t be there. If you’re not OK with it, you can speak up.

Parent access: Churches typically follow one of these three scenarios.

• No parent access: Gated children’s area (drop off child at the gate and the volunteer takes them from there). This is applied at most larger churches as most parents won’t have a background check (unless they’re volunteers themselves).

• Access for drop off: Parents actually access the children’s area to drop off their kids. They may stay for a few minutes to settle them down but are not allowed to stay for the entirety of the service (for the same reason listed above).

• Full parent access: Parents can access and stay in the children’s area as long as their child is with them. This applies to parents only…not an uncle or grandparent (unless they’re the primary guardian). 

The best way to stay on top of all things Children’s Ministry in your church is to SERVE. And churches often need volunteers in this area. Consider serving even if just 3-6 times per year.

Other expectations: No screen time (unless it’s part of the program), no kissing the children, and respect for the parents’ boundaries (e.g. If a parent wants to be called if her child is crying excessively, there is no reason why the parent’s wishes shouldn’t be honored). Toys and all common areas should always be sanitized.

Peer pressure: Sometimes others in the church can be pushy…common phrases are, “He needs to learn to be away from you”, “She’ll be fine! Go!”, “You really need a break”. Sometimes this is good! But if that’s not what you need in the moment, stand up for yourself and your child…even if it makes them (and you) feel awkward for a moment. You’re the parent and you know what’s best for you and your family in any particular season.

Love and Trust

Above all, approach all of this from a place of love and trust for your church community. Most people truly mean well. There are many widows and older women at churches who want nothing more than to hold and care for your baby with the purest of hearts. They can offer some much needed breaks fro parents even if just for a 15 minutes at church…and sometimes they’ll kiss the baby without asking…and all will be OK.

Short Reads: Big Gains

🪰A summary of the thousands of articles on the internet on how to get rid of gnats in your home.

Gnats are specially active in the summer, when the climate is hot and humid.

To get rid of them, gather: Apple cider vinegar, dish soap, warm water.

Mix and place inside a bowl or mason jar in at least two key spots: by your fruit bowl and by your sink.

For extra kick: add 2 teaspoons of sugar to the mix.

If it doesn’t seem to be working: cover the bowl holding the mixture with plastic wrap and poke wholes on it (so gnats can’t escape).

If the problem persists: the gnats may be laying eggs in dirt inside your home, consider moving house plants outside if you can. Also, keep your fruit bowl covered and move extra ripe fruit to the fridge.

Clean kitchen sink & garbage disposal: by pouring boiling water and vinegar down the drain (you may also choose to use bleach instead of vinegar), this will keep gnats from feeding off food scraps in the sink. Note: this should not be done often as it can damage your pipes.

Useful Mom Stuff

✍️Forwarded this email?Sign up here.

^{Please note: links don’t equal endorsements. We’ll always aim to link to wholesome sites, but we can’t control their ads, which frequently change. *Sponsored link}