Children Are Not Free to Join
ByI had the opportunity to spend time over Christmas with some family from Minnesota. They moved there for a job and have been seeking a church to attend. The told us about a church they visited that billed itself as kid friendly but then found out that this church actually charges money for any children that come on Sunday or other events. You must pay for them to participate. Inconceivable! It is also sad to note they tried a completely different church for a few weeks but decided against being involved there because each week the children’s ministry lost their son’s information and they had to do the “paperwork” on each return – on top of not being able to enter the coveted sanctuary right after the service started in order to keep the service “professional”.
Please read that again and think about the consequences. These family members are great people who are authentic, passionate, and serve 100% (I would love for them to be a part of our church plant!) but they will never return to those churches and may even share this heartbreaking experience with others around them. Many churches are dying and some of the reasons are because of stories like this. I pray that we use every opportunity to tell the right story.
Here is a shameless plug for our Minnesota church – if your family members are anywhere near the South Twin Cities area. I am the Children’s Pastor… and I don’t charge kids to hear about Jesus. We also have computer check-in and once we have your info… we don’t lose it. River Valley Church in Apple Valley – http://rivervalleychurch.org
Jamie,
Thanks for the shameless plug…my wife already e-mailed you and passed along the info to our family!
-James
Which church is this? I was the children’s pastor at Wooddale and now am with Group Publishing and heard about VBS…but NOT church?
Keith,
I do not know the name of the churches and I didn’t ask, I just thought I would share their story to help churches think through a visitor’s perspective.
James
James,
Jamie put a link to your blog on Kidology.org and I’m trying to get a good grasp of paying for Sunday Morning ministry to kids. Is there any more info you can give on this? I’d love to call and talk to the Pastor of this church to get a good understanding of what they charge for and how people respond to this. Is there anyway you could get the name of the church?
Blake Nichols
Pastor of Children’s Ministries
Colonial Baptist Church
Wichita Falls TX
Blake,
Next time I am able to talk with my family, I’ll see if they would be willing to give me some more insight on their experience but to be fair, I wouldn’t provide the church name even if I knew it or found out. My intention for this post is not to bash this church or cause others to seek them out (for good or bad) – but only to educate church leaders as to how people can view a church from an outside perspective. My goal is to see healthy and reproducing churches…sometimes we can best learn from circumstances like this on what to do and not do.
Thank you for your feedback!
James
Here’s a link to the info on the church. http://www.hosannalc.org/learn/children/grades.html
You have to pay to check your kids into Wed. nights or the weekend services. There is a maximum fee per family of $66 per quarter I think.
checked out the link, the church does kidstuf, by a different name. our church also uses this we do not charge for children to come. if i had to guess i would say it is for materials, copies, props, food. it is an expensive venture but well worth it, and charging is not needed or recommended.