Would you like to see the kids in your ministry more engaged with your lessons, activities and programs? Let me introduce you to the full bucket principle.
The full bucket principle says when you fill kids’ emotional buckets with recognition, encouragement and praise, their engagement level rises with it.
Every child in your ministry has an emotional bucket. When it’s full, they feel great and are more engaged. When it’s empty, they lose heart and disengage. So one of the keys to engagement is finding ways to keep kids’ emotional buckets filled.
Children’s ministry doesn’t need cooler videos or flashier graphics to engage kids more effectively. What we need are bucket fillers. People who know that every interaction they have with kids is an opportunity to pour into their lives.
Be a bucket filler … greet kids with kind words that build them up.
Be a bucket filler … acknowledge kids’ effort and accomplishments during class.
Be a bucket filler … brag on kids in front of their parents.
Be a bucket filler … write and send encouragement notes to kids.
Be a bucket filler … use “caught being good” recognition more than “caught being bad.”
Be a bucket filler … call kids up instead of calling them out.
Kids have plenty of people emptying their buckets by telling them everything they’re doing wrong, saying negative things about them and telling them what they can’t do. Determine you will be a bucket filler. The ripples from the drops you pour into kids lives will extend farther than you could imagine.
What are some ways you fill kids’ emotional buckets?
