6. Teach your team to smile.
There are few things less inviting than a hurried, grumpy, distracted person meeting kids and parents at the classroom (or as a greeter!). Smiling makes everything better, easier and more inviting!
7. Point them in the right direction.
I mentioned how hard it is sometimes to find the Children’s Ministry from parking lots of churches. I’m also amazed at hard it is to find things once I’m inside. How can you not have appropriate neon signage for your ministry? Make your signage attractive—NO HANDWRITTEN NOTES TAPED TO THE WALL!!! (see my rants about that here and here)—and make sure you have signage point to every significant area from every possible direction.
8. Keep it clean.
Cleanliness may not be next to godliness, but it certainly is next to attractiveness. Don’t let your families walk in to a room with trash on the floor (or overflowing trash cans), dirty table or sink areas, smelly bathrooms, etc. Find a way to keep it clean.
9. Remember that “fun” is not a dirty word.
What’s the #1 question parents ask when they pick up their kids? “Did you have fun?” While we can debate whether this should be the case or not, the truth is they want their kids to have fun. And so do the kids! I say it all the time, “If kids in your ministry aren’t having fun, then chances are they aren’t learning much, either.” Find ways to make it fun and communicate that from the time families walk in the door.
10. Simplify, simplify, simplify.
One of the things that bogs down our ministry and turns off those who attend are systems and processes that are complicated. How many steps does it take for a new family to get into the classroom? How hard is it to pick up their kids? What does it take to get their kids signed up for VBS or Summer Camp? Systems are critical, but they have to be simple. In fact, everything about your ministry needs to be as simple as possible (while still being effective and safe).
How do you make your ministry inviting?
This article originally appeared here.
