Creating a Spiritual Formation Plan for Kids Ministry

Kids ministry leaders want to see kids grow closer to Jesus. We spend countless hours recruiting volunteers, printing lessons, cutting out crafts, and making sure that when kids come on Sunday mornings, they hear a Bible story and hopefully something sinks in to help them grow closer to Jesus.

Many businesses and organizations put together a plan to see growth. They do not randomly select some ideas that are important and hope they help propel growth. They carefully and strategically put together a plan that will determine the course of action so the organization can accomplish their goals.

Why would we not do the same for spiritual growth for children? Why would we not carefully think about goals and a plan to accomplish those goals?

In This Article

• Questions to ask before building your plan

• How to Create a Spiritual Formation Plan

• Communicating the Plan

Questions to ask before building your plan

Creating a Spiritual Formation Plan is not as difficult as it may seem. Here are some key questions to consider:

1. What is a Spiritual Formation Plan and why do we need one?

2. What concepts are children capable of learning at each stage of their development?

3. How do we incorporate the Bible into an intentional plan to teach kids?

4. What are we currently doing that we can include in the plan?

5. How can we equip parents to make spiritual formation a priority in their home?

6. What methods do I need to use to communicate the plan effectively?

7. What assessment methods can we use to evaluate if we are making progress?

Creating the Plan

1. Pray

Spiritual formation is God’s work. He works in the lives of kids and draws them closer to Him. Before you start to put ideas on paper, you need to take time to pray about what God has planned for your church, your families, and your kids. Ask Him to guide you as you research ideas and put the plan together.

2. Ages and Stages

Take time to learn about what kids are capable of learning at various ages. Some concepts are too difficult for preschoolers to understand, and preteens need to work through more difficult concepts for their stage of life.

3. Use Curriculum Intentionally

Curriculum companies often provide a scope and sequence that outlines what stories they have selected and themes or main ideas that can be drawn from these stories. Using a curriculum can be part of your Spiritual Formation Plan, but your plan should include more than what you teach on Sunday mornings.

4. Create a Working Document

This can include several sections that outline your plan as well as give resources for parents to use.

Suggested sections are:

• What is a Spiritual Formation Plan?

• The goal of the plan

• The actual plan

• Ages and stages information

• The curriculum scope and sequence

• Parent resources

• Monthly challenges

• Catechism information

• Assessment tools

5. Design a Readable Resource

Put your plan into a document that is visually pleasing and easy to read. Canva is a great resource to create a document that includes graphics to present your plan in a way that is not cumbersome to the average reader.

Communicating the Plan

Once you have put your plan together, there are some people that need to know about it.

1. Senior Leadership

Your senior leadership should be on board with the plan you have created. Take time to talk through the plan you have created with your senior pastor and leadership team. You may need to make several revisions before you share it with others.

2. Volunteers

Your volunteers need to be in the loop. Take time to share the plan with them and communicate how they are a key part of the spiritual formation of the lives of kids in their group.

3. Parents

Parents are the primary spiritual formation coaches. Use several methods to communicate the plan you have put together. This could include having a printed version of your plan, an electronic PDF version that you email or post on your website, and using social media to continually remind parents of things they can be doing as part of the plan.

Consider taking some time to pray and ask God what He has in store for the kids in your church and what you can do to create an intentional spiritual formation plan that helps kids grow closer to Jesus.

Carolyn is currently the Kids Pastor at Creekside Church in Waterloo, Ontario, where 450 kids show up for church every Sunday, and she oversees a team of 300 volunteers. She also runs a blog, Kids Ministry Leadership, where she shares insights from over 20 years of working with kids ministry leaders like you, all over the world.