Why don’t we try the same thing in our children’s ministries?  Why don’t we reward the  kids who are our most faithful?  Why don’t we have a “gold” program?  Now, obviously,  we can’t give our kids a 10% discount on coffee makers, but you could tell your kids  that if they come every weekend they’ll save $50 off their camp registration.  You could  meet them at school for lunch.  

Kids today want to feel special.  They want to feel loved.  We have to give them a reason to keep coming back, especially kids who come without their parents.  Balance is important here too.  Don’t play favorites, but make sure that you acknowledge those kids that are always faithful, and really want to be there.

So how do you make the kids in your ministry feel special?  How do you let them know you appreciate their faithfulness?  How do you balance this without playing favorites?  Let us know in the comments.

We’re interested in seeing who among you uses these services.  So let’s take a little poll (if you use more than one, let us know in the comments):

Many within the church today have chosen to totally shun social networking all together because it is “unsafe”.  While that is a real possiblity (see this recent story), the truth is that culture is adopting these sites and bringing a new level of openness to the world.  And while we as the church are sitting back, the world is moving on and the kids in our ministries don’t know how to use these sites safely.

First and foremost, we need to teach our kids how to use these sites safely.  This page has some wise words from MySpace on safety that you can use.  Second, we need to teach parents what they can do to monitor their child’s activity without making their children feel like watched criminals.

Third, it would be a great idea to adopt these sites as part of your ministry.  You can form relationships with other children’s ministers, as well as connecting with kids in your ministry.  You can keep up with your kids throughout the week simply by adding them to your “friends list” and communicating with them.  Now obviously, probably 90% of parents want some adult communicating with their children via MySpace or the like, so make sure and tell the parents first.  Let them know that you’d like to add their child as a friend as part of ministry to keep up with them throughout the week.  Keep the parents in the know as to what communications you are sending to their children, just so they know what you’re doing.

These sites are not inherently bad.  In fact, I am a happy Facebook user. Yes, there may be some bad content, and yes, there may be some bad people out there, but you can’t shield yourself or the kids in your ministry from it entirely.  It’s part of life today.  Christianity can’t simply operate inside this little tiny bubble and say, “We’re happy here, now you stay out and just let us do what we want.”  We need to be in culture, influencing it for good.  So what do you think?  Let me know in the comments below! 

The 10/40 window. We always hear about this area between 10 and 40 degrees north of the equator. It is reported to be the part of the world where the fewest people have heard the true Gospel. It is the focus of most missions.

But that’s not the 10/40 window I’m talking about. The one I’m talking about is right here at home. Perhaps right next door. It’s the $10K-$40K a year income bracket. The most, perhaps, unchurched income bracket in the entire United States. How is this, you ask? It’s simply how churches have been and continue to be run.

The church constantly forms programs to reach the ultra-poor. The ones who may not have a home, may not have a car, and on and on. Pastors love the upper-middle and upper class brackets, because they give the big bucks in the offering. The 10/40 middle ground, however, is completely ignored. And so they don’t come. They’re simply not there.

They typically have kids, usually several. A perfect place to draw in kids and parents from. Why do we ignore them? Because they’re not always the cleanest, they don’t always give the big offerings, they’re not always the nicest dressed, they’re not always the greatest acting, and they’re not always “in the know” on “church ettiquete”.

Those in this bracket are often in need of something to fill in that spiritual void. No one reaches out to them, and so they try to fill it with things, when what they really need is Christ. In some churches this may take the form of a bus ministry (which is a great ministry, if you are ready for the commitment!), in others it may take the form of an inner-city church, and in others it may take another form. These kids are ripe for you to teach them, but it may be hard (as Ryan mentioned in his post earlier today!) But they must be reached, so how will you do it?