Midweek Slump Solutions

Are you struggling with attendance for your midweek services? This episode is packed with practical ideas to shake things up this summer - with discipleship still being the goal. 

Need the events mentioned in the episode? Check them out at: https://amberpike.org/shop/ols/categories/events

Grab the Family Cookbook Devotional and The Top 50 Bible Lessons About Ordinary People in God's Extraordinary Plan on Amazon. http://bit.ly/3ZOUiFX

#kidminsummer #themedays #intentionalchildrensministry

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:01

Welcome to the Kidman Huddle with Amber Pike, where children as ministry leaders get equipped, encouraged, and empowered to disciple with intentionality, growing God's kingdom one child at a time.

SPEAKER_01: 0:13

Welcome back to the Kidman Huddle. We are in summer, and often in summer we see that midweek slump. Have you guys seen that? I worked two different churches that had Wednesday night services in the summer, and they It's inconsistent, both your kids and your volunteers. There's vacations, there's pool days, there is mom has been with children all day and she can't take another thing. And just summers were hard. You know, kids don't have the consistency of school. They're not in that routine. So then who knows what child you're getting personality-wise when they come in on Wednesday or Thursday. Around here in Kentucky, we do them on Wednesday. I know some of you Do it on Thursday. But it was just hard. I think you kind of had more competition on Wednesdays on midweek than you did on Sunday. Sundays were still kind of a given unless you were out of town or something going on. But man, midweek is tough. So I've got a couple of midweek slump solutions for you all. Now, one thing I want you to remember is Just because attendance is inconsistent or hard, engagement, momentum might be slow or lagging, this doesn't mean that you can phone it in. Wednesday night, midweek services are still important in the summer, even if you just have one kid. If you have one or two kids, you still need to bring your A-game because that is an hour of discipleship for that child. I mean, there were times when... I had a lot of kids on Wednesdays and there were times when my two kids were the only children that I had for Wednesdays. Give your full time attention and energies to that one or two children who are there. They deserve it. That hour still matters for them. But obviously that's not the ideal, right? We don't want just one kid coming when we put in all of this work to prep and prepare for it. So Couple of ideas of things that you can do. What can you do? Well, think about maybe shaking it up. So maybe you're doing your regular Wednesday programming, but how can you shake it up without putting a lot of work on you? Because it's not just the kids who are often inconsistent or a little crazy in summertime, right? It's sometimes your volunteers. You might be working with less volunteer staff. Maybe you're wanting to give your regular school year volunteers the summer off because they're overwhelmed and they just need a little break. Well, think about how can you shake up summer with intentionality? So hard nose for me would be movie day, just popping in a movie or just going somewhere to play. Those are hard nose for me. What can we do with intentionality that is maybe going to shake things up, make it maybe a little extra exciting, maybe even be a draw that's going to draw kids to church when normally they might have opted to stay at their friend's house or go to the pool? So what can you do? So I had this in summer. The last summer I was at my last church. Midweek attendance was just really struggling in summer. It wasn't great in school year, just bad. We had a lot of parents who worked and it was tough to get to church. Even though during the school year we provided a meal, summer we did not. So summer was tough. So I had a monthly thing. There was something that they would look forward to. One of the things that I did was a special tie-dye event that coincided with a dress-up day. It was tie-dye day, so I was in my tie-dye lab coat that I'd made for VBS previously because, you know, you make or you buy these cool things and you don't get rid of them. For sure, you just keep them. And everything was tie-dye themed. We had tie-dye activities. The kids got to tie-dye. Lots of color things. I made this color praise game that a praise station, all sorts of fun stuff. But then they got to make a tie-dyed pillowcase. And there was a devotion that went with it. And it was super fun. We had a great turnout that day. And it was a low prep event. I'm talking me and one other leader. Remember, I'm small church. But we totally did it without needing to call in extra hands. So what is something like that that you could do that would be a draw? but not be a huge investment on resources, both time, energy, and money. You know, if you're doing camp and BBS, those are your big things in the summer that are taking up lots of your time. Lots of volunteers, lots of resources. So what could you do that is a great attendance drawing, but intentional alternative? This tie-dye event, that was a great one that I really loved. We had a lot of fun. It is on my website, amberpike.org. You could do like a Lego event, the same thing. I had a, have a really fun Lego event that we did. That would be a good midweek draw. Kids love Legos. They love to build, but it has intentionality. I did a car racing theme event. lesson series once that was a ton of fun in the summer. And one of the things that kids loved before service is I had a really cool four track Hot Wheels racer thing. If you've got kids who are into cars, could you make a really cool car themed event where there's intentionality? There's something that they're learning. It's not a big draw. Maybe it's a Hot Wheels day. You've got a bunch of littles who love Hot Wheels. Well, how can you tie that to your lessons? How can you make an intentional but make it a draw? There's another church that I know who has bought my book, The Family Cookbook Devotional, and they're supplementing on Wednesdays in summer with this. So it's a really fun cooking night where the kids get to make something really yummy, but then they're in God's Word. Maybe you're going to have a cooking-themed summer where they get fun aprons that they decorate and chef's hat, and they're making something delicious that they get to take home, and then they're getting into God's Word together. Highly recommend, check out the Family Cookbook Devotional. That's a really fun idea that you can do. So how can you shake things up without just popping in a movie or without just canceling services and renting a bounce house or walking across to the park? We don't want to just waste our time. That hour needs to be intentional. Back when I was struggling with Wednesday attendance, one of my Wednesdays, I did a Popsicles in the Park event during service time. My husband came as an extra chaperone. For us, our church was literally across the railroad track because we're a train town. So we just walked across the railroad track with extra chaperones. But it was a... like a mission evangelism outreach for us, for our kids. We had popsicles and I had a big sign to make it less creepy because, you know, I don't let my kids take popsicles from strangers. So we had a sign and we were passing out VBS invitations. So our kids were getting a little bit out of their comfort zone and inviting others to church. I did that on a Wednesday. It was a lot of fun. They got to have popsicles and I was so proud of my kids, even my shy ones who were going up and inviting someone to come to our vacation Bible school. That was a great shake it up, kind of out of the routine for us. Another thing that I did was theme days. The theme days were just for fun and excitement. And often, other than the tie-dye, that summer, the theme days didn't have anything to do with the lesson. There would be maybe like a coloring sheet or something that kind of tied it in at the pre-service activity. But for instance, pajama night. Pajama night was just for fun. And so it was built up like, wear your pajamas and it's going to be fun. And I had a purple unicorn onesie. It was great fun. I really, I think I wanted an excuse to buy a purple unicorn onesie, but it was just something fun. And then service went on like normal. So would adding some theme nights to your midweek services, would that be a big draw for kids? That's super low key. So if you had a luau night and you served, um, Hawaiian printed cookies as a snack before. Would that get kids coming out? Maybe you dress up in advance for your VBS theme. You haven't had VBS yet. Maybe you're late in the year like I am. Okay, this Wednesday, it's going to be Western night. We're going to work on our VBS theme song in advance. You guys know it. The winner gets the best costume. The best Western wear gets this cool prize. Maybe a simple competition in dress up. with a small prize is going to incentivize kids to come on Wednesdays and make it fun and exciting. Maybe you're going to have a special snack or maybe it's a churchwide thing. The last Wednesday in July, we're having a churchwide ice cream social after services. Make sure you're here. My last church would do that. We had a couple of people who would make homemade ice cream and that was always a big treat. So maybe you can add a little something like a theme day or a special thing. Maybe meals are really needed. My last church canceled meals in the summer and I spoke openly against it, but I was not listened to because I knew my parents and I knew that some of these parents could not get kids there in time for church and feed them because they worked. I was overruled. Maybe this is a case where you need to know your kids. My alternative was I had a lot of snacks. I bought some more substantial snacks for kids and there was a snack box before Wednesday night because they were coming in hungry. Maybe you have special midweek dinners during the summer, pizza nights, hot dogs, walking tacos, chicken nuggets, sub sandwiches. Maybe that's a draw for kids who maybe aren't getting a good meal in summer because of their home situation. So if you go to my website, amberpike.org, and you go to the blog, you will see a PDF that has a bunch of theme nights. I came up with just a bunch of really fun church-friendly dress-up days. So go and grab that. A lot of these I've done at VBS. I've done some on Wednesdays, too. I have a, like you guys, I'm sure you have a costume rack or room full of fun costumes. And then think, okay, that theme day that I've planned, could this be a fun, easy peasy event? Several years back, I did a Christmas in July. So yeah, the Christmas tree came out. The lesson was Christmas themed, but it was July. It makes it super fun. What can you do? adding a little bit of fun, a little bit of extra, a little bit of excitement, but it's intentional. There's a purpose for it. So if I was doing a Christmas in July event, you better believe that it's going to be fun and exciting. And we might have Christmas cookies. I might bake Christmas cookies and Christmas carols and Christmas sweater or hat. But the lesson is going to be intentional. The lesson part of the activity of the night, which is going to be that full hour, it's intentional. Just thinking of another one. Oh, Bible Hero Day. Man, that would be such a fun one. Encourage kids to dress up like a Bible character. Award a prize for the best costume. And then maybe you're doing a standalone lesson on the overarching biblical narrative. God's one big story and talking about how we have all these different people or places, events, things that happen in the Bible, but it's all telling us one big story. So many different options you can do. Oh, superhero day. We just did at camp. We have theme nights and we did a superhero night. So of course I'm in my tutu and my cape and it's super fun. And I played a game called superhero or super God. It's one that I have on my website and it's okay. Did a superhero do this or did God do it? And it's a full body game and it gets the kids moving, man. That would be a great night when you're talking about the attributes of God. So we're dressing up like superheroes, which is fun. Maybe you have a super-themed snack that goes with the lesson. You've got a couple of games that are going to talk about God's attributes. And then, full lesson, attributes of God. God is greater than any superhero. He's stronger than the Hulk. He's faster than the Flash. You know, do the full thing, but talk about God's omnipotence, His omniscience, His omnipresence. Talk about the fact that God is sovereign. God is holy. You could do, you could honestly do like a whole summer series just on that. But think about how can you add those little fun extras? A couple of reminders. Again, think about that one. That one matters. If one and only one family stays for that particular midweek, they needed to be there. So don't phone it in. Don't be like, well, I guess we're just going to pop in you know, some worship videos in color because there's no point in doing the full lesson. The other kids are going to miss out. Nope, don't do that. That one child needs to hear what you've prepared. Maybe that one child desperately needed a little bit more one-on-one relationship building with you. That one child is worth it. You keep doing the lesson. You know, you're going to have to adapt. A game doesn't work as well with one kid as it would for the full classroom, but That's okay. Adapt. Have a backup plan in place of different things when you need to adapt. Maybe it's some trivia games. Maybe it's a praise activity, a prayer station. Be flexible. Be ready to pivot when numbers have it, but don't waste that hour. Don't phone it in. Don't just push play on a DVD or YouTube or streaming thing. I don't even know what you all have in your classroom, but play is not the answer. Give it your all this summer, even when it's hard. So think about those creative ways that, man, kids are going to feel like they're missing out if they're not there. Now, we know, I know, you know, they're missing out when they're not there every single week, every Sunday, every Wednesday, all 52 weeks of the year. But really make it in summer when I think the temptations are greater to skip church and There's pools, there's friend's house, there's drive-in movies, and all the stuff, all the fun stuff of summer. Really make them think, ooh, if I'm not at church, I'm really missing out on this. So bring the fun, bring the silliness, go all out dressing up, have competitions and fun, add in extra excitement and snacks and engaging activities. But make sure they are intentional, that we are discipling boys and girls. So if you're looking for a couple of options, I have a few things. Again, check out my website, a couple of event ideas. The Lego event would work great. Honestly, the Sweet Hour of Prayer one, it's a candy themed thing. You could do your pre-service activity by playing Candyland, make a giant game of Candyland. That'd be fun. You can check out my blog for that theme day list. There's so many things you could do with that theme day list and creative lessons that go towards it. My newest book, the top 50 ordinary people books. The top 50 Bible lessons about ordinary people and God's extraordinary plan. It's a mouthful. Sometimes I get the name wrong. It is a done for you thing. I have a church in Georgia that is loving using it in the summer because it's easy. The volunteers have all the stuff they need. It is a full lesson with crafts, activities, review games, the works. So it's easy on volunteers, but it's fun. It's interactive. It's exciting for kids. Renew a Nation has a full year of midweek curriculum. Maybe you're fine on this midweek, but you're thinking about what am I going to do when this church calendar year, the school year starts back up? Definitely check out the Renew a Nation midweek curriculum line. We've got 28 lessons. We will be continuing to build out to a full year, but this way you're good. It's deep. It's needy. It's giving kids confidence. a foundation on the word. That is what we want to see. We do not want to waste that hour. Check out the family cookbook devotional. Great supplement for your midweek. Do a fun cooking one. The pizza one is the very first recipe in the book. This could start off your summer or end your summer, right? Great tie-in to with we need the crust in pizza or it's going to fall apart in our hands and we need the foundation of the word or we are going to fall apart. That is where we need to be building our lives on that foundation. Then you can go into like a whole trivia game thing. So many options. And hey, if you're struggling with midweek, I would love for you just reach out and give you some ideas of maybe what's flopped for me or what really worked some creative stuff. And then I challenge you to think about too. Are you overscheduling this summer? Remember how I said that summer is busy? There are lots of distractions and fun things that families are doing. They're in and out with vacation, maybe trips to see families, all of this. Are you over scheduling? Do you have so many things in the summer calendar that families feel like they can't breathe? Maybe you need to scale it back. Maybe you need to cut down all the extras and just focus on your regular Sunday and Wednesday programming. Maybe you need to cancel Wednesday programming. I said it. I did. And I know some of you are like, oh, won't happen in my church context. I get it. I get it. But maybe there's something that you could be doing to equip families at home instead of one more day that they're expected to be at church. This is not an easy conversation, not a decision that you can make on your own. Maybe something to think about, maybe not even for this summer, but next summer. Do you have the church calendar so full that families feel like they can't breathe or make it all? Are they given the time to disciple at home? Or is the church calendar so busy that they can't? So maybe your midweek solution doesn't involve the church at all. Maybe it's something at home that families need to be doing. Whatever you're doing, whether you're adding in some theme days, changing it up with maybe a special low prep, low... volunteer needed event. Maybe you're trying a new fun lesson series for the summer, doing some outreach, some missions, whatever you're doing this summer. I just over and over remind you that that hour matters. What you're teaching the kids, even if it's just one or two kids, that matters. So keep on doing, keep on doing it with all the enthusiasm and passion. Teach that one or two as you would teach 200. And remember Kidman leaders, What you do matters.