The WOFOYO Podcast
The WOFOYO Podcast
Are You Ready Kids?: Why Entertainment-Based Ministry Falls Short
What if our approach to children's ministry is fundamentally flawed? During a recent worship service, I received an unexpected revelation about how we're forming the faith of our youngest believers - and it might challenge everything you thought you knew about children's ministry.
Most churches have embraced high-energy, entertainment-focused programs to capture children's attention spans. We've all seen it - the SpongeBob-like enthusiasm, the puppet shows, the VeggieTales videos. While keeping kids engaged is important, this episode dives deep into what children truly learn from and what will sustain their faith long-term: the modeling of authentic Christian behavior by the adults around them.
Children observe how we demonstrate integrity, prayer life, and relationship with God. These witnessed behaviors shape their understanding of faith far more powerfully than any entertaining lesson. When we condition children to expect church to be entertaining, we shouldn't be surprised when they grow into adults who gravitate toward shallow, production-value focused worship experiences rather than pursuing depth and discipleship.
This revelation carries a profound challenge for parents and ministry leaders alike: What example are you setting? Are you consistently demonstrating authentic faith before the children in your care? Have you allowed entertainment—whether through devices or ministry programs—to substitute for genuine spiritual mentorship? The biblical command to "train up a child in the way they should go" demands more than religious education; it requires living your faith visibly and authentically. I encourage you to pray, develop your own relationship with the Lord, and open the Bible for yourself as you reconsider how to disciple the children in your life. Subscribe to hear more challenging perspectives that will help you get in the Word for yourself!
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Hey everybody, this is C-Dub with another Wofo, yo Short. I wanted to talk to you about Proverbs 22.6. The King James is the most famous version of this and it simply says train up a child in the way he should go when he is old. He will not depart from it. I was praying recently, was over at a buddy of mine's church, and then the Lord dropped something in my spirit. This isn't what I was praying about. I'm just, you know, kind of praising and worshiping along with everybody else and, as I've told you all before, keep a notebook handy. And the Lord basically dropped something in my spirit about the way we do children's ministry. And a lot of y'all ain't going to like this, but, as Bone says, you know we're doing it the only way. We've known how to do it for a while. So just hear me out and if you don't like it, leave a bad review. Why are we trying to be cool in children's ministry?
Speaker 1:So a lot of times when I walk, if I'm visiting a church and I happen to walk by the children's ministry, for some reason, it hits me like the intro to SpongeBob SquarePants Are you ready, kids? Yeah, I can't hear you. Are you ready? And everybody gets hyped up, and I get the appeal getting kids' attention. Attention spans are short. I get that, I respect that, but in addition to that, you know we're called to make disciples, and it's really no different with children. And so, granted, do I run a children's ministry? No, I do not. So there's your grain of salt. There's your full disclosure. I do not. So there's your grain of salt. There's your full disclosure. I do not. I've raised some good kids. However, it's based on entertainment in order to keep attention. What kids actually learn from on a deeper level that will sustain them, is modeling, and I'm not talking about walking down the runway, the behavior you model. What does integrity look like? Walking with the Lord? Because they're going to pick up on that way, more than what they got during a puppet show. What they got I remember back in the day showing VeggieTales for children's ministry Need entertainment. You might get a lesson or two. How many people are remembering those lessons? And can you apply them?
Speaker 1:Because what we've lost and I know because I've been guilty there's things. As I look back at my role as a parent man, I have some regrets. There's things I would have done different. As a parent man, I have some regrets. There's things I would have done different, but I'm telling you, what we've lost is the art of demonstrating what walking with the Lord looks like in front of our children. We don't show them that there's a price to pay. We don't show them walking with the Lord.
Speaker 1:And it's not all church, church, church, church. Because what happens if everything revolves around the church and everything revolves around the entertainment aspect of it? And hey, we're going to keep your attention? This way, we're getting children raised in children's ministry, where it's always about keeping your attention rather than demonstrating and modeling behavior, grow up to become young adults and then adults who are basically driven to the mega church and the shallowness of a lot of those because it appeals to the entertainment custom. I mean, they've been so conditioned, we've been so conditioned to be entertained that we don't know how to relate and we we've rarely seen the behavior modeled, the relationship modeled, and I guarantee you what your children will pick up on way more is the example they see, especially by parents, but also anyone that's around them.
Speaker 1:And I'm also going to just throw this out here because it needs to be said because of the entertainment aspect of it.
Speaker 1:You also have to be careful about people with bad intentions that are predatory. And the one thing about if you're simply modeling behavior, which is known as discipling really, if you're modeling that behavior and teaching it, especially in your own house first, then that aspect becomes almost a non-factor, unless you just got some shady relatives or neighbors. So now that I've upset you and now that I've given you some things to think about, I just want to encourage you to ask yourself, especially if you've got kids, what kind of example am I setting? Am I constantly letting them be entertained by either their phone or some kind of ministry or this or that, but to the point where they're not actually getting an example? And am I setting an example? And what kind of example am I setting? And if you want to know what kind of example to set, then you need to pray, develop that relationship with the Lord, open that Bible and woe foe yo. Get in the Word for yourself. Everybody thanks for yourself.