Four Must-Have Spaces – Children’s Ministry Space
This article is part 4 of 4 of a series focusing on the four main ministry spaces of a church facility. Church Facility Solutions (CFS) helps churches create or re-purpose existing facilities for future ministry growth.
There are four main spaces to consider when creating a new church facility or expanding your current facility — worship space, children’s ministry area, youth ministry space, and lobby. Carefully designing each of these spaces will allow your church facility to fully function and for your church to realize its potential!
Every church desires to create a special place that its children (and their parents) want to come to each week. So, what is important to both the kids and their parents?
First of all, let’s talk about the location in the building. Children’s Ministry Space (CMS) needs to be located such that it can be easily identified by visitors (with kids) when they enter the main entrance to the church. It is most desirable if this CMS is within close proximity to the worship center, as long as there is separation for sound. Your worship center does not want to be sharing a wall with all the fun that is taking place in the CMS!
Secondly, the CMS Check-In should be visible from the main entrance and offer multiple stations for families to check in their kids. With multiple stations and several volunteers, check-in times, including time waiting in line, can be kept to a minimum. If the wait time is too long, a visitor might use this as a reason to not return. It may not be “the reason” they don’t return, but it can be a contributing factor. Therefore, it’s important to have a separate check-in line for your visitors, who will need additional time to fill out the information. This is critical to the visitors’ first impression of your church and of your children’s ministry.
Thirdly, the CMS must be secure. This is a critically important aspect in today’s environment. Parents want to know that stringent security measures are being enforced, including:
- Creating a dedicated, computerized check-in area that obtains a child’s input data in exchange for a badge or identifier indicating that this child belongs in the Children’s Space.
- Having an entry barrier that keeps parents, siblings and guests from entering the CMS without a badge.
- Having a one-way direction flow for all foot traffic once you get past the check-in area.
- Positioning a greeter with a security focus at the front entrance of the space to make sure everyone checks in appropriately. But most critically, a greeter (also with a security focus) must be stationed at the “back entrance” or exit (since it’s one-way only), to give attendees directions to the front entry of the CMS insuring that no one enters through this “back entrance” even in an emergency. This door can be a one-way door without a door knob and only a crash bar for emergency exiting on the inside.
Other important characteristics of today’s Children Ministries Space include:
Theming. This is that eye-catching wall art and sculpture that draws both the parents and the kids attention when they walk into the church. Theming at the front entry to the CMS could include a tree house, Noah’s Ark, an outdoor hiking theme, and so much more, depending on what your church would like to create to stimulate young imaginations for Kingdom purposes. When parents see this theming, they make a mental note that your church values their children’s ministry. Once the “primary theming image” is installed at the entrance to the CMS, the amount of theming diminishes as you walk further back into the children’s space. For example, once you arrive into the classroom space, this theming can be easily changed out depending on the needs of the ministry.
Group Worship Space. Ideally, this gathering space should be a large room with high ceilings, a stage, and good quality audio, visual and lighting (AVL) components. This space allows the kids to do skits, puppets, use microphones, etc. and worship corporately before they break into small groups. Such small groups can meet in separate classrooms or even at times in the group worship space. The AVL in the group worship space allows the ministry team to reinforce the particular message with the use of projector screens, TV monitors, interactive drama, video clips, power point presentations, etc.
When your church makes well considered plans for its Children’s Ministry Space, not only will your children thrive, but they will encourage their parents to bring them again!
If you’re considering a church facility project that accounts for all four of these vital ministry spaces, our Church Facility Solutions (CFS) team is here to serve you. CFS works with a church to create strategic facility expansion plans. We are a full-service commercial real estate development organization committed to serving churches. This vision aligns with our principals’ personal values as followers of Jesus Christ.
CFS provides A to Z services including strategic planning, financial feasibility, site or building selection, capital campaign, financing (as owner’s representative), project team selection, project and construction management (also as owner’s representative), furniture, fixtures, equipment, audio, visual, light procurement, and relocation coordination.
For more information on Church Facility Solutions, check out us out at https://churchfacilitysolutions.com or contact us at info@churchfacilitysolitions.com