“Don’t leave me! You’re gonna be sad you’re not in Kids Ministry anymore. You’re gonna miss me so much you will hate student ministry. You’re gonna want to be back here!” These are the words I once heard a leader tell the fifth graders who were promoting. I don’t think he realized just how insecure this made him look. It was all about him, not the kids.
We all go through it: the bittersweet moment often called “Promotion Day.” All of the children you have poured your heart and soul into are now too old for Kids Ministry. It is time for them to move on. Promotion Day is a bittersweet moment for many Kidmin Leaders. It is difficult to say, “Goodbye” to the children we love. I have seen some leaders handle Promotion Day pretty poorly. They turn it into a “cry fest” and begin to mourn the loss of those who are “moving up”, and the entire process becomes a sad event.
Instead, we need to make the transition from elementary ministry into student ministry a positive and exciting experience for our kids. This past Sunday, we said “Goodbye” to more than eighty-five 5th graders who were promoting. We sent them out like missionaries to the mission field of middle school. We brought them to the front, lay hands on them, and prayed a commissioning prayer over them.
I told each of them, “I can’t wait to hear what incredible things you will do for God in student ministry! Don’t wait until you are one of the oldest in the group to be an example. Instead, from day one, be a leader in worship, prayer, energy, and passion for God!” It was an incredible experience!
Brian Dollar grew up as a “church brat.” God radically saved him and called him to Kid's Ministry. He has served as a Kid's Pastor for twenty years and currently serves at First Assembly of God in North Little Rock, Arkansas.
@BrianDollar1
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