HOW TO STRUCTURE WEDNESDAY NIGHT KIDS MINISTRY

Are you a Children’s Ministry Director or Leader looking for new ideas for your Midweek Kids Ministry?

This program guide was designed for kids ministry leaders who are looking for:

This guide was designed as a set of suggestions.

Leaders may adapt suggestions and ideas to best suit the needs of the ministry.

WHAT IS THE BASIC STRUCTURE OF OUR MIDWEEK KIDS PROGRAM?

If you choose to follow the Seeds of Truth Midweek Kids Ministry Program Guide, you can expect to implement:

• an Elementary K-5 program that includes a large group time and a small group time with a heavy focus on comprehension and memory work
• opportunity for parent/family involvement before meetings in the form of at home Bible study
• a valuable Bible study component for adult leaders

The program is built around flexibility in the topics of study that are chosen for students. Kids ministry leaders can set up the program with anywhere from 1 to 2 hours of available time, and have the freedom to choose from an extensive collection of Bible studies written specifically for deep Bible study for elementary aged kids to work through with parents/family and adult church leaders.

Each Bible study offers suggested games and activities to engage students as they are building friendships, lifelong Bible study habits, and growing in the Truths of God’s Word as parents/families and church leaders are “planting seeds” in their hearts.

WHAT IS THE COST OF RUNNING THIS MIDWEEK KIDS PROGRAM?

VERY LOW!

FREE:

• Bible Study Packs
  • Ministry Director’s Handbooks
  • Teacher’s Study Guides
  • Small Group Leader Study Guides
  • Student Study Guides
  • Wisdom Warrior Guides

Each Bible Study Pack is PRINTABLE, so your ministry will need to invest in copy paper and ink. You may also choose to provide your leaders & students with binders, presentation portfolios, or folders to organize their study guides.

BIBLE COMMENTARIES:

You may choose to purchase Bible Commentary books for your Lead Teachers (or they can purchase their own).

EVERY TEACHER’S STUDY GUIDE will reference The Wiersbe Bible Commentary and it is important that each Lead Teacher have a copy of both the Old Testament and New Testament volumes.

The regular list price for one set is $99.99, but you can find them on sale if you watch for them.

Additionally, other optional Bible commentaries will be offered as suggested reading. Providing your Lead Teachers with copies of the suggested commentaries will be valuable. These suggested commentaries will be listed in the Ministry Director’s Handbook.

WISDOM WARRIOR MATERIALS:

However you choose to organize and award Wisdom Warrior tags, you will need a few minimal supplies.

• card stock
• ink
• lamination
• necklaces, lanyards, and/or binder rings
• storage containers

In addition to the above materials, your ministry program will need to invest in basic craft supplies, such as crayons, markers, scissors, glue, etc.

WHAT IS “WISDOM WARRIORS”?

Wisdom Warriors is the Seeds of Truth version of “Brag Tags”. Rather than teaching kids to “boast about their works”, the Wisdom Warrior program encourages them to put effort towards comprehension and memorization of Scriptures and Truths from the Bible.

For each Bible memory verse and Scriptural Truth they memorize and are able to explain in their own words, they will earn a new “Wisdom Warrior” tag to add to their collection.

Ministry leaders can choose to distribute:

• necklaces
• large binder rings
• lanyards w/ binder rings
• something else of your choosing

Each student should start out with a “Wisdom Warrior” name tag.

After that, tags can be added to their collections based on the Scriptures and Truths they memorize and comprehend, as well as other milestones and celebrations.

Name tags and celebrations tags are in printable form HERE.

Scriptures and Truths tags are in printable form inside each individual Bible study pack.

SUGGESTED SCHEDULES

CLICK HERE to find suggested schedules depending on how much time your ministry has to devote to a midweek program.

WHAT BIBLE STUDIES WILL WE USE FOR OUR MIDWEEK KIDS MINISTRY?

Seeds of Truth has a collection of 4-12 week Bible studies to choose from. Kids ministry leaders can choose from the collection and build a scope and sequence for the entire year OR choose studies throughout the year to use in addition to other curriculum.

ALL BIBLE STUDY PACKS ARE PRINTABLE AND FREE TO USE AND SHARE.

Bible Study Packs include:

• Ministry Director’s Handbook
  • Includes all prep and supply information for the Children’s Ministry Director to be able to plan the entire study in one sitting.
• Teacher’s Study Guide
  • The Lead Teacher has the opportunity to read Bible passages & Bible commentaries, as well as reflect on his or her own comprehension of the Truths taught. This helps the teacher to invest in his or her own learning while building a strong outline for the kids lesson.
  • The guide includes main points that should be included in the large group lesson & space for creating a lesson plan.
• Small Group Leader Study Guide
  • The Small Group Leader has the opportunity to study an outline of the lesson with suggested reading as he or she preps for the weekly lesson discussion.
  • The guide includes space to take notes during the large group lesson that should be discussed during small group time.
  • The guide also includes discussion prompts for leaders and space for leaders to add their own discussion questions.
• Student Study Guide
  • Students have the opportunity to read with parents/families at home in preparation for the midweek meeting at church. Through this reading, students will read & study passages, and answer comprehension questions as they reflect on their reading.
  • Wisdom Warrior verses and Biblical Truths are listed inside each section so students are able to learn and recite them to leaders.
  • They will then be encouraged to bring their notes and Bible to the midweek meeting to discuss in their small group.
  • There is also space to take notes during large group lessons inside the student guide.
• Wisdom Warrior Guide
  • The Wisdom Warrior Leader(s) (or Small Group Leader if your program does not have a designated WW Leader) will be able to use the guide to organize and track weekly challenges.
  • Printable WW tags are included in the guide.

Click the button below to see all of the current options of Bible Study Packs:

WHAT HAPPENS DURING…?

Check in/Welcome

Students are dropped off by parents and checked in by the Attendance Coordinator. Then they make their way to the large group area where praise & worship music is continuously playing.

Large Group

Students listen to and participate in a Bible study lesson led by the Lead Teacher. Games and activities can be incorporated into this time.

Small Group

Students participate in discussion with 1-2 adult leaders and groups of up to 8 kids. Discussion flows from the weekly home study lesson and questions, as well as reflection on the large group lesson. Small group leaders should reserve time to devote to Wisdom Warriors, which means students are given the opportunity to recite memory verses and Scriptural Truths, as well as explain their meanings using their own thoughts and words. Wisdom Warrior tags can be awarded during this time.

If your ministry has a designated Wisdom Warrior Leader, you can set up a group rotation where that leader visits each group and issues awards. You will just want to be sure that small group leaders are aware of the rotation and that they lead the group in casual conversation during this time rather than some students missing out on part of the Bible discussion.

Large Group Reflection

During the closing reflection time, students come back together into the large group area as the Lead Teacher does a recap of the lesson and provides discussion and encouragement for the upcoming week’s lesson and Wisdom Warrior passages.

Check Out/Dismissal

As parents are picking up students, the extra time can be used as additional discussion, for group games and activities, or free play time.

HOW MANY SMALL GROUPS DO WE NEED?

This is highly dependent on the number of kids who attend your church. Below are some suggested ways to structure your small groups.

Ideal small groups are 5-8 kids. Depending on which option you choose, it is also possible you may need to have more than one group for each grade level category.

Example: Kindergarten Group 1 and Kindergarten Group 2

HOW MANY LEADERS DO WE NEED?

This is also highly dependent on the number of kids who attend your church. Below are some suggested guidelines for leaders that you will want to consider recruiting to make your midweek ministry run smoothly.

HOW CAN WE LAUNCH OUR MIDWEEK KIDS MINISTRY PROGRAM?

It is important to get parents/families and adult leaders prepped and on board with your plans for the midweek kids ministry program.

Explain to them your mission and vision for this ministry.

Consider holding an “interest meeting” for parents/families before you launch your program to explain your plans for the ministry and answer any questions they may have.

Because you will be printing materials and recruiting adult small group leaders, you can also consider taking sign ups knowing the reality that some people who sign up may not attend regularly and some will attend who didn’t sign up.

Is the goal of your ministry to go deeper with kids in Bible study?

Tell parents/families and adult leaders that! All involved adults need to be made aware of this important mission. This means that they need to be made aware that this is not JUST play time. It is a Bible study for kids (and adults) plus fun times!

Do you think you will have issues with commitment from adult leaders?

Make sure they are aware of the time they should expect to spend not only serving during the midweek kids service, but also the time they should expect to spend preparing their minds and hearts to lead the students. You may want to consider having an application process if it suits your church, especially for your Lead Teacher(s).

Do parents have different expectations of what a midweek kids service typically looks like versus what you want yours to look like?

Make sure they are aware that this program is different in a good way! This program is designed for kids to LEARN THE BIBLE and HAVE FUN! There is an at home study component that parents/families need to be made aware of up front. They should plan to spend at least 20 minutes a day for 3 days during the week, in addition to the midweek church service. This time can obviously be combined into one longer sitting and/or shortened depending on the child’s attention span and personal schedule of the family. The studies are broken down into 3 sections per week: (1) reflection from previous lesson, (2) new lesson, and (3) prepare my heart

READY TO LAUNCH?

Use these MIDWEEK KIDS MINISTRY PLANNING PAGES to help you get your program organized.

Don’t forget to check out the free BIBLE STUDY PACKS.

Questions or comments? Email [email protected]

I would love to hear how you are using Seeds of Truth Ministries resources.