Five Ways To Create a Fun Kidmin Environment

Recently I had the opportunity to tour the children’s area at Wooddale Church located in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. One of our former employees, Zach, is now the Elementary Program Associate in the Wooddale Kids ministry.

Large pillows make chairs.

Fun colors for the pillows.

Reminders lettered on the walls.

All the classrooms had clear walls with animals painted on them.

Walls up close.

Small group elementary classroom.

The ceiling looked like a forest canopy.

Moveable furniture and walls created small group space.

Elementary area had outdoor themed pictures painted on the clear walls.

Floor in the large group area.

Fun simple stage for large groups.

View of elementary area.

Outside the entrance to the kid’s ministry area was a fun play area.

Of course our group had fun with the spinning chairs.

The circles in the floor had some type of colored liquid that would move when touched or stepped on. So fun!

I love to get inspiration from how other churches create a welcoming space for children. One of the things I learned from serving in small churches is how to create a fun environment similar to what a larger ministry would be able to financially afford. Many of the elements found at Wooddale could be recreated inexpensively. Large pillows can be sewn- recovered old pillows. Chairs similar to those pictured could be purchased from IKEA. A little paint on the walls can go a long way- especially when creating a themed area.

Five things I’ve learned about creating a fun, safe kidmin area:

1. Find someone in your church who is talented at building things. Almost every church has someone who gets excited as the prospect of using his/her power tools on the weekend.
2. Use materials that are cheap. Cardboard, PVC pipe and foam core are some examples.
3. Go to garage sales with an eye on what could be repurposed in your kid’s ministry.
4. Build a creative team. These people do not have to be good with kids- they just need to be able to build or sew or paint or decorate. It’s a great way to get people involved that wouldn’t normally think of kid’s ministry as a place to serve.
5. Many larger churches retire their sets after a few years. Be on the lookout for opportunities to reuse these sets. Also, many churches give away their VBS decorations.

 

We’d love to hear your ideas.