Relational Children's Ministry: Turning Kid-Influencers Into Lifelong Disciple Makers

Children's ministry has the power to change the lives of kids and families. Unfortunately, it's not always clear that the work a person does with kids is really making a lasting difference. Ask children's ministry leaders and kid-influencers if they are making the impact on children's lives as they had hoped and most likely the responses will be mixed. And for good reason. Research over the past decade has revealed an alarming lack of long-term growth in the faith community as children progress through student ministries into adulthood.

Clearly, something needs to change.

Relational Children's Ministry seeks to reverse this trend by equipping children's ministry leaders with practical tools to disrupt the status quo approach to discipleship with children and realign their ministries for greater long-term impact. Ministry leaders will:

• Learn how to relate intentionally to kids and families by putting five discipleship invitations modeled by Jesus into practice
• Explore practical approaches to realign their children's ministry for a new trajectory by hitting three "reset buttons" to ensure long-term discipleship is embedded
• Encounter examples of disruptive disciple-makers in action and learn key principles that can be translated into their own ministry context

Children's ministry leaders will receive practical training to refocus their children's ministry along with time-tested tools to personally recommit to lifelong discipleship. Kid-influencers can become a disciple-making community that redirects the current trajectory for this and future generations.

Dan Lovaglia is director of leadership development at Awana. With 15 years of pastoral ministry experience, he is committed to intentionally equipping kids, families, and ministry leaders to know, love, and serve Christ. Dan holds a bachelor's degree in youth ministry from Moody Bible Institute and a Master's degree in evangelism and spiritual formation from Wheaton College. He most recently served as discipleship teaching and content director at Willow Creek Community Church. Dan and his wife, Kate, live in the northwest suburbs of Chicago with their two teenage sons.