The Most Effective Ways to Communicate with Parents

Do you ever wonder how effective your communication is with parents?

Parents, like all of us, live in a data heavy world. We constantly have messages coming our way. 

It is easy for our communication with parents to get lost in the avalanche. 

But effectively communicating with parents is crucial if you want to help them disciple their children. 

Let's look at some methods and strategies to communicate with parents effectively.

Text messages

Text messages do get noticed - 95% of text messages get read - 93% within the first minute. Hard to beat that percentage. 

There are several ways you can use text messages to communicate with parents. 

Send a text message to new families after they visit for the first time. Keep it short and simple. Thanks for coming. Trust you had a great experience. Hope to see you again soon. Let us know how we can pray for your family. 

Send a text message to parents about what their child learned at church. Include a couple of follow-up questions they can ask their child.  I would send this out on Tuesday. 

Send a text message about an upcoming event or program.  It may have dropped off their radar. A quick reminder is helpful.

Facebook

I know what you are thinking. Facebook is outdated. Actually when it comes to mothers, 94% of Millennial mothers use Facebook on a regular basis.  Data shows that Facebook remains a leading social platform for mothers.

Create a Facebook page for the parents in your ministry. Post memory verses, parenting tips, lesson review questions, announcements, etc. 

Email

At the church where I serve as children's director, we send out a monthly email newsletter. We include lesson review questions, memory verse of the month, parenting tips, and upcoming teaching series information. 

Instagram

47-65% of young mothers (ages 18 to 39) use Instagram.  

Create an Instagram account for your ministry. Regularly post pictures, updates, reviews, etc. 

TikTok

Younger mothers show a high preference for TikTok compared to older mothers. Mothers use TikTok more frequently than fathers do. 42% of mothers active on TikTok are first-time mothers seeking peer advice and community.

Create short training videos and parenting tip videos to post on TikTok. 

Pinterest

Young mothers use Pinterest extensively as a visual search engine and community hub for parenting ideas, inspiration, and peer connection. 

Create an account and host active communities centered around early motherhood. Share practical child-rearing tips.

Old school take home papers

Take home papers can still be effective. The key is handing them to parents and encouraging them to use the tool during the week to help disciple their kiddos.  

Make sure you hand them to the parents and not the children. If you hand them to the children, they will end up in the parking lot. 

Your turn. What are some other effective ways to communicate with parents? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

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The First 48...Why This Time Frame is So Important in Children's Ministry

One of my wife's favorite shows is 48 hours. Have you watched it?  Police and crime scene investigators have 48 hours to identify the suspect. After 48 hours, their chance of catching the criminal goes down dramatically. 

48 hours is an important time frame in the children's ministry world as well. 

Guests who receive a follow-up within 24 hours are 85% likely to return.

Following up with first-time guest families within 48 hours of their first visit dramatically increases the chance of a second visit and retention.

If you're waiting until Thursday or Friday to follow up with guests, you might want to consider bumping up your follow up time frame to 48 hours. Here are some tips and a timeline to use when following up with guests.

Day 1: Sunday

• Collect data: gather filled-out cards and digital check-ins on Sunday after the last service. 

• Send a text message: send out a welcoming text. Thank them for coming and offer to pray for any needs they may have.  

• Offer to meet them for coffee or a meal that week. Believe it or not, most of the time they will accept your invitation. I have found that if you can get them to meet you for a coffee or meal, you will be able to connect with them at a high level and they will return the next Sunday. I have personally seen this work time and time again. 

The clock is ticking. Keep going. 

Day 2: Monday 

• Enter contact information into your data base. 

• Send an email with basic church information and a link to plan their next visit.  

• Assign a staff member or high level volunteer to make a personal call to the family. 

• Send a handwritten post card to the children. 

• Offer the kids a free gift on their second visit. I have found from personal experience if you will make the gift a t-shirt with your kids' ministry logo on it, your return rate will go up to 38%. 

You've got 24 hours left. Keep pursuing them.

Day 3: Tuesday 

• Call them. Have a pastor or connect-team member call the family to say hello and answer any questions they may have. Keep this call casual and not high-pressure. 

• Leave a message. Chances are you will get sent to voicemail. Leave a friendly voicemail if they do not answer.

Follow this 48 hours plan and you will see more guests return and get plugged in.  

Your turn. What do you do to follow-up with guests? Share your thoughts and insight in the comment section below. 

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How We Enlisted 7 New Volunteers This Past Week

Do you need more volunteers? Of course you do. Every church in the world needs more volunteers. 

But how do you get them?  What can you do to enlist more people to serve in your ministry? 

I've got some answers for you. The good news is these are steps you can take to enlist more volunteers starting today. 

This past week, the ministry I lead enlisted 7 new volunteers. How did we do it?  Here's what happened.

I went to a hot spot. 

What is a hot spot?  A hot spot is a program, event, class or gathering where people will be there who are prospects to serve in your ministry. 

This particular hot spot was our young adults ministry. They meet on Thursday nights. I went to their meeting and enlisted 5 new people to serve. 

There is a lady who leads the children's ministry at a campus of 12,000 people. I first met her at the church's guest services reception after one of the weekend services.  After the reception, I invited her to see our chlidren's ministry environments. Long story short, she started volunteering then came on staff then was given the opportunity to lead at the largest campus of that ministry. 

Remember this...for most hot spots you are going to need to get outside of your children's ministry area and out in the other events or programs or gatherings. 

Where are the hotspots in your church?  Go there and you can enlist new volunteers for your children's ministry.

We made personal asks.  

This is the best way to add volunteers to your team. 

Personal....1-1 asks. 

This is how Jesus built His team.  He went to the disciples and personally invited them to follow Him.

Will everyone say "yes."  No.  Last night after the service, I personally talked with 3 people about serving with us.  I didn't get any yeses. But that is not going to deter me. I will continue to make personal asks every single week....52 weeks a year.  I have gotten several "yeses" in the past 3 weeks because I ask every single week.  

Here's a big factor when it comes to asking people to serve. Pray for divine appointments. There are people in your ministry that God has already been prodding to serve. Ask Him to lead you to those people.

Here's an example. Two weeks ago, I went into the auditorium and asked God to give me a divine appointment. He directed my attention to a lady who was sitting in the back of the auditorium.  I felt the Holy Spirit say, "there is a divine appointment."

p.s. A great place to meet people you want to ask to serve is in the back of the adult service auditorium. Here you will find some people who are not connected yet and might be looking for ways to get connected. 

I approached her and found out she has been attending our church for a year. She moved here a year ago from California.  I introduced myself, ask her some questions about her family, spiritual journey, etc. 

Then I asked the big question.  I asked her if she were serving anywhere. She replied "no." I shared with her that I was looking for someone to serve in the nursery. Her eyes lit up. She said "yes...I can serve there. I love little ones."  

She is now on our volunteer team. Why?  Because of a personal ask that was a divine appointment.   

93% of people who start volunteering do so because someone personally invited them. 

Make inviting people to serve a top priority on your work calendar. The biggest amount of your time should be spend enlisting and equipping new volunteers.

That's how we enlisted 7 new volunteers this past week. 

Be encouraged. If you are like the majority of churches, you have some gaps on your children's ministry volunteer team.  Don't give up. 

Keep asking people to join your serve team. Week in and week out. Enlisting volunteers is a 52 weeks a year journey. 

As I am typing this out, I am praying for you and your ministry. You got this. God is with you. He told us to ask for laborers for the harvest fields.  May He send people into your ministry even this day. 

p.s. If you haven't read my book "The Formula for Building Great Volunteer Teams" it has lots more ideas and insight on building volunteer teams.  It is available at this link.  

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Top Kids' Streaming Series...Here's What Today's Kids Like

I often talk about how we are missionaries to kids. This means we should understand what kids like and what captures their attention. 

Recently, a report was released that shows the top streaming series that kids like. 

This is valuable data to know. As you read through this, ask yourself these questions...

Why do these series appeal to kids?

What formats are these series using?

What elements do you find in these series that kids like?

How can you bring some of these elements into your teaching series?

These are also great conversation starters. When you talk with kids about these series, it shows that you care enough about them to enter their world. It's helps break down barriers you might face with some kids. 

Take some time to check these out and be familiar with them. 

DISNEY

1. Bluey

2. Spidey and His Amazing Friends

3. Mickey Mouse Playhouse

4.  Phineas and Ferb

5. Puppy Dog Tales

6. Big City Greens

7. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

8. Jessie

9. Super Kitties

10. Wizards of Waverly Place

NETFLIX

1. Cocomelon

2. Gabby's Dollhouse

3. Avatar...the Last Airbender

4. Little Angel

5. Ms. Rachel

6. Peppa Pig

7. Dragons: Race to the Edge

8. Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Car Noir

9. Alvin and the Chipmunks

10. Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated

PRIME VIDEO

1. SpongeBob Aquarpants

2. PAW Patrol

3. Peppa Pig

4. If You Give a Mouse a Cookie

5. Bubble Guppies

6. Blue's Clues to You

7. Blaze and the Monster Machines

8. Dora the Explorer

9. Dino Dana

10. Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood

HULU 

1. The Amazing World of Gumball

2. Curious George

3. Gravity Falls

4. Phineas and Ferb

5. Doc McStuffins

6. The Flintstones

7. Yu-Gi-Oh!

8. We Bare Bears

9. Star vs. The Forces of Evil

10. Chowder 

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