How to Help Kids Spend Time with Others

We all want to help kids grow — it’s why we said “yes” to Kids Ministry to begin with. All of us want to be a part of helping kids make the decision to follow Jesus and then get them started on a path towards growing and living out their faith. But that’s easier said than done, right? We can’t always know when someone’s growing, which is why when it comes to our discipleship strategy, we focus on four spiritual habits — Spending Time with God, Spending Time with Others, Using Your Gifts, and Sharing Your Story. We think these four habits sit at the center of discipleship. And discipleship is the lens through which you see everything you do each year — events, how you teach, the way you serve parents and volunteers — all of it.

These habits make up the decisions, behaviors, and rhythms that help us grow spiritually over time. If you’re like most people, the first things that pop into your head when you hear “spiritual habits” are probably…

• Reading the Bible.
• Praying.
• Going to church.

And, yes, those are important habits, but they’re not the only spiritual habits that matter. But before you go looking for the complete, final, definitive list of spiritual habits…there isn’t one. You can organize and define spiritual habits in a number of ways, but feel free to steal our list, if that’s helpful.

The point is, we want to help kids build up these four spiritual habits, and anytime we see someone practicing one or more of these habits, we celebrate that as a sign of growth.

SPENDING TIME WITH OTHERS

When we talk about spending time with others, we’re talking about being intentional about building a healthy, godly community. For us adults, we know how to get started…or have a general sense of what direction to go in. But our kids need an extra hand to get started. They’ll need us to show them what it looks like to live in a healthy community, and we’ll need to gently usher them along into new experiences where they can connect and interact with Christians and non-Christians alike. Because, sometimes, it won’t be another church potluck or Bible study with fellow Christians that helps us grow the most. It might be a friendship, an investment, or a challenge conversation with someone who believes differently than we do that makes the biggest difference in our faith.

So how do we help kids spend time with others in a godly community? Well, we can start with a few things…

• SPEND TIME IN SMALL GROUPS. Small groups are such an important part of helping kids build a godly community. It’s one of the reasons why we emphasize small group time in each and every week of our curriculum. Think about it. A small group has a caring leader and other kids who want to grow in their faith. It’s a unique space where we can help kids build relationships and create memories as they grow together and learn from each other. When we focus on small groups and train our volunteers to facilitate conversation and truly care for the kids they lead, we’ll start to see kids grow through the time they spend together.
• CREATE CHANCES FOR CONNECTION. Your events can be a key part of how you help kids create their godly community. Sure, they’re fun, wild, and a little bit exhausting, but they give kids a chance to make incredible memories together. And kids don’t get to just connect with other kids, but they can spend time with their families, too. Your events can be a space where families come together to talk about what God is doing in new ways, or have a conversation about faith for the first time. So, sure, we’ll suggest that you throw an event called Pick Your Path (like we do in Volume 5), but it’s more than just an adventure-themed event. It’s a time for kids to solve problems together, dance together, and building relationships that can help carry them closer to God.
• BUILD INVITING ENVIRONMENTS. Your environment matters so much. If we want kids to spend time in godly community, we’ll need to get them to a godly community first. Our ministries need to have environments that are accessible to as many people as possible because your ministry doesn’t wait for teaching time or worship. It starts the moment a kid walks through your door. We tend to focus on building fun environments, which is definitely what you want. But you’ll also need an environment that helps kids talk and connect, helps them remember what you’re teaching through graphics, videos, and themed-decor, and helps them feel welcomed, included, and invited. It’s why we recommend holding a Move Up day or Open House event at the beginning of the school year so kids can start building those relationships early.
• CONNECT THEM TO THEIR COMMUNITY. Sometimes we make the mistake of believing our community is the only community that can help kids grow spiritually. But that’s not really true, is it? Instead of making kids think our church community is the only “healthy” community in town, we can work to help them build relationships outside of the walls of the church building — with Christians and non-Christians. We can help kids make connections with kids in their schools, their neighborhoods, and their sports teams so they can take what they’ve seen happen in the church and use it in real, everyday relationships.

So if you’re looking for new ways to help your kids spend time with others in godly community, we’ve got a few ideas for what that could look like…

• Trick Shots & Treats from is a great event for this! Your kids will get to watch each other complete challenges and break records while they earn candy. If you want your kids to start making relationships and celebrating each other in godly community, this is a great place to start!

• Conversation Cubes are designed to give kids a little creative spark to inspire new conversations and build friendships. Small group leaders put together a few cubes—with nouns like “animal” or “gifts” and modifiers like “favorite” or “silliest.” Then, kids roll one of each dice and use the words that appear to spark a story, thought, or opinion to share with their friends or small group.

There’s so much you can do to help kids spend time with others in godly community. And if you’re feeling overwhelmed right now, we’d love to help. If you use Grow Kids Curriculum, you’ll find everything you need to start helping your kids build the habit of Spending Time with Others — everything you need to run your events from start to finish, small group discussion questions, and ways for parents to invest in their kids. We’re here to help you disciple kids and help them grow in their faith.