“Did you have fun today?” is the question many parents ask their children after a children’s church service. In reflecting on this question I have wondered, Is this the only question to ask? Is this the most important question a parent should be asking? Maybe a parent should ask, “Did you meet with God today?” “Did you join with others in heartfelt worship?” “Did you sense the presence of the Holy Spirit?” “Were you aware of God speaking to your heart?”

Fun is important to children in our culture. In the book Creating Ever-cool: A Marketers Guide to a Kid’s Heart, Gene Del Vecchio states that fun is the term a child uses to define an experience that meets one of his emotional needs. In our ministries, we must not ignore the emotional needs of the younger saints.

We need to make children’s church a service children desire to attend. We want them to have a good experience when they leave our services. But that experience cannot be motivated by candy, crazy games or glazed donuts. If fun is the primary criteria we use to evaluate eternal effectiveness, we have missed an incredible opportunity for impacting children’s lives.

Motivating children is often accomplished through physical means. It has been said that 98 percent of education is motivation. So as children’s workers we must often ask ourselves, What will motivate this child? Many times the items we use to motivate children become the end in themselves. The prizes become the focus rather than the added value. Instead, we want children to grow in their desire for God’s presence, not just for handouts. They need to seek God’s face, not just His hand.

In John 4:13–15, Jesus spoke with a woman about a hunger and thirst that could never be satisfied with physical water. The same is true of the empty souls of this younger generation. If we only serve a diet of physical and spiritual soda pop, they will never realize that true living water is all that will ever fully satisfy.

Children love games. I use them strategically. You should too. But in the scope of God’s plan we must ask: Will a game usher children into the presence of God?

Games can be a positive segment of a children’s service when used for teaching, when creating a common bond among children and when used as a learning experience. But games may also be time wasters. Since we only have a few minutes a week with these children, make sure each minute is building toward a connecting time with God. Games may cause the focus of children to be scattered, rather than focused on the Word of God and the person of Jesus Christ.

Since we only have a few minutes a week with these children, make sure each minute is building toward a connecting time with God.

Some choose to use action songs and contemporary music at first and then plan to wind down the energy of the children only to find that the jumping and thumping winds up the child. It may become harder to bring a child’s attention to spiritual reflection after the child has been participating like a crazy fan at a rowdy football game.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 states, “There is a time for everything.” There are times for high-energy involvement in our children’s services. But there must also be a time when children turn their hearts and minds toward God. There must be time for prayer. There must be a time when we help children pause from the hectic pace of their lives and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to them.

Many have found that a game may have positive results at the beginning of the children’s church service. Games can also be used as a review at the conclusion of a service. Think of these games and other exciting interactive activities as the bread on the outside of the sandwich and then place some meat in the middle.

Children are capable of chewing on spiritual meat. No believer becomes strong and mature by only drinking milk (or eating cotton candy). In my book, Crucial Concepts in Kids Ministry, I state, “We need to make sure that they [children] receive good nourishment during these crucial developmental stages. If they are not healthily fed now, their bodies will be weak and more prone to disease in their later stages of life. This is true in their physical lives and also in their spiritual lives. They need to ingest healthy spiritual food. It will help them now, and also, in the future.”

Jesus stated, “Feed my lambs” (John 21:15). He did not say to keep them occupied or fill their time with games.

Is your children’s church a place where games, fun, and action are the priority and end in themselves? Is that your vision? Or will your children say, “We met with God today,” as they exit the building? May God help us continually evaluate the spiritual temperature of our children and the programming we are offering. Children’s church does not have to be just fun and games. It can be fun and God.

This article was originally printed in Enrichment Journal and has been used with permission.