Well-Equipped Volunteer: Train & Grow Your Children's Ministry Volunteers

I was recently asked this question on twitter ...

It’s a very good question and one I had to think about for a while. The answer I came up with was that the most innovative thing I have seen recently in Children’s Ministry is kids bringing cell phones to Sunday School.

The more I thought about this new aspect of Children’s Ministry, the more I realized that we as leaders and volunteers aren’t really prepared for this innovation.

We may be resistant to this change because we don’t want kids fooling around on their phones during class, we want kids to learn good Bible skills, and some may feel that kids are spending too much time with their phones and disengaging from face to face interaction.

So, here are 5 reasons why I’m okay with kids bringing their cell phones to Sunday School.

1. The Bible is Now Available on Mobile Devices.

We want kids reading and studying their Bibles in Sunday School. For some kids, this means using their mobile device. And that’s okay! Not all kids will have access to the Bible on their mobile device. In those cases, the phones need to be powered off and put away. But kids who have access to the Bible on their cell phone need to be encouraged to use it. Granted, we need to teach our kids a new set of rules for cell phone use in the classroom (for example, resisting the temptation to check social media sites!) The Bible is God’s Word and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16-17) whatever format it is found in!

2. Mobile Devices Offer Quick Access to Bible Study Helps.

Kids who bring their cell phones to Sunday School have the potential to access Bible study helps like online concordances or dictionaries, maps, and atlases. What a great potential for learning and discovery! Not all classrooms have hardcopies of concordances or Bible dictionaries. With mobile devices, kids can discover for themselves the meaning of a word or access a map of Bible lands to see just what a journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem would have entailed.

3. Mobile Device Users Can Schedule Bible Reading and Reminders to Apply Biblical Truth to Everyday Life.

One great thing about mobile devices is the ability to schedule reminders. Kids can compartmentalize things. They sometimes have a hard time applying what they have learned in Sunday School with the challenges they face during the week. Mobile phones can help to solve this with scheduled reminders. During class, encourage the kids to schedule a reminder to read their Bibles throughout the week and during application time, have them write their practical idea for applying Bible truth into their phones and carry it with them throughout the week.

4. Users Have Access to Online Devotionals.

In Sunday School, we are teaching our kids how to read and study their Bibles. We should also be encouraging them to read their Bibles throughout the week. We should also encourage them to find a good devotional book to use along with their Bible reading. A good devotional will help kids study and apply the Bible. Kids with cell phones can access online devotionals so teachers need to do some research so they can provide kids with good online devotional options.

5. Kids Are More Likely to Carry their Cell Phones to School than their Bibles.

Kids take their cell phones to school. If they have access to the Bible on their phones and have made notes about the practical way they are going to apply what they learned in Sunday School, then those phones have become a means for kids to grow as followers of Christ.

People are now reading the Bible on their mobile devices and that includes kids in our Sunday Schools. At first it can seem like kids are spending more time on their mobile devices than in their Bibles. However, this technological innovation gives kids the opportunity to access their Bible and more in ways they might not have before. Children’s Ministry leaders need to embrace the change and teach kids to use their phones wisely as tools to help build their faith.

For some teaching tips and strategies about cell phones in the Sunday School classroom, check out my blog post "Cell Phones in Sunday School."