One of the most important aspects of Children’s Ministry is “Crowd Control.”  Children will be children; which is code for “Kids get rowdy.”   Sorry, it’s just the truth. Your little angel may have a day that appears demonic.  At the very least they may begin to get a little stirred up in a crowd, especially if they’re having fun.  This is normal!  

Since we know that children are excitable, I as a kids minister, play on it a bit.  If they are excited and having fun then you are more likely to teach them effectively.  So, from my perspective, team members or parents sitting in among the children controlling them is absolutely essential.  In a perfect world the minister is not the one that should address minor (or major) behavior issues.  (He or she is “Mr. or Miss Fun.”)  There should be parents or team members sitting in and around the kids to just tap them on the shoulder if they need it.  Maybe even separate kids if need be.  What should rarely happen is the minister needing to address the kids from the front of the room.  When this happens it makes the minister look a little impatient or double minded.  On one hand he’s stirring the kids up, but on the other hand he’s telling them to calm down.  Talk about mixed messages.  If the whole team is functioning together then the concept of kids ministry looking like “controlled chaos” is seen as a positive thing.  What I mean is kids getting excited and the team policing.  I know that policing the crowd is something that no one likes to do.  It’s easier to accuse the minister of getting the kids “too excited” than to have to possibly be seen as being the bad guy/gal in the eyes of a kid. 

This is one reason why I recommend having a four man team and as many parents involved with your club as possible.  The hidden benefit is that sitting on the floor among the kids (not along the wall) gives you a greater chance at effectively touching the lives of the children.  If you sit with them consistently, they see you as a friend and they open up and share their lives with you.  It’s that “R” word we all want and need improvement with: Relationship.  They don’t see you as the crowd police, they see you as the adult who sits with them at Kids for Christ.  Sitting with them makes you a friend, standing by the wall makes you “just another adult.”

So you see crowd control is a blessing to everyone and allows your club to be more effective on every level.--Bob