Getting involved with your toddler group

The church where I served as pastor had a parent and toddler group, yet for too long I had bought into the notion that the group was solely for the children. I was glad we had one but I didn’t really see the need to be involved. It wasn’t until I realised that the parent and toddler group is a great place to start developing stronger ties to the community that I invested any time in it.

I began to see that parent and toddler groups are as much for the benefit of the parents as they are for the children. So I always tried to go down and stand behind the counter at coffee time. Why? Because every parent would come to the hatch to get a drink and I could say, ‘Hi’. Over time they got to know me and began to regard me as their pastor. And as a church, we began to develop new ways to engage with this group of people.

We started:

• Pamper Nights: We would hire a professional to do make-overs, and we’d do a brief talk about beauty being more than skin-deep.
• Dinners: We would invite both parents to a 3-course sit down meal and an after dinner speaker would talk with humour, yet understanding, about some aspect of parenting.
• Outings: Picnics in the Park.
• An annual ‘Fun Day’ for the whole community: We’d have food, ice cream, games for the kids, and everything was free.
• Parenting courses.
• Mini services 3 times a year at Christmas, Easter and Harvest.

As my interest grew we gave the group a budget so they could buy big items, and offer their ministry free to those who came. All of this was aimed at building bridges between the rest of church life and this ‘alternative congregation’ called Parent and Toddler Group. And most of the time I would make an appearance, to chat or help serve, or clear up, or lead.

I realise that church leadership has many demands and that not all leaders feel comfortable with small children, let alone a roomful of mostly mums! But I’m absolutely convinced that their time, support, interest and appearance makes a big difference to the group leaders who often feel overworked and isolated. And the involvement of church leaders can really help the effectiveness of the group too.

Richard Hardy
Director, The Entheos Trust
www.theentheostrust.org
 

Last Updated 05 April 2011