Church of God of Prophecy
This feature requires Macromedia Flash Download Here
Children's Ministry Helpline

Discipline in Children’s Ministry

Although children’s behavior can cause a great amount of frustration in children’s ministry, never lose sight of your focus. You are working to bring boys and girls to Christ. Bring every concern, even discipline, to God in prayer.

There are three types of discipline that can occur in a children’s ministry situation-preventative, spur of the moment, and repeat discipline problems.

 

Preventative Discipline

The best discipline is preventative. Anticipate problems before they arrive. Often seating arrangements can fix the problems. Be clear about your expectations from the beginning. Three or four clear rules are much easier to remember. For

example,

ZOOM rules:

1. Zip your lips

2. Obey the leaders

3. Only get our of your seat with permission

4. Make others welcome

 

Spur of the Moment Discipline
Sometimes a child’s behavior is so disruptive that you must deal with it in the middle of a ministry session. There are several possible discipline responses to use during a ministry session.

 

  1. Walk closer to the child as you continue to teach. Your presence will often stop the misbehavior.
  2. Mention the child’s name when you are talking. "I know that Joe agrees with me when I say that God loves us all."
  3. Write the child a note as you continue ministering. Don’t stop what you are doing, just jot a quick note such as “stop talking” and pass it to her while you continue teaching.

Repeat Discipline Challenges

Despite our best efforts, there are a few children that are more challenging than others. Try these ideas if you have a child who would be classified as a repeat discipline challenge!

Talk to the child after the ministry session about the behavior that is unacceptable. Explain why it is a problem and ask if there is something that you can do to help him make a better choice next time.

Enlist the child’s help with a younger child. Make them a big brother or big sister. Sometimes responsibility takes their mind off causing disruptions.