Promoting your students from elementary to middle school ministry is an important milestone in their individual lives and in the life of your church. Students are at a pivotal age for spiritual growth, and this transition to a new ministry area presents an opportunity for them to either deepen their faith or lose interest in church participation.
As Wendy Rowell, who leads 5th graders at Grace Fellowship Snellville in metro Atlanta, says: “Children’s ministry feels a lot like rungs on a ladder leading to a high dive. Middle school feels a lot like walking out onto that board. Will the students listen to God’s truth, or will they listen to the voices of the world?”
Hopefully your rising 6th graders will thrive in middle school and their love for God will grow! You can set your students, their middle school pastor, and their parents up for success by planning this transition intentionally. Here’s how.
Time the transition well.
Consider promoting the children in June before school begins so they can have all summer to get comfortable with student ministry. So many things will be new for them in the fall, so why not make the fall a little easier by moving them to middle school ministry now? Plus, attending middle school events and forming friendships with other middle school students will give them confidence and momentum going into the school year.Invite middle school ministry staff to be present during the final year of children’s ministry.
Don’t wait until August to introduce your middle school leaders and their next class of students! Invite middle school staff to be a part of any 5th-grade only events during the school year. Ask these staff members to teach in the 5th grade classes periodically also so that the students can gain a sense of who their new leaders are and how they communicate. This will allow students to put a name with a face early and hopefully begin to build relationships. You want students to be as comfortable and as excited as possible about their transition, and knowing their new leaders can help immensely.
“There’s no competition between children’s and middle school ministry,” says DJ Coleman, student pastor at Northwood Church in Keller, Texas. “We can’t work in silos – we can work together. We should all help each other with blindspots and visit each other’s spaces when we can.”Shadow student ministry.
Take the 5th graders on a group visit to your middle school ministry’s weekly gathering so they can get a taste of what to expect – and how awesome it is! Coordinate the date with the middle school leaders to make sure it’s a good day to come – as far as the teaching topic and overall plans for the event. You wouldn’t want to take them on a night when there’s a guest speaker or some other anomaly.Champion them.
Be excited for your 5th graders and all that they will experience as they enter middle school! Look for opportunities to celebrate them and their growth. Try to avoid sending the message that you’re sad, will miss them, or don’t want them to “go.” You want children to love being a part of the church, and your positive attitude can serve as reinforcement that even more good things are to come.
Consider how Rowell celebrates her graduating students.
“The Sunday before the promotion happens, we give the students a thoughtful gift like a journal or devotional book,” she says. “Then we put them in the center of the room and circle around them to pray and bless the years ahead.”
On the actual transition day, Rowell and her volunteers throw a party! That Sunday, the rising 6th graders report to their 5th grade classroom first. Then their leaders blast confetti poppers as they run out of their 5th grade room and into the middle school room as the adults cheer for them.
“It’s such a fun representation of the family of God cheering you on to the next adventure,” Rowell says.5. Don’t forget the parents!
Communicate, communicate, communicate! Some parents of rising 6th graders get just as nervous as their children about this transition (or even more so!). Consider hosting a parent meeting in collaboration with the middle school ministry leaders so you can talk about the transition plans, set expectations, reassure them together, and open the floor for questions.
“Meeting with parents really helps them feel good about their child entering student ministry,” Coleman says. “It establishes credibility and gives the middle school pastor a chance to explain what a Sunday looks like, what kind of teaching we’ll do with their students.”We are cheering you on as you celebrate God’s work in your rising middle school students!