015: Engaging Kids Who Don’t Participate
When a few kids hang back, avoid activities, or seem uninterested, it can feel discouraging and tempting to push harder for participation. In this episode of Kids Ministry Answers, Allegra Collins has a question about how to engage kids who don’t want to participate during small group or Bible teaching time. So we asked Christina Paiva to join Linda and Jason to share practical strategies for building trust, creating emotional safety, and gently inviting every child to engage at their own pace.
QUESTION:
“What are your tips on engaging kids who don’t want to participate or who struggle to engage during small group time and Bible teaching time?” — Allegra Collins
“What are your tips on engaging kids who don’t want to participate or who struggle to engage during small group time and Bible teaching time?” — Allegra Collins
ANSWER:
In this episode, we’ll talk about how to:
In this episode, we’ll talk about how to:
- Recognize that engagement looks different for every child
- Focus on relationships first, knowing trust and safety often lead to natural engagement
- Welcome and invite kids with low-pressure options that meet them where they are
- Help kids find relationships with peers, leaders, and families to help connections grow over time
Ask a Question:
Got a question you want answered? Send it in at kma.show — your question might be featured in a future episode!
Got a question you want answered? Send it in at kma.show — your question might be featured in a future episode!
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Subscribe to Kids Ministry Answers on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you look for kids ministry ideas, volunteer strategies, and ministry tools you can use right away.
If this episode was helpful, leave a quick review to help other leaders find the show.