We returned to the United States from Poland for the first time since moving there.
Our daughter was four and we had a free afternoon, so we took her to see the Beauty and the Beast, in the theater. We did not have a television in Poland and she had never been in a theater.
When the movie began, and Belle danced and sang across the screen our daughter was mesmerized; so much so that she stood up in front of her seat and remained standing for the entire film.
The size of the screen, the quality of the sound and the characters and story were nearly overwhelming. For days afterwards, she was singing the songs and being a little Belle!
The power of media was obvious and is the core of the Media Engagement Model. Over the last twenty years this children’s ministry model has become a popular cutting-edge approach used in numerous churches across the United States.
When examining this model, you can find three common elements.
The Media Engagement Model of Children's Ministry
Media Characters – The presenting, leading and facilitation is done through a media character. This character is usually featured throughout the teaching series presenting Bible stories, facilitating large group activities, leading learning activities and friendly competition, Bible memorization, leading worship and even encouraging children to “talk” to them in active response to their media presentation. The media character is the “face” of the media curricula.
Video/Digital Material – Obviously, the lessons are created and presented in a multimedia video format. The production quality is typically excellent with high-powered and energetic presentations, excellent amped up music and an overall sense of energy, excitement, and enthusiasm. Some advocates of this model readily admit they were seeking to compete with Disney in terms of quality and media engagement.
Leaders Focus – In spite of the perception that leaders are replaced by media, advocates of this model believe that the model frees leaders to focus less on preparation and more on the children. In some manifestations of this model, such as KIDMO, leaders are urged to lead small group discussion and have 2-3 discussion questions included in the lesson. With very little prep time needed, leaders can dedicate their time to relationship building with the children in their ministry.
The Strengths and Weaknesses Of The Media Engagement Model
The strength of this model is in the commitment to communicating to children in a culturally relevant way.
There is no doubt regarding the centrality of media in the life of children today. Television, internet, mobile devices, etc. make media as common as air for children.
Media is a common tool in education, entertainment and advertising that impacts every corner of a child’s life.
They are accustomed to media communication and even expect to receive communication in that fashion. In addition to the relevance issue, this model allows resources to be focused on generating high-quality production which could never be created in the typical church.
Therefore, small churches with limited resources are able to offer high-powered multimedia ministry presentations. These high-energy weekly presentations can engage children, capture their interest and appeal to them in a way that traditional approaches may lack.
As we have noted with other models there are several unintended results.
- The stimulation, energy and sensory engagement of high-powered media Bible curriculum can actually overshadow the Bible message and content. In other words, the high-powered delivery system can diminish the impact of the Bible message.
- Biblical stories can be perceived as equivalent to secular stories (i.e., Disney) as they are delivered in the same fashion.
- The teacher/student relationship and learning process may not be enhanced by the model.
- Children’s ministry leaders can become dependent on the media as their ministry since their role is just to facilitate the media teaching.
- Children’s Ministry leaders may be unable to alter the media presentation towards the unique life of children in the community. Teaching children in Jotham, Alabama is not the same as in Santa Barbara, California. Making needed adjustments may be challenging.
It seems evident that the Media Engagement Model does not directly flow from exposition of biblical material. I would suggest that instead, the Media Engagement Model is following the media communication trends in the U.S. culture, especially in children’s entertainment and educational practices.
Elements of the model are then supported by “proof texts” from the Bible. It is yet, another, example of “the cart before the horse,” so to speak.
In other words, Bible passages are pulled out (often out of context) to show that the elements of the Media Engagement Model are “biblical.”
The weakness of this approach is in the tendency to misinterpret a Bible passage to support one of the elements in your ministry philosophy all the while ignoring direct biblical imperatives regarding children’s ministry.
A New Media Engagement Model
In contrast, we have shown that God offers a completely biblical model for ministry in Deuteronomy 6:4-9 with several key elements that work together to lead to transformation in the life of children (and adults).
These elements are evident in the Apostle Paul’s work as well as in the ministry of Jesus Himself. We have also shown that God used these same qualities in His teaching of Moses (Exodus 3-4).
Transformational Children’s Ministry should flow directly from the Bible, not from educational models developed by people and then supported with biblical “proof texts.”
Therefore, it seems appropriate to analyze the Media Engagement Model through the lens of the five principles found in Deuteronomy 6:4-9, Relationship, Experience, Truth, Discussion and Response.
Element | Media Engagement Model | Comment |
|---|---|---|
Relationship | **** | Leaders can be more focused on relationship building. |
Experience | * | The focus of the “experience” is on experiencing of the media presentation. |
Truth | *** | Bible teaching can come alive through the use of video. |
Discussion | ** | Addressing the challenges and opportunities of applying the Bible Truth in real life is not a focal point. |
Response | ** | The focus seems to be on the presentation and not the response. |
The following three additions could enrich and strengthen the Media Engagement Model:
- Experiential Bible Teaching – Adding an element of experiential teaching that is linked clearly to the Bible Truth. Although activities are aplenty in this model, they are not “experiential” in the biblical sense.
- Discussion – When the Bible Truth is communicated creatively, children can be engaged in discussing the challenges associated with applying that specific Bible Truth to their real lives. Knowing the Bible truth is not the problem; living it out is the challenge.
- Response – Although application and response are talked about, there could be more emphasis on actually responding during the teaching time and afterwards.
The Media Engagement Model has tapped into issues related to culturally relevant communication and is being used to impact the lives of children across the world.
Like the Experiential Model, it has a cultural resonance that is unique. God has used this model to bring spiritual vitality and enthusiasm to children. It has also been used to bring thousands of children to Christ.
Significantly, many children receiving teaching through this model want to come to church!!
The addition of the above three elements to this ministry model would significantly enrich the already innovative ministry approach.