Children ministry is an integral part of the ministry in the Anglican Church world-wide that offers effective and efficient ministry to the Children within their ages. The Children’s ministry aims at bringing children into faith in Jesus Christ, through teaching and enabling them to live life in its fullness. Currently there are over 7,900 children and 550 teachers in the entire Diocese.
The Children Department in the Diocese is divided into two categories; Sunday School and Church Lads and Church Girls Brigade (CLCGB). It began as a popular movement within the churches in UK to cater for children who were getting lost after Sunday school when they reached age 13years in 1891. It was started with the aim of forming National Anglican Boys and Girls Brigade organization. In Africa, it is only found in South Africa and in only two dioceses in Kenya (Thika and Mt. Kenya South).
The overall objective of the Children’s Ministry is to extend the kingdom of Christ among the boys and girls and to encourage faithful membership of the Church. The specific objectives are: (i) Establishment of friendship between young people and children and adults in caring and safe environment.
(ii) Helping children to grow in confidence, develop their skills and abilities, and work together, show care and concern for others.
(iii) Encouraging children to explore their spirituality and respond to the Christian faith. (iv) Encouraging the development of the child morally, physically and spiritually.
The key achievements of the Children’s Ministry are:
(i) Major outreach activities carried out by the department include Sunday school services, Vacation Bible Studies, Holiday Camps, Music and drama festivals, and capacity building for Sunday school teachers.
(ii) Developed a Child Protection Policy.
The key challenges for Children’s Ministry are:
(i) Limited infrastructure for holding children activities.
(ii) Lack of skilled teachers and children workers.
(iii) Insufficient mechanism to transit children in the age bracket of 13 to 15 years. (iv) Lack of appropriate response mechanism to the effects of early exposure to negative technologies.
(v) Infiltration of new teachings by new age movement and radicalization. (vi) The current national education system has put excessive demands on children from an early age and does not give adequate time to other activities such as child play and religious instruction which is fundamental for their development.
(vii) Lack of appropriate skills and infrastructure to accommodate children with special needs.