Children's Ministry - God or Games?

Ministering to children is a passion of mine and has been for many years. I have worked in Children's Ministry for the past 9 years and my desire to see kids know Christ and scripture on a deep, personal level is ever growing. Before I became a mom I thought I knew everything about ministering to children, I realize now how little I know, but being a mother has made me want to minister to children all the more. When I look at my son Lane (age 3) I see so much potential; potential for him to grow to be a great, godly theologian and at the same time potential for him to do great evil. What a great responsibility I have to raise and train him to follow Christ and pursue a life that will glorify God. Part of my concern about how my own children are raised is the teaching they receive from others at school and church. Over the years as I have visited and worked in various churches I have grown concerned over the teaching that many children are recieving. Here are some common threads I have seen that concern me:

1) Poorly trained teachers and/or teachers that have a weak theological knowledge.
2) Teachers whom regularly seek to get children to "pray the prayer."
3) The use of curriculum that is not God-centered, where the glory is given to man not God.
4) The use of curriculum where the concepts of sin, hell, and the crucifixion are left out.
5) The prevalence of flashy, good-looking children's programs that are just that...purely superficial with no depth of teaching.
6) A desperation for children's ministry volunteers which leads to spiritually unqualified teachers, not running backgrounds checks on teachers, and allowing any warm body to teach.
7) Children not attending church services with their families because "they are too young."
8) Setting low expectations regarding what theology children can understand.
9) Children (and parents too) not bringing Bibles to church; children growing up in "Christian" homes where they are not trained in the importance of treasuring and practicing scripture.
10) Children's programs where moral concepts are taught instead of the full truth of Scripture.
11) Overall lack of organization, vision and goals for children's ministry because "they're just kids."

True, no church is perfect, no children's ministry is perfect, but I believe that we are often times failing our children by expecting so little for them and of them. Church's are often more concerned with the quantity of children rather than the quality of teaching they receive. As a children's church teacher and a mother I have certain criteria I desire to see in a Children's Ministry and church.

1) Truly God-centered curriculum, where God is always the hero and He gets the glory.
2) Curriculum that is comprehensive in its content of Scripture, so that children are taught the whole of Scriptures. Even the "uncomfortable" parts
3) A church and children's ministry that has a clearly defined purpose and vision.
4) Teachers that have been screened and trained.
5) Teachers that know biblical and systematic theology and that are willing to put time into studying the Word and preparing for their lessons.
6) A ministry where ALL children are welcomed and treated with respect and kindness regardless of race, gender, special needs etc...
7) A church where children are welcomed and encouraged to sit in services with their parents to worship and be taught under the "adult" teaching.
8) A children's ministry that is both fun and purposeful.
9) A children's ministry that is family-based and seeks to help parents as they teach and train their children in the Word.
10) A well-organized and planned ministry that takes seriously the task of training children to live lives that bring glory to God.

Somehow many of us have become content to just have our kids "babysat" they are entertained and play games while we attend church. We wonder why so many "Christian" children grow up and live lives full of sin or become accepting of liberal doctrine. We have a great responsibilities to TRAIN our children in the Word and part of that training comes from placing them under biblical church teaching.