If Disney Ran Your Children's Ministry: 10 Keys from Disney's Sucess

by Dale Hudson, Justyn Smith, Bruce Barry

This book will challenge you to capture the imagination of children so they will grow up believing in a big God.

285 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 4, 2016

Reviews

[Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Overall I enjoyed this book. I learned things about Disney that I did not previously know even though I probably know less than the average person about Disney. I liked the way the book was motivational. That even highly successful people such as Disney were successful they had their obstacles and challenges but the goal is to always press on. There is always going to be trial and error. I had mixed feelings about parts of the book. It was rather short and to the point which in a way I liked but in a way I always wondered if they could have expanded the book and added more suggestions and details for running a children’s ministry. For example they mention about having decorations but maybe they could go into more details about what type of decorations and more specifically what type of materials to give out to guests. On the other hand they may have chosen to be general to allow people to come up with their own ideas depending on what church they represent. I liked the idea that they’re trying to make church more family/kid friendly to the point that kids look forward to/feel excited about coming to church. I like the idea of them becoming more sensitive toward the needs of families/kids. Rather than expecting kids to sit quietly and listen to a boring sermon now they’re trying to interact with the kids and think about how to engage them. I like how they mentioned if a kid feels/mentions being bored then the church is not engaging them. I also liked going the extra mile by reaching out to families and asking how they can help and pray for the family and how they try to remember specific families in need. I liked how they wanted to allow volunteers and other staff to have a certain amount of authority and training volunteers and staff on how to answer family questions and concerns and explain to families why they’re a certain way. I thought it was a shame that some people criticized that they were trying to be too much like a theme park such as Six Flags. If it is a way to engage kids and get them excited about coming to church then I think that is a good thing. I would personally like to see other types of ministry books like this maybe geared towards other audiences like the women’s ministry and maybe something geared towards single adults. I realize church is very family oriented but I think it would be good for a church to find a way to reach out to as many different types of people in the community that they can. I think that they should still be sensitive towards older generations. I think the church should try to include as many different age ranges as possible which is challenging. This book is geared towards the younger generation and trying to make church appeal to them. I think that we should also think about older generations and their needs as well. I also think it would be good to find a way to reach teens. I think teens is an awkward difficult age and that they should also feel a sense of belonging in the church. I like how they are so sensitive to customer service and how important it is to treat church goers. I thought it was inspiring the way they hired someone who was totally outside of their church to decorate and how that person was led to God.

[Esther Moreno · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book to revive your passion for excellence in children's ministry through the eyes of Disney