Ready to Grow Your Kidmin Skills? Enter Engage!

Kids ministry leaders are good at a lot of things. If you don’t know how to do something, you figure it out. Overtime, leaders like you become jacks and jills of all trades due to the ever-growing list of skills needed to run a ministry. But while those skills are real and helpful, they aren’t always recognized or respected. It’s time to change that. Let’s put some certifications behind your skills with Engage.

Engage is an educational partnership between INCM and Bethel Seminary to get YOU – the kidmin full-time/part-time staff or volunteer leader – a graduate-level education, experience, and community with like-minded partners co-laborers for the Kingdom. Instead of us telling you how important Engage is, we asked some of our graduates to share how Engage transformed their lives and ministries.

How Has Engage Transformed Leaders?

“Everything has dovetailed into ministry practice, leading my team, working with the broader pastors in the church, and discipling parents. Engaging in spiritual practices during my time in Engage was so helpful in helping me prepare and safeguard against burning out! Connection with mentors and my cohort has been life-giving – I don’t feel isolated!” 

We hear this so often from Children’s Ministry leaders—isolation, silos, and a diminished voice in leadership. The strength of Engage content, mentoring relationships, and cohort connections during the 9 months of the program gives a renewed sense of purpose and a strengthening of confidence as a ministry leader. 

“This has been empowering for me. This has given me courage and confidence, so I feel more equipped. “

A strengthened voice is a significant outcome of Engage. Graduates become stronger advocates for those they have been called to serve.  

“This program has helped me to find a voice with our senior staff. We have physical siloes in our ministry, but our Senior Pastor has embraced what I’ve learned and brought this learning to meetings and sermons, increasing the value of children and family ministry!”

Engage graduates find themselves speak from a place of strength regarding ministry goals, programming insights, building and caring for teams, community connections, and the Biblical and theological foundations of ministry to kids and families. They understand why they do what they do as they serve in ministry leadership giving them stronger voices as ministry leaders. 

“We need to look at and develop/clarify our why so we can move forward in what/how.” 

Throughout Engage, we emphasize the importance of not only the spiritual care of those we serve, but the importance of paying attention to our own spiritual formation and development. 

What Other Benefits Do Certificates Provide?

“This has been a rich experience for me.  I went into it thinking I would learn valuable things to enhance my ministry but did not realize that I would grow spiritually through this process.  I am coming out more aware of my own need to grow in my walk with the Lord!” 

You know firsthand how hard it can be for children’s and family ministry leaders to attend church on a regular basis. For some it is never; and others only occasionally. The ministry leader’s heart and souls must be refilled. We cannot give away what we do not possess. Tending to the heart of the leader is an important part of Engage.

A resounding #1 strength of the Engage program is the community that is built among the leaders. 

“I am beyond thankful for this time spent with people who truly ‘get it.’ Learning alongside these new friends will be so cherished.” 

Engage graduates share personal and ministry life with others who live in the trenches with them, men and women across the nation and globe who fully understand and embrace the unique challenges of children’s and family ministry. They pray for and encourage each other, finding renewed strength for their journey. This community is also a great resource for generating new ideas, strengthening what already is in place, and envisioning new ways forward. 

What Certificates are Available?

Within the Engage program are three separate certificates that you can earn: Children’s Ministry, Family Ministry, and Spiritual Care. You can find a brief overview of each certificate here! Our goal with all three certificate programs is to create a spiritually challenging, academically strong, professionally relevant, relationally engaging program for children’s and family ministry leaders. The Engage Certificates present an overview of ministry practices through online teaching and learning, written reflection in papers and projects and face-to-face connections through attendance at INCM’s Children’s Pastors Conference, and at webinars and Zoom calls throughout the 9 months of the course. 

Certificates give students the opportunity to have robust Children & Family Ministry leadership training and if they are interested in a Bethel Seminary degree, they can experience a parallel learning experience to a Master of Arts in Children and Family Ministry course spread over 9 months rather than a 4-month semester. Although certificates are complete in and of themselves, completion of a Certificate if a student wishes to enroll in Bethel’s Master’s in Children, Youth and Family Ministry they will receive a course waiver for up to two Certificates.

We’d love for you to grow your kidmin skills by enrolling in Engage. The deadline to register is September 1. Get registered here so we can meet you in September in our Engage 2026-2027 cohort!