Since my small groups book Activate came out, I’ve gotten lots of questions about small groups and one of the most common is about childcare:

How should we handle childcare for our small groups?

I’ve written about this several times in the past – and the short answer is… you shouldn’t handle it! You should allow parents with children to handle it.

Here’s why: it’s a question of values – if people value groups enough (and the spiritual growth they experience and observe in those groups), they’ll solve their own childcare problem.

Quick example - if one of the couples in your church who “can’t” join a group because of the lack of childcare were to win an all expense paid vacation to their favorite resort but no children were allowed, I can assure you that they would figure out a solution!

Why? Because they value the resort gift enough, they will figure out childcare.

So, rather than getting elbow-deep in trying to figure out everyone’s childcare, you have to help your people value their small group so much that they’ll figure it out.

BTW – here’s some of what I’ve written on this topic in the past:

http://www.churchleaderinsights.com/blog/?s=small+groups+childcare

P.S. For the most comprehensive resource available to build your church’s Small Groups system, check out The Small Groups Intensive.