How can I plan effectively for transitions out of my group?
Session 2.3 · Note 3
Planning for Transitions Well
It’s normal for people to leave groups. Sometimes it’s because a child has aged out, like a toddler starting school, but there are other reasons too. Maybe teens lose interest in your family event, or a parent’s schedule changes and they just can’t get there. So it’s really helpful to think early about possibilities for families leaving so you can maximise the chance of them staying connected to your church community.
Key Ideas
- Identify any natural transition points. For example, when parents go back to work from maternal or paternal leave. Reflect on any patterns you see historically. Is there an age when attendance drops off, or a clash with other activities means families stop attending?
- Always be thinking about what you could transition families to. The first question in this part might be helpful here. Are there any natural next steps, eg moving from toddlers to Bubble Church. Think too about age groups – if people leave toddlers at 3 years old but the kids club doesn’t start until 5, is there something that would bridge the gap? Think broadly about other things you do - they might be things you could invite people to join in with, such as a bible study group, a churchyard tidy up, a craft group or fundraising event.
- Think about how to help people transition. Information alone isn’t always effective. Could you offer taster sessions or invite the leaders of the new group in to meet people? Or could a leader from the current group be there for the first few sessions of the next group?
- Give them good information as early as you can - the previous question might be helpful.
- Try to stay in touch if families don’t transition to anything else - the next question will help with this.
- This article, written for toddler groups but useful for all ages, talks more about transitions
Here are some top tips from other children's, youth and families leaders:
- We don’t have strict age limits so will keep older kids in a group if it’s appropriate.
- We invite mums whose toddlers have left tots group to drop in for coffee and we find a good few take us up on that!
- We reassure the mums that we’ll be there for their next step and ask if they’d like any support for that.
- We deliberately put familiar faces in the new group for a few weeks to help people settle in.
Find out more
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