How To Engage Your Kids After Sunday School Youth Group Proclaim Ministries with Mister Brown

How would you respond if your kids asked you the same questions you ask them?

For example, when you pick your child up from Sunday school, youth group, VBS, camp, or another church event, what is one of the first questions many parents ask?

“Did you have fun?”

Now imagine your child asked you that after church.

“Did you have fun in big church?”

How would you answer?

You probably would not say, “Nope, church wasn’t fun.” You probably also would not say, “Yes, we had a great time playing games,” because you probably did not play games in church.

That is the point.

Fun is not a bad thing. I want kids to enjoy church. I want Sunday school, youth group, and VBS to be engaging. But church is not mainly about entertainment. It is about helping kids know God, understand His Word, and connect faith with real life.

We usually understand this when it comes to school. When we pick kids up from school, we often ask, “What did you learn?” or “What did you do today?” We ask more thoughtful questions because we care about what is forming them.

We should do the same when it comes to their spiritual growth.

That is why I created the Parent Pickup Pocket Guide. It includes 10 simple questions parents can use after church, Sunday school, youth group, VBS, camp, or other ministry events. The goal is not to interrogate your kids. The goal is to invite them into meaningful conversation.

The guide says it this way:

Don’t ask kids to report. Invite them to reflect.

We do not want our kids to feel like they are being tested on the ride home. We do not want every conversation to feel like a report card. But we do want to create a rhythm where they can talk about what they heard, what they noticed, what stood out, and what God may be teaching them.

Here are three questions from the guide that I especially like.

1. “Tell me one thing I wouldn’t know unless I had been there.”

This is a great question because it puts your child in the position of teacher. You are saying, “Help me see what you saw. Tell me what I missed.”

The answer may not be deeply spiritual at first. They may tell you about a game, a funny moment, something someone said, or something silly that happened. That is okay.

The point is to listen.

Not to critique.

Not to correct.

Not to reteach.

Listen with curiosity.

Ask gentle follow-up questions like, “Why did that stand out to you?” or “What made that funny?” But be careful not to turn the conversation into an interrogation. The goal is connection, not pressure.

2. “What was something funny, weird, or surprising, and what made it stand out to you?”

Kids often remember the funny, weird, and surprising moments. Let them talk about those things.

Maybe someone said something unexpected. Maybe there was a funny illustration. Maybe a game went sideways. Maybe the teacher said something that made them think.

Those moments can become doorways into deeper conversation.

Again, the key is to listen with curiosity. Sometimes the “funny” thing is connected to the lesson. Sometimes the “weird” thing is what helped them remember the truth. Sometimes the “surprising” thing is where the real conversation begins.

3. “What was one moment you keep thinking about, and why do you think it stuck with you?”

This question works well later in the day or even the next day.

At dinner, you might say, “Yesterday at youth group, what is something you keep thinking about?”

That gives your child space to reflect. It also helps them recognize that what they hear at church is not supposed to stay at church. God’s Word is meant to shape how we think, live, and respond.

Sometimes their answer may surprise you. Sometimes it may encourage you. Sometimes it may reveal a question or confusion they have.

And that leads to an important reminder.

Be Slow to Correct

If your child says something that is not quite biblically accurate, or they say something you do not agree with, do not rush to correct everything in the moment.

There is a time to teach and clarify. But if every conversation turns into correction, your child may stop talking.

You want them to build the habit of talking to you.

You also want to build the habit of listening to them.

So when needed, save the correction for later. Keep the conversation open. Let them know you are safe to talk to.

The Ride Home Matters

The ride home from church, Sunday school, youth group, VBS, or camp is a discipleship opportunity. So is the dinner table. So is bedtime. So is the next morning.

These conversations do not have to be long. They do not have to be perfect. But they can be powerful.

As parents and caring adults, we have the opportunity to help kids and teens connect faith and life. We can help them process what they are learning about God, His Word, and how to live for Him.

So the next time you pick up your child from church, try asking something more than, “Did you have fun?”

Ask a question that invites reflection.

Because we are not just trying to find out whether they were entertained.

We are helping them grow.