--- title: The Secret to a Thriving Toddler Group date: 2020-02-10T00:00:00+00:00 author: Jacob Hilton canonical_url: "https://staging.eauk.org/great-commission/stories/secret-thriving-toddler-group" section: Stories --- Great Commission is the Evangelical Alliance's evangelism and mission hub for stories that inspire and resources that equip us all to share Jesus. - [Great Commission](/great-commission) - [Stories](/great-commission/stories/all) - The Secret to a Thriving Toddler Group # The Secret to a Thriving Toddler Group #### How prayer and a warm welcome are the key to sharing Jesus with toddlers and their carers [ ![Https vimeo com 340684631](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%271%27%20height%3D%271%27%20style%3D%27background%3Atransparent%27%2F%3E) ![Https vimeo com 340684631](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%271%27%20height%3D%271%27%20style%3D%27background%3Atransparent%27%2F%3E) #### Early years | 0:00 ## The Secret to a Thriving Toddler Group ](#%0A%09%09%09) [DetailsAbout the video](#) [TranscriptWhat it says](#) [DownloadSave it offline](#download) How prayer and a warm welcome are the key to sharing Jesus with toddlers and their carers ##### Featured Resources [ ![](data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAaEAAAEqAQMAAACGEX2aAAAAA1BMVEUAAACnej3aAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAACZJREFUaN7twTEBAAAAwiD7pzbFPmAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQOz7cAAG8Je16AAAAAElFTkSuQmCC) #### The Kitchen Table… The Kitchen Table Project is a movement of mums, dads and carers who want to see their children grow up… ](https://staging.eauk.org/great-commission/resources/the-kitchen-table-project) [ ![](data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAaEAAAEqAQMAAACGEX2aAAAAA1BMVEUAAACnej3aAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAACZJREFUaN7twTEBAAAAwiD7pzbFPmAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQOz7cAAG8Je16AAAAAElFTkSuQmCC) #### Playtime Support and advice for church based toddler groups. ](https://staging.eauk.org/great-commission/resources/playtime) [ ![](data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAaEAAAEqAQMAAACGEX2aAAAAA1BMVEUAAACnej3aAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAACZJREFUaN7twTEBAAAAwiD7pzbFPmAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQOz7cAAG8Je16AAAAAElFTkSuQmCC) #### 1277 - Make… An alliance of churches and other agencies that support the work of church-based toddler groups. ](https://staging.eauk.org/great-commission/resources/1277-make-them-count) [ ![](data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAaEAAAEqAQMAAACGEX2aAAAAA1BMVEUAAACnej3aAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAACZJREFUaN7twTEBAAAAwiD7pzbFPmAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQOz7cAAG8Je16AAAAAElFTkSuQmCC) #### Talking Toddlers New research shows that young families with children under five could be a vital element for church… ](https://staging.eauk.org/great-commission/resources/talking-toddlers) [ ![](data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAaEAAAEqAQMAAACGEX2aAAAAA1BMVEUAAACnej3aAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAACZJREFUaN7twTEBAAAAwiD7pzbFPmAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQOz7cAAG8Je16AAAAAElFTkSuQmCC) #### Jesus to the… The Christmas story … with a difference. Jesus to the Rescue uses Happyland toys to tell the Christmas… ](https://staging.eauk.org/great-commission/resources/jesus-to-the-rescue) [ ![](data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAaEAAAEqAQMAAACGEX2aAAAAA1BMVEUAAACnej3aAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAACZJREFUaN7twTEBAAAAwiD7pzbFPmAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQOz7cAAG8Je16AAAAAElFTkSuQmCC) #### Invited to Belong A six-session reflective journey to help you explore how to ensure your youth and children's work is… ](https://staging.eauk.org/great-commission/resources/invited-to-belong) It was one of my friends, through my daughter's school, recommended this play group I'm not a Christian, I don't have any religious beliefs, personally I suppose I was little bit hesitant at first, just wondering about the content of the sessions Just curious, I suppose, as to how much Bible stories or the Christian messages would be prevalent throughout the sessions But actually, I found it was all very measured, very age appropriate Nothing ever felt forced onto me The welcome really did put me at ease, and it made me feel that this was just a kind of exemplary play group I think people value, in a toddler group, a really warm welcome That it's obviously quite a daunting thing, when you walk into a group for a new time, and for the first time, that there's someone there to greet you, to explain the situation, explain how the morning or the afternoon runs, and just to make you feel welcome into a new environment You get to know other parents, and I pretty much know all the children's names as well" And it's a great opportunity for evangelism" We can just chat to people, and they're actually in a church environment thinking, "They've made us feel welcome" "This is nice "And these people seem quite normal, this is fun That, I think, that's essential The other thing that was really striking was the warmth of the welcome How genuinely interested Lucy, and the other ladies that we met, seemed to be in myself and in my daughters Everyone made an effort to talk, not just to me, but to my girls as well, which I thought was a really nice touch The fact that it's so friendly, it makes the Bible accessible, and I really like the fact that my children can come along and hear Bible stories, as well as just socialising with little people, and I get to come along, have a nice cup of tea with my friends too We love the fact that it's really interactive, and great fun You like the craft at the end I think the greatest thing for any church to do is to be praying for the group to get behind them, even though not the whole church can be here every day, they can pray I think this one's different and it really stands out, because of the warmth of the people here You can't forget that I know I've spoken about it quite a lot, but the fact that everyone is warm, and genuine, and interested, makes a huge difference It almost makes you want to have another child, but I think my other half would have something to say about that Download video [ ##### The Secret to a Thriving Toddler Group (HD) ###### 1920 x 1080 - 107.7 MB ](https://player.vimeo.com/progressive_redirect/download/340684631/container/61d8dbdd-8b45-48b2-bce7-a54164705fdf/6a44ecbc/the_secret_to_a_thriving_toddler_group%20%281080p%29.mp4?expires=1782334911&loc=external&oauth2_token_id=1257760282&signature=9a44c349041e34c3e2fdfb38535a3a3cfe63d606a44fc170ce79c2b08eeb4acd&user_id=2805618 "Download The Secret to a Thriving Toddler Group in High Definition") [ ##### The Secret to a Thriving Toddler Group (HD) ###### 1280 x 720 - 55.2 MB ](https://player.vimeo.com/progressive_redirect/download/340684631/container/61d8dbdd-8b45-48b2-bce7-a54164705fdf/7b10c3ef/the_secret_to_a_thriving_toddler_group%20%28720p%29.mp4?expires=1782334911&loc=external&oauth2_token_id=1257760282&signature=0d6244f5933da8206fb7bfef6d8cf5a66a08e792defeb1f7f2c475c31a534375&user_id=2805618 "Download The Secret to a Thriving Toddler Group in High Definition") [ ##### The Secret to a Thriving Toddler Group (SD) ###### 960 x 540 - 32.5 MB ](https://player.vimeo.com/progressive_redirect/download/340684631/container/61d8dbdd-8b45-48b2-bce7-a54164705fdf/c0a03ed6/the_secret_to_a_thriving_toddler_group%20%28540p%29.mp4?expires=1782334911&loc=external&oauth2_token_id=1257760282&signature=b9d32527fb2452c4470419a6aaedc0068928e8755fa8cdbdd19dd90ff620f9e9&user_id=2805618 "Download The Secret to a Thriving Toddler Group in High Definition") Download subtitled video [ ##### The Secret to a Thriving Toddler Group (with subtitles) ###### 1280 x 720 ](https://staging.eauk.org/index.php?p=actions/transcoder/default/download-file&url=https%3A//staging.eauk.org/transcoder/video/subtitled/The-Secret-to-a-Thriving-Toddler-Group.eng_800kbps_25fps_bps__c_1280w_720h_crop_.mp4 "Download The Secret to a Thriving Toddler Group in High Definition (720p)") [](https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=1769260916495219&href=https%3A%2F%2Fstaging.eauk.org%2Fgreat-commission%2Fstories%2Fsecret-thriving-toddler-group) [](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=The%20Secret%20to%20a%20Thriving%20Toddler%20Group&url=https%3A%2F%2Fstaging.eauk.org%2Fgreat-commission%2Fstories%2Fsecret-thriving-toddler-group) [](https://www.facebook.com/dialog/send?app_id=1769260916495219&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fstaging.eauk.org%2Fgreat-commission%2Fstories%2Fsecret-thriving-toddler-group&link=https%3A%2F%2Fstaging.eauk.org%2Fgreat-commission%2Fstories%2Fsecret-thriving-toddler-group&display=popup) [](mailto:?subject=Shared%20from%20Evangelical%20Alliance&body=https%3A%2F%2Fstaging.eauk.org%2Fgreat-commission%2Fstories%2Fsecret-thriving-toddler-group) February 2020 Topics [Early years](/great-commission/early-years) [Children](/great-commission/children) [Community events / engagement](/great-commission/community-events-engagement) [Families](/great-commission/family) This story was produced by the Evangelical Alliance with the support of ![](data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAaEAAAEqAQMAAACGEX2aAAAAA1BMVEUAAACnej3aAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAACZJREFUaN7twTEBAAAAwiD7pzbFPmAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQOz7cAAG8Je16AAAAAElFTkSuQmCC) #### Share \[\[title\]\] [ ](https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=1769260916495219&href=%5B%5Burl%5D%5D) Facebook [ ](https://x.com/intent/tweet?text=%5B%5Btitle_url%5D%5D&url=%5B%5Burl%5D%5D) Twitter [ ](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=%5B%5Burl%5D%5D&title=%5B%5Btitle_url%5D%5D) Linkedin [ ](https://www.facebook.com/dialog/send?app_id=1769260916495219&redirect_uri=%5B%5Burl%5D%5D&link=%5B%5Burl%5D%5D&display=popup) Messenger [ ](https://wa.me/?text=%5B%5Btitle_url%5D%5D%20-%20%5B%5Burl%5D%5D) Whatsapp [ ](mailto:?subject=Shared%20from%20Evangelical%20Alliance&body=%5B%5Burl%5D%5D) Email Link copied Page link Copy