What are Some Options for Childcare?

Psalm 127:3: "Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from him."

Providing childcare in your eGroup can be the most beneficial thing for a family. One of the biggest things hindering people from joining an eGroup is the fact that they either cannot find childcare or they cannot afford childcare. By providing childcare at your eGroup, you remove the barrier. Simply because you are the leader of the eGroup does not mean that you are expected to cover the cost of providing childcare for your group. Here are some practical ways to bring childcare into your eGroup:

Find a sitter and split the cost between the group members. One of the easiest solutions for childcare in your eGroup is to find a sitter who will watch the children in your group. Every week, those group members bringing children to the group will split the cost of the babysitter. Not only is this a cheaper solution, but it also allows for the children to have fellowship in a group setting as well.

Pick a family within the eGroup to do childcare each week. You may find that the best childcare solution for your group is to have one family sit out each week. While it is unbeneficial that one family misses eGroup every now and then, this solution comes at little to no cost.

• As the leader, you must make a weekly schedule of family rotations. This way that week's family will know well before eGroup that they are doing childcare.
• Type up your notes from eGroup to give to the parents doing childcare that week. Next week they will come back to eGroup fully prepared and ready to engage in that week?s lesson.

Find a teenager within the church to do childcare for your eGroup. There are tons of teenagers within the church that would not only be willing, but would love to do childcare for an eGroup once a week. Raise these teenagers up by calling their love for children out of them. A few ways to thank them may include:

• Paying them a weekly rate as a group.
• Inviting them to come eat dinner or have coffee with you before eGroup meets.
• Including them in weekly eGroup activities.

When you have childcare firmly established within your eGroup, make a point to advertise it! Families will be drawn to groups where they know their children will be well cared for. Providing childcare also takes the stress of finding a babysitter off of the parents, leaving them worry-free and ready to engage in eGroup discussion.

1. What is preventing you from providing childcare in your eGroup?  Think about the obstacles that you'd be removing by offering childcare for your eGroup.
2. Who are some teenager girls that you know who might be interested in providing childcare for your eGroup?  Do you need some help finding some potential childcare providers?
3. What other obstacles besides childcare can you remove for your eGroup members?  Spend some time thinking through any obstacles.  Pretend you are coming to your eGroup for the first time, and think through each logistical detail.