Kristin Charles

Family Devotions for the Big City

August 15th by Kristin Charles
Family Devotions for the Big City

To me, they were just lights.  I had seen them a million times before.  Besides, I had potholes to dodge, detour signs to follow, and taxi drivers cruising along faster than I would like.  To our kids, the city lights created quite the stir.  Spontaneous applause erupted from the car seat gallery, shrieks of disbelief, [...]

Family Devotions

Strategies for Separation Anxiety at Church

July 29th by Kristin Charles
church nursery

It was inevitable.  If my husband or I dropped our son off in the church nursery, there would be blood curdling screaming, a clenching of every finger around our legs, and a domino effect with the other children in the room. Our nursery workers were equipped as superheroes with patience, prayer, determination, and compassionate care, [...]

Church Nursery

Cooking Up Family Devotions with Your Kids

July 26th by Kristin Charles
baking cooking bread family devotions

Psalm 34:8 invites us to, “Taste and see that the Lord is good.”  Jesus calls Himself the bread of life and He encourages His followers to be the salt of the earth.   There are innumerable references to fruit, fish, and oil in the Bible.   Sometimes food staples such as these are mentioned as part of [...]

Christian Parenting

Missions Education Idea: Paper Person on a Mission

July 19th by Kristin Charles
Flat Stanley Missionary Idea

Many elementary classrooms utilize a character by the name of Flat Stanley to support literacy.  Flat Stanley is a paper figure that is folded up and mailed to a child in another part of the country and world.  Once Flat Stanley is received, he is welcomed as a guest.  Pages of a journal are completed [...]

Children's Ministry Ideas

Family Service Project: The Lemonade Stand

July 11th by Kristin Charles
Lemonade Stand Missions project

There’s nothing like a cold refreshing glass of water on a hot summer’s day.  It seems to quench thirst perfectly, but I cannot tell you how many times I have taken that glass for granted. UNICEF estimates that there are approximately 884 million people who do not have access to safe water.  Worldwide, 425 million [...]

Family Ministry

5 On-The-Go Family Devotions for Summertime

July 6th by Kristin Charles
Family Fun on the Beach in Summer

The flip flops are flopping.  The sunscreen is lathered.  The baseball hats and sunglasses are on.  Juice boxes are packed for the tykes, candy for the husband with a sweet tooth, and coffee is in hand for me.  Summertime is my favorite time of year!  I’m pretty sure I love it all, bugs and humidity [...]

Christian Parenting

The Early Church Team: A Children’s Church Lesson

July 5th by Kristin Charles
Kids Bible Lessons

This is a free Bible lesson for children teaching them about the Early Church.  It was first prepared for a Children’s Church setting during the World Cup, but would work well as a Sunday School lesson also at any time of year.  Through a study of Acts 2: 42-47, students will discover specific ways that [...]

Children's Bible Lessons

Sheep PROTECTED by a Shepherd: A Preschool Bible Lesson

June 19th by Kristin Charles
Jesus is My Good Shepherd Lesson

This is a lesson plan intended for preschool children, ages 2-5.  It is designed for a children’s church or Sunday School, but can be adapted to meet your particular ministry setting. It is the third in our series for preschoolers titled Jesus is My Good Shepherd. The first lesson plan (Sheep LOVED by a Shepherd) [...]

Preschool Bible Lessons

Lesson for Children about Prayer

June 18th by Kristin Charles
prayer talking with hands

Prayer:  Talking to God with Your Hands This children’s message was originally written for a Christian School chapel of 1st – 6th graders.  It teaches the basic elements of prayer and encourages children to establish prayer as a habit in their own lives.  What I’ve written below would be a 15-20 minute presentation, but you can [...]

Children's Bible Lessons

5 Ways To Balance Family and Church Ministry

June 17th by Kristin Charles
Balancing Family and Church Ministry

For my husband and I, serving in the local church is a regular part of our lives.  We’re integrated, involved, and intentional about our role in the body of Christ.  God has impacted us that we might impact the next generation and we love it. However, sometimes we mostly I have a difficult time balancing [...]

Children's Ministry Encouragement & Vision

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