Trunk or Treat can be a fun way for churches to serve their community around Halloween. It’s a simple idea – volunteers decorate their cars in the church parking lot and invite the kids to trick or treat in a safe environment. This post shares some simple ideas for car decorations. Christian trunk or treat ideas 7 Awesome Trunk or Treat Decorations (with Biblical Themes) #1 Treasure in Heaven Themed SUV #2 Armor of God Truck Bed
What follows is my rough paraphrase and summary of a talk from the 2010 Connecting Church and Home Conference. In this break-out session, Randy Stinson assumed a basic understanding of Ephesians 5:22-33. This message was more about an application for husbands as they lead their families. There are nine applications that build on one another. Randy Stinson is the Dean of the School of Church Ministries at Southern Seminary. Dr. Stinson also serves as the president of
What follows is a rough paraphrase and summary from the 2010 Connecting Chruch & Home Conference. This session was comprised of the eleventh chapter of the forthcoming book, Trained in the Fear of God edited by Randy Stinson and Timothy Paul Jones. While we did not delve deep into each point Schemm has, we did gain a lot of insight through his trials and errors as well as his answering of questions for those who are struggling
Questions Asked These are some of the questions that you may be asked in the course of your ministry. How do we know that the Bible we read today is what they wrote so long ago? Didn’t man decide what was going to be in the Bible? The Bible is full of errors, how can we know if it is telling the truth? Manuscript Evidence The truth is, we do not have the actual original documents that were
This simple heart craft is a perfect add-on to your Valentine’s Day Sunday School lessons. It has the words of John 3:16 inside a heart coloring page to remind kids that God’s love is what matters most! Use the link below to print the PDF version If you’re looking for Christian ideas for Valentine’s day, this John 3:16 valentine printable should help. Use it for crafts in your Sunday School or children’s church. We first posted it
Use science to illustrate Bible Truth! This classic object lesson is a fun way to explain that God’s Holy Spirit is everywhere even when we can’t see it. Watch the video example below. Have you ever been asked the following question? How can the Holy Spirit be a person in the Trinity and yet He cannot be seen and does not take up any space like all people do? This is a simple object lesson that incorporates
“Always [be] prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you” –1 Peter 3:15 Recently, we interviewed Ken Ham and he talked about the need for apologetics to be taught in the Sunday School room and in the church in general. We, here at Ministry to Children, want to aid in that. Therefore, we are going to begin a new section of teachings or articles. These
This post is part 3 of 3 of our special interview with Ken Ham, the president of Answers in Genesis. Here are the links to read part one and part two. MtC: What do you believe is the solution to the mass exodus taking place with the younger generation? Ken: Churches need to do a better job of teaching young people how to defend their faith. Our research shows that, for the most part, young adults are
This post is part 2 of 3 of our special interview with Ken Ham, the president of Answers in Genesis. Here are the links to read part one and part three. MtC: You recently wrote a book entitled “Already Gone” with the help of research performed by Britt Beemer. While it is safe to say that many in the church are concerned with the mass exodus taking place of young men and women, you and Britt sought the
This post is part 1 of 3 of our special interview with Ken Ham, the president of Answers in Genesis. Here are the links to read part two and part three. Ministry to Children (MtC): Please tell our readers a little about yourself and your ministry. Ken Ham (Ken): I like to call myself “a missionary from Australia to America” – particularly to the American church, calling it back to the authority of the Word of God beginning
Many of our readers at Ministry To Children are familiar with the Veggie Tales DVD’s. Yes, we have been critical of VeggieTales in the past, but we have also been complimentary as evidenced by this interview with Phil Vischer, the creator of VeggieTales. Now, they are at it again in helping Children’s Ministries reach children in an easy and fairly affordable manner. Worthy Resources has compiled 30 VeggieTales titles into one library system complete with lesson plans
Why your kids will quit church and what you can do to stop it I recently wrote a review of a book at Christian Book Notes that I believe everyone in the ministry from children to senior pastoral ministry must read. The book is entitled Already Gone by Ken Ham and Britt Beemer. It seeks to answer why churches are struggling to retain students after they graduate highschool. Their findings will shock you and most certainly cause
Confession time. I recently watched The Polar Express for the first time with my boys and I have to admit that I found myself in tears during a few scenes. As I racked my brain trying to figure out why I was crying, I realized it was the unintended hidden message of the movie. For those who have yet to see the movie, I want to warn you that I am going to spoil it for you
Here is a brief devotion for Christmas based on some observations of the Christmas lights. Put these ideas into your own words and you could easily use this content as a Children’s Sermon around Christmas or Advent Season. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. –John 1:4-5 I love to look at Christmas lights. Back home in St. Louis,
I love the Christmas season. We get to decorate our house and set up our nativity to celebrate the coming of our Lord and savior. Every time I hold a newborn baby, I think back to the first Christmas. Can you imagine what Mary must have felt like holding the Son of God? On one hand, He, Jesus, needed her at that moment more than He needed anything else. His entire life (and our salvation) rested in
How many of your Nativity sets have wise men in them? Where do you usually place your wise men? Do you want to know where I place mine? Good! I place mine either on the other side of the entertainment center (across from the nativity) or if they are larger, on the other side of the room they are in. My friends have called me the “Manger Nazi” because I will go into their houses and move
In Children’s Ministry, it is easy for us to challenge the kids in our care at the church to be mindful of Christ at Christmas. I have found that it is somewhat more difficult to get the parents to keep Christ at the center of Christmas. I have discovered some nice resources that help to keep Christmas Christ-Centered. For example, do a devotional like What God Wants for Christmas which is an interactive manger scene that is
I realize not every church has the same cultural context as mine, but as children’s ministers we all are striving to reach the kids in our community whether that community is rural or inner-city. When we do start bringing these children in to our churches, do they feel welcome? I am thinking primarily about the children coming without their parents. Not every church has a children’s church (we call it Extended Session) for kids through 5th grade.
So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. –Mark 16:19 (ESV) This could be the last children’s sermon in a series about the gospel of Jesus Christ, but can also stand alone. For those churches who have skits during the Children’s Sermon. (You do not need the skit. You can simply describe it and move into the sermon.) Materials You
Leader: Who knows what God created? Children: everything, the earth, the sun, the universe, the stars, animals, people (let them give a good list to get the idea that all things were created by God). Leader: Does anyone know what God created first according to Genesis 1? (Gen. 1:3-5) It is very important that we keep everything rooted in a particular book and verse Children: Be prepared for them to say Jesus or Angels. The correct answer
I am not sure about the children in your church, but my kids have been enraptured by a series of books entitled Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney. The book is called “a novel in cartoons” and consists of pencil sketches made by a “kid” as he writes about his life in a diary. I am wanting to bring this book to your attention because, truth be told, your children do not need to be
I grew up in the late 80’s and early 90’s as many of our readers have. My generation was known as “Generation X.” Those who grew up in the late 90’s and early 2000’s are part of what has been called the “ME Generation.” It is this generation that concerns me in this article. Most of our readers here at Ministry to Children are involved in children’s ministry at some level in the local church. Many of
How do you teach your children in your ministry about missions? It seems that with the current “drop-out” rate of youth in the church, it is now more important than ever to cultivate a love for the gospel with our children. I try to discuss a significant missionary every now and then when discussion allows, but must confess that right now I am not intentionally teaching about missions work. I know that there are quality missions curriculums
Last week we talked about Jonah’s disobedience to God. We saw that when God punished him, he repented and asked for forgiveness. After that, the big fish spit Jonah onto the shore so he could go into Nineveh and preach the message of forgiveness that God wanted him to preach. The Ninevites responded to Jonah’s message with repentance. Do you think that made Jonah happy? No, it did not. After they repented and God turned from His
