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Children’s church or big church? That is the question many parents are asking lately. When I began in ministry, back in 1997, (oh my!) children’s churches weren’t wildly popular in my area but over the years, the trend has caught on. Now I am happy to report we have some amazing ministries that reach children of all races and social situations. I am blessed to have been involved with some of those. A well run kid church can

Like the adult church, you have to lead kids through the good times and the bad. Tragedies like the death of a church member or the divorce of a prominent couple weigh heavily on everyone, even the smallest members of the church. Leaving all the consoling to the senior pastor or families equates to denying your kids pastoral care specific to their maturity and spiritual level. During tough times, you must put your personal feelings aside and

Children love freely with complete abandon and without thought for tomorrow – so do many children’s ministers. How can you avoid caring for the ones God cares for? Watching children grow in God, seeing the light come on during a lesson; these things make us love our kids even more. I know how it feels; pouring your heart into a young life, helping him become the giant God intended him to be, just to see him leave.

Starting in a new job is intimidating anyway, but a new job in a new church with new people can be overwhelming.  There are things that you can do right away that can set you up for success in ministry.  There are also things that you can do that can get your ministry set off on the wrong foot right away. 1.  Pray hard.  You have likely prayed hard through the entire process of accepting this ministry

It’s been a few years, but I still remember the first time I read this encouraging poem about children’s ministry. It came in an email to me from a friend. It really spoke to me about the struggles and joys of being a kids pastor. Later I learned that poem was written by Roger Fields of Kidz Blitz ministries. It’s been available on their website for some time, but he recently uploaded a print-friendly version of the poem. Directions: To download

I do not work in the preschool ministry at my church.  My time and efforts are geared towards kids kindergarten and above.  That said, we do have a great team who does handle the nursery and preschool ages.  I know that because my kids have been through the program and I have seen the fruits of these efforts.  Last night, my wife and I were laying in bed with our three year old son Nathan.  Nathan turned

9 Steps to Launching a Kids Program at Your Church How do I organize my children’s ministry? Starting a children’s ministry from scratch can be a big challenge. You have to navigate parental expectations, curriculum options, and hundreds of little questions about how things should work. For this discussion, I’m assuming you are at a smaller church with no paid children’s ministry staff. There is no one ‘right way’ to do children’s church. In fact, what works

A few weeks back, I asked our readers to answer one simple question – why do you love children’s ministry? The response has been amazing and each answer has personally encouraged me. This post is an edited list of those responses, with a few of my own mixed in.  I tried to combine duplicate answers or clarify when needed.  I pray this will be an encouragement for you. Please [print_link] and share this resource around your church.

Over the last few years, there have been hundreds of toy recalls. Some have been poor design, but many are due to toxic materials. As a parent, I shudder to think of my little ones playing (and chewing) on toys covered in lead paint. Every church that loves children has been equally careful to remove these toxic toys. Having a physically safe environment must be  a priority for your church. In the same way, we need to