A couple of months ago I scheduled a time to meet with my Sunday morning elementary volunteers. Having become the director of preschool through elementary at this church last summer, I had been taking my time to observe what was taking place and look for ways to improve the ministries. After taking a bit of time to see how things … More Children’s Ministry Resources
I often take for granted all the formal Bible training I’ve had. But when I talk with Christians from around the world I realize my days in seminary were a real privilege. I often recommend online theological training to help these believers. So, let me introduce a few online training tools to help you deepen your understanding of God’s Word. … More Children’s Ministry Resources
This guest post is from Michael Chanley, founder of CM Connect and author of the book Collaborate. Find him on facebook & twitter. Churches face a difficult task when searching for paid staff. Many Senior Pastors will admit the hardest role to fill on their staff is that of a Children’s Pastor. The challenge can even be more daunting when … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Missional is a term which is gaining traction among church planters and senior leaders. It borrows its root meaning from the more familiar word, missionary. Chances are, your senior pastor is familiar with it. The expression is far less known among children’s ministry leaders. This is unfortunate. I have read many books introducing me to the concept of being missional. … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Is it worth leaving the church? We’ve been in the new church building for three years now. When we first moved in, I was excited to start decorating the Children’s Ministry rooms and make them an exciting and welcoming place for kids. However, we had to wait….wait to see how the rooms will all end up being used. Make sense. … More Children’s Ministry Resources
This is a guest post by Sue Miller as part of Orange Week. Orange is a strategy of bringing the church (yellow) and families (red) together to reach the next generation. If you’re new to Orange, you should click here to learn more. I spent some time recently with a group of leaders talking about children’s ministry. They were sharing … More Children’s Ministry Resources
This is a guest post by Reggie Joiner as part of Orange Week. Orange is a strategy of bringing the church (yellow) and families (red) together to reach the next generation. If you’re new to Orange, you should click here to learn more. What About Halloween? Here are a few stats about Halloween: An estimated 47 percent of household consumers decorate … More Children’s Ministry Resources
A few years back I stumbled across a blog called “Children’s Ministry and Culture.” It covered the important news and cultural trends that influence children’s ministry. The main writer behind that effort was Larry Shallenberger. I’ve never met him, but I expect I will one day. A few weeks back, Larry announced his ministry role was transitioning away from children’s ministry. … More Children’s Ministry Resources
This post is a playful way to make a point. I wrote it as an open letter to all pastors on behalf of all kids ministry leaders. It is inspired by true events and stories I’ve heard from the world of kids ministry. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Dear Pastor, We need … More Children’s Ministry Resources
In a previous post, I described the spiritual dangers for overly religious kids. I was writing about kids who get too much church and not enough relationship with Jesus. Most of the comments from that post were supportive and agreed with my assessment. Many readers saw a connection with being over-churched and giving up on church as teenagers. That makes this issue even … More Children’s Ministry Resources
A top concern for most kids pastors is reaching the children in their communities who do not attend church. These unchurched kids simply don’t know much about the Bible. Often they have a mixed up version of Jesus gathered from TV shows. Before they can give their lives to Him, they need a basic introduction to the Good News. On … More Children’s Ministry Resources
A few weeks back, I had a chance to hang out with my two middle children – aged 7 and 9. We’ve had a few new leaders join our children’s ministry in the last several weeks, so during the course of that weekend, I asked them this question: What do you wish your leaders in children’s ministry knew? In other … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Oftentimes as we grow older and become parents, we find ourselves repeating the things that our own parents have said to us. You know – those sayings that, as a kid, you promised yourself you would never use when you became a parent. Much like God’s blessings and curses travel from generation to generation, so too do our parents quips … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Fluff. Watered-down. Just a waste of time. About 5 years ago that was my opinion of any kids ministry that focused on fun. My thinking has changed a lot since then. I’ve learned some things from experience and now I wholeheartedly endorse FUN. No children’s ministry can ignore the role of fun. It should be an intentional value in your … More Children’s Ministry Resources
I was speaking earlier this week to a children’s pastor (who shall remain nameless for purposes of job security) who was talking about the problem of having a senior pastor who is boring and the impact that will have on the church. That conversation got me thinking about some fundamental characteristics that anyone working in children’s ministry should possess. Now, … More Children’s Ministry Resources
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 … More Children’s Ministry Resources
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 … More Children’s Ministry Resources
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” – … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Big, small, rich, poor, progressive, conservative, thriving, struggling, traditional, unique, and the list of adjectives could go on and on in an attempt to include the vast array of church characteristics we may be faced with as leaders of children’s ministry. Each church is so different, with its own strengths and weaknesses, and yet, one challenge we all seem to … More Children’s Ministry Resources
If you are like me, you don’t have a huge budget at your church for Children’s Ministry. In fact, you may not have a budget at all. Maybe the budget that you do have comes from your own debit card. Maybe you’re living in an impoverished area, where money is going towards basic necessities like food, water, and medicine. Maybe … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Beginning in October, many churches enter a flurry of holiday activities. More than likely you will be working in an outreach activity like a fall festival or Christmas play. Planning an outreach and pulling it off can be exhausting. However you shouldn’t hang your sneakers up just because your children’s ministry outreach is over. It’s at the end of the … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Those that lead in children’s ministry are typically expected to “do everything” – even if they are not gifted in certain areas. In fact, a common notion is that a “good” Children’s Pastor is one that teaches, administrates, leads, takes out the trash, trains teachers often, is at the church 6 days a week (at least) and still has quality … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Confession time – my church is shrinking. I would not say that we are dying, but the numbers show a steady 20% downtrend over the past five years. That is an approximate number for both giving and attendance. There are several factors, but without question my church is in a period of decline. This is not something a long time … More Children’s Ministry Resources
In this post I want to introduce you to Jeff Goodyear (church bio | Twitter). He is the children’s pastor at Highview Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky. I first met Jeff in a class at Southern Seminary. Since then, we has become friends and I consider him a long-distance mentor for my ministry. I am excited for Jeff to share … More Children’s Ministry Resources