Articles about ministry situations or themes.
How important is reading the Bible? I say that it’s imperative to a good relationship with Jesus Christ. It’s a book written by our Heavenly Father, so wouldn’t we want to read it? In order to know about our Creator, we should read His book. It tells of Jesus’ coming, Jesus here on earth, and Jesus’ 2nd coming. It tells … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Helping kids stay focused throughout your lesson or service can prove challenging for the children’s minister. Not only are we responsible for bringing the Word and building the leaders of tomorrow, we have to do it with plenty of pizzazz. With the onslaught of behavioral issues that teachers encounter today like ADD and ADHD, it’s no wonder we stay in constant prayer, right? … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Exciting. Epic. Life changing. That’s the adjectives I want to hear when kids and parents reflect on how I’m telling Bible stories. I’m not a professional storyteller but I do love the Word of God and I love sharing it with my kids and adult helpers. I may share the object lessons, the games and the activities but when it … More Children’s Ministry Resources
When kids show up 30 minutes before service, you need early arrival activities for kids church. I never want to turn kids away but I’m not naive. I know kids need constant monitoring, even the ones that tend to stay out of trouble. Prepare for those early birds with early arrival activities that will excite your children. Working on crafts … More Children’s Ministry Resources
All parents hate germs. They absolutely don’t want their little ones to get sick. At the same time, many parents want their children to come to class, even when they are the ones carrying germs! How do you help keep your children (and grown ups) healthy and communicate to parents what the limitations are? A well-communicated well child policy is … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Teaching a large group of children can be intimidating, but it is such an awesome opportunity. When preparing, here are seven things that you should NOT do when trying to engage a large group of kids. Thou shalt not… 1. Hide behind book/paper. If you have a paper or book in between you and the audience, you are setting up … More Children’s Ministry Resources
I feel that it is important for children to study the Bible. Each time a child goes to a Sunday School class or is read a book about the Bible, they are learning about it. But are they studying it? In the Scholastic Children’s Dictionary, the word “study” means “to spend time learning a subject or skill by reading about … More Children’s Ministry Resources
When you hear the word “dynamic” used in a description of your children’s ministry, it’s a good feeling. No matter where you are today, you can infuse the dynamic into your kids ministry just be doing a few things differently. Shake up your kids’ church by implementing these tips for an energetic, living ministry. Some of these “secrets” may take … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Church growth is a fickle thing. Too much focus on one area and not another on another and you could see your numbers fading. Besides shrinking church growth, you could also face personal discouragement and disappointment. No matter who you are, these things can happen. The best way to keep growing and moving forward in ministry is to avoid doing … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Several years ago in the youth service at my church, our former youth pastor spoke about the baggage that we carry around with us daily. This topic has really been stuck in my mind since that night. Each of us has things in our lives that we try to deal with on our own. Maybe we are angry or bitter … More Children’s Ministry Resources
At the first of every year, I began to fervently pray for volunteers. Whether they’ve signed on for a month or for six, most volunteers need and appreciate training. I believe in hands-on training but you’ve got to teach too. Host regular training conferences for volunteers and inspire your team to minister to children effectively. Incorporate a few ideas into a … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Being a reactionary always put you at the losing end, take my word for it. When you spend your time responding to bad behavior, you don’t have the time to recognize good behavior. Chances are your little attention-grabbers need you but sadly, they’ve been trained to have their needs fulfilled in a negative manner. If you’ve got behavior challenges in … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Congratulations on finishing a year in ministry! Children’s ministry gives us all so much joy but there’s a huge amount of work that goes along with those wacky games and heartrending lessons. Even though I had some successes in the Lord this year, I keenly remember those moments I missed it. That’s why I love seeing the arrival of the … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Does the sight of kids nodding off, rolling their eyes or acting up remind you of your recent children’s ministry lesson? If so, chances are you’ve slipped into a rut but no worries! You can easily jazz up your teaching style without enrolling in a refresher course at the local university. Put away the podium. Get the kids out of … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Does this story seem familiar? “Slumped down in her chair, the children’s pastor gave a deep sigh of frustration. Nothing had worked out as she planned. The kids seemed disinterested; parents were distant. It had been over a month since anyone new had visited the kids’ church. Feeling empty and discouraged, she wondered if perhaps, she should step down.” This … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Bad attitudes in children make teaching a class so difficult. As a teacher, I want to understand the reasons for a bad attitude; because I am a mom, I want to fix it. However, when dealing with bad attitudes in kids, even in kids’ church, you must have do two things: teach and train. Teaching about having a good attitude … More Children’s Ministry Resources
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 … More Children’s Ministry Resources
The dream of my heart is that my children love God and want to tell others about Him. Preparing my students to share their faith with others easily takes work on my part. Waiting for kids to grow up before allowing them to teach is a mistake. Jesus praised his Father for using the foolish things to confound the wise. … More Children’s Ministry Resources
“Exciting and fun!” Teachers have to smile when he or she hears those words after a class. Teaching can get stale, predictable and boring, not because of the subject matter, of course. We just get stuck in a rut and sometimes it pays to return to these important keys to teaching. Make a personal review of your class, or ask … More Children’s Ministry Resources
All volunteers need two things: encouragement and recognition but there’s a few that want a little more. They want to learn to teach! You’ve inspired them to lead children to Jesus or they feel that God has called them specifically to teach kids about His Word. God does most growth work behind the scenes, internally speaking to fledgling leaders. Still … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Attitudes are important to God. He expects us to be “cheerful givers” and to “obey your parents.” The second part of that requirement, “obey your parents” can be tougher than you think. Parental defiance is a natural part of our human makeup but that level of defiance rises when parents disrespect themselves by participating in random sex, drug use and … More Children’s Ministry Resources
What’s the first thing your child sees when he comes to your classroom? Why the door of course! The front door of your room should excite, welcome and inspire parents and students. So how do you do this? With cool, classroom door decorations. Change your door decor every month or few months to keep the excitement level up. Decorating a … More Children’s Ministry Resources
In this workshop, you will learn the basic process of creating a lesson plan for your children’s ministry. Before you start, you can print this page and use the lesson outline below to take notes. 1. Identifying your purpose. a.Who are you teaching? b.What is the context? c.How many kids? d.What length of time? e.What is the main truth you … More Children’s Ministry Resources
I love teaching kids about God and His kingdom but I’ll admit, sometimes my teaching feels a bit stale. Like many kids’ ministry teachers, I didn’t undergo any professional teacher training. I’ve stumbled (and sometimes fumbled) along until I’ve found some techniques that seem to make an impact. These ideas focus on teaching Sunday School, but school teachers can also apply … More Children’s Ministry Resources