Articles about ministry situations or themes.
Sunday School began as a once a week Christian school that taught illiterate children how to read. Without help from public schools, poor children were left uneducated with no chance of improving their situation. During this time in the 19th century, children worked six days a week leaving only Sundays available for their education. In modern times, local Sunday Schools … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Welcome to the second installment in my ongoing series on connecting with the kids in your ministry. Last time we looked at the importance of learning names. In this post I will examine the power of prayer. A quick glance at the Bible reveals that prayer is a very important part of our spiritual journey. Philippians 4:6 tells us: …do … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Recently, I was talking with someone about volunteer recruitment in kids ministry. A well-meaning conversant suggested we should publicize the fact that volunteering in children’s ministry is “easy.” I totally understand the heart and sentiment behind the suggestion – that we need to help assuage the fear and trepidation that many people feel about volunteering in children’s ministry so that … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Fifteen years ago, I nearly gave up on teaching because of a group of unruly students. I was a student teacher in a first grade classroom gone berserk. My college supervisor was observing that day and this is what she saw: complete and utter chaos. I remember that day like it was yesterday. A classroom of 74 six and seven-year olds (or so it seemed), … More Children’s Ministry Resources
You can help! If you were a child of divorced parents, please click here to take a survey related to your experience. This will help us better understand the challenges divorce presents to ministry. You might be surprised to find out that the divorce rate in the United States is actually decreasing and has been since it reached its high … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Trying to engage a room of preschoolers is like herding cats. Every little one has his own idea of what fun looks like and it is usually different from yours! Try these quick tips for preschool classroom management and share own ideas. 1. Be extremely prepared. In preschool world, downtime is the enemy. While you pause to look for crayons your three-year olds may … More Children’s Ministry Resources
We all have them. Volunteers who agree to help, but only do the minimum. They arrive for their assignments with seconds to spare and leave right when it’s done. Of course we desire for them to be more committed than that. There is no magic bullet, but there are some things we can do to help move them to a … More Children’s Ministry Resources
When it comes to working with kids, there are some simple things you can do to help build a connection that will, hopefully, allow you to speak into the life of children. The first, and oftentimes most important, thing you have to do is learn a child’s name. If you’re like me, and a lot of other people out there, … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Based on his findings from a 2004 survey of the age at which most people accept Christ, George Barna wrote: “Families, churches and parachurch ministries must recognize that primary window of opportunity for effectively reaching people with the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection is during the pre-teen years. It is during those years that people develop their frames … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Have you ever made a last-minute trip to every possible store, looking desperately for sand dollars, gum drops, toothpicks, alum, swim noodles, that one book you needed for the lesson? Have you ever stayed up way too late at night to study your lesson? Have you ever had so many responsibilities on your To-Do list that you just couldn’t figure out … More Children’s Ministry Resources
The following video clip was broadcast live on the Internet from the 2011 Orange conference. It featured Amy Fenton Lee talking about the value, challenges, and opportunity of doing ministry with kids who have special needs. I knew it was going to be powerful, so I grabed a screen capture video on my old church PC. The quality of the … More Children’s Ministry Resources
The following is a guest post submitted by Jeff Land from Kids Ministry 101. To share your ministry ideas with our readers, just email me. ~Tony K. When Jada’s mom called my wife, Abbey, she tearfully told her about how Jada had been on Facebook and suddenly started crying. When Jada’s mom, Julie, asked her what was wrong, Jada told … More Children’s Ministry Resources
A majority of the churches in America and across the world have less than 100 members. These are small churches with small children’s ministries. Many of these churches will have all children in the same classroom for Sunday School. That means multiple age groups will be learning together in one Sunday School classroom. What can a small children’s ministry do … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Oftentimes in children’s ministry, I come across a blog or a magazine articles that laments the fact that people think of children’s ministry as childcare. Well, I am here to tell you that that is exactly what is. Yes, yes, if you are committed to it and doing it right, children’s ministry is all about leading kids to Christ and … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Whether you are reading to your own children or reading a book as part of your Sunday morning lesson at church, it is important that you read it in such a manner that kids will be captivated and engaged by it. Imagine hearing a song with awesome music where the artist sings in a very monotone voice and never looks … More Children’s Ministry Resources
As I write this, it is Thursday morning, and I am coming off of another exhausting night of running games for the Awana program at our church. I should start by saying that doing that is one of the highlights of my week each week despite the fact that it leaves me thoroughly drained and exhausted. As I walked into … More Children’s Ministry Resources
This post continues our series on childhood bullying. Part one promoted bullying awareness and part two offered ten ways individuals can get involved. This article shows ten ways your kids ministry can address the topic. Truth be told, the subject of bullying is something that we have never had to address before in our children’s ministry. I have referenced it … More Children’s Ministry Resources
In my large group teaching I don’t usually have kids follow the lesson along in their Bible. That’s because we have a broadly graded program that includes many preliterate readers. Usually I’ll just read it aloud or have older kids read the verse for the group. Then any supporting texts I’ll display on PowerPoint or a marker board. So, when … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Statistics report that one in three children are involved in incidents related to bullying, as either the perpetrator or the victim. As a result, there is a strong probability that there are children in our ministries who are affected by the prevalence of bullying. This is part two in our series on childhood bullying. In our first post, we addressed the magnitude … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Educate yourself about the bully situation that many children are facing today. This article outlines the common types, possible effects, and warning signs of bullying. Click here to leave a response. Part two and three of this series will offer specific ways you can help. Among the issues plaguing our children today is the predominance and escalation of bullying. Bullying … More Children’s Ministry Resources
The following is a guest post submitted by Sam Luce. If you have something to share with our readers, just email us. I don’t know if you are like me and you have been totally overwhelmed after going to a conference, doing a site visit at another church or even just reading online some of the stuff people do in … More Children’s Ministry Resources
This is a question answered differently in many churches. It’s definitely a question we should be asking. Leave a comment to let me know what your church does. My friend Trevin wrote a helpful post asking should we baptize small children? He offered four principles for handling this topic. Here was his conclusion: To be clear, I do not consider childhood baptisms … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Monday is Washington’s Birthday, which is commonly called Presidents Day in the united states. I came arcoss this ideas an think it would be helpful the Sunday before. This great little tip came from a Children’s Ministry Magazine article called Droppin’ a line. Basically it’s a way to encourage kids to pray for and write a brief postcard prayer note … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Continuing my Benefits of Hindsight series, I would like to suggest seven habits which can create highly insecure and ineffective children’s pastors. In my years of ministry I have witnessed all of them, and I also have been guilty of a few. So, as you read the list and think about the implications, imagine my voice as one of godly fear and … More Children’s Ministry Resources