The New World of Kids’ Ministry
What is the future of kids’ ministry and how can churches successfully adapt to meet the challenges?
Articles for tag: Children
March 15, 2021
Inmates Are First to See Church-Produced Film, ‘A Father’s Fight’
First Capital Christian Church’s first feature-length film received its world premiere last week . . . at the Harrison County Jail in Corydon, Ind. “We really wanted to have the people that we wrote the movie for be the first people to see [it],” said director Tyler Sansom.
November 2, 2019
Children’s Ministry Curriculum Chart
This chart accompanies Kelly Carr’s “Children’s Ministry Curriculum Decisions” article in our December 2019 issue.
February 27, 2019
Neighborhood Church: Creating Connection
By Mel McGowan Forty years ago, Christian residents in a Visalia, California, neighborhood took notice of the children who cut through their yards on the way to meet up with friends. What caught their neighborsâ™ attention wasnâ™t the childrenâ™s chosen route, it was their shockingly foul language. That got the neighborhood folks thinking: These kids should be having innocent fun, yet they are swearing like sailors. Maybe these potty-mouthed children need connection. And what better way to connect with kids than to bake cupcakes for them? Soon, the childrenâ™s parents began coming around. The neighborhood cupcake outreach eventually transformed into
February 27, 2019
News Briefs for Feb. 27, 2019
Ken Idleman will speak at the Mississippi Christian Convention March 29 and 30 at the Coliseum Civic Center in Corinth, Miss. “Dream Small” is the theme. Go to www.midsouthchristian.edu or contact Chuck Hassell at jt*********@*****ok.com for more information. _ _ _ The School of Business at Kentucky Christian University will host its ninth annual Leadership Conference April 4 in Grayson. The conference allows students and area business professionals to learn the art of leadership from a variety of leaders. Participants will include retired minister Bob Russell, Amazon launch and expansion manager Cassie Kiser Brodie, and Center for Disease Control public
October 16, 2018
My Heart Pounds within Me
By Vince Antonucci When our kids were younger my wife and I took them to a big waterpark. Our son was 5 and our daughter was almost 3, so we spent the day in the kiddie pools. Each pool had slides and all kinds of fun stuff. We played in one for a while, then walked about 100 yards to a second kiddie pool where we let the kids splash around. We then walked another 100 yards to the next one, where my kids repeatedly slid down one big slide. My wife walked over to the other side of the
Blood Relatives
By Gene Shelburne The son born to Robert and Suzanne Massie was a normal baby in most respects. He had the correct number of fingers, toes, eyes, and ears. He was intelligent, probably a brighter-than-usual child. He cried, sucked, yowled, and wet his diaper just like other babies. Only one thing made Bobby Massie different. He was a hemophiliac. A bleeder. Little did Bobby’s parents suspect how crushingly cruel that difference would be—the abuse they would suffer from doctors, the fear that caused schools to refuse to educate Bobby and made the couple’s friends forbid their children to play with
January 5, 2018
ON-RAMPS AND EXITS: How to Help Your Children Reach Financial Freedom
By Barry Cameron The most visited museum in all of Scandinavia is in Stockholm, Sweden. It contains the world’s only preserved 17th-century ship—a Swedish warship built between 1626 and 1628 during the reign of King Gustav II Adolf, who is considered one of the great military minds in European history. The Vasa, built on the king’s orders as part of a military expansion during a war with Poland and Lithuania, was constructed from the timber of 1,000 oak trees; it had two gun decks with 64 bronze cannons and a mast more than 150 feet tall. The ship was covered
November 28, 2017
Sew to Sow
By Emily Drayne Sandra Ward has an amazing heart. She saw children wearing next to nothing, found a simple tie dress, and thought, Hey, I can make that myself! With that, she founded Sew to Sow. Based out of Kernersville, North Carolina, and affiliated with First Christian, Kernersville, this ministry provides handmade outfits for children sizes 16 and under. The first batch of outfits was sent to Brazil in 2013, and the dressmaking has continued since then. I had the privilege of spending an afternoon with this group and I was impressed by the quality of the outfits, their love
June 9, 2017
Written in Blood
By Rick Chromey January 26, 2005, was to be a typical day for 44-year-old John Phipps and millions of other Los Angeles workers. When the father of three boarded his morning train he couldn”t possibly have known a suicidal Juan Manual Alvarez had parked his car on the train tracks several miles away. It was only minutes to mayhem. Details about what happened are sketchy, but Alvarez evidently changed his mind and escaped his car just prior to collision with Phipps”s speeding train. Unfortunately, Alvarez”s selfish act killed 11 people and injured more than 200, including John Phipps, who lay
Our Grandparenting Ministry””and Yours
(This article is a sidebar to “Grandparenting Ministry” by Michael Crosley.) By Michael Crosley We have a core team of nine grandparents guiding the ministry and working closely with the Next Gen Ministry team. Future plans include: 1. Developing strategies to incorporate the concepts of intentional grandparenting into the thinking of our church. This will be achieved through using social media and regular references about grandparenting in church publications and services. 2. Providing equipping opportunities such as classes and occasional seminars. 3. Sponsoring “grand events.” We plan to have two or three special events each year just for grandparents
July 23, 2016
An Interview with Matt Proctor
Matt Proctor challenges parents to seize their opportunity to create a lasting legacy through their children. Get his tips for parenting in this exclusive interview with Editor Mark Taylor at the 2016 North American Christian Convention.
February 18, 2016
My Theology and My Grandparenting
By Tom Ellsworth I broke a promise. I don”t take that lightly, but thankfully, it was a promise to me alone. Years ago I vowed that when I became a grandfather I would not get all “twitterpated” (defined as infatuated; giddy; in a state of anxious excitement“”as used in the Disney movie Bambi, which I”ve seen again and again as a casualty of being a grandparent). My silly promise melted two seconds after holding my granddaughter for the first time. With the birth of each subsequent grandchild, the memory of such an absurd vow fades farther into my subconscious. And
February 18, 2016
My Theology and My Attitude Toward My Kids” Rooms
By Jason Yeatts My view of theology changed two years ago. For most of my life, I considered theology an academic discipline, reserved mainly for those smart enough to handle it. But two years ago, I realized something was missing. My kids were getting older, and I was discovering that the theological information locked in my brain was quite powerless when I brought it into my living room, kitchen, and bedroom””the intimate places of my home. Theology seemed disconnected from my real life, and I struggled to understand how it could, and should, affect my day-to-day comings and goings. Helped
January 11, 2016
What Does God Say About Children?
By Teresa D. Welch It is no longer necessary to convince churches of the importance of children. Children”s ministries are front and center. Ministry resources are abundant. Attractive kids” spaces are the norm. Church ministry staff now includes a children”s minister (or more than one). Convincing people of the importance of children”s ministry is not an issue; rather the issue is whether or not our ministry to children is focused on what should be central. Before a children”s ministry switches curricular materials again, changes programs due to demographics, or hires a consultant to create an attractive environment, first consider what God says about childhood and
January 10, 2016
Baptize Your Children Well
By T.R. Robertson How do we determine that a young child is ready to be baptized? There are many answers, and several of them are explained in this article. “It”s almost like I”m talking them out of it, because I really want to see if their decision is real.” Trent Schake, senior minister at Blue Ridge Christian Church in Columbia, Missouri, is one of several ministers who talked with me about their experiences shepherding parents and children through the decision to be baptized. “I don”t want to put someone in the baptistery if they”re not really ready,” Schake continues, “but
January 9, 2016
Equipping Parents to Lead Their Family
By Brian Jennings Most scholars agree that Hannah brought Samuel, her son, to the temple around the age of 3 or 4. Even though Samuel was a boy, 1 Samuel 1:28 says, “He worshiped.” Even children can worship, but is the church equipping parents to lead their children to worship? If you are a parent, the sacred responsibility of spiritually leading your children rests primarily on your shoulders. However, life wars against your ability to lead your family well. Busyness wars against you. Frustration wars against you. Stress wars against you. Self-doubt wars against you. Laziness wars against you. Past failure
January 8, 2016
Parenting Resources for Christians and Their Leaders
This list of parenting resources is a sidebar to Peter Buckland’s article, “Parents Are Primary.” ________ By Peter Buckland FOR PARENTS Teaching Your Children Healthy Sexuality: A Biblical Approach to Prepare Them for Life, by Jim Burns (Bloomington: Bethany House, 2008) This book provides valuable information for Christian parents regarding the sexual information that children need to know and how the biblical sexual ethic may be presented to them. SOS Help for Emotions: Managing Anxiety, Anger, and Depression, by Lynn Clark (Bowling Green: SOS Programs and Parent Press, revised in 2014) Practical steps are provided that enable parents to help
January 8, 2016
Parents Are Primary
Click here for a list of parenting resources ________ By Peter Buckland All too often, parents assume the church is responsible for the spiritual formation of their children. This assumption is a mistake. It is the parents” responsibility to train their children to know and love Jesus. Whether parents are biological, step, foster, grandparents, or temporary parental substitutes1, they do a better job of prompting childhood and adolescent faith in Christ than the church staff, volunteers, or programming. Deuteronomy 6:4-9 places the spiritual development of children squarely on the parents” shoulders. If we were to apply this old covenant commandment
January 5, 2016
A Welcome””and More
By Mark A. Taylor It”s tough to be a child in America these days, especially if you”re one of the children described by statistics like these: “¢ One in 45 children in America experience homelessness each year, a total of 1.6 million children.1 “¢ More than five children die every day as a result of child abuse, and about 80 percent of these are under the age of 4. A report of child abuse is made every 10 seconds.2 “¢ One-third of American children””a total of 15 millions””are being raised without a father. Nearly 5 million more live without a
