January 1, 2026
Nurturing: Succession Planning for Children’s Ministry, Building a Future-Ready Team
A healthy children’s ministry should thrive even when its primary leader isn’t in the room. That’s why succession planning is essential.
Articles for tag: Children’s Ministry
LifeWise Academy: Biblical Education for Public School Children
LifeWise Academy provides Bible education to public school students during school hours.
December 30, 2024
A Raccoon, a Mayor, and a Rural Revival
The historic First Christian Church of Monticello, KY, has experienced growth and revival under the ministerial leadership of Joe Tipton.
May 23, 2023
SPOTLIGHT: Kids’ Ministry, Local Outreach Spark Baptisms at Kentucky Church
First Christian Church in Monticello, Ky., had a banner year for baptisms in 2022, according to the annual Church Report compiled by Christian Standard. Senior minister Joe Tipton said three factors accounted for the large number of baptisms at the church (which dates back to 1831) . . .
December 1, 2022
Throwback Thursday: ‘A Little Folks’ New Testament Church’ (1932)
The Little Folks' New Testament Church in Ada, Okla., has their own “elders” and "deacons” and their own minister. "They observe the Lord’s Supper. They make their gifts. Best of all they do genuine personal work."
June 24, 2022
Fresno Church Sponsoring Summer Camp for Afghan Refugee Children
CrossCity Christian Church in Fresno, Calif., is spearheading an effort to offer a summer camp for Afghan refugee children in its community. Forty families relocated to Fresno after the U.S. military's withdrawal from Afghanistan last summer. CrossCity has been sponsoring one of those families . . .
GNPI Releases Animated Bible Video Series for Children
Good News Productions International has released a new animated video project for kids in hard-to-reach places—especially Muslim-majority countries. The "Amazing Stories" series—10 years in the making—features videos depicting 10 Old Testament and 10 New Testament stories. Each video is about five minutes in length. . . .
May 26, 2021
Job Prospects Strong Among Christian Churches
Despite a global pandemic that limited in-person church services for much of the past year, the job market for pastors in the Restoration Movement remains robust, say those who closely follow the trends.
The New World of Kids’ Ministry
What is the future of kids’ ministry and how can churches successfully adapt to meet the challenges?
May 1, 2021
Church Survey: Facts and Figures from a Funky Year
The year 2020 was, well . . . different! And, because of that, we knew it was super important to capture the stories and statistics from 2020 to gauge the true impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our churches and establish baselines to measure future growth and changes.
September 22, 2020
5 Big Shifts: What Will the Church Look Like Post-COVID-19?
By Randy Frazee Before I share my perspective on what the church will look like after the coronavirus, let me offer a couple of disclaimers. First, I missed the “Pastoring through Pandemics” class in seminary. Who would have thought we would ever need that? Second, I do not claim to be a prophet. (As a matter of fact, I lead a non-“prophet” organization.) And besides, if I were a prophet, I would have bought more toilet paper! The coronavirus has created the single greatest disruptive inflection point for American society in our lifetime. It has called us to a critical
September 22, 2020
The Waiting Place: What Does Church Look Like When Your Doors Are Closed?
By Justin Horey Trying to summarize how churches are resuming in-person worship after the 2020 quarantine feels a bit like a tribute to Dr. Seuss: Some are meeting, some are not. Some are indoors, some are out. But while reopening plans vary across a wide spectrum, churches that have decided to postpone in-person worship, even as local municipalities began to lift restrictions, have much in common. Most of them are large, with attendance of 1,000 or more. Many of them minister in cities with left-leaning political ideologies. And all churches—regardless of their reopening plans—are eager to minister face-to-face again. Despite
COVID-19 Causing Children’s Minister to ‘Rethink Everything’
By Chris Moon In her 20 years in children’s ministry at Fairview Christian Church in Carthage, Mo., Angie Fewin has never seen anything like COVID-19 and the effects it has had on the local church. “We’ve had to rethink everything,” she said. Just as senior pastors and church elders across the country have been working out how to reestablish in-person worship services as government stay-at-home orders are lifting, so children’s ministers are trying to figure out how to return their ministries to some semblance of normal—or at least to a new normal. And there’s no time to lose. Summer—the highlight
Children’s Ministry Reexamined
By Rick Willis “I can’t do that. . . . I’m oriented to leading adults.” The children’s ministry coordinator at Southern Heights Christian Church in Lebanon, Missouri, was recruiting volunteers for a new rotational program on Sunday mornings, and he had challenged me—a man in his 60s—to get involved with the 2- to 5-year-olds. The concept was new to us: one hour of continuous activity broken down into 15-minute segments (or stations), with kids rotating from a lesson, to crafts, to snacks, and to music. Two people would lead the children from room to room, with volunteers at each station
SPOTLIGHT: Ridgeview Christian Church, Rolla, Missouri
Growth in New Directions By TR Robertson When Adam Bloch began his ministry at Ridgeview Christian Church in 2013, the congregation had just gone through a tough year. Ridgeview’s longtime minister had retired, 13 church members had passed away, and morale was low. A hiring committee member told Bloch, “We can be a good place for someone to get a few years of ministry experience before they go somewhere else.” “Being in my first full-time ministry,” Bloch said, “I’m not sure if I provided any stability for a while, but after a few years Ridgeview started to grow.” Most of
April 8, 2020
South Side Among Churches Adapting Easter Plans (Plus News Briefs)
Compiled by Jim Nieman and Chris Moon South Side Christian Church in Springfield, Ill., didn’t stage its annual Easter Eggcitement event featuring bounce houses, games, and eggs filled with candy this year, according to the State Journal-Register. Instead, on Sunday—because of the COVID-19 outbreak—children’s pastor Rodney Hull wore a protective mask and handed out treat bags to children in cars via a drive-through process. “I haven’t seen the kids for a few weeks, except on Zoom,” Hull told the paper. “So it’s a chance to wave to them and enjoy a little piece of Easter we’ve put together for them
March 13, 2020
Coronavirus: “A Lot Changed [Thursday] Afternoon”
By Chris Moon Rusty Carlson, lead executive pastor of Rainier View Christian Church in Tacoma, Wash., said he’ experienced a range emotions during the past few days as the church has sorted out its coronavirus plan. “It’s kind of all the ‘feels,’ as our millennials say,” he told Christian Standard. Rainier View is in the Seattle region, which is under a government-imposed ban on large gatherings. The church has announced it will hold online-only services this weekend. Initially, Carlson said, he was excited for an opportunity to do some creative things in ministry. All of the church’s ministry teams are
January 8, 2020
Reach Men . . . Reach Families
By Don Wilson Churches in America are concerned about the loss of future generations. Some say our youth programs do not adequately prepare students to defend their faith as they encounter secular professors in universities. Others say young people cannot relate to the church’s outdated methods. And beyond that, organized sports are competing for our children’s attention on Sundays and throughout the week. While these and other issues are concerning, I believe there is a more significant and fundamental problem that is often overlooked. I’m referring to the influence fathers and men can have on the decisions their children make
December 14, 2019
Children Matter . . . All Year Long
By Gary L. Johnson “Christmas is for children,” declares one song of the season. We can see the truth of that statement in society simply by observing parents and grandparents as they buy gifts to make children’s Christmas wishes come true. As elders, we understand the importance of children all year round. We have a serious problem in the church that will directly impact the next generation and can claim the spiritual lives of countless people. Elder teams must respond quickly with strength and wisdom from God so we can avert this crisis. The Problem Elders need to be keenly
December 2, 2019
Yet We Continue
By Clayton Hentzel Ministry is tough; that’s why it’s not for everyone. We minister to people who lie, overpromise, and underdeliver. It seems every time we leave the 99 to go after the one, the one says thanks, but doesn’t serve or give, and the 99 complain we didn’t visit their uncle in the hospital, even though no one told us he was there. Ministry can be especially tough in our post-Christian culture. Society is changing. Extracurricular activities are increasing while frequency of attendance is declining. Political chaos abounds. Abortion has become mainstream and people march in favor of it.
