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: Family Ministry
November 5, 2025
Ten Ways Parents Can Increase the Probability They Pass Down the Faith … According to the Data
The top ten ways parents can increase the probability they pass down their faith … according to the data!
November 5, 2025
When a Plan Comes Together
A sermon should be long enough to adequately exegete and apply the main point of the passage, but short enough to leave mature Christians willing to listen a few minutes longer.
The New World of Kids’ Ministry
What is the future of kids’ ministry and how can churches successfully adapt to meet the challenges?
May 24, 2021
Five Ways to Bring Families Back to Church . . . Eventually
I've discovered five healthy ways to view people who are not physically at the church building, along with ways to help bring families back.
November 2, 2019
Family Ministry: Re-engaging Parents to Be the Primary Influencers of their Children
By Becky Drish For hundreds of years, parents recognized their role as the faith leaders in their families. That gradually changed over the past 100 to 200 years. Now, many regular churchgoers look to the church to fulfill that leadership role. As churches and children’s ministry leaders, we need to re-empower parents. Fortunately, that has begun to happen through a modern family ministry approach that has been making a steady, solid entrance into the children’s and youth ministry field over the last decade. If you frequent children’s or youth ministry conferences, you surely have seen sessions dedicated to this approach.
New ‘Hunger Games’ VBS Theme Fails Miserably
By Caleb Kaltenbach ASHLAND, MN—Back in January, the family ministry team of First Christian Church gathered to discuss possible VBS themes before finally settling on The Hunger Games. “It seemed like a good idea,” said student pastor Francis Jenson. “I like the Hunger Games movies, and kids play a significant role in the films. It seemed perfect.” That first night, parents dropped off their kids in the church’s sanctuary. Many parents left immediately, but some paused as the lights dimmed and a sense of foreboding took over. “They had fake trees all over the room,” reported Andrea Lansberry, mother of
December 9, 2016
I Could Totally/Never Do That!
By Jennifer Johnson Two mistakes are easy to make when reading B.J. Leonard“s story. The first is to think you could never do what he did””give up your dream house in the suburbs to move into the inner city with your wife and three young kids. The second is to believe you could totally do what he did because you”ve romanticized it as a sequel to The Blind Side. B.J., his wife, Mary, and his daughters aren”t reaching out to urban Decatur, IL, because it”s easy, but they”re also not doing it to experience the warm fuzzy feelings of “saving”
September 19, 2014
The Strategic Ministry of “˜Neighboring”
By Michael C. Mack In 2009, Dave Runyon gathered a group of 20 lead ministers in the Denver area to think, dream, and pray about how their churches might join forces to serve their community. The ministers asked the local mayor a simple question: “How can we as churches best work together to serve our city?” The mayor”s response has inspired passion and a movement. “The majority of issues our community is facing would be eliminated or drastically reduced if we could just figure out a way to become a community of great neighbors,” the mayor said. Runyon and Jay
August 22, 2013
The Extended Family in America
By Gregory K. Moffatt The phrase extended family largely meant the same thing for generations. These were families living under a single roof, a household that commonly included grandparents, adult children, and other relatives or close family friends. But our evolving culture has changed the meaning of extended family. This change has come about due to economic difficulties, the advent of our digital and mobile culture, and today”s ever-changing multicultural environment. The once distinct lines defining our past concept of family blend into today”s complex cultural melting pot. These changes present critical implications to the Christian church as we attempt
August 6, 2013
Ministry and Family””They Go Together!
By Mark A. Taylor One of the questions late in our June BlogTalkRadio* program was, “How can a Christian leader get started with a missional approach to ministry?” All three of those interviewed””Jon Ferguson, Greg Nettle, and Jon Weece””agreed with the same principle: “Start by being a model of missional ministry with your own class and your own family.” Weece, especially, took up the family theme. “We”ve reoriented our whole life around serving other people,” he said. “It”s very normal, for example, for our kids to understand this is what we”re going to do on Tuesday nights; we”re going to
It’s All About the Connections
At the North American Christian Convention, spontaneous conversations and planned networking breakfasts bring ministry leaders together to reconnect, exchange ideas, and discover why the gathering truly is “the connecting place.”
August 15, 2011
The Rules Are Changing
Mary Manz Simon explores how changing family dynamics, children growing older younger, and rapidly evolving technology affect children’s ministry—and how congregations can respond while faithfully serving children within their families.
Mighty Big Shoes to Fill
Cheryl A. Moen reflects on the life and legacy of her father, preacher Burdett Wakeman, and the enduring lessons he taught through integrity, evangelism, family priorities, and faithful Christian living.
November 1, 2010
Fun and Games
Sherwood Oaks Christian Church used Tom Ellsworth’s It’s Your Move books to turn summer board game nights into intergenerational Bible study and welcoming connection.
May 9, 2010
How Churches Can Help Families
Paul Alexander urges churches to strengthen marriage and family ministry through practical programs, honest pastoral storytelling, marriage mentoring, and simple research into what couples truly need.
January 10, 2010
We Call It Kids Camp
A week at Northshore Christian Church’s Kids’ Camp shows how children’s outreach can welcome families, teach the gospel, and bear lasting fruit in a new congregation.
Strengthening Families: Community and Church Working Together
LifeBridge Christian Church partners with Weld County’s MYAT program to help at-risk teens and their families through counseling, mentoring, parent support, and coordinated community intervention.
January 13, 2008
A Simple Plan for Children’s and Youth Ministers Threatened by Burnout
Children’s and youth ministers often feel trapped on a nonstop treadmill of programs. Learn practical ways to prevent burnout by managing time well, building relationships, narrowing focus, and leading with a team.
February 18, 2007
The NACC: Family Focus
The 2007 North American Christian Convention emphasizes church planting while offering strong workshop tracks for women and families, including sessions on parenting, marriage, women’s ministry, and facing real-life challenges with faith and grace.
