Articles Zone

Is church still church if it's online?

There is no shortage of hired teachers in the Christian community. Our culture doesn’t need more tutors.  It doesn’t lack for knowledge. It lacks for fathers. It lacks for people who lay down their lives because they would rather see their sons do more and be more than them.

Do you feel tired and frustrated by the lack of support and excitement for your ministry? Here are strategic questions to ask to help you examine why.

How do we help teens learn freedom and independence while maintaining boundaries for healthy growth?

Do we really need to have Sunday School classes?  

Just how important is Sunday School? Read this article and you will understand the importance of Sunday School Ministry!

Children today follow and are excited by what is popular in culture. How much of this "pop culture" should a children's ministry leader know or be familiar with? How does this affect your ministry to kids?

This article explores the danger of helicopter parenting in turbulent times.

Why does your church need a children's check-in solution? Here are the main reasons.

Suggestions on how to handle ministry turf wars and deal with known ministry priorities.

Huge list of phrases you can tell your kids or volunteers to encourage them and affirm them

It’s really scary to be in over your head, in rough and deep uncharted waters. The frantic efforts to preserve life when taking in water, thrashing about, scared and panicked about what’s next. Managing to gasp for breath, while trying to stay afloat, is overwhelming.

Sometimes change happens to us and sometimes it happens through us and sometimes they both happen at the same time! So, if you are currently in the process of leading change, here are seven items you will need to initiate change.

So you have decided to leave your position as Children’s Leader at your church. Perhaps “going for the door” was not an easy decision to make. On the other hand, it just might have been the obvious choice. God has been speaking to you and you have agreed, it's time to turn in your resignation.

Taking care of God’s babies, new Christians, is also a lot of work but is very rewarding. If you do your best and rely on the Holy Spirit, those new Christians will soon be growing, walking on their own, and helping others to grow!

How kid-friendly is your church? 

A Life Verse can be your favorite verse from the Bible—you know, a verse that you really like or want to model. How does your Life Verse relate to your Children’s Ministry?

God created you with a purpose, and despite your mistakes He desires to use you.

What goals are you setting for the new year?  

Use these guidelines, along with the downloadable template, to create your next job descriptions. 

Videos are fun, but live teachers are better... even the bad ones!

When you allow your children’s ministry to be designated as a “child-care” program, you succumb to secularizing your ministry, which makes it more conducive to a “baby-sitting” service, than a legitimate ministry function that is complimentary to a church.

Many a leader sabotaged his or her ministry simply because they were not teachable. How and why you should SEEK out feedback.

50 every day simple and practical ideas for dads - little things that can make a BIG difference!

A children’s evangelist gives us five steps that might just change the way you think about the follow-up of child converts. Drawing upon over 30 years of full-time evangelism experience with children, Rev. Barney Kinard challenges us to rethink what we are really doing with follow-up. These insights are not only thought provoking, but they can provide a framework to develop your own follow-up program.

Some great ideas for surviving long drives in the car with kids!

This is a seminary research paper on the topic of ministry to preteen, 10-14 year old children in today's culture and church.

This article explains the reasons why object lessons are important.

Making Your Discipline Problems Disappear!

I have 3 steps to help recruit in children's ministry. Know where you are going, know who you are recruiting, and know what's next.  

The advantages to aligning preschool and elementary lessons are less than most people believe and the cost is much higher than most people realize. In short, the cost outweighs the benefits.

A magic trick that illustrates the value a human life.

Cultivating spiritual change is a lot like cooking. Jesus thought so anyway. Christ compared attitudes to yeast. A little bit of a strong attitude goes a long way. He warned that the legalism of the Pharisees could ruin a whole loaf of spirituality. As a children’s minister, you are a spiritual chef. You influence what spiritual ingredients to which the kids are exposed.

Over the next 20 years we could experience a virtual flood of new ideas and innovative concepts for the Sunday School hour. These innovative ideas will provide a boundless energy source for the revitalization of the Sunday School and other Discipleship ministries in the church over the coming decade.

Use these conversation starters to get your family talking!

A Passover celebration can be a significant worship and teaching event for Christian families.

Very young children are capable of accepting Jesus as their Lord and Savior. All it takes is making children aware of their need for redemption in a way they can understand.

Have you ever noticed a male pastor get so busy he ignores his wife?

Allow me to challenge you to accept these problems and not lose heart.

As America tries to come to terms with the vicious and deliberate attack on our nation, adults and children have been impacted. Many of the children we minister to are asking questions and trying to understand in their minds what happened this week. I would like to pass along the following encouragement and suggestions to those who minister to children.

How do we encourage our kids to own their faith and love Jesus forever? The key is in our example.   

How to Involve Children in Church Prayer

The greatest key to success in children’s ministry is knowing which programs to do and which ones not to do. Every situation varies. You have to decide which programs are worth the time, money, people and energy and which are not. Energize the ones that are; slay the ones that aren’t.

We have a responsibility to invest in those who desire to go into children's ministry. A well thought out internship is a great place to start. Here are some pointers to help you have a wonderful experience.

The call comes in a variety of ways or combination of ways, but eventually the called person must be able to say, “God has called me for sure.”

Good leaders do strive to grow professionally and spiritually. Good leaders also fall prey to a performance mentality. The latest paradigms, the volunteer shortfall, the pursuit of excellence can tense up the best leader.