Helping Kids Develop a Faith That Sticks
Is our Sunday school structure holding us back from deeper discipleship with children?
Is our Sunday school structure holding us back from deeper discipleship with children?
This blog is a creative source for ministry inspiration, especially during special seasons of the church year.
Worship is deeply formative and learning how to participate in worship is critical to lifelong faith growth. Could what we do in Sunday school help engage children in worship too?
Every Labor Day Weekend, we go camping with my family. 29 family members in all, sleeping in tents, pop-up campers, and trailers; sharing all our meals together around a long row of picnic tables; swimming, kayaking, biking, and playing nearly every sport that ends with the word ‘-ball.’
Great teachers are those who passionately follow Jesus Christ and share their faith out of the overflow of their hearts! Here is a helpful list of Lenten devotions to pass along to your teaching team during this special season.
My Sunday school class takes place in a small square room with two rectangle tables pushed together in the center. Add 8 chairs filled with fifth graders and you’ve used up all the floor space.
Sitting still to answer questions is really hard for active kids. So I’m collecting ideas for jumpstarting conversations and disguising discussions. Here are a few that have worked for me.
Second Reformed Church of Zeeland, MI had some wonderful craftsmen in their church build the pieces of the tabernacle to use with the WE: Enter The Tabernacle series of intergenerational events (from Faith Alive). They would like to share these resources with other churches.
Although everyone appreciates peace after a busy holiday season, by February things can seem a bit too quiet! Break up the long winter weeks by incorporating a “Beat the Winter Blahs” day into your season! Here's how . . .
In the children’s Bible storybooks that I read to my daughter the opening pages begin with, “This is a story from God’s book, the Bible. It’s for [say name(s) of your child(ren)]. It’s for me too!”
How do youth and children call us to re-imagine what it means to be and do church? What, theologically, does it mean to be a young person in today’s church and world? How should our theology (re)shape the ways in which we minister with children and youth?
It’s a wild ride from September to January, but you made it!! Now its midway through the season and a lot has changed—it’s time to take a fresh look at the itinerary and recalculate as necessary...
The suspense builds as all the barn animals get ready for a special arrival and wonder who is coming. They dust the beams, lay eggs, and make room. At last they welcome Mary and Joseph as each snout pushes in for a better view of baby Jesus lying in Mary’s arms.
On Thanksgiving Day (USA), YouVersion launched a new Bible app for kids. It promises to be an animated adventure designed to help kids explore the big stories of the Bible and begin cultivating a love for Scripture at a young age.
Advent is almost here! During this busy holiday season celebrating Advent can help us focus our attention on the coming of Christ. Do you plan to do anything special with your class?
When I heard that members of Faith Church (RCA) in Dyer, Indiana, had developed a Heidelberg Catechism game for kids, I just had to get a copy. I'd like to recommend this resource to parents and Sunday school teachers.
When was the last time you taught a Sunday school lesson on a Psalm? (Okay, other than Psalm 23?)
In the planning phase we begin asking practical questions: How will the children be grouped? What kinds of children and leader’s resources would be helpful for teaching and learning? and more.
I’ve spent most of my life and ministry in small congregations with limited budgets. So when I see the cost of leader’s guides and student pieces adding up, I feel the sticker shock...
Looking for a litany to use for commissioning your Sunday school team? Here are some sources to check out ...
It's September! Are you ready to share the stories of faith? To create space for wonder, awe, worship, and imagination? Sometimes the thing that takes a lesson from excellent to amazing is the little spark of creativity that piques kid's interest.
No one likes to make rules or enforce them, but ministry is much more managable when the expectations are clear! Here's what one church is doing to start the Sunday School season with high standards.
The benefit of inviting all of the children (or in some cases kids + teens + adults) to explore the same story at the same time will be different depending on the church. Here are a few of the potential benefits I see!
Well folks, its curriculum selection season. Over the next several weeks I’m going to share some of these Q&A’s in a new series I'm calling Curriculum Q&A’s. (Catchy, right?)