A good fisherman does his homework. He knows the conditions of the water, researches the latest equipment, and talks to other anglers. I wondered, could these same principles apply to ministry?
This event was not just about River. It was about a church family celebrating the gift of life and joy of being together. It was one more step toward fulfilling the baptismal vows we made one week earlier.
Kids aren’t the only ones who like things the same; adults also often choose to sit in the same church pew each week. God knows we're wired this way and so He gave us rituals to build faith.
How can an adult help a child enter into worship?
Christian parents everywhere want their children to follow Jesus. We often wish that there was a silver bullet of some sort or a simple set of procedures for parents to follow to ensure that our children have faith.
In Seamless Faith: Simple Practices for Daily Family Life, Traci Smith gives many practical ways to make the practices of daily life practices of faith.
This is my last post as a guide for the Sunday School network. This has been a great opportunity to articulate some of the things a church educator like me thinks about on a weekly basis. Being a guide on the Network has helped me examine the work that I do and think about it in relationship to the whole CRCNA.
Sandra McCracken has recorded a new children’s album with songs that are appropriate for children without dumbing down the theology or the music. The songs have melodies that kids will remember and enjoy singing.
It is easy for us to let our kids and teens think that we have it all together, with lists of things to do and with quick answers to complex questions but lives are much more complicated than that.
May is the time for graduations from college and high school. What do you do to recognize the graduates in your congregation?
I came across this really interesting blog post called the “Bible in 66 Verses” on the Lutheran Forum. The author, Sarah Wilson, selected a verse from each book of the Bible that summarizes that book’s content. How could you use this idea?
Our worship services would not be as good if we did not allow our members to learn as they do things. We want to let many people use their gifts – including children and teens – and we want to support them so they do well. That also means that sometimes worship will be less than perfect.
Leaders of Sunday School need to share and tell the good stories of what is happening when they gather. We can choose to tell the stories of frustration and failure or the stories of how God is powerfully moving. We have an opportunity to set what becomes the prevailing narrative of Sunday School in our church.
One of the things I like about baptisms is that, in addition to the parents making a vow, the congregation does too. The congregation promises that they will love and support this new child and play a special role in her instruction in the faith. It reminds me that we, as a church, take faith formation seriously.
85% of Christian kids never hear their parents talk about their faith. God’s Big Story Cards are an easy way to engage in faith talk and Bible study. While these cards can be used to build relationships in the Sunday School classroom they also can be used to connect families to the story and connect to each other.
I thought this was a great idea for what might be extra or unused materials. The kids will be reminded of what they learned over the course of the last year and the parents will be encouraged to share a story that we didn’t have a chance to tell.
Every week in our morning worship service, the children in 3rd and 4th grade bring in the Bible and light a candle in the front of church. During Lent, a third child is added to the procession who carries in a cross, holding it up high as the congregation sings “Lift High the Cross”
Sometimes, volunteers are hard to find! There are some people who are just not good working with children or don’t feel comfortable working with kids. But then there are those who are good with children and just do not have the time available to lead on a weekly basis. Sometimes we have difficulty
If the purpose of the making an item in Sunday School is for the kids to keep the item long term, we are doing a bad job. Most of the stuff kids make and take home barely gets looked at. In fact, much of it barely gets home. So why do we bother?
When Sunday School curriculum focuses on morals and good behavior we are missing an opportunity to teach children about God. Should we be surprised then when teens are Moralistic Therapeutic Deists?
Sometimes the 9th and 10th grade students are not ready to engage with the Heidelberg Catechism. This makes the Sunday School hour crawl by for everyone and the teacher feels like she hasn’t connected at all. Have you been there?
Sunday school leaders like you disciple children who are at the very beginning of their Christian journey. When the Holy Spirit works in their hearts, these children begin to respond to the call of the gospel.
The reason we teach Sunday School is to teach kids who God is and to bring them into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. But how do we do that?
Trying to summarize the Bible in just a few words could be an interesting activity to use in Sunday School with adults or teens. Could a Bible story be reviewed by summarizing it in ten words?
Psalms are important for kids and teens being raised in a postmodern culture, a culture where sometimes facts take a back seat to feelings. Our kids and teens need to know that they can bring their emotions and their responses to God in an appropriate way.