Children's Ministry

We’ve got one hour with kids every Sunday morning—if we aren’t babysitting, what are we hoping for out of this time?

When a story engages our imaginations, it sticks with us long after the lesson. Here are three things I keep in mind each time I tell a story with kids.

What does it mean to be a faith model? Can we really model faith for kids and teens if we still struggle to understand God's plan, to see the way forward, and to deal with pain and shame of our failures?

Here is a brief description of some characteristics you’ll see in the children you lead and learn from. We hope it will give you some insight into what you may anticipate from preschoolers—intellectually, socially, and spiritually.

When was the last time you taught a Sunday school lesson on a Psalm? (Okay, other than Psalm 23?)

Two thumbs to Holly Gort, director of education at South Grandville CRC, for sharing this excellent idea! Holly’s plan is to offer a two-part workshop that will help adults and teens share their faith stories with younger members of the congregation.

This summer, instead of moving forward with sessions that half the group will miss, we've decided to do something a little different for K-6th grade. We're going to collect stories of God's faithfulness.

This activity involves making up a prayer to the tune of a song you know. This is great for kids who are musical or who love to move around, and it works as an individual or a group prayer activity. It also lends itself to a broader conversation about worship and prayer.

After singing the chorus they came to the part that said, “He knows my name”, and the little girl spoke her name loud and clear into the microphone, and passed it on to the next child, who spoke and then passed it to the next. How do you make songs more personal and meaningful to kids? 

This Sunday the song involved twirling, stomping, jumping, clapping, leaning, and praying — all motions that the kids chose for the song.

I’d love to hear from other churches that already do worship bags. What do you include in kids’ worship bags? How did introduce the bags and help kids catch the vision for staying engaged in worship?

Faith formation is a daily reality that doesn’t stop for any season. That’s why I’m excited about the new summer articles on the Nurture blog with great ideas for families to use this summer.