Children's Ministry

This age is a challenge for me. I plan something active, then a quiet activity, followed by something active again. Because these children are quite young I can go through many of these active/quiet sets in half an hour. Yet some days, no matter what I do, they lose interest.

Everyone dreams of a Sunday school where everyone comes on time, listens attentively, responds appropriately and loves to come every Sunday. Like in Lake Wobegon all the children, teens and adults in Sunday school are above average. Then comes the reality of Sunday

One of the wondering questions for the Parable of the Ten Virgins was "I wonder who the foolish virgins were?” A child answered, "I know, it was Jill" (another child in the class).  What is the best way to respond?

Many of us treat church education like drivers’ training – once you get your license you’re good to go and you never ever have to take one of those classes again. But church education should not be like that. So maybe what we need is a commencement ceremony

While reading a book about creation, one of the first pages in the book had this question: “Who named the animals?” Immediately many of the kids responded by saying “God”.  When you’re in Sunday School “God” is a pretty safe answer to most questions, right?

We sometimes like to change things up in worship or in church school because we often crave new things but it is good for us to remember that rituals are not just boring routine — they are things that often make us feel. 

As church leaders we have expectations of our volunteers that often go unstated because they're just "common sense" or because that is the way it has always been and everyone knows it. But sometimes our common sense isn't the same as someone else's.

What time does your Sunday School program meet? Our Sunday School meets for an hour before church. We meet from 9:15 to 10:15 on Sunday morning with worship at 10:30.  This time has its pluses and minuses.

I see them all around — people standing just off the street holding signs for businesses. Once I even saw one dressed like the Statue of Liberty. The world is getting so noisy that we need to have people standing by the street to get our attention.

This issue of Nurture addresses questions such as “How do help our kids listen to God’s word?” and “When is a good time to have devotions?” There's also a section with prayer ideas for preschoolers, elementary school agers, and teens.

For three weeks the Sunday School kids have been learning a song from Cambodia called “Now I Know.”  The text is a great reminder that we are children of God.

All of us in church ministry know that we need to be thinking about Christmas and the Christmas program by now or we’re in big trouble. How can you plan for programs that accomplish what you want while minimizing headaches?