Children's Ministry

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. 

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.

Looking for new ideas for praying with kids in your classroom next season? Check out these creative prayer practices collected on Pinterest by our friends at the NC Synod Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

It’s been a couple weeks since the premiere of the BIBLE on the History channel. I’ve heard a range of opinions, some hating it, some loving it. Last night I caught a rerun of some of the first and second episodes. I have to say that it was better than I expected, and it made me wonder what other Sunday school teachers are thinking.

We tell a lot of stories about persecution in Sunday school. But our North American kids don’t experience the daily persecution faced by Christians in other parts of the world. It is easy to forget their struggle and to think of these stories as ancient history. 

Calling kids by name sends them the message that they aren’t just one of the crowd, but are known and valued individually (not only by you, but also by God). Use these easy ideas to get to know the kids in your group.  

It's always fun to visit other churches and see what they do.  One pastor I spoke with this week told me about something unique that his church does for 6th grade Sunday school. The group meets after the worship service and spends the whole time discussing the sermon   

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.

Togetherville.com is a Facebook-like social network for children. I clicked the link to check it out and was struck by their tagline: “Online Neighborhoods for Kids and Their Grownups.” 

A six-year-old girl stormed into my class this Sunday with fists clenched. She was angry at a friend — another one of the girls in my class. What do you do in moments like these — when you have a class full of kids and one of them is struggling with real life stuff?

Okay, that advice might be a little extreme, but the first few weeks of Sunday school are critical.