Save the Date for LEAD Retreat At CDM, we love connecting people to people and people to resources. My favorite time to do this is at our annual children’s ministry retreat. One quote that was shared with a children’s ministry team member after this year’s retreat was, “It’s the one place [...]
Honest Grief and Hopeful Joy It’s been one week since the tragedy at Covenant School in Nashville. The grief is still fresh, and we all feel deeply for each family impacted. Worship felt a little sweeter yesterday, and Holy Week will have special meaning as we remember the six lives taken [...]
Classroom Management—Who’s in charge around here, anyway? Besides the children pushing around toy cars and building towers with blocks, three other things are always at play in our classrooms: the effects of sin, the effects of the work of grace, and the hope of supernatural power. When things are going rough, too [...]
Creative Ways to Teach the Apostles Creed The Apostles’ Creed is a great tool to teach children about God, what we know to be true about him and the promises he makes to his people. The structure in which the Creed is written–Father, Son and Holy Spirit–also provides a helpful framework for [...]
Welcoming New Families to Church I once visited a church where my husband was speaking. We arrived early, and I sat on a pew on the right side. When people came in, everyone sat on the left side. I was the only person on the right side the whole evening. A student [...]
Reflecting on Summer Ministry The transition time between the summer season and an academic season of ministry is often an overlooked opportunity. Sustaining summer ministry requires a good amount of effort, as does being ready for the fresh new season of ministry that comes with the beginning of the school year. These [...]
Hopefully Devoted to Jesus During much of my early adolescence, I was absolutely infatuated with Olivia Newton-John—for her Aussie accent as well as her music. It all began with the movie Grease, and one of her many hit songs from that musical: “Hopelessly Devoted to You.” In my foolish pre-teen mind, this song [...]
Reformation Sunday – Plan now to make it a big deal! “Who can tell me something about Martin Luther?” I asked this question in an elementary-age Sunday school class twenty years ago, and I still remember how surprised I was with the answers. Many of the children began to give me facts [...]
Stories and Stickers: Growing up with Reachout Adventures Every summer for one week my little church in south Mississippi would be transformed. Some years it became a mountain campsite, others years it was a seaport, still others an Olympic stadium, or even an outpost in the far-flung reaches of Outer Space. As [...]
Home and Church Resources for Easter Holidays are one of the best times for us to connect home and church as we partner in the discipleship of children. Easter is coming quickly as evidenced by the amount of candy, baskets, bunnies, and eggs we see in stores! Our families aren’t going to [...]