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 [...]
How to Prepare Your Heart for Difficult Conversations with Your Kids— Parenting isn’t easy. Counter-cultural parenting—that’s next level difficult! The world tells us, and our kids, that the way we feel determines our reality. But with this mentality, those struggling with depression would be truly worthless. Those experiencing a breakup would be [...]
Where Do You Begin? Policies and Procedures— If you work in children’s ministry, you have a passion for it. It is hard work, but you have a spiritual motivation to help these little ones discover God’s love. Your job description requires you to do things that make sense to you, and [...]
Engaging our Children in the PCA's 50th Anniversary Celebration— Although I’ve been a part of the PCA for over 20 years, I’ve had the opportunity to learn a great deal of history as I’ve entered into the role of Children’s Ministry Coordinator during the time the PCA is preparing to celebrate its [...]
Family Traditions— Yikes! It’s that busy, busy time of year—parties, play practices, Christmas concerts, cookie baking, shopping, wrapping, decorating—whew! You may find yourself wondering, “How on earth can I do it all, make the holidays meaningful, and still survive?” Well, dear parent, let’s start off with taking a deep breath. Recognize that [...]
Illustrating Hymns for Young Hearts— My love of hymns began at a very young age. Both my parents have a great love for hymns and had a large impact on my desire for singing songs of praise that are packed with deep biblical truths. Growing up, I also had the opportunity to attend [...]
Christmas! A Wonderful Way to Connect with Parents— I’m one of those people who loves Christmas. The lights, music, decorating, special foods and family traditions are a welcome part of the season for me. As a young mom with young children, I looked for ways to make Christmas into a joyous celebration of [...]
Little Hearts Prepare Him Room with Holly Mackle— In the midst of the hurry and scurry of the Advent season, how do you best prepare your heart to meet Christ? Join Holly Mackle and Karen Hodge as they discuss both theologically rich and tremendously fun ways to celebrate Advent with your family. [...]
Engaging Pastoral Leadership in Child Protection— Sadly, I have seen it happen far too many times. The children’s ministry director attends a conference, signs up for a seminar on child protection, brings home some good resources, and starts to write child protection documents. They invest a lot of time in making church [...]
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 [...]