Busy or Beholding?— Busy. The word usually follows a justification regarding an absence, a lack of service, or a dropped responsibility. It is often a bedfellow of self-absorption as well. “I’m sorry that I didn’t put more thought into your birthday, I’ve just been so busy.” “I’m sorry that I forgot to [...]
The Delight of Having Children in Corporate Worship- Have you noticed that there’s no mention of Children’s Church or Sunday school in the Bible? We know people in the early church had children, so where were they when Christians “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship to the breaking of [...]
A Children’s Ministry Perspective on Intergenerational Discipleship- Heirs of the Covenant by Susan Hunt is a 30-year-old book that has been read by many. Recently, Stephen Estock and Karen Hodge have joined Susan in updating this book that will be available at the end of 2025. In this refreshed book, a framework [...]
Practical Ideas for Intergenerational Discipleship— She scooped him up from the pew in front of her and sat him in her lap. Patiently, she walked him through the words of the closing hymn, “O Love That Will Not Let Me Go.” Caroline sits behind our wiggly row of preschoolers when they return [...]
Hope for the Suffering- All of us have experienced moments of stormy trials. These can be difficult, forcing us to consider where the anchor of our faith lies. Some experience moments of suffering, while others experience prolonged seasons of valley trudging. Our faith shaken, our prayers faint whispers of desperation for the [...]
Suffering with Hope: Joy and Sorrow, Sorrow and Joy- Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. . . . But for me [...]
Being Led Before Leading- My husband is the true teacher in our relationship - really gifted in retaining knowledge, delivering truths, and teaching in his job, at church, and at home. As we served as volunteers in our former church, he longed for the leaders of the children’s ministry to be able [...]
Taking Children’s Ministry to the Lord in Prayer- I will never forget the day our bus caught fire. We were on the highway headed to an event about an hour north of the city. It was a hot Saturday morning in September, and the bus was warm. Halfway through our trip, the [...]
Quiet Prayer in the Midst of Children’s Ministry— And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. – Mark 1:35 First Catechism Q. 109 What is prayer? A. Prayer is praising God, giving thanks for all [...]
Grow Virtual’s Impact on My Ministry - I attended the Children’s Ministry LEAD Conference for the first time in 2018, one year after becoming the Children’s Ministry Director of my church. I loved having a time to learn and grow in my knowledge of God and to learn how He can use [...]