Covenant Family Connection- It is a blessing to come alongside our covenant family members of every age to worship God, serve others, and love each other—especially as workers in children’s ministry! The children in our midst are the next generation of the visible and invisible Church. The invisible Church includes all [...]
Where Grace Grows: Helping Families Thrive through Gospel-Centered Community- Parenting has never been easy, but today’s cultural landscape makes it all the more confusing. Parents today are anxious, overwhelmed, and often uncertain, but the church has wisdom to share—not with formulas, but with encouragement, compassion, and gospel-centered wisdom. How can we, as [...]
For the Next Generation— I was crossing the bridge from my nineteen years as a member of Altadena Valley to becoming a staff member as well. This new chapter as Altadena Valley’s children’s ministry assistant had filled my heart with hope in numerous ways. I was excited to be working again, even [...]
Laboring Together in Community— “Who will sign up to serve?” “I hope Joey will lead relay games again this year.” “I need a dynamic teacher for the pizza and story time room.” These were the thoughts swirling through my head as I closed my laptop. It was time to plan our annual [...]
Find Your People- Before I worked full-time as a Director of Children’s Ministry, I taught fourth grade at a local elementary school. It was a pretty large school, so there were six fourth-grade teachers. Three of us taught math and science, while the others taught language arts and social studies. Those of [...]
LEAD Retreat- Life-Changing and Ministry-Shaping The Children’s Ministry Director who went to her first LEAD Retreat at Ridge Haven several years ago is not the same Director who returned. When I boarded the airplane in Detroit, I couldn’t have known the effect that the next few days would continue to have on [...]
How to Encourage Parents to Fear Not When You Are Not a Parent Yourself— Being a Children’s Ministry Director can be very rewarding. It can also be challenging. No surprises there, right? But add to that another layer, such as being single, not having children of your own, or being younger than [...]
The Fruit of Certification— This year we celebrated 5 years of our Children’s Ministry Certification program! 5 years equals 160 men and women who have spent 12 months evaluating and growing children’s ministry in their churches. Children’s Ministry at CDM comes alongside churches by helping them pave the way for intergenerational connections [...]
Finding Rest in Ministry Rhythms— I love an old-fashioned paper calendar. I spend time marking it up with all kinds of colors based on the occasion. Later this month, there is a week outlined bright orange and blue with BEACH written in big letters. Beach Week happens towards the end of every [...]
Long Term Planning with the End in Mind— Long-term planning has always excited me. Seeing the big picture, setting goals to get there, and visualizing the end-product is one of my favorite things to do. I sit down with my paper planner, pens in a rainbow of colors, a cup of coffee, [...]