How the Covenant Shapes Children's Participation in Worship- Studies have revealed a lot about how children understand the world around them. Children learn much more through experience than just through instruction that is only tailored to their age. They learn by imitation rather than by simply being told what to do. They learn as embodied beings—because that is [...]
Reachout Adventures VBS: An Unforgettable Experience With Lasting Impact Vacation Bible School is one of the most rewarding and hectic weeks of the year! Add in the months of planning, hours of meetings, and the moment-by-moment prayer to the God we long to introduce to these precious children, and it’s a full-time [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
How God Used Certification In My Life and Ministry- When our children were younger, we lived in a small neighborhood, and periodically the fire department would test the fire hydrants – our kids thought it was awesome! Each month of Certification last year felt like I was taking in information as if [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]