Grow Blog
CDM’s Children’s Ministry with Purpose Grow Blog connects you with people and resources to disciple the children in your church. Read as we write about children’s ministry opportunities and challenges, connecting with leadership, how to cast vision, and many more important topics.
Nursery: Where It All Begins
Nursery: Where It All Begins! — When you hear the word nursery, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Some of us think, “Oh, I love holding babies!” Some of us think, “I need more help!” And some think, “I want to teach them, but I’m not sure what to do.” Let’s look at the divisions of nursery, the musts for a successful nursery, [...]
Ages and Stages: How To Teach Children Well
Ages and Stages: How to Teach Children Well— If you have been around children at all, it does not take long to see how much they change and develop even from week-to-week. In the nursery we see them go from only laying on their back to crawling in what seems like the blink of an eye. In preschool we see them go from talking in a [...]
Thank You God for Autism
Thank You God for Autism— The police came again. My husband got to share with them about our son, John, who lives with autism, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and Tourette syndrome. John loves to walk and pace on our neighborhood street these days. This past week I came out into our front yard to search for our John and found my 6-foot son walking down our neighborhood street shirtless, with [...]
Fear Not Parenting—Fear Not Disability
Fear Not Parenting: Fear Not Disability— I can still remember the question the nurse asked my wife and me in the hospital room not long after our son was born: “Are you familiar with Trisomy 21?” We were not familiar with this term until she explained it was the more technical term for Down Syndrome. This was the first time we heard that our son was [...]
Fear Not Technology
Fear Not Technology— You may have already seen the videos of young people walking down the sidewalk, riding the train, eating at restaurants, or even driving a car with the Apple Vision Pro® plastered across their faces. These images are concerning and scary. This new technology is an amazing tool for connecting the user to the world online but blinds them to their surroundings and isolates [...]
Fear Not Parenting in the Present Age
Fear Not Parenting in the Present Age— In our house, the evening routine includes watching the local news before we turn in. I’m often ready to shut off the TV long before the half-hour newscast is over, as coverage of national and world circumstances gets harder and harder to watch, especially when sleep is the next thing on the schedule. War, famine, genocide, politics, the economy, [...]
Fear Not Parenting—Encouraging Parents to Parent without Fear
Fear Not Parenting: Encouraging Parents to Parent without Fear— I just heard about another school shooting. My neighbor told me her daughter brought home a pornographic book from the school library. A friend had to pull her child out of school because he was bullied so badly. Those great little fruit pouches might have dangerous levels of lead. Transgenderism is a fad among our nation’s youth. [...]
God Never Stops Hugging You
God Never Stops Hugging You - Once a month during the school year we have a program called “First Wednesday.” On the (you guessed it!) first Wednesday of the month, we switch up our midweek Bible study and do a topical study with three different age groups. Staff members come and teach while we “beef” things up with games, music, and a dress-up theme. This year, [...]