Welcoming New Families to Church— I once visited a church where my husband was speaking. We arrived early, and I sat on a pew on the right side. When people came in, everyone sat on the left side. I was the only person on the right side the whole evening. A student whispered, “Who’s that person sitting on the right side?” My [...]

Stories and Stickers: Growing up with Reachout Adventures— Every summer for one week my little church in south Mississippi would be transformed. Some years it became a mountain campsite, others years it was a seaport, still others an Olympic stadium, or even an outpost in the far-flung reaches of Outer Space. As a little girl, this was truly magical. As an adult [...]

Why VBS?  A Summer Discipleship Opportunity— Lately, as I have been working on some personal health goals, I keep getting asked, “What is your why?” It has been a good question. Slowing down to think about what motivates me to do the hard work on these goals has helped me to identify the most important reasons, and it has helped me stay focused. I’ve been asking myself this same question as I’m starting to plan [...]

The 5 P's of Volunteer Recruitment— Do you feel like recruiting volunteers is a never-ending task? Do you dread the “no’s”? Do you feel like people avoid you because they think you’re going to ask them to serve? These are all too familiar to most Children’s Ministry leaders. Volunteers serving out of duty rather than delight is a stark contrast to most [...]

Starting a Special Needs Ministry— Many of us feel overwhelmed when it comes to the idea of starting up a special needs ministry. We may think, “I don’t have any training in that area!” In the same breath, we realize that we simply can’t leave any children out, and so, however fearfully, we dive in. I hope that in the next few [...]

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 perfectly summed up my allegiance to a woman who was [...]

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 rejected and unloved. This idea that our feelings dictate our [...]

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 you know how to do, like recruiting and training volunteers, [...]