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Save the Date for LEAD Retreat— At CDM, we love connecting people to people and people to resources.  My favorite time to do this is at our annual children’s ministry retreat. One quote that was shared with a children’s ministry team member after this year’s retreat was, “It’s the one place I can come, and I don’t have to explain myself.”  I’m so thankful for this encouraging, beautiful, worshipful gathering each year. These are a few of my favorite things I saw at the retreat this year. Laughter around the fire pit First time attenders being drawn in [...]

Creative Ways to Teach the Apostles Creed— The Apostles’ Creed is a great tool to teach children about God, what we know to be true about him and the promises he makes to his people. The structure in which the Creed is written–Father, Son and Holy Spirit–also provides a helpful framework for children to understand the Trinity. But teaching the creed sounds challenging, right? The language alone might make the creed feel like too much to tackle with concrete learners like preschoolers and younger elementary students. But I really like the flexibility the Apostles’ Creed offers to bring in [...]

Honest Grief and Hopeful Joy— It’s been one week since the tragedy at Covenant School in Nashville. The grief is still fresh, and we all feel deeply for each family impacted. Worship felt a little sweeter yesterday, and Holy Week will have special meaning as we remember the six lives taken too early. We are all praying for Covenant Presbyterian in Nashville as they confidently draw near to the throne of grace that they may receive mercy and find grace to help in their time of need (Hebrews 4:16). This picture of my mom and niece was taken during [...]

The Importance of Summer Ministry— If you’ve yet to watch my short 3-minute video on the importance of summer ministry, click here to watch it and get a quick overview of what I’d like to share with you here. First, in the midst of our very busy schedules, why in the world should we do summer ministry? Isn’t summer a time to recoup from the past year’s hectic programs? Isn’t summer a time to spend with family and friends, enjoying the relationships He has given us, and getting our “tanks” filled back up by enjoying each other’s company, laughing, [...]

The Four E's of Why You Should Train Your Volunteers— When I talk to children’s ministry leaders around the country about volunteer recruitment, I always say one of the best ways to recruit and keep volunteers is to train them! There are many reasons why training volunteers can be challenging: it is hard to gather people together; it’s expensive; the church calendar gets filled up with other events, etc. While these reasons and others may tempt you to not host regular trainings, I want to share four reasons why I think training your children’s ministry volunteers is one of the most [...]

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 husband responded, “That’s my wife. She didn’t know you only sit on the left side.” Does your church have hidden “codes” that make a person feel unwelcomed? It’s easy for church members to get accustomed to the [...]

Home and Church Resources for Easter— Holidays are one of the best times for us to connect home and church as we partner in the discipleship of children. Easter is coming quickly as evidenced by the amount of candy, baskets, bunnies, and eggs we see in stores! Our families aren’t going to find good resources there to teach their children about why we celebrate Easter. As children’s directors, we can take the lead in finding good books, themes, and activities that will help our families celebrate the resurrection of Jesus! We can then share these resources for events at [...]