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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 paragraphs I can help calm your fears and point you in the right direction. Special needs ministry is really about excellent hospitality. A simple definition of hospitality is the act of being friendly and welcoming to guest [...]

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 much too old for me (and way out of my league). I’m sure my parents hardly in favor of this heart devotion of mine! As Christian parents and grandparents, we understand that our children, in their foolish [...]

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 reality is a dangerous falsehood planted by the enemy. Instead, believers must recognize feelings for what they are, acknowledge them, analyze them, and work through them! The way we feel doesn’t change the reality of our identity, [...]

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, working with curriculum, planning events, and communicating with parents.   But now you have the added responsibility of writing, updating, or editing child safety policies and procedures. Many find this outside their skill set, and some find [...]

Engaging our Children in the PCA's 50th Anniversary Celebration— Although I’ve been a part of the PCA for over 20 years, I’ve had the opportunity to learn a great deal of history as I’ve entered into the role of Children’s Ministry Coordinator during the time the PCA is preparing to celebrate its 50th anniversary. I’m so thankful that the prayer subcommittee (Sue Pitzer, Susan Hunt, and Laura Dowling) wanted to include the prayers of the children in their efforts to gather our denomination in prayer next year. We tried to intentionally prepare the anniversary prayer calendar in a way [...]

Family Traditions— Yikes! It’s that busy, busy time of year—parties, play practices, Christmas concerts, cookie baking, shopping, wrapping, decorating—whew!  You may find yourself wondering, “How on earth can I do it all, make the holidays meaningful, and still survive?” Well, dear parent, let’s start off with taking a deep breath. Recognize that we all tend to feel this pressure. We want those things that “help to make the season bright.” As you make decisions about what you will do for this Christmas (and other holidays), I’d like to help you think through the purpose of traditions. We read in [...]

Illustrating Hymns for Young Hearts— My love of hymns began at a very young age. Both my parents have a great love for hymns and had a large impact on my desire for singing songs of praise that are packed with deep biblical truths. Growing up, I also had the opportunity to attend a classical Christian school for a number of years. As part of our education, we had a chapel service every Friday during which we had one hymn that we sang each week for a month. One year we had several guest speakers teach us about various hymn [...]