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Teaching Children to Read with Discernment— When my three children rode off on their bikes for the first time on their own, I took a picture and promptly called my mom. This felt like a Big Moment. And yet, that Big Moment didn’t come out of the blue. My children had ridden in strollers, done “doughnuts” in our driveway on tricycles, gotten their first bikes accompanied by training wheels, and, finally, learned to ride a 2-wheeler sans training wheels. They were ready. But life is full of risk, isn’t it? This mama was glad to see them sail along [...]

Potluck Provides New Friendship!— The children’s ministry leadership training retreats are not just a time to be equipped with wise teaching and connected to excellent resources. They are an opportunity for the spirit of God to work and move in profound and creative ways. My first prayer as I prepare for the retreat is “Lord, let me be open to your movement. Open my eyes to any divine appointments you are preparing for me”. God keeps answering that prayer most emphatically by the “potluck” roommate He provides. For the past two years I have arrived at Ridge Haven not [...]

Why And How We Teach Our Children To Pray— My 15-month-old son Ezra has recently been throwing his hands up to motion “touchdown!” Neither his father nor I sat down and taught him to do this, but it makes sense. It is fall, football season is here, and the Burton family watches a lot of football. Ezra has watched us and watched friends that have come over cheer and celebrate, signaling our team has scored. In watching us, he’s learned to do the same. This is how our children learn a lot of things! They are always listening and [...]

A Vision for Visiting Families— “Where are your shoes?!” “We’re going to be late—just get in the car!” “Are any of my friends going to be there?” “I don’t want to go!” “I’m hungry. Will there be food there?” These are just a sample of the “conversations” that a new family, or honestly any family, may have on the way to church. Family meltdowns may frequently occur from the door of the house to the door of your church. This can definitely be true for a new family who is not in the rhythm of waking up early, getting [...]

Making Sundays Welcoming— My mother has served in children’s ministry for most of her life, leading programs at three different churches in the DC area: one as the volunteer Sunday School Superintendent, and two others as the full-time director of children’s ministry. I asked her to share some thoughts on making Sundays welcoming for visitors from a wide variety of backgrounds, particularly from unchurched or lightly-churched backgrounds. Can you give us a brief picture of the basics of Sunday morning children's programs at the churches you served? The three churches all offered two or three morning services with children’s [...]

Lots of Styles: Teaching to Engage a Variety of Learning Styles by Looking to the Master Teacher— This may be obvious, but everyone learns. And we all learn in a lot of different ways. If you studied education in the 1990s and early 2000s, you most likely learned about the three main learning styles: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. Later, they added read/write as a learning style. “Back in the day” we learned that each student had one primary way of learning all material. However, further research suggests that this model is not entirely correct. It turns out, we don’t [...]

Children and Worship: The Conversation of 2 Pastors— Part of our Grow Virtual Conference was a question-and-answer session between Stephen Estock and Josh Johnson. These two pastors discussed children and worship and the character of God seen in His name Yahweh. Please enjoy some of that conversation here. This is not verbatim, but represents the dialogue held that day. Stephen: I like the phrase you used in your talk: “Tiny voices saying true things.” It is a blessing to have children among us in the service. How can we respond to parents who say, “I don’t think my child [...]

Navigating Grief with Our Children— As parents, we often look forward to and even prepare for all the “firsts” in our children’s lives. Whether it’s first steps, first “big kid” bed, first day at school, or first job, we know those days will come. We anticipate them. We even prepare them for these “firsts,” coaching them through what to expect in kindergarten or from their boss at the local fast-food joint. But there are some “firsts” we’d rather not think about until it happens. Like the first time our child gets a cavity or breaks an arm. Or worse, [...]