Kids Ministry

Dedicated to helping Kids Ministry leaders in their mission of making disciples

Encouragement, Encouraging, Kids Ministry

20 Things Teachers Should Say to Their Kids

By

Here’s 20 simple things teachers can say to their kids to encourage them each week:

  1. I am glad you’re here.
  2. It’s OK that you weren’t here last week, but we missed you. 
  3. How was your week?
  4. Tell me about yourself. 
  5. I love being part of this group.
  6. I don’t know.
  7. Let’s find that out together. 
  8. Can I help you find that verse?
  9. Do you understand what that means?
  10. It’s OK to have questions about God. 
  11. I struggle with this too. 
  12. I love you.
  13. God loves you.
  14. Trust in Jesus.
  15. In Christ, you are forgiven by God no matter what. 
  16. In Christ, you are accepted by God no matter what. 
  17. How can I pray for you?
  18. Let’s pray about that.
  19. Nothing is more important than God. 
  20. See you next week! 
Encouragement, Encouraging, Kids Ministry, Ministry

What We Need Now More Than Anything

By

By Aaron Armstrong

Back in the far-off days of December 2020, there was a greater sense of anticipation about the coming year than I’ve seen in a long time. And it’s no surprise why: For many of us, 2020 was a gigantic dumpster fire. The pandemic and its fall out disrupted our regular patterns of life at every level. Concerns over the possibility of a loss of employment or becoming sick abound. We may not know from week-to-week if our churches will meet in person, in doors or outside, online or not at all. We keep expecting a return to normal, or at least some sense of a new normal. But neither has emerged yet. (Maybe next week?)

We are tired. Frustrated. And, frankly, more than a little discouraged.

And by “we,” I most definitely include me.

Numbing Our Discouragement

It’s really tempting to look for something to escape into when discouragement and frustration set in; something to bring some kind of relief, or to help temporarily forget everything going on in the world. Whether it’s a TV show to binge, a new hobby, or even spending more time going down different rabbit trails on social media, we all do it. (No judgment—I do it too.) I’m definitely not anti-entertainment. I often read crime novels and comic books to unwind. I listen to podcasts that make me laugh. And I even have a couple of games on my phone. Entertainment is good and fine, so don’t read what I’m not writing here.

Entertainment is good and fine. But we need something greater when dealing with ongoing frustration, anxiety, disappointment, or discouragement, like so many of us are facing right now. Something stronger. We need to be encouraged in and through the gospel.

What it Means to Encourage in the Gospel

That might sound like a strange bit of “Christianese,” the internal language that so many Christians use when talking about matters of faith, but it is anything but. It’s meant to ground our efforts to encourage one another, to provide encouragement a stronger foundation than general kindness. To offer true hope, rather than wishful thinking or simple platitudes.

And what is that hope? Ultimately, that hope is the gospel itself. The fact that Jesus lived, died, and lives again, that because Jesus is alive and the king of the universe, we have the best reason to maintain hope than anyone. And as we face discouragement in any area of life, but especially in ministry, it’s essential that we bring one another back to the gospel, taking what we are facing and experiencing, and look at it through its lens.

How Not to Encourage One Another

Okay, so what does that look like? Well, maybe it’s better to start with what it doesn’t look like. Encouraging one another in the gospel doesn’t look like:

  • Offering platitudes, however well meaning. While it is good to know that “God’s got this,” it can come across as dismissive. (Ditto, “thoughts and prayers.”)
  • Unintentional Bible-shaming. Reminding one another that our momentary sufferings are incomparable to the riches of Christ. While true (I mean, it is in the Bible for a reason), there is a time when even the most profound truth can be profoundly unhelpful.
  • Undesired problem solving. This is especially complicated: a desire to help and offer advice is a good thing. But sometimes our desire to help isn’t what’s needed in the moment.

That’s the negative side, but to be clear, none of it is malicious. It’s hard to imagine anyone offering a “God’s got this” or a Bible verse with the intent of causing further harm. It’s all based in a good desire, just poor execution.

How to Encourage One Another

Now, what about the positive? A couple of important caveats: First, nothing you’re going to see on this list is going to be earth shattering. There’s a reason for that: this kind of encouragement is often much simpler to do than we might think. Our bigger issue is that we overthink how to encourage one another! Second, you might even find some of the advice here to be contradictory, but there’s a reason for that too—just context and circumstances determine if we are to answer or not answer foolish talk and thinking (Prov. 26:4–5), context and circumstances determine our approach to encouraging one another. With caveats in place, here are five ways we can encourage one another:

  • Check in. You might be surprised at how much just receiving a text or even an email goes to a discouraged person (even if they don’t realize it).
  • Weeping with those who weep. Sometimes that can be enough. Whether via phone call, a zoom meeting, or in-person, when another believer is struggling with discouragement, something the best thing we can do is listen. Don’t try to fix a problem, just be present, as one who weeps with those who weep (Rom. 12:15), as one being willing to bear the burdens of another (Gal. 6:2).
  • Pray for the discouraged (and tell them how). As much as possible, the best thing you can do is to be specific in sharing how you’re praying. If it is someone you know well, you likely know what they may be dealing with. But even if you don’t know specifically what someone needs, you can bet the Holy Spirit will—and often He leads us to share the very thing that the discouraged needs to hear.
  • Challenge false thinking. Sometimes we are discouraged because we’re not thinking correctly. As we seek to listen carefully and sensitively, we want to look for ways to lovingly challenge wrong thinking. Sometimes this means saying something that a discouraged friend, coworker, fellow church member, or a pastor may not want to hear, but we do so because “the wounds of a friend are trustworthy” (Prov. 27:6).

A Personal Experience of Encouragement

A few weeks ago, I received a message from a coworker in another area of our organization, letting me know they were praying for me in my work with The Gospel Project, and that God would help me to persevere as we seek to come alongside churches here at Lifeway. I’ve been generally feeling pretty okay over the last few months, but I’ll tell you, I had no idea how much I needed to read that until I did. It was life-giving for me.

Think about it: who in your life needs encouragement right now? Maybe it’s your pastor. It could be your spouse, child, or another family member. Maybe it’s a coworker. Whomever comes to mind, take a moment and reach out. Be present and available, encouraging them in the gospel as you come alongside to help carry their burden.

Aaron Armstrong is the Brand Manager of The Gospel Project, and the author of several books including Epic: The Story that Changed the World, Awaiting a Savior, and the screenwriter of the documentary Luther: the Life and Legacy of the German Reformer. Follow him on Twitter.

Encouragement, Encouraging, Kids Ministry

Encouragement—When Things are Tough in Kids Ministry

By

By Shelly Harris

Confession Time: I have wanted to quit serving in Kids Ministry … on more than one occasion. I clearly remember sitting in my car one Sunday after church saying to myself and the Lord, “I want to quit. I really, really, really want to walk away, but I made a commitment.” I’m also pretty sure I hit the steering wheel a couple of times in frustration.

Chances are at some point in ministry, you will feel the same way. The last year has been incredibly difficult for everyone, church leaders included. I have watched many children’s leaders pour themselves into reaching families while facing smaller budgets, fewer volunteers, intense health and safety regulations, and unrealistic expectations from just about everyone. 

So when that moment of discouragement or frustration comes, here are a few tips to remember.

Keep Your Cool. Don’t make a major life decision in the heat of the moment. Control your tongue. Emotions are powerful. They can be wonderful. And they can lead us astray. Examine what you are feeling and evaluate. Is the emotion temporary and based on a single, isolated event? Was it just a bad day? Is this emotion constant and based on repetitive events? Is God using this emotion to show you a change that needs to be made within you or within your ministry? Stuffing your emotions away will only increase your frustration. Feel. Process. Release.

Take a Time Out. It is hard to schedule time away while serving in kids ministry. But healthy leaders do exactly that. You need a day off once in a while. Spend some time with your family or a friend who makes you laugh. Take a break. Breathe. Relax.

Refuel. Open God’s Word and read. Pray. Listen to the Lord. Allow Him to refuel and refresh your heart and mind. Eat a meal. Get a full night’s sleep. Refuel yourself spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically. 

Get Back in the Game. I have found that often my most frustrating experiences in ministry are usually followed by an encouraging experience. The Lord sends a hug through a 5 year old. A typically grumpy parent will say “thank you.” All of the tech equipment will work properly for the day. A kid will trust me enough to ask a question they have about God. Those little moments of grace are enough to remind me that the mission is still to make disciples and that calling hasn’t changed. So remember Matthew 28:19-20, and press on toward the prize.

Encouragement, Encouraging, Kids Ministry

Dust Storms, Pandemics, and Kids Ministry

By

Growing up on the South Plains of West Texas, I always knew that March and April would bring high winds and lots of dust in the air. My mother still lives in my hometown and claims the dust storms clear the air—that once the gritty dirt settles, the air is fresh and clean.

Pandemics, I’m beginning to sense, are like dust storms in some ways. When you’re in the middle of them, you can’t see past the end of your nose. However, once the dust settles, kids ministry may be fresh with a sense of newness. Nonetheless, we’re still in the midst of the COVID-19 storm, so what can we do now to prepare for the clear skies that are sure to follow?

  1. Focus on your relationship with God. Now is definitely not the time to slack off reading and studying God’s Word, as well as spending time with God in prayer. Once the storm passes, we’ll need to be prepared for what’s next in kids ministry. Neglecting personal discipleship now will hinder our future ability to be in tune with God’s will.
  2. Take care of your physical and mental health. When you purchase a pre-owned vehicle in West Texas, look under the hood. If you see a lot of dust, you know that the car may not have been maintained properly. If we don’t take care of ourselves now, we may discover we have neither the strength nor energy to lead a vibrant kids ministry.
  3. Stay in contact with families. Families are hurting and grieving loss. They need ministry, now. If we wait until the dust settles to ramp up individual and corporate communication with families, we may send the unintended message that we care about them only when they show up in-person.
  4. Redefine ministry success. We may not want to admit this, but we often measure success by the number of kids in attendance. A post-pandemic kids ministry may appear smaller; however, that doesn’t mean God is not using you still to reach, teach, and minister to kids and their families.
  5. Clean up your ministry calendar. Perhaps for the first time in your ministry, you have the opportunity to start over. The pressure to keep a program alive will be lessened in a post-COVID world. Focus on what is important and build your ministry calendar from there. 

Anytime I think about moving back to the home of my youth, I quickly remember the taste and smell of blowing sand between my teeth and in my nostrils. I also think about the fresh air and beautiful sunsets made possible by the dust. There is no doubt that the current pandemic and the suffering it is causing is serious and painful. However, let’s not dwell on and complain about the storm. Instead, let’s look forward to a kids ministry that is fresh and focused.

_________________________

Landry Holmes is the Manager of Lifeway Kids Ongoing Bible Studies and Network Partnerships, Nashville, TN, and is a graduate of Howard Payne University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. The author of It’s Worth It: Uncovering How One Week Can Transform Your Church and a general editor of the Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary for Kids, Landry is a church leader, writer, workshop facilitator, and publisher. He teaches kids at his church in Middle Tennessee, where his wife Janetta is the Preschool Minister. They enjoy spending time with their two adult sons and their wives, and spoiling their five grandchildren.

Encouragement, Encouraging, Family, Kids Ministry

Who Does God Want to Be for You?

By

By Sarah Humphrey

The lives of children are complexly simple. They are also beautifully honest.

The presence of children in our lives nurtures a part of our hearts that we’ve often left behind somewhere. They always seem to ask just the right questions to make adults think twice, gather themselves, or sometimes even get frustrated. It’s as if God gave us children, not only because they are a delight from Him, but also because they are the truth-telling witness we often need.

I’ve had countless experiences where my kids have ministered to me when I was supposed to be ministering to them! I bet you have, too. Children are full of thoughts, they take the Bible literally and believe it, and their black and white thinking is often a beautiful source of faith, conviction, and grace.  As adults and caregivers, we can get so overwhelmed by the details that we forget the beauty of the Gospel is in the presence of these little ones. They often point us back to our own need for our Father, and they give us grace to rest in Him again.

The world is a different place now than it was when we were children.  Though kids are facing some similar needs, they are also facing many new challenges.  That can feel both overwhelming and also all-encompassing.  One of my favorite questions when I struggle is: “Who does God want to be for me right now?” I’ve started to ask my kids the same question when we work through different struggles, fears, and cycles of defeat.

When we aren’t able to do things ourselves, we become desperate for a God who can save us. And when we reach that point, we re-learn our faith. We get to ask Jesus: “Who do You want to be for me in this place? How do You want to show Yourself to me? Where I am insufficient, where are You all-sufficient?” This is the God of the Bible; He is Jesus. He is the King of Kings, the All-Powerful One, and the Maker of Heaven and Earth.  It’s these times that we remember that He is God, and He wants to provide for us.

Take 30 minutes and spend time making an opposites list with your kids.  Ask them to write down anywhere from 1-5 struggles they might be having currently.  After they have named where they lack, go to the Bible and find the Name of God or the Bible verse that fulfills their need.  Have them write it down or make an art piece about it, and hang it up somewhere they can see it often.  God is good, and His delight is in providing for His children.

Sarah is a wife and homeschool mom to three kids while also working as an artist, author, and voice actor.  Her writing and doodling can be found in her devotional, “40 Days to a Joyful Motherhood” and her voice in several commercials, children’s books, and audiobooks. She loves encouraging women and kids to embrace self-care, utilize their gifts, and become leaders in the community around them. 

Christmas, Crafts, Encouragement, Encouraging, Family Ministry, Fun, Kids Ministry, Ministry, Preschool, Small Groups, Special Needs, Sunday School, Teacher Appreciation, Teaching Kids, Uncategorized, Volunteers
Devotional, Encouraging, Family, Kids Ministry, Leadership, Parent Helps, Parenting

9 Tips for Family Devotions

By

Family Devotions are a time of worship. They look different for each family. One family’s devotion time may look different than another family’s devotion time. The family’s schedule, number of children, and age of children are some of the factors impacting what the family devotion looks like. Typically, a family devotion time includes, reading a Bible story from the Bible, singing songs, and praying, Use the nine tips below for beginning and maintaining a regular family devotion time:

  1. Intentionally Schedule Devotions. Make this time a priority by writing it on your calendar. While looking at the calendar, select a time that works best for your family, such as at breakfast, in the evening, or during the day.
  2. Be Realistic. Keep in mind the ages and developmental stages of your children. Devotions with young preschoolers will look very different than families with school-age children. Family devotions can range from a few minutes up to 15 minutes.
  3. Plan your time together. Consider using your child’s activity pages from church as a starting point. Select a Bible story to read and review. Choose a Bible verse to learn together as a family. Write down worship songs your family can sing together.
  4. Be Flexible. Family devotions will not always go according to plan. The important point to remember is that your family is spending time with God.
  5. Give Yourself Grace. If you miss the family devotion one day, give yourself grace. Start back fresh the next day to help establish the routine.
  6. Be Creative. If a family member isn’t able to be present due to travel or schedule, use technology to include him/her in the family devotion time. Technology can also be used to include grandparents and other out of town family and friends from time to time.
  7. Keep Devotions Fresh. Include variety in your family devotions. After reading the Bible story, incorporate activities such as making a Bible marker or playing a game to review the Bible verse.
  8. Focus on the Bible. The Bible is central to the family devotion. Use a Bible translation your child can understand. Allow him to hold the Bible, and to help find and read the Bible passage.
  9. Reinforce Lessons During Daily Activities. As opportunities arise throughout the day, remind your child of what you have been talking about and learned during family devotions.

Helpful resources to use in Family Devotions:

Read to Me Bible:  Use the prepared Bible stories to read to your preschooler.

The Big Picture Interactive Bible:  Use the downloadable free app to scan the illustration to watch and hear the Bible story come to life visually and audibly.

Bible Skills for Kids and Levels of Biblical Learning:  Resources to help parents understand age-appropriate biblical skills and concepts.

Lifeway Kids Curriculum App:  This free app includes games, puzzles, and content to help reinforce kids’ Sunday School lessons at home.

In Deuteronomy 6:4-7, the Bible shares that parents are to teach their children about God. They are the primary spiritual leaders of their family. Parents have the most significant influence on a child’s life and development. When parents make family devotions a priority, children learn to love the Lord their God with their heart, their soul, and their strength. What other ways can we as kids ministry leaders support and equip parents?

Delanee Williams serves as a Ministry Specialist with Lifeway Kids. She is a graduate of Baylor University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.  Delanee has served in kids ministry for over twenty years and is passionate about developing, equipping and encouraging leaders.

Encouraging, Kids Ministry, Leadership, Sunday School

Can’t We All Just Get Along? Navigating Teacher-Child Conflicts

By

Teach preschoolers or elementary kids long enough, and you’ll discover that not all children think you hung the moon. In fact, you may have difficulty even liking an individual child. Not liking a child doesn’t mean you don’t love him or her. However, if you find yourself hoping that a certain child is on vacation every Sunday of the year, then maybe you have a problem with liking that particular kid.

Fortunately God loves the child you are in conflict with, and God loves you. Because of that love, God sent His Son Jesus to rescue both you and the child who seems bent on making your life miserable. Most the time that kid doesn’t intend to be your nemesis. The child’s actions that lead to conflict are seldom, if ever, premeditated.

Through the years, I have taught workshops on classroom management, discipline, and positive guidance. There are definitely some techniques that equip us as teachers to navigate teacher-child conflicts. However, what do you do when none of those techniques work? When the conflict seems to be ongoing, week after week? I offer five suggestions:

  • Make your goal teaching kids the Bible, not being liked by every child.
  • Remember that conflict with a child is the direct result of a sinful, fallen world.
  • Pray for the child’s heart, not for self-preservation.
  • Practice biblical classroom management, even when nothing seems to be working.
  • Focus on the child’s strengths and positive traits.

Above all, remember that Jesus loves you even when your own actions are at odds with God’s Word. Extend to challenging kids the same grace that God offers you through Christ Jesus.

Landry Holmes is the Manager of Lifeway Kids Ministry Publishing, Nashville, TN. A graduate of Howard Payne University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Landry served on church staffs before coming to Lifeway. He is a church leader, writer, workshop facilitator, and publisher.  Landry  also teaches children at his church in Middle Tennessee. He and his wife Janetta are the grandparents of two adorable grand-babies.

Encouraging, Kids Ministry, Leadership

Why Relationships are Important

By

I’ve been involved in some type of ministry to children for over 25 years. I’ve seen many kids grow from infants to now having children of their own. One of the more challenging adventures in children’s ministry, but the most rewarding, is building relationships with the kids you minister to. If you are lucky enough to stay in a ministry environment for any length of time, you get the added benefit of building those relationships on a deeper level.

Relationship can be defined as the connection between two or more objects, ideas, or people. The root idea of relationship comes through connection. The key to building those relationships lies in making valuable connections with the kids you minister to. These relationships are important as you get to know kids and build their trust. Once they trust you, they will better hear and listen to your teaching and ministry goals.

Here are a baker’s dozen tips in building those lasting relationships.

  1. Respect: Respect is a necessity for any type of relationship you form to be successful. Showing respect to kids is a valuable tool in building a relationship of trust and security, something that all kids need to feel while at church. That respect will also grow both ways as girls and boys begin to show you the same respect you show them.
  2. Experiences: As someone in ministry you get to create the experiences that boys and girls have while at church. Those experiences, and your participation in them, will be a great tool in making connections with kids.
  3. Learning: Be an active learner of the kids you minister. Find out their likes and dislikes. Know what they read, watch on TV, and play on their game consoles. Be a learner.
  4. Active: Kids ministry is active. Anytime you can, within reason, participate actively in games and other adventures kids are involved in.
  5. Truthful: This should go without saying, but you need to always be truthful with kids. Kids know when we are not being truthful and may begin to doubt and thus hamper the relationship building that is taking place.
  6. Imaginative: Kids have wonderful imaginations and, as a leader in their ministry, affirm ideas that they come up with. Try new things no matter how silly they might sometimes seem. Playing along with imaginative play will go a long way in building those relationships.
  7. Observant: Be observant of a kids demeanor and attitude. Has something changed? Can you pinpoint what it is? Talk about it with kids. As you are observant kids will appreciate the time you spend taking notice of them.
  8. Nice: Again, this should be fairly obvious but you should always be nice. Sometimes we like to joke around with kids and in a way may inadvertently hurt someone’s feelings. This ties back in with respect from earlier and as we talk with and share with boys and girls we should always do it in a nice respectful manner.
  9. Sticky: Being sticky simply means that relationships are a tight knit bond. If you are a sticky friend, you will not leave someone in need without a helping hand. Sticky friends have great relationships.
  10. Helpful: Be helpful. If you see someone in the hall struggling to carry things, jump right in there and help them out. If you see someone down in the dumps, jump right in there and chat with them. Being helpful is a subtle way of telling someone that they are important to you and will certainly build that relationship bond.
  11. Individualistic: You surely know that each person is an individual and has her own specific needs and desires. Treat each kid you connect with as an individual and don’t compare them to other friends, siblings, or adults you know.
  12. Polite: Just another catchy way of saying respect! Politeness shows a respect of others and is another strong way to build relationships.
  13. Supportive: Supports are used to make sure a structure doesn’t fall over. As a supportive friend you help a child maintain his ability to stand tall and not fall over. Support a child’s dreams and aspirations and be known as someone who will keep them firm and solid.

Work to build those relationships with boys and girls and watch as they begin to share with you in many new and exciting ways. As an example of Christ to the girls and boys you lead building strong relationships will serve them well.

Tim Pollard teaches 3rd graders at Tulip Grove Baptist Church. He’s passionate about helping kids dig deep into Scripture, which he pursues through his daily work as leader of the Explore the Bible: Kids team. Tim lives with his wife and daughters in Mount Juliet, TN.

Encouraging, Kids Ministry, What We're Reading

These Three Things: The Eternal Importance of Faith, Hope, and Love

By

Welcome guest blogger,2012headshotcolor Amy Parker!

“But the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13 HCSB).

From those seven words, the book How Big Is Love? was born.

But later, as I read that verse in context: “Now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love,” something struck me. Who knows how many times I had read those words before? But this time, I was urged to dig deeper.

“These three remain.” What exactly did that mean?

The NASB says, “Faith, hope, and love, abide these three.” The NLT translates, “Three things will last forever . . .” And I realized then—as a mom, as a children’s author—if these are the three things that “remain,” that “abide,” that “last forever,” shouldn’t these be the three things our children learn first and foremost? Even above colors or numbers or letters, these three things will be carried into eternity. These are not things simply to teach to their minds; these are things that we need to impart to their souls.

With that realization, my job as a mom and an author grew infinitely more important. And so I began.

With simple questions, asked by curious children and answered by loving parents, these three books give little ones a safe place to explore these three things that they’ll carry with them throughout eternity.

“Mama?” Little One whispered. “Where do you find faith? Is it far, far away?”

“Papa?” Little One asked. “How high does hope go?”

“Mama?” Little One asked through a yawn. “How big is love?”

I am not a perfect parent. (Oh me. SO not.) I am so very not a perfect author. But I do know that I got this right.

These three things: this is where we begin.

With these three things, we lay the foundation for everything else—our relationship with God, perseverance through this crazy world, and how to treat everyone we’ll encounter along the way. Everything in this world and the wonderful world that awaits comes down to these three things.

Faith. Hope. Love.

These three things remain . . . abide . . . last forever.

Let’s start there.

Amy Parker has written more than twenty books for children, teens, and adults including My Christmas List, the best-selling A Night Night Prayer, and two Christian Retailing’s Best award winners. Amy and her husband have two children.

All Ministry Sites

Leadership
Kids Ministry
Student Ministry
Groups Ministry
Women’s Ministry
Worship Ministry

Digital Resources

Ministry Grid
Lifeway Worship
Digital Church
KidEvent Pro
MyCurriculum Manager
Simulcast Manager
Lifeway Reader eBooks
Generosity
WORDsearch
SmallGroup.com

Lifeway Network

Lifeway Research
B&H