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Discipleship, Parenting
December 2, 2019

From How to Who: Unscrambling the Parent Discipleship Paradox

By Brian Dembowczyk

One of the greatest ways we can help the kids in our ministries is by helping their parents be better disciplers. But perhaps we usually do that the wrong way: by focusing on tools and techniques rather than on the parents’ own relationship with Christ. In this blog post we use Deut. 6:4-9 as the template showing our greater need to focus on “who” than “how.”

I’m convinced that most of our parents know that they are the primary disciplers of their kids. I’m further convinced that most of our parents want to disciple their kids. But I also know that most (well, perhaps many would be less cynical) of our parents don’t disciple their kids—at least not to a meaningful degree. 

The best impact we can make on our kids is to encourage and equip parents for their role in discipling their kids. What we do with kids matters—a great deal—but if I had just one hour to make a difference in a kid’s life, I would spend those 60 minutes with her parents. But here is what I would not do during that hour: I would not spend all of it talking about how to do family worship or giving the parents resources. Those are really important, but I would reserve only the last few minutes for them. Rather, I would spend the bulk of the time focused on the topic I believe would make the greatest difference—the one which I think we are missing which is why we continue to see a lack of family discipleship. 

Parents don’t need to understand the how of family discipleship as much as they need to understand the who of family discipleship—more specifically, who they, the parents, are in Christ. You anchor that in a parent’s heart, and you give him or her what is needed to disciple. The how must follow this who. 

We see this pattern of “who then how” in the Shema, Deuteronomy 6:4-9. Notice that as a parent, I don’t see a how action point until verse 7. The first three verses—half of the passage—concern my relationship with God. God is not so subtle in His point here, is He? 

Let me go theological nerd on you for a minute—I trust you will appreciate why shortly. In Hebrew writing there is a literary device called the chiasm. Basically think of a chiasm as a sideways pyramid with the point to the right. Each layer of that pyramid relates to the mirrored one. As I study the Shema, I see a chiasm that amplifies the “who then how” principle of parent discipleship:

  • a1) A parent’s love for God (4-5)
    • b1) A parent’s love of the gospel (6)
      • c1) A parent’s grasp of the gospel (6-7)
      • c2) Repeating the gospel in structured ways (7)
    • b2) Talking about the gospel as you go in unstructured ways (7)
  • a2) Living marked by the gospel (8-9)

Let’s start from the inside, the “c” level, the hinge between who and how, and work back out. In verse 6 God tells parents that His words—the Scriptures, which I have labeled “the gospel” which is what the Scriptures are about—are to be on our hearts. On the surface, that means parents are to love the gospel, but inferred here is our need to know the gospel. You cannot love what you do not know. As a parent then—as a follower of Jesus—I need to be spending time in the Word. I need to grow in my understanding of it, which will fuel my love for it. Notice the parent discipleship action connected with it in verse 7—repeating the gospel to our kids in planned, structured ways. That makes total sense, doesn’t it? The more we know the gospel, the more we will be able and apt to repeat it to our kids. Just as you cannot love what you do not know, neither can you repeat what you do not know. So the first thing parents need to understand in order to disciple their kids is that they need to be immersed in God’s Word themselves. As a parent, I need to be a student of the Bible. That who will drive the how. 


The next level, the “b” level, is also found in verses 6 and 7. As we come to know the gospel more and more, our love for it grows proportionally. This prevailing sense of awe of what God has done through Christ is what will lead us as parents to talk about the gospel as we go—in our normal rhythms of life. When our hearts are saturated with love, joy, and gratitude for God’s kindness to us in Christ, how can we not talk about the gospel with our kids? If Jesus is our greatest treasure, how can we not share that treasure with our children? The question of what we have to do as parents in terms of discipleship becomes meaningless. “Have to” gives way to “want to” and “get to.” We want to share the gospel with our kids as part of our daily lives and we are grateful we get to do that. Once again, we see the who driving the how. 

That takes us to the final level, the “a” level, the coupling of verse 4-5 with 8-9. As we spend time in the Scriptures coming to know and love the gospel more, we will naturally come to love the Author of the Gospel more. The same “who then how” principle is at play here. The how of the gospel is critical, but it is secondary to the who of the gospel: God. The gospel compels us to love God fully—with all of our being (heart, soul, and strength). And when we do, our lives will change. We will want God to change us through the power of the gospel and live it out to bring Him glory. And as we do so, we become people marked by the gospel. The gospel becomes our core identifier, not our nationality, ethnicity, socio-economic level, or anything else. Those are not unimportant descriptors, neither are they necessarily bad. But they are not our core sense of identity. Our who rests squarely in the gospel. This is what is in mind when God says that the gospel is to be bound on our hands and foreheads and it is to be written on our doorposts and city gates. The gospel should inform all that we think and do, and it is to be an identifier of our homes, like a house address, and of our communities. The who of being a parent who loves God drives the how of living on mission for God with our families. 
This is what our parents need to know: it all starts with who they are—people who know the gospel, love the gospel, and love the God of the gospel. The how flows from that.

Brian Dembowczyk is the managing editor for The Gospel Project. He served in local church ministry for over 16 years before coming to LifeWay. Brian earned an M.Div. from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and a D.Min. from the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He and his family live in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

Family Ministry, Kids Ministry, Parenting
September 12, 2019

Guiding kids and parents from Kids Ministry to Student Ministry

By Kids Ministry 101

Guest Blogger Kimberly Wells shares tips to help kids and parents navigate the transition between kids ministry and student ministry.

Every year around this time, kids and parents make the transition from kids ministry to youth ministry. This may seem like a normal, expected move, but it can make significant waves in the life of a child. This is the moment where they move out of comfort into uncertainty, away from trusted teachers and systems to something new, and being on the top to back to the bottom. Not to mention all of the emotional, physical, and mental changes kids are experiencing. As a kidmin leader, I cannot take a lackadaisical approach to this epic moment in our kids’ lives. 

We know kids ministry is more directed to working with parents whereas student ministry works more with the students attending. Because of this, it is crucial to guide both parents and kids effectively into student ministry. In my time on church staff, this movement requires more thought and preparation than almost anything else.

Here are three tips that I have found to be helpful for this transition: 

  1. Communicate!  Both parents and kids struggle in today’s time to balance school, work, extracurriculars and the like. It is even more imperative than ever to communicate effectively. In our ministry, we communicate in various mediums: written, weekly emails, social media, announcement TVs, and info kiosks. We want our parents to have multiple avenues to knowing what is going on in each ministry. In order to help parents and kids transition to student ministry, communicating what major dates are happening as far as promotion, events, and other important details, will mean a lot.
  2. Give space to discover. Schedule out time to give the kids space to discover who will lead them the next several years in a fun and engaging way. This requires kid and student ministers to work together to meet the kids moving up, like attending small groups, camps, VBS, and so forth. Start planning early, the summer is a great time to give the student ministry staff facetime in front of the preteen kids. Invite their current leaders to be a part and a source of encouragement to kids while also passing information to the new leaders.
  3. Provide intentional opportunities to belong. The junior high small group leaders play a vital role in allowing kids to feel like they belong. Cast vision to new small group leaders to spend time investing in the new students, knowing their extracurricular schedule, and making time to attend and support their small group kids. Invite them to begin praying over their new kids, especially if they know their names in advance. Plan fun events where kids and parents can meet the new staff like a breakfast before church or fun game nights. 

We know kids have a choice when they move into student ministry if they are going to continue deepening their walk with Jesus or move away. If kids and student ministers work together to help communicate effectively to parents, give space for kids to discover the next ministry, and offer intentional opportunities, we can not only help kids move to a new ministry, but also grow deeper in their walk with Jesus and the local church. 

Kimberly Wells has over 17 years of kid min experience, serving churches in England, Wisconsin, and Texas for the last 10 years. She and her husband, Tim, currently serve on staff at First Baptist Wylie, Tx.  She enjoys a good cup of coffee, board games and traveling. She has a deep desire for kids to know Jesus, own their faith, and change their world for the Gospel.

Kids Ministry, Leadership, Parenting
March 11, 2019

Camp Creates Courageous Parents

By Jeremy Echols

As a leader in kids ministry, you’ve seen kids “grow up” at camp, but did you know camp creates courageous parents too?

Camp is an amazing environment for kids to get out of their normal routine, try something new, explore a new place, and make lifelong memories. Every summer we see kids do brave things like trying a zip line, jump off the diving board, or in some cases, their courage is tested by just traveling on the bus and staying away from home for a few nights.  

While the kids are away at camp, some parents breathe a sigh of relief … but most parents wonder, worry, and have to face fears of their own! Will my child like any of the food in the dining hall? Will my daughter make new friends? Will my son shower at some point during the week?

We love to encourage kids to grow through the camp experience, but parents can grow too. Here are some challenges that a Kids Ministry leader can give parents in your pre-camp information meetings. Encourage parents to grow, and give them support as you challenge them to:

  1. Send your child to an overnight camp without you. This is a huge step for some parents and not as big a deal for others. As a kidmin leader, you must discern where the parent/child readiness is here.
  2. Invest in your child spiritually at home, even if you don’t know all the answers. Your kids ministry teaching is wonderful, but a parent investing at home is so much more valuable than what we can do at camp or at church.
  3. Trust other people like a church leader or summer staff to pour into your child spiritually. It takes a team, and sometimes a new face or new place at camp will uncover a wonderful discipleship conversation where camp staffers and church leaders contribute to a child’s spiritual growth.
  4. Allow your child some independence. Give parents a packing list, but encourage them to allow their kids to make their own clothes selections and eating selection in a stay away situation like camp.  
  5. Make the necessary sacrifices. For some families, it means sacrificing time at the beach or the pool. For other families, they have to make financial sacrifices to afford to send a child (or children) to camp. Help parents see the importance of camp and be courageous to trust God with their time and finances because of the powerful spiritual impact camp can have on kids.

For parents who are not sending their kids away for the very first time, there may be different opportunities for growth. It could be that going to camp and investing in the whole group, eating camp food, and staying in the dorm is the courageous move. For parents who cannot go away to camp, they may need to be courageous enough to allow some distance and NOT call their child every day at camp. This might help the child be more courageous with leaving home and grow through the feelings of homesickness.

Jeremy Echols leads the camps area for LifeWay Kids. He, his wife Emily, and their precious daughter love their church, their neighborhood, and spending time together. Jeremy enjoys reading, watching sports, and all of his daughter’s after-school activities.

Family, Family Ministry, Parenting, Podcasts
February 21, 2019

Ministering to Families with Kids From Hard Places with Jamie Ivey

By Chuck Peters


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Jamie Ivey shares practical ways that you can love families that are parenting kids from hard places. How does the church come alongside them and serve them well? 

Jamie Ivey is a podcaster, writer, and speaker from Austin, Texas. She is the proud mama to four kids and the wife to Aaron, worship pastor of The Austin Stone Community Church. Jamie loves to encourage women to passionately follow Jesus through any stage of life. She does this through writing and her weekly podcast, The Happy Hour with Jamie Ivey. Jamie‘s debut book “If You Only Knew: My Unlikely, Unavoidable Story of Becoming Free,” released in January.

Kids Ministry, Parenting, Podcasts
January 31, 2019

Bullying and Your Kids: What Would Jesus Do?

By Chuck Peters

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Dr. Jennifer Garrison shares how families can navigate bullying with age-appropriate conflict resolution.

Dr. Garrison is a professor of marriage and family in the Campbellsville University School of Theology. She is a wife, mother of two sons, and advocate for healthy, God-honoring families.

Parent Helps, Parenting, Podcasts
November 15, 2018

Equipping Parents to be Spiritual Leaders in the Home

By Chuck Peters

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Parents should be the spiritual leaders in their homes, and we can equip them. Delanee Williams, Kids Ministry Special, shares ways to equip and partner with 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.

 

 

Family, Family Ministry, Parent Helps, Parenting
October 1, 2018

Making Memories

By Kids Ministry 101

Kids Ministry 101 welcomes this article written by Wynter Pitts. Wynter lived with a passion to introduce young girls to Christian values in a way that they’re able to understand, so they can walk passionately and boldly in who God has created them to be. Wynter authored For Girls Like You Tween Devotionals and founded For Girls Like You Magazine. We are honored to continue her legacy! #wynterslegacy

I imagine the conversation will go something like this:

“Mom, remember that time you wanted us to do a craft together and you looked on Pinterest?”

Silence – immediately followed by an uproar of contagious giggles and uncontrollable laughter.

You see, I am not the craftiest of girls, but God blessed me with four sequin-wearing, glitter-paint-splattering, and sugar-loving darlings, so I try.

The reality is, I am actually the mom who …

  • Has an entry-level Pinterest board named, “Projects I think I Can Handle.”
  • Buys a kit to create your own gum, only to burn it in the microwave.
  • Takes three days and a dozen YouTube videos to figure out how to turn rubber bands into a beautiful work of art and a colorful accessory using a “Rainbow Loom.”
  • Tries to bake an edible cookie bowl … I can’t even think of the proper words to describe how horrifically this ended. It was pure pandemonium as a party of 10 girls tried to scoop ice-cream into a pile of burnt crumbs.
  • Paints nails. And cuticles.
  • Always has to double the amount of suggested flour in order to stop the homemade play dough from becoming a permanent placemat.
  • Forgets to turn on the oven light when making a “Shrinky Dink.” Causing us to entirely miss the point—the shrinking.
  • Successfully bakes reindeer cupcakes (from Pinterest!) but then arrives too late to the class party … missing the unveiling and enjoyment of my labor.

And this is just the beginning! I am serious—this list could go on and on! Regardless of my many failed attempts, my ultimate goal is to never stop adding bullet points.

Let’s just call it a work in progress.

The specific activities may not be my proudest parenting acts, but combined they are what define the most significant contribution I give to my girls.

My time.

So, I imagine my girls will have endless stories from their childhood … and I am prepared to be the punchline for most of them! However, it’s the first few words of their stories that are the most important to me, “Mom, remember …”

Memories are not defined by perfect scenarios. It’s the present—the daily and the quality time we spend with our children that will guide and provide the substance of future conversations.  

Enjoy the activities, but focus your best efforts on the memory.

 

Family, Kids Ministry, Parenting
June 22, 2018

A Father’s Bucket List: 15 Things Every Believing Dad Must Do

By Kids Ministry 101

Welcome Guest Blogger, Aaron Wilson. Aaron is husband to Jennifer, father to 4-year-old twins, and serves as an associate editor in LifeWay Corporate Communications. He enjoys spending time with his family and writing about God’s glory. You’ll find other great parenting tips and encouragement in LifeWay’s  ParentLife Magazine.

A Father’s Bucket List!

  1. CHEER FOR HIS CHILDREN — Fathers breed godly confidence in their kids by being their biggest supporters, not just on the playing field, but wherever God calls young hearts to bring Him glory.
  2. ESTABLISH A REPERTOIRE of at least five character voices for story-time.
  3. DISCIPLINE IN LOVE — Faithful dads aren’t lazy when it comes to engaging sin in their children’s lives. Dads are prepared to stand up to the real enemy (even when it temporarily makes them out to be the “bad guy” in their children’s eyes).
  4. BE WILLING to get his hands dirty (drool, runny noses, diapers … yeah, you get the idea).
  5. BECOME A SPIRITUAL INSTRUCTOR — A father doesn’t delegate the principal role of teacher to Sunday School workers or YouTube channels. He takes the lead in forging a spiritual path of knowledge and wisdom for his children.
  6. KNOW HIS PLACE — Men who bow low before Jesus are the ones who stand tall as leaders of their families. They kneel in humility when the world says to bask in pride and rise up for their families when the world says to shrug with indifference.
  7. MAINTAIN A STRAIGHT FACE when he discovers his bag lunch for the office meeting contains a juice box and cartoon character fruit snacks.
  8. MODEL GOD THE FATHER — Dads have the unique privilege and responsibility of reflecting the first person of the Trinity to their kids. Often, a person’s most ingrained perception of God will come from memories of his or her own father.
  9. BE ABLE to turn an old cardboard box into a rocket ship or princess castle.
  10. CHARACTERIZE LOVE FOR HIS KIDS — Children in today’s culture are hungry to know what real love looks like. By demonstrating how to put the good of others first, fathers emulate the servant nature of Jesus (and the Biblical meaning of love) to their kids.
  11. POST WITH PARENTAL INTENT — Fathers leave a legacy of words for their children when they choose to post on social media. Dads can steward social networking for the good of their kids, who will grow up needing godly examples of how to navigate the digital realm.
  12. ASSEMBLE a bike or play kitchen in the living room at 1:00 am on Christmas morning.
  13. LOOK BEYOND THE MESS — Dads who have a heavenly perspective look past broken furniture and scratched walls to see the eternal investment found in parenting.
  14. CHERISH THE CHURCH — One of the greatest blessings a dad can give his children is to demonstrate a love for Christ’s bride, the church. Dads who lead their families to be involved in a local church are at an advantage when it comes to shepherding the home.
  15. RELY ON JESUS (NOT A CHECKLIST) FOR STRENGTH — Every dad who reads this list knows he doesn’t measure up (at least, not to the serious entries). That’s actually the point! Christian fathers succeed in life, not because they knock it out of the park as parents, but because they admit they’re sinners who need forgiveness and the enabling grace of Jesus. Biblical manhood doesn’t come from a performance checklist found in a Christian magazine; it comes from confidence in the finished work of Christ.

While there are many more things a dad might do, in the words of Jesus, only “one thing is necessary” (Luke 10:42). Take time this month to celebrate the fathers in your life who stand tall for their families by necessarily sitting at the feet of their Savior!

Family, Kids Ministry, Parenting
April 13, 2018

Great Expectations: Four Biblical Expectations You Should Have for Your Kids

By Kids Ministry 101

Welcome guest blogger Kelly Mikhailiuk.

Life is full of expectations. When a woman is pregnant, we say she is “expecting.” We watch weather forecasts so we can learn what to expect and prepare accordingly. We struggle under the weight of others’ expectations of us or suffer disappointment when our expectations aren’t met. Whether we admit it or not, we expect certain things of our children. Our expectations may be high or low, realistic or unreasonable—but we all have them, and they affect the way we live.

What do you expect from your kids? What do they expect of themselves? Where do those expectations come from? How do they affect the choices you make? The Bible teaches us four things to expect of our kids (and ourselves)!

#1: THEY WILL SIN.

Our babies may be beautiful, naive, and unsullied by the evils of this world, but their hearts are bent toward sin and self. Like every human being, the default mode of a child’s heart is to put himself—not God—at the center of his universe and put his own desires first. Our children’s sin should grieve us, but it shouldn’t shock us. Every heart turns away from God like a sheep gone astray—there are no exceptions, “not even one” (Isa. 53:6; Rom. 3:10).

Help your kids recognize sin in their own hearts. Grieve with your kids over the effects of sin in the world. Guide your children to respond to their own sin with repentance. Model what it looks like to humbly confess your sin, believing that “if we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us” (1 John 1:9).

#2: THEY WILL BE LOVED AND CARED FOR.

We love our kids. They depend on us, and we feel the weight of our role in their lives. It’s a glorious weight, but it can be a fearful one. If we’re honest, our love and care often falls short. In those moments, we need to be reminded that God loves our children more than we ever could, and His love never fails.

These precious kids are His, but He has given them to us for a time and He uses us to show them His great love. But when we fail, He is faithful. God is the only perfect Parent, and He is completely trustworthy. He loves our kids—and us—with a love that “surpasses knowledge” (Eph 3:19). If He loves us enough to offer up His own Son, will He not also “supply all [our] needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus”? (Rom. 8:32; Phil. 4:19).

#3: THEY WILL SUFFER.

We instinctively want to protect our children. If we could, we would shield them from all fear, pain, sadness, hardship, and disappointment. But we can’t. We can only trust God’s wisdom and love for our children (and ourselves). Jesus told His followers to expect “suffering in this world,” but to “be courageous” because He has “conquered the world” (John 16:33). Our comfort is in Christ (2 Cor. 1:5), and that goes for our children too. When our children suffer and when we suffer, we also experience the brokenness of this world, the sting of sin and death that pierced our hearts and tore through the entire creation.

But Christ took this sting of sin and death in his body (1 Cor. 15:54-57). He bore our sorrows, spoken and unspoken (Isa. 53:4-5). He wept with His friends and paid with His life to redeem His children and His creation from death (John 11:33-36; Rom. 8:18-21). He triumphed over evil, and we can find comfort in His victory (2 Thess. 1:5-7). One day God will wipe every tear from the eyes of His dear children, and all sin, suffering, and sorrow will be no more (Rev. 21:3-5).

#4: THEY WILL GROW AND MATURE.

We expect children to grow physically, and we want to make sure they get what they need to mature. Just like physical growth, spiritual growth doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a process that starts at the new birth and continues throughout life. We all grow in various ways and on different timelines, but God doesn’t let any of us stay the same for long. We can’t make our kids grow, but we can guide them to the nutrients they need (Scripture, prayer, fellowship with believers). We also can challenge them to exercise their faith through obedient service and worship, remembering that “neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth” (1 Cor. 3:7).

Even if a child is not a believer, God is still at work, and we should be faithful in pointing every child to God’s love and righteousness, repentance from sin, and faith in Christ. It is God who produces saving faith and its fruits in our lives. So, whether our children are followers of Christ or not, we can be encouraged that God faithfully cares for us and for those He has entrusted to our love and our gospel witness.

Adopting gospel-based expectations for our children and ourselves is both humbling and liberating. When we bring the gospel into our everyday language, teaching, and discipline, we create a safe space where—together with our children—we can take a hard look at sin, then lift our eyes in great expectation to the abundant grace of God in Christ.

Kelly Mikhailiuk is a stay-at-home mom and editorial freelancer. She lives in North Carolina with her husband, Taras, and their four young children.

A version of this article first appeared in the June 2016 issue of ParentLife. To order, visit HERE.

Discipleship, Kids Ministry, Leadership, Parenting
February 9, 2018

Do Your Kids Love God’s Word?

By Jana Magruder

Ah, February—the month of love and romance, chocolate and roses, and yes—the obligatory Valentines Day (or so our minds have been programmed to think of the greeting card business.) Kids spend time carefully crafting heart and doily-decorated shoe boxes with mail slots to receive dollar store cards with superheroes or princesses from friends and classmates. Couples feel the pressure to honor the day with at least a cheesy card or maybe ordering a cheesy heart-shaped pizza. While all of these things are fine and can be fun traditions, I wonder if we could displace some of the energy spent on the theme of love—to actually loving God’s Word even more.

Recently, the LifeWay Kids team commissioned the Nothing Less* study conducted by the LifeWay Research team to find out what makes the biggest spiritual impact on kids as they are growing up. In other words, what can parents do now with their children that will make the biggest difference in their spiritual health as they become adults? The findings were simple, yet profound. The number one thing parents can do (by far) is to help their kids love their Bible. It should be no surprise that reading God’s Word is the biggest indicator of spiritual health in adulthood. After all, only Jesus transforms hearts and He does it through His Word.  However, many parents (myself included), have a tendency to chase the wrong things that don’t even make the list of indicators for spiritual health in kids as they age into adults. Let’s use Valentine’s Day as an example.

As a mom, I have volunteered for countless class parties, baked cookies and cupcakes, bought cards, and yes, helped create the aforementioned mailboxes. Our family has participated in Daddy-daughter dances and Mother-son dates, made homemade crafts for teachers, and spent money on flowers for grandma. While nothing is particularly wrong with any of these activities, none of them points to making time for Bible reading.

So, this February, I’m declaring a “love your Bible” emphasis at the Magruder home. Yes, we will still make class valentines. But, more importantly, we will make time to read the Bible more. Ultimately, I want my kids to fall in love with God’s Word and know that the Bible is His love letter to them. The heart behind it all is to rearrange priorities to what really matters instead of chasing all the other things first. I am looking forward to walking through the Gospel of John and having great discussions about how much God loves us. Maybe we’ll have some heart-shaped cookies and cocoa while we read and then maybe we’ll call grandma to tell her what we learned (she actually prefers phone calls over flowers). Maybe you too can adopt the “love your Bible” emphasis in your home and ministry this February—and beyond.

Jesus answered, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. The one who doesn’t love me will not keep my words. The word that you hear is not mine but is from the Father who sent me.  John 14:23-24 (CSB)

* The book Nothing Less by Jana Magruder is available at Lifeway.com or a LifeWay store near you.

Jana Magruder serves as the Director of LifeWay Kids. She is a Baylor graduate and offers a wealth of experience and passion for kids ministry, education, and publishing. She is the author of Kids Ministry that Nourishes and Life Verse Creative Journal, which she co-authored with her teenage daughter. She and her husband, Michael, along with their three children reside in Nashville.

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