Children’s Ministry

July 29, 2019

Looking Forward

In October 2002 I was approached by Lifeway to consider an opportunity to join their team as the Lead Childhood Ministry Specialist. To be honest, it was a dream come true. For years I had found that the favorite part of my work as a Children’s Minister was the opportunity to train and develop other leaders. It really wasn’t ever a struggle to move forward with Lifeway and one of the greatest blessings in my life was to be invited and then to accept the position as ministry specialist.

Lifeway is an incredible place to serve. Over the past 16+ years, God has allowed me to live my dream. Meeting thousands of KidMin leaders and having the opportunity to partner with you and in some way minister along side of you has been an incredible gift and a blessing that I don’t take lightly. Your trust and confidence in me has been both honoring and humbling. What a joy to do what God calls and creates you to do. Thank you for that privilege.

About a year ago, God started something new in my life. Something very unexpected and something I had really not considered as part of my future. I’ve often said, “God is preparing me for what He is preparing for me.” That’s exactly what was happening. I began to have conversations with an incredible team of ministers/friends and my heart started to be pulled back to the ministry in a local church. By January the conversations were in full swing and my heart was moving west.

After much prayer and with a humble heart I have accepted my next assignment by God as the Minister to Children at Houston’s First Baptist Church (Texas). I will join that awesome ministry team and begin a new chapter of God’s journey for me on August 1.

As I look to the future I take so much with me from you. Learning from church leaders and their experiences has prepared me for this time. When it comes to kids ministry, these three things stand out as pillars:

The Gospel: Children’s ministry should have at its core a desire to see boys and girls come to know Jesus Christ and experience heart transformation that only comes from a real encounter with Him. Children’s ministry should point boys and girls and their families to Jesus and His salvation with each program and activity “umbrellaed” by the Gospel; seeking opportunities to share the good news and equip parents, leaders, and kids to share the good news of Jesus, too.

Discipleship: We desperately need boys and girls to be salt and light in the world in which they live and to grow up to be culture shapers. Churches cannot continue to raise generations who don’t know what they believe. Many “church-attending” kids have no defense when the world rattles their faith and they too often cave to the pressures of political correctness and a lost culture.

Discipling boys and girls past the point of conversion, to a growing, loving relationship with Jesus must become a priority. Children’s Ministry must help kids understand and live out spiritual disciplines/habits/practices that lead them to become culture-changing Christians grounding kids. Knowledge and practice of spiritual habits (such as prayer, Bible reading and study, worship, stewardship, and service) will lead kids to become Great Commission, Great Commandment, Acts 1:8, culture shaping followers of Jesus.

Family: Healthy Children’s ministry recognizes the biblical role of parents and strives to undergird that role by seeing the kids ministry through the lens of family.

I believe that God intends for parents to be the primary spiritual leaders and faith developers of their children. Children’s ministry has the privilege of coming alongside parents to partner with them on their child’s spiritual journey. We have the opportunity to champion families, encourage and equip parents, and provide disciple-growing programs and events that undergird and promote the family.

So, these are the things I take with me as I look forward to this next phase of my ministry. These are the lessons/goals I walk away with as I strive to be the servant God has called me to be in Houston. However, I do have one last request of you. Please pray for me. Please pray that God will use me to achieve these (and many other) goals. Pray that I will be humble yet bold; moldable yet solid; vulnerable to new things yet strongly rooted. Pray that in all this, God will receive ALL the glory for it is only through Him that I have been able to do anything of eternal difference. And, it is only through His power that I will make the Kingdom difference that I desire.

Bill Emeott has served as Lead Ministry Specialist for Lifeway Kids since 2003. He is a graduate of Mercer University and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Bill has served in Kids Ministry for almost 30 years and recently accepted the role as Minister to Children at Houston’s First Baptist Church.

Kids Ministry, Leadership, Recruiting

July 24, 2019

End the Recruiting Woes: Recruit Like Jesus!

By Brian Dembowczyk

The temptation in recruiting leaders is to reduce the ask—to lower the bar—so that we increase the chances of people saying yes. But this can result in the wrong people saying yes for the wrong reasons. In this blog post, we will see that Jesus gives us a better way. The key is not to lower the bar in our recruiting, but rather to raise it.

It never ends. There aren’t even any breaks. Instead, it comes at us with a cruel relentlessness. You know what I am talking about.

Recruiting.

We all recruit. We all know we need to recruit. But none of us like to recruit. Actually, we can’t stand it. (Well, I’m sure there is someone out there who enjoys recruiting just like there are people who like okra.)

Perhaps the reason why we are always recruiting is that we experience too much turnover. And perhaps we experience too much turnover because we aren’t recruiting the best way—the right way.

Think about how recruiting is often done in kids ministry: it often feels more like begging and bartering than inviting. In our desperation to fill open slots, we either beg our church as a whole, or we go to people we feel might be more inclined to say “yes,” if we beg them enough. Our pitch often comes across as a guilt trip, which is another reason we don’t like to recruit. Our recruiting feels like we’re trying to coerce people into a toilet-paper-of-the-month multi-level marketing venture. Or, we go a different route and reduce the ask. We know someone committing to teach every week would be best—to build relationships and consistency—but our beggars-can’t-be-choosers posture leads us to settle for less—much less. “Are you breathing and are you willing to commit to whenever February 29th is a Sunday? Great, then sign right here!”

We might get more “yeses” this way, but not all yeses are created equal. Many of those yesses become uncommitted, unreliable leaders who usually drop out the first chance they get, meaning—you guessed it—we need to recruit again.

What if there were a better way? Actually, there is. It’s the way Jesus recruited followers, a way devoid of begging and bartering. It’s a way that does the exact opposite—it almost scares people off. We see it in Luke 14:25-33.

At the beginning of this passage, large crowds were chasing after Jesus. That was exactly what He wanted, right? Wrong. Jesus knew that these people were not following Him for the right reason. They were uncommitted and unreliable. They were superficial. Sound familiar? So what did He do? He gave them every reason not to stay, but rather to leave.

“Want to follow Me? Fine. It will cost you your family (v. 26), your possessions (v. 33), and even your own life (v. 26-27). It will cost you everything. So count the cost now or walk away (v. 28-32). OK, now who needs a pen to sign up?”

Do you see Jesus’ point? Following Him is a high calling. It means something. It’s not for the uncommitted or faint of heart.

The same is true of serving in kids ministry! We aren’t beggars with empty pockets turned inside-out. We don’t recruit from a posture of need, but rather from one of opportunity. We are inviting people to the high calling of partnering with us and parents to shepherd and disciple the next generation. Surely serving in kids ministry takes a sacrifice of time and energy, but only through the depth of that sacrifice are we able to find the depth of reward—kids hearing the gospel, responding to the gospel, being changed by the gospel, and living out the gospel.

My friends, don’t be ashamed of that which Christ is not. Don’t lower the bar that Jesus raised. Recruit the way Jesus did. And when you do, you might just find you will recruit less, and maybe—just maybe—you will miss it.

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.

Bible Study, Discipleship, Kids Ministry

July 22, 2019

What Defines Me?

By Jeremy Carroll

We are often tempted to let what we do define us. If I play baseball, I’m a baseball player. If I play the piano, I’m a pianist. If I dance, I’m a dancer. If I am a KidMin leader, I am a minister. What we do is important because God has uniquely created us and crafted our life so that there is only one of each of us.

Identity seems to be a buzzword today, and many people struggle with who they really are and what their purpose is. This is not something that impacts just one group of people. People from many different areas and of different ages are struggling to “find themselves.”

But is our identity only defined by the things we do? Is our value inseparable from our interests and actions? The Bible responds with a resounding “no.” Out of His great love, God created us and desires a relationship with us. Yes, the things we do are important to how God has created us, but our true identity is not tied to temporal things that come and go. Our identity is found first as created in God’s image. As image-bearers of God, our identity carries value and worth because we are a unique part of God’s creation. Further, true identity and purpose are found in a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

As adults, many of us struggle with finding our identity, and specifically not falling into the trap of letting what we do define us. The kids in our ministries struggle with this too. There are many voices speaking into the lives of children to tell them who they are or even that they get to define themselves. If we want to know who we truly are and what our purpose is, we must start by looking at what our Creator has said.

In conjunction with the release of the new Kendricks Brothers movie Overcomer, Lifeway Kids has partnered with the Kendrick Brothers to develop a 6-week Bible study to help point kids in the best place to answer the question “Who am I?” Our Creator. Through Defined: Who God Says You Are, kids will discover who God created them to be and what is true about their identity because of their relationship with Jesus.

Defined: Who God Says You Are is available for kids, teens, and adults. The Overcomer Campaign Kit is a great starting place for churches to see how the Overcomer movie and available resources fit together. More information, as well as other related resources, can be found at lifeway.com/overcomer.

Jeremy Carroll is the team leader for Lifeway Kids Discipleship Resources. Before coming to Lifeway, he has been active in local church ministry for nearly 20 years in TN, TX, and AL. Jeremy earned a Master of Arts in Christian Education from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. A Middle Tennessee native, he and his family live in Murfreesboro, TN.

Family, Family Ministry, Kids Ministry

July 17, 2019

When Your Child is Anxious: 3 Ways You Can Help

By Kids Ministry 101

Welcome back to KidsMinstry 101 guest blogger, Josh Straub!

We had a faulty smoke detector last week at our house. My refusal to spend more money on a new detector was the only thing that kept me from taking a sledgehammer to it. After changing out the batteries twice, I finally reset it—only to discover after loud chirping twelve hours later (at 6:00 AM) it was an entirely different detector that needed to be reset.

The chirping went on for days. One evening, as I tried to fix it, I thought it would be a good idea to tell our 4-year-old son, Landon, and 2-year-old daughter, Kennedy, what it meant if that beeping sound ever went off.

“When you hear this alarm,” I told them, “it means we have to get out of the house.”

“But why, Daddy?” asked our son, with a look of panic on his face.

“Well, buddy,” I replied…

BEEP! BEEP!

The system chirped again. Landon welled up with tears. “Daddy, we have to get out,” he said, visibly scared.

Kennedy started to cry too.

With an annoying smoke detector going off and two crying kids, I began to wish I had told them it was the ice cream truck outside. There’s nothing a good ice cream sandwich won’t fix.

Now, every time they hear a beeping sound, they talk about it — because surely the battery in the toaster oven, doorbell, or construction truck going backward is about to die. I’m just happy they’re learning to talk about it.

Here are three ways we can help our kids when they feel anxious.

1. Let them ask questions.

Putting language to what we feel is like emotional brain surgery. Simply allowing our kids to voice what they fear reduces anxiety. That’s because when their feeling neurons connect with language neurons in their brain, it helps them begin to make sense of their experience.

The other night I opened the windows in our kids’ playroom upstairs. Landon, Kennedy and I stood looking out the window at a neighbor’s cat and a rabbit nearby. Landon started to push his head against the screen. I told him not to push the screen because he could break it.

A few seconds later he asked me to read the sticker on the screen. Not knowing what it said, I just read it aloud. “Warning: Screen will not stop child from falling out window. Keep child away from open window.”
Yeah. And this happened the night after the beeping sound. Talk about overwhelming your already anxious child. Not much was said after that. Landon just slowly moved away from the window and played with his trains.

Later that night, at 2:30 AM, I felt a nudge beside my bed. “Daddy,” Landon said, “if I push on the screen, I’ll fall out of the window, right?”

Groggily, I stood up, walked him back to his bed and lay down with him. “We shouldn’t push on the screen,” I answered.

Knowing he was worried, I figured I would go sleep in his bed with him. Not more than five minutes later, Kennedy woke up. As I went to put her back to bed, Landon welled up with tears.

“Daddy, will you come back?”

This was out of the norm — so much that Christi, who was awake by now as well, heard Landon crying. She walked over to his room and lay down with him. “Buddy, what’s wrong?” she asked in a calm voice, “What questions do you have?”

Lord bless her, she lay with him for the next 30 minutes just talking. Landon asked questions; Christi answered them. Landon talked about his fears; Christi put them into perspective.

When Christi came back to bed she said, “He’s learning about the dangers of the world, but doesn’t know how to process them.”

Her calm voice and listening ear in the middle of the night was gold for our son’s brain. I was ready to settle for the bronze and just lie down and go back to sleep beside him.

2. Play with them.

Especially for children up until the age of 7, fantasy play is critical for calming their fears. Play is about power and powerlessness.

When Christi and I came home from a date night at 9:30 PM, Landon had waited up in his bed until we got home. He was so excited as I entered his room. Standing on his bed, arms spread wide, he said, “Daddy, you’re home!”

The next day I was playing with Landon and Kennedy. We built a fort. With Kennedy and I inside, Landon declared, “You guys lay down and pretend I just got home from work. When I come home, stand up and say, ‘Landon, you’re home!’”

Children use play to make sense of their feelings. Taking 20 minutes a day to enter into their world and allow them to dictate the play has powerful implications on emotional intelligence and self-competence later in life.

3. Be calm.

If we’re anxious, our kids don’t know if they can be safe. Anxiety has a trickle-down effect on kids. In fact, one research study shows that a parent’s ability to manage their own stress is the second-best parenting strategy — only behind love and affection — for getting the outcomes we desire most in our kids.

Be realistic about the reaction you give and the real danger of the situation. A skinned knee isn’t a disaster; it’s a mark of your kids having fun.

Joshua Straub, Ph.D. is a speaker, author, and marriage and leadership coach. He and his wife, Christi, cohost the In This Together podcast and are coauthors a new children’s book, What Am I Feeling? and a new Bible study, Homegrown: Cultivating Kids in the Fruit of the Spirit. Josh also is the author of Safe House: How Emotional Safety is the Key to Raising Kids Who Live, Love, and Lead Well. Josh equips leaders, military families, and churches in emotional intelligence and family wellness.

Looking for more? Connect with ParentLife online at facebook.com/parentlife. Order at lifeway.com/parentlife.

Discipleship, Kids Ministry, Leadership

July 15, 2019

Whom Are You Discipling?

By Landry Holmes

Ministry is time-consuming. There are so many details to handle, and daily interruptions often distract us. Yet, Jesus reminds us in Matthew 28:19-20 that our primary purpose is to “make disciples.” As KidMin leaders we have the opportunity to be disciple-makers of at least four groups.

Preschoolers: A true disciple is a follower of Christ, so how can preschoolers become disciples before they receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior? They can’t, but they can learn about who Jesus is and how Jesus wants us to live. When we allow God to use us to build these spiritual foundations in the lives of preschoolers, we are preparing young children for a life of discipleship.
Elementary Kids: Similar to preschoolers who are not yet believers, we can teach kids the foundations of the faith. Once a child becomes a Christian, we have the responsibility of helping them grow in their faith by developing healthy spiritual habits such as Bible reading and prayer.
Parents: One of the ways we can disciple parents is by providing them with resources to disciple their own children. Also, we can encourage parents to develop their own personal spiritual habits. Remember, however, that some parents may not be believers. Part of the disciple-making process includes sharing the gospel with them.
Volunteers: God calls us to equip volunteers, which we do with resources, training, and encouragement. But, what about discipling volunteers? We can do this one-on-one and in group settings when we talk about what God is doing in our church and in our kids ministry. Also, we can encourage volunteers to develop healthy spiritual habits, including studying the Bible and worshipping with other adult believers. You might even consider starting a small group just for preschool and children’s teachers in your church.

Look back over the list. You may already be doing some of these things as part of your ministry. If not, consider making a few adjustments to reclaim your purpose as a disciple-maker.

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 three adorable grandbabies.

Kids Bible Study, Kids Ministry, Leadership

July 10, 2019

A wise plan of discipleship requires a PLAN! (GIVEAWAY)

By Jana Magruder

Prioritizing ministry goals and decisions is of utmost importance – especially in Kids Ministry. There are hundreds of decisions to make almost on a daily basis. Everything from programming Wednesday nights (or not), to which craft supplies are needed this month! Big decisions, medium and small decisions, optional decisions and mandatory decisions. In children’s ministry, I like to refer to these decisions as open and closed-hands decisions. Many if not most of the daily decisions we make are open-handed – meaning, there is not just one answer. You have choices (and sometimes that makes it harder!) These could include: how to set up classrooms, do we separate girls and boys in small groups?, which songs to sing in large group, should we do a mission project this year?, and so forth.

However, there are decisions we make that are bigger and more consequential. I put these in a different category – the closed-handed decisions. They are non-negotiable. One of these in the KidMin world is that you MUST have a wise plan of discipleship in place for your children. Cherry-picking content for Sunday mornings based on personal preferences could be detrimental to the spiritual health of the flock you are shepherding. I challenge you as a colleague in ministry to have a plan that helps keep you and your leaders on track in a way that acknowledges what children learn and when. This is beyond a study plan or a curriculum. This is a framework that guides and ensures that by the time kids leave your ministry and head to the Student ministry, they are ready.

In order to stay on track with a wise plan of discipleship, you need just that – a PLAN! Preschoolers, kids, preteens (all the way until adulthood) need to understand biblical concepts that help them engage and grow in God’s word. A plan that our team developed and freely give away in multiple formats is called The Levels of Biblical Learning. This framework centers around eight different age groups beginning with babies all the way through high school – yes, you can get your student minister on board with these! Each age group teaches children and teens ten biblical concepts in a way that makes sense for their developmental abilities. It’s a helpful tool to train volunteers and equip families. You can learn more about The Levels of Biblical Learning and even download free copies and train your team using our free videos by going to lifeway.com/lobl

I’d like to give away a package of 10 Levels of Biblical Learning, Growing In God’s Word booklets. Simply complete the form below to be a candidate. Look for more GIVEAWAYS each month.

Levels of Biblical Learning Booklet Giveaway (GIVEAWAY CLOSED 7/24/19)

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 Nothing Less: Engaging Kids in a Lifetime of Faith, Kids Ministry that Nourishes: Three Essential Nutrients of a Healthy Kids Ministry, 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.

Encouragement, Kids Ministry, Leadership

July 8, 2019

When Leadership is Followership

By Landry Holmes

Are you a leader or a follower? The correct answer is, “Yes.” Sometimes God calls us to lead, and at other times God calls us to follow. Knowing the difference is key to being an effective preschool and/or children’s ministry leader.

Recognize that everyone has a leader. You may lead a paid staff and/or a group of volunteers. However, your immediate supervisor is your leader whether you’re a volunteer or on the church payroll. And your supervisor is under the authority of his/her leader. To take this concept to its logical conclusion the only church leader not under the authority of someone else is Jesus, the head of the church. (See Ephesians 4:15-16).
Adapt your role to the situation. When you’re in a church staff meeting you are probably a follower unless you’re the senior or executive pastor. You will want to yield to the authority over you, and when you disagree you can do so with love and Christlike deference to your leader. (See Romans 12:3-8,10).
Step back and let others lead. As a leader of people, I have to remind myself that I don’t always have to be in charge. I learned this from a colleague who models followership. When he asks someone to coordinate the setup and take-down of an event, my friend places himself under the authority of that individual. If you assign a volunteer to coordinate a KidMin event at church, then empower that person to tell you what to do. This simple, yet difficult act is what Jesus instructed us to do when He washed His disciples’ feet. (See John 13:13-15.)

Young children are prone to exclaim, “You’re not the boss of me!” Sometimes as adults we think the same thing. Nevertheless, in reality, every KidMin leader is a follower. Whom are you following? Are you modeling followership to the people you lead?

The Bible says to “clothe yourselves with humility toward one another because God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (1 Peter 5:5) Volunteers will more likely continue to follow a leader who is also a humble follower than someone who acts like the boss of everyone.

Family, Family Ministry, Kids Ministry

July 3, 2019

Crossing the Checkpoints for Life’s Race

By Jeremy Carroll

“Let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus…” Hebrews 12:1-2

Back in 2013, the highly-respected late Jerry Vogel wrote about a few of the spiritual mile markers to be celebrated in families’ lives (post). As many of us are planning for a new ministry year with kids transitioning to new classes, this seems like a good time to review these mile markers or checkpoints as I like to call them and consider how our ministries can partner with parents in anticipating and celebrating these spiritual mile markers.

In long-distance races, checkpoints are short stops along the path for runners to regain their strength for the next part of the race. It’s also a place where runners can be encouraged to continue on, nurse any injuries, reevaluate their strategy, and plan for adjustments as the race resumes. Checkpoints are places to revitalize runners and then send them back to the race. These life checkpoints provide natural opportunities to partner with parents to recoup, reevaluate, and realign strategies for moving forward.

Checkpoint #1 – Welcome to the Family

Birth/Adoption – Whether it’s a family’s first child, second, or fifth, each new child adds new rhythms to a family’s life, celebrations and joys along with potential anxiety and challenges.
- “New Addition” Gift Bag – Consider creating a small gift bag to give to new families when a new baby is born or a child is adopted.
- Parenting classes/conference – A great idea for expectant parents is to offer them dedicated training on children’s spiritual growth. Such training should include theology of biblical parenting, trust development, and looking ahead toward future checkpoints.
Baby/Parent/Family Dedication – This is a great checkpoint to provide additional training, like a class mentioned above, to young parents on God’s expectations for Christian parents, showing them how you desire to partner with them in their parenting journey.

Checkpoint #2 – First Steps

Moving up to “Big Church” – Consider preparing “welcome to worship” bags for preschoolers who are transitioning into big church. Offering specific training to help parents/caregivers prepare for this change can help to soothe their nerves and remind them that children will learn how to worship best by watching adults worship.
Learning to Read – Consider celebrating this checkpoint with a meaningful Bible presentation. If your budget allows, your church may purchase an age-appropriate Bible for each kindergartner or first grader. If your budget doesn’t allow or if you prefer to help parents choose their own Bible to give, be sure to guide parents in knowing what kind of Bible would be best for their child. Lifeway offers several options of age-appropriate Bibles at lifeway.com.

Checkpoint #3 – Growing in Faith

“What Is a Christian?” class – Often times kids who regularly attend church will start asking questions about salvation and/or baptism, and parents will immediately jump to trying to schedule a child’s baptism. Having a checkpoint in your ministry to equip parents to ask good questions of their child will give them greater confidence in talking with their children about salvation and baptism.
New Christian Class – An effective New Christian class can give children an opportunity to validate their response to Jesus, as well as give each child and parent confidence they are on a path that is firmly rooted in Scripture. Lifeway Kids’ “I’m a Christian Now” resources can lend structure this checkpoint.
Baptism – Here are a few ideas for developing a strategy to partner with parents in celebrating this checkpoint:
- Provide parents with a one-sheet overview of your church’s theology of believer’s baptism.
- Create a “baptism checklist” to help guide families. Include items like meeting with you or your pastor (according to the practices of your church), mail/email invitations, plan a family meal, provide a “next steps” devotional to each child to guide them in developing healthy spiritual habits.\
First Lord’s Supper – A child who is a new Christian will likely be very excited to finally participate in this church ordinance.
- Help parents anticipate this moment with a dedicated family conversation. Provide a one-sheet overview of your church’s beliefs about the Lord’s Supper, including who is allowed to participate and why, how often it is observed, etc.

Checkpoint #4 – Next Steps

Discipleship – Many parents feel uncertain how to help children grow in their newfound faith by developing healthy spiritual habits (spiritual disciplines). Lifeway Kids’ Growing in My Faith 90-day Devotional can be a helpful resource for families.
Moving into the next age group in your ministry – A final checkpoint that would fall under your ministry would likely be to guide kids and families as they transition into student ministry. Many parents and preteens feel inadequately prepared to move through this checkpoint. Some options here might be: host a parent panel Q&A session with more seasoned parents, connect seasoned parents with parents of preteens in an informal mentor-type setting to allow for more intimate questions, training classes and resources for equipping parents to talk with their kids about all that is changing in their lives, and preteen weekend retreat.

There are other checkpoints that you may choose to include, but hopefully, this has helped you start or continue thinking about ways you can partner and celebrate with parents as the kids in your ministry cross each of life’s checkpoints. I encourage you to “run with endurance the race that lies before [you], keeping [your] eyes on Jesus… ” as you “pursue as [your] goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.” (Hebrews 12:1-2; Philippians 3:13-14)

Click here for a downloadable Checkpoints PDF to help you share your vision with families. There are 2 pages in this document. One with the checkpoints we’ve listed in this post, and one with blank boxes for your to write in your own.

Kids Ministry, Leadership

July 1, 2019

Celebrate Children’s Ministry Day

By Delanee Williams

Churches throughout the Southern Baptist Convention will celebrate children’s ministry (ages birth-preteen) on Sunday, July 21, 2019. The special day was added to the Southern Baptist Convention calendar after the Executive Committee approved the motion made by a nine-year-old at the 2018 Southern Baptist Convention in Dallas. This is a great day to thank God for the ministry to kids, their families and their volunteers your church provides.

Use this day to remind kids of their importance in the church and how they can tell others about Jesus. Recognize and honor kids ministry volunteers who invest in the lives of children and their families. A variety of resources have been created for leaders to use in their church. Click here to find the downloadable items. Select and use the resources that best meet the needs of your church. How do you plan to celebrate Children’s Ministry Day in your church?

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.

Bible Study, Kids Ministry, Leadership

June 24, 2019

6 Things Kids Leaders Should Know about Curriculum: Part 6

By Brian Dembowczyk

When people ask me what I do for a living, I tell them that I help produce Bible study curriculum. But, of course, it is so much more than the way I feed my family—it is a passion and a privilege, one I seek to steward well. With that deep care for curriculum in mind, I want to share six things that I wish every kids leader knew about curriculum. Knowing these things, I believe, can transform a ministry, which more importantly, can transform lives.

So far we have covered:

And finally…

A curriculum is just one part of a comprehensive discipleship strategy.

A good curriculum is an important part of a discipleship strategy, but it is not all of it. As we think about our call to disciple kids we have to think beyond curriculum. Discipleship takes the form of living life together side-by-side, participating in small groups, gathering in worship, and much more. A good curriculum can go a long way in your discipleship efforts, but it cannot cross the finish line by itself.

This means that we need to think about how the curriculum we are using complements our greater discipleship efforts. It’s not all up to the curriculum, as important of a role as it may play. But before we can consider that, we really need to be clear of what discipleship is.

In his book, The Drama of Doctrine, theologian Kevin Vanhoozer argues that Scripture should be read more like a drama—like a script intended not just to be read, but acted out. I like that analogy. Our goal is not to study the Bible to learn facts—although they are important. Our goal is to study the Bible as our script pointing us to what Jesus has done and what we are to do now in light of what He has done. This means that we need to consider carefully how the gospel affects how we live today in our unique context. That, to me, is a great way to think of discipleship. Discipleship is not about just learning data. Neither is it about just behaving in a set way. It is about knowing Christ and understanding the heart of the gospel such that we might be able to live in any and every context in accordance with God as we bring Him glory.

Do you see why a curriculum cannot be mistaken for a comprehensive discipleship strategy? It can only be one part of such a strategy because as we talked before about there being no perfect curriculum, your context is unique. And that unique context requires discipleship that cannot rest solely in a curriculum, no matter how good it might be.

So as you consider the curriculum you use, recognize its strengths and weaknesses. Recognize where it helps your context’s discipleship efforts and where it does not. Be aware of other ministry efforts (such as VBS) that cover the areas of discipleship the curriculum does not. Above all, be clear of any unique role the curriculum you use plays in your discipleship efforts.

Questions for reflection

How do you see the curriculum you use integrating into a larger discipleship strategy? Are there any unique aspects of discipleship that the curriculum and your Bible study time alone can fulfill?
Do you see yourself as a discipler of your kids? Why or why not?