Training — Ministry Leaders

As the journey to launch a 1-and-2-year old class within our church continues, we have fine-tuned the classroom schedule. We ask the teachers and helpers to arrive 30 minutes before the service starts. This not only allows time to review that day’s teaching, but also to pray over the room and the children before the first child arrives. Since our church services last between 75 and 90 minutes, our classroom schedule looks like this: 20 minutes Free play 5 minutes Prayer / snacks 20 minutes Bible / lesson / singing / mirror 30 minutes Guided play 15 minutes Clean up...

For modern families, the concept of Sabbath can feel like just another thing we are supposed to do — or perhaps, a list of things we are not supposed to do. For some, it may feel like a mandatory call to be at church on Sundays, no matter what. For others, it may feel like a restriction on everything we do on the Sabbath, limiting our ability to have fun and enjoy ourselves. But neither of these reflects God’s intentions for the Sabbath. His purpose has always been to give us a gift — a gift of remembering Him through...

Do you have hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia? If that word caused you any stress or discomfort, then you might, since that word means “a fear of big words.” Perhaps kids don’t have hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia, but when we use big words in our teaching, there is a momentary disconnect…because in that moment, their concentration is broken as they are forced to try and figure out what we mean from the context of what we are saying. We can find ourselves using unnecessarily big words when teaching our kids — and not only words like propitiation, transgression, sanctification, justification, or atonement. Even if we don’t actually...

The Bible tells us that God is three persons, but all three persons are one God. This is not easy to understand because as created people we only know people as one person, in one body, and not like anyone else. But God is not restricted to the world and time as we know it. God ALWAYS existed and He has no beginning and He has no end. God created for us days and hours and weeks, months and years for us to live in. But He is not limited by time. He is eternal. God created each one of...

One of the most vital seeds we can plant is a love for God’s Word. As kid’s pastors and leaders, one of our greatest privileges is to sow seeds of faith in young hearts. But let’s be clear: biblical literacy is not just about knowing Bible stories. Biblical literacy is about building a strong foundation of faith that will carry children through life’s challenges. The Significance of Biblical Literacy for Children to Have Resilient Faith A Lifelong Anchor: Imagine a ship without an anchor; it drifts aimlessly. Similarly, children without a solid foundation in God’s Word can easily be swayed...