Training — Ministry Leaders

FISH for What Makes a Kid Unique, and You’ll Hook Them! We spend much of our time teaching large groups — but those groups are made of individual kids, and each of them is different and unique. When we take the time to get to know our children, we gain insights that will empower and enlighten our large group teaching and help us connect with our students better. But getting kids to talk can be a challenge! “Yeah,” “Nah” or “Idunno,” seem to be kids’ go-to answers when we ask questions. The key to getting kids to talk is to...

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God— this is your true and proper worship.” Romans 12:1 As a Christian Education professor, I often tell my colleagues, “Christian Education professors don’t exegete. If we do exegete, we didn’t mean to exegete!” When we use the term exegete, according to King and Powers (2021), it means to study Scripture in such a way as to “seek an understanding of what the author is attempting to communicate to the original audience through the text. Ultimately,...

God has given us His Word to help us remember who He is and what He has done. And within His Word, we find numerous examples of God providing all kinds of reminders for His people. When the flood waters receded, God gave Noah the rainbow as a reminder of His promise never to flood the whole world again. When God rescued the Israelites from the final plague in Egypt, He told them to remember the One who had saved them by eating the same meal on the same day every year. And when the Israelites crossed the Jordan River,...

Leadership is developed over time. Leadership can be learned by identifying gifts, strengths and abilities and then using that knowledge in practice to grow and develop as a leader. People lead from who they are, including natural abilities, values, personality, life experiences and family foundations, but leadership skills can be learned and put into practice by anyone who accepts the challenge to lead. --(Kouzes & Posner, The Leadership Challenge) Proverbs 22:6 instructs adults to “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it” (ESV). The church has not...

Over my years in children’s ministry, I have spent countless hours planning for game time. Some weeks this came with great excitement and joy around a new, attention-grabbing activity. Some weeks the last minute planning led to a game-time flop and disappointed kids. As I’ve met leaders around world, I’ve found that leading games can be a great strength and source of enjoyment for some, and a dreaded task for others. Regardless of our personal strengths and preferences, I want to point children’s ministry leaders to the PURPOSE of game time in ministry, and help them avoid what I see...