Training
Keeping a Schedule in the 1s & 2s Classroom
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...
Remembering God through Rest
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...
Every BIG word has a little word that means the same thing
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...
Teach Children What We Believe and Why: The Three Persons of God
English Líderes de Niños Ministry Leaders parents
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...
Successful Budgeting Secrets
After 35 years of budgeting, my wife and I can confidently say that God used effective budgeting to help us achieve financial freedom His way. In the first 15 years of our marriage, finances were very tight and budgeting was essential to our progress. Here are some top secrets we have learned: → Start where you are now. Too many people feel they don’t have enough income to successfully budget. That is never true, and I can tell you countless success stories of people who started budgeting with very little income and saw huge results over the next 5 years....