Last week, I was interviewed by Tom Bump from the Kids Ministry Collective regarding topics such as being a woman in leadership, recruiting men to serve in kidmin, ministry joys and challenges and my new book releasing next month! Take a listen when you can and let me know what you think!
To listen to the podcast, click here.
For as long as I can remember, back-to-school sales have always excited me. As a student, I loved school so shopping for new supplies was something I always looked forward to. As a mom, ordering new backpacks and shopping with my children for their supplies thrilled me. (We kind of made a big deal out of back-to-school shopping!)
In this season of my life, shopping back-to-school sales look different. Now it means snagging great bargains for our kidmin!
Ministry budgets can be tight, so shopping sales is a great way to steward your resources. Take advantage of these phenomenal deals and save your ministry dollars. Stock up now on:
Shop for these items in your local retail stores, online, and teacher supply stores.
What items do you stock up on during back-to-school sales?
Bibles are one of those staple items for ministry to children. (If it’s not, it should be!) Choosing an age-appropriate Bible for children is sometimes a bit of a challenge because there are so many great options out there. Here’s one I’d like to share with you that children will love.
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
The International Children’s Bible, the first Bible translation created specifically for children, has been updated and newly typeset in a large readable layout. The Bible text is set in large type, with bold in-text subject heads that help kids easily find the passages they are looking for. Also included are boldface words that correspond with a dictionary and concordance entry to explain word definitions.
A great new feature in this updated setting is a key verse index with more than 300 verses that are highlighted throughout the Bible for kids to read and learn. The beautifully illustrated Bible story insert pages are in a style that children love and will delight their imaginations as they read and “see” popular Bible stories.
WHAT I LIKE
The Bible is easy-to-read and easy for younger readers to read on their own. The size of the Bible is perfect for smaller hands to hold and navigate. The colors used in the illustrations are brilliant and the drawings are not too young to turn off older elementary-aged children.
WHAT I’D LIKE TO SEE
I would have loved to have seen a brief synopsis for each book, such as the author and an overview. Giving children this background information could help them see the big picture of God’s story. I also would love to have seen the highlighted verses in a bold color instead of the dull gray; this would help the verses stand out a bit more. Lastly, I would have loved if the illustrations were in close proximity to the story it related to as well as a scripture reference provided under the illustration’s title. I could see how this might cause some confusion for children.
All in all, I think the Bible is a great resource for children to develop a love for God’s Word.
To find out more, take a look at this YouTube video or visit their website.
There are so many things that kidmin leaders want said about the ministries they lead. We want ministries that are safe, age-appropriate, growing, engaging, fun, innovative, all-inclusive, reaching families, healthy, dynamic, just to name a few.
Each week, we spend hours in the details – writing/editing curriculum, gathering supplies, emailing lessons, making sure volunteers are in place, and meeting with our teams to ensure we’re all on the same page. This can become second nature to us, almost something we could do with our eyes closed.
But what about the most important stuff? You know, like what we’re teaching the kids? Are we teaching them a list of ‘right things to do’ or are we teaching them how God wants them to live and the why behind it? Are we watering down the Gospel because we think kids aren’t ready for it?
Are kids encouraged to dig deep into Scripture on their own or do they just take our word for it because they aren’t opening up their bibles? Are we encouraging kids to memorize scripture and spend time with God each day? Are we teaching them that God’s Word is one big story vs just a collection of stories?
By teaching kids and showing them how the whole Bible is one entire story, we’re getting them to understand and love Jesus, coming to that place where they’re making decisions to be a Christ follower.
A few weeks ago, I was honored to be part of a round-table discussion with Ed Stetzer, Jeffrey Reed and five other kidmin leaders around the country to talk about this very important topic. Our conversation was converted into a transcript to be made available for Christianity Today readers. I’ve listed the links below for your convenience:
Part 1: The Importance of the Big Story
Part 2: The Importance of Leading Kids to Love Jesus
Part 3: The Importance of Teaching Kids the Hard Stuff of Scripture
Part 4: The Importance of Gospel-Centered Teaching in Children’s Ministry
My goal is to not give children in our ministry a faith that they would have to come back to, but a relationship that would keep them connected to him their whole life.
Keep the conversation going by leaving me a comment. What are your thoughts about this important issue?