By Pam Morgan, GCI Operations Coordinator
There are many resources for children's ministry, but few coincide with the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL). I have been using Sermons4kids for our children’s ministry in Grace Communion Hickory. It has a lot of options and does follow the RCL. You can sign up on their website and they will send you the lessons weekly. They also have a children’s bulletin that you can download and print that is great for kids to have and work on before they go to children’s church.
I use their free resources and I supplement them with videos that my husband Mat found at Saddleback. Kids love the videos and they are great to reinforce the story with a visual.
I put together our children’s... Read the article
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By Jeff Broadnax, US GenMin Coordinator
“Starting a youth/children’s ministry in a congregation like ours feels like trying to feed the 5,000 with five loaves and two fish!”
I have heard this sentiment dozens of times in my role as GenMin Coordinator. We want “Kids Korner” to serve as an encouragement and resource for you in your local churches, but I have to admit we haven’t really addressed the most pressing issue for many of you—how to start a children’s /youth ministry when you have no children or are a small and aging congregation?
Here’s the encouraging news. It really is similar to the feeding of the five thousand. In John’s account of the story, Jesus, already knowing what he was going to do, asks... Read the article
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This issue of Kid's Korner is written by Jeffrey Broadnax, GCI Generations Ministry coordinator.
In this month’s issue of Kid’s Korner, we would like to make you aware of a fantastic Children’s church resource shared with us by Pastor Mike Urmie of Crosswalk Community Church (our Grace Communion congregation in Surrey Hills, OK). You will find that the items on this website work hand in hand with the RCL-based sermons shared in GCI-Equipper.
The site is called www.sermons4kids.com
You will find coloring pages, word-finders, mazes and other activities for children to complete that can offer an age-appropriate connection to the same message being giving in the sanctuary to the adults. Imagine the... Read the article
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This Kids Korner article is from GenMin National Coordinator Jeffrey Broadnax.
I recently returned from a trip of a lifetime to the Holy Land, where my wife and 18 friends and colleagues walked the in the footsteps of Jesus, Peter, Paul, Mary Magdalene, Abraham, Rahab and many other of our biblical heroes. The most asked question upon my return was, “What was your favorite part?” It’s nearly impossible to answer that question because there were so many great moments to choose from.
Was it riding on a first-century style boat on the Sea of Galilee? How about walking down the road of the triumphal entry? What about visiting Magdala, which used to be a blip on my biblical roadmap, but now has such incredible significance as a... Read the article
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This Kids Korner article is from GenMin National Coordinator Jeffrey Broadnax.
[caption id="attachment_340" align="aligncenter" width="205"] Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it. (Proverbs 22:6)[/caption]
By now the tree has been taken down, the boxes and wrappings placed at the curb for garbage day, and the glow of Christmas is fading. What if I told you there is still more for you to give, especially to the young people in your family, congregation and community? In fact, I believe your greatest and most lasting gift has yet to be given. That gift? PRAYER!
Those around you
I have spent the last month praying for a young teenage girl who is in the fight of her life with... Read the article
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This Kids Korner article is from GCI Generations Ministries National Coordinator Jeffrey Broadnax.
[caption id="attachment_340" align="alignright" width="254"] Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it. (Proverbs 22:6)[/caption]
Most people are open to receiving words of appreciation, small gifts and other acts of kindness at any time of year. But during the seasons of Advent and Christmas, it seems that God uses such acts in a special way to open people's hearts to Jesus and his love. So, let's encourage our children and teens to take advantage of this opportunity by being intentional and personal in expressing appreciation to people in their congregation who they know... Read the article
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Kid's Korner this month is from GCI Equipper Editor Ted Johnston.
[caption id="attachment_340" align="alignright" width="150"] Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it. (Proverbs 22:6)[/caption]
We'll soon begin a new cycle in the Western Christian worship year, which begins with Advent Season (the period that includes the four Sundays prior to Christmas day). This year, December 2 is the first Sunday in Advent, so now is the time to prepare.
GCI strongly encourages its congregations to structure worship in accordance with the Christian worship calendar, following the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL). To help congregations do that, we publish here in GCI... Read the article
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Kid's Korner this month is from Lance McKinnon.
[caption id="attachment_340" align="alignright" width="150"] Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it. (Proverbs 22:6)[/caption]
Have you ever heard someone say, “I love my kids to death!”? That statement is not meant literally. Instead, it’s our way of expressing a whole-life focused love. It's the kind of love we see in Jesus, who went to the cross for the sake of bringing us into the wholeness of his life. The way we approach discipleship with our kids should mirror that love. Let us all aim to love our kids to life!
Over the next few months, through a series of articles on worldview conversion and whole-life discipleship,... Read the article
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Kid's Korner this month is from Georgia McKinnon.
[caption id="attachment_340" align="alignright" width="150"] Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it. (Proverbs 22:6)[/caption]
It's the time of year when churches may want to offer a "Back-to-School Blessing" event for the kids (children and teens) and teachers in their congregation and target community. If you've never held an event like this, you may wonder what one would look like. Or you may be asking why you would want to hold an event like this.
The "why" of having a Back-to-School Blessing is directly tied to the "who" question we often ask: "Who is this God we serve?" The answer is that this God is a blessing... Read the article
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Kid's Korner this month is from Lance McKinnon.
[caption id="attachment_340" align="alignright" width="150"] Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it. (Proverbs 22:6)[/caption]
Last month's issue of Equipper highlighted GCI's newly launched website, GCI Resources. This website provides a wide array of discipling tools, including We Believe. This new publication from GCI provides a comprehensive review of the core beliefs of our Christian faith. There is an edition for adults and older teens, and another for youth (younger teens and older children). To download a PDF of the youth edition, click here.
If you are in a role where you could use some help in walking children... Read the article
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