[caption id="attachment_340" align="alignright" width="162"] Teach children how they should live, and they will remember it all their lives. (Proverbs 22:6)[/caption]
Does your congregation follow the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) in its worship planning and preaching? If so, you might be interested in syncing your children's church (or children's Sunday school) lessons with the RCL weekly Scripture readings. To help you do that, the Episcopal Church publishes RCL-synced lesson plans designed for young (non-reading) children, older children and adults. You'll find them at http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/lessons/.
These lesson plans follow the RCL with minor modifications. Adapting them for use in GCI would not be difficult. Note... Read the article
Read the article
This issue of Kid's Korner is from Jeffrey Broadnax who pastors GCI congregations in Ohio and serves as National Coordinator for GCI Generations Ministries.
My nine-year-old daughter Kassidy and I recently shared a road trip to North Carolina where I conducted a wedding. I had purchased a DVD player so Kassidy could pass the time in the car watching videos. To my surprise, she brought along my set of Schoolhouse Rock! videos. If you're not familiar with Schoolhouse Rock!, you're likely younger than 40.
As I was growing up, kids all over America would sit in front of their televisions on Saturday morning watching cartoons like Bugs Bunny, Foghorn Leghorn, and the Justice League of America. In commercial breaks, instead of ads for... Read the article
Read the article
Parents and others who minister to children have the challenging responsibility and privilege to disciple children, which means teaching them about our triune God and the life that is theirs in union and communion with God, in Jesus, by the Spirit. What is the best way to convey these vital, biblical truths? A Children's Ministry Magazine article recommends storytelling---the method Jesus used in teaching children and adults. To read this helpful article, click here. For some instruction on effective storytelling, click here.
Read the article
Read the article
Trinity Sunday (June 11) is a great time to teach kids about the Trinity. But how to do so? Here are some thoughts with related resources from Equipper Editor (and grandfather) Ted Johnston.
My older grandkids (now 11 and 8) have asked me on several occasions about the Trinity. Explaining to adults that God is one in being and three in Persons is challenging enough. But explaining that to kids?
One approach is to make use of illustrations. Though these can help, we have to be careful not to leave children thinking that God is like an egg, water, or a three-leaf clover! Perhaps the best place to start is to explain the truth that God is love, and that love involves the one who loves and the one who receives, then returns that love.... Read the article
Read the article
Children's Ministry magazine recently published a helpful article with seven child-oriented practical object lessons to use in the Easter season. To read the article, click here.
There are a couple of statements in the article that sound like separation theology, so be sure to adapt them to our incarnational Trinitarian perspective (in that regard, be sure to read Gary Deddo's article on our theology in this issue of Equipper).
Read the article
Read the article
[caption id="attachment_340" align="alignright" width="137"] Teach children how they should live, and they will remember it all their lives. (Proverbs 22:6)[/caption]
Got extra time and a room full of kids — but you’ve used up your teaching material for the day? Children's Ministry Magazine offers assistance in an article titled "13 Ways to Turn Extra Classtime Into Extraordinary Learning Time." To read it, click here.
Also note that there is a treasure trove of children's ministry resources posted on the Pinterest children's ministry pages: click here and here.
Read the article
Read the article
[caption id="attachment_340" align="alignright" width="189"] Teach children how they should live, and they will remember it all their lives. (Proverbs 22:6)[/caption]
God uses churches of all sizes to accomplish his purposes, yet many churches, in multiple denominations (GCI included), are quite small. This small size, no doubt, presents many opportunities, yet it also presents significant challenges---particularly when it comes to discipling children.
How does a small church provide a meaningful children's ministry when only one or two children show up on any given Sunday morning, and the number of adults available to disciple these children is quite limited? According to Greg Baird, in an article at discipleblog.com, instead of... Read the article
Read the article
[caption id="attachment_340" align="aligncenter" width="199"] Teach children how they should live, and they will remember it all their lives. (Proverbs 22:6)[/caption]
Discipling our kids well at church necessitates that we use an interactive and theologically-solid children’s church teaching curriculum. But where do we find one of those? Here's a suggetion. This past summer, GCI Generations Ministries (GenMin) provided a children’s companion to its standard camp curriculum for teens. This companion curriculum, titled Celebrate the Grip, is free to GCI congregations to use with their children. It’s quite good!
The first teaching segment in the curriculum is posted below and the full curriculm is posted on GenMin's website... Read the article
Read the article
[caption id="attachment_340" align="aligncenter" width="201"] Teach children how they should live, and they will remember it all their lives. (Proverbs 22:6)[/caption]
In congregations blessed with children, the transition into the new year is a good time to give careful thought to what might be done to renew their ministries to children. Here are two articles that provide assistance.
An Introduction to Children's Ministry. This article from GCI provides a comprehensive plan for organizing a children's ministry. Here is its introductory paragraph:
Children are a blessing from the Lord. With these blessings also come responsibilities. As stewards of God’s children, parents are responsible for helping children grow physically,... Read the article
Read the article
Childrens mininstries have the responsibility (and wonderful opportunity) to teach children about God and his love. This teaching is offered in many ways and at various times. A significant "teachable moment" arrives each December in the Christmas season. Though we may (understandably) object to the commercialism associated with this season, we can take advantage of this annual opportunity to help children learn about the stunning miracle of Jesus’ birth.
[caption id="attachment_340" align="alignright" width="230"] Teach children how they should live, and they will remember it all their lives. (Proverbs 22:6)[/caption]
By focusing on Jesus' birth, we are reminded that, through the Incarnation, the eternal Son of God, in the person... Read the article
Read the article
