From the President
Welcome Them In Our Giving
Whenever we visited my wife’s parents, her mom always had food; usually chocolate chip cookies or something equally delicious. It was her way of welcoming us! I have to say it definitely made us feel welcomed. My children would start drooling as we drove up to Grandma’s house. Sometimes, you could smell them when the…
Read MoreWelcome Them
If you sit in church in the U.S., you will often hear, “Welcome to XYZ church. Turn to the person next to you and ‘welcome’ them.” In many cultures, welcoming someone means to invite them into your dwelling, offer them a meal and provide a place to stay. It is more than a simple greeting;…
Read MoreLaunching Ministry in India
I was a young Christian newly recruited into a children’s ministry internship at a local church when I was invited to a missionary prayer meeting. I did not know much about prayer and I knew even less about missions. At the end of the meeting, the missionary invited us to pray for people in India,…
Read MoreLaunching Ministry in Jordan and Lebanon
Early in the biblical story of Genesis, we see external factors affecting the people of God. These factors created whole new twists and turns in God’s dealing with people. Turmoil specifically envelopes the family of Jacob, ending with the brothers selling Joseph off into Egypt. Shortly thereafter, drought and famine descend on the region. Joseph…
Read MoreGod Sent a Child
The young 21-year-old was “helping” in the two-year-old’s children’s ministry class where he volunteered on Sundays. The Children’s Director knew that he was struggling to understand the gospel but still wanted to serve. He was a physics student desperate to grasp what it meant to “believe.” On a Sunday in December, the two-year-olds had a…
Read More3 Ways to Make Sibling Rivalry Even Worse
Being aware of sibling rivalry is a crucial element in relational children’s ministry and of course it is not something new. When I was a young children’s pastor, I met a couple with two children — a daughter and fun loving little boy. Their son reminded me of…me, when I was six. He was ornery;…
Read MoreTaking School Out of Children’s Ministry
Children’s ministry work has some classic stories, none more famous than the teacher who began her Sunday School lesson asking the children to guess what she was describing: “This thing lives in trees (pause) and eats nuts (pause)…” No hands went up. “And it is gray (pause) and has a long bushy tail (pause)…” The children…
Read MoreMore Than Babysitters
Did you ever notice that Jesus never asked for volunteers? Those who followed Him were people called to join Him in ministry. Volunteering is just agreeing to do something without getting paid for it. Ministry is a matter of hearing from the LORD about His concern and responding to His call to do something about…
Read MoreThere Are Gifted Leaders Everywhere
What do a Polish Pastor, Coptic Monk and Ugandan Bishop all have in common? They are dynamic Christian leaders who have had an enormous effect on my life. God uses diverse people, in diverse contexts, to grow His Kingdom Zygmunt was a Baptist Pastor in Poland and one of the most gifted Bible expositors I…
Read MoreThe “Real Life” Issues Children Face
When I was a young childrens church worker, my view of children was simple. They were cute, quick to learn and filled with spontaneous joy. I loved being with children, playing with them, talking with them, praying for them, teaching them and watching them respond to God’s Word. I still do. Then I realized that…
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