Articles

Going Green… God’s Plan?

By Dienna Goscha It was a beautiful Minnesota day. Green leaves, blue sky, cool breeze, warm sun. A day Minnesotans dream of. We headed to the local arboretum, my three boys and I. Parking, I unloaded the stroller and put the baby in, gave instructions…

Celebrating Advent as a Family

By Dawn Heckert The following story is provided by our INCM/CPC Partner David C. Cook. My husband tells the same joke every time I mention the word “Advent”: “Why do we need to add a vent? Is the room too hot or too cold?” Many families…

Building Kids Who Last

By Bob Bever The following story is provided by our INCM/CPC Partner Gospel Light. “Rumors of my death are greatly exaggerated.” Mark Twain’s words, written in 1897, remind us that what may be reported as truth may well be exaggerated. Just as Mark Twain was not…

Placing the Child with Special Needs

by Amy Fenton Lee This article is part of a series of articles on Special Needs by Amy Fenton Lee. See the first article, Special Needs: Your Best Resource May be Outside the Church, the second article, Special Needs: The Volunteers’ Blessings and the third article, Special Needs: Understanding the…

Managing Your Energy for Ministry

By Ruth G. Howard Children’s ministers are the most caring, nurturing, loving group of people on earth. They might also be the most exhausted. And, there’s a reason why. If you minister to children, you are called to take care of God’s youngest sheep. That…

Communicating with Parents and Family in Early Childhood Ministry

When parents and teachers share similar goals and use similar approaches, teaching God’s Word is strengthened. A clearly defined and consistent plan for communicating with parents will develop a strong link between church and home. Long-term positive results in child guidance and spiritual nurture are…

Special Needs: Understand the Diagnosis, Understand the Individual

by Amy Fenton Lee This article is part of a series of articles on Special Needs by Amy Fenton Lee. See the first article, Special Needs: Your Best Resource May be Outside the Church and the second article, Special Needs: The Volunteers’ Blessings. Many churches lack formal programs…

Creating Successful Seasonal Events

This guest post was written by Sharon Stratmoen. You’re already doing amazing things to reach kids. Have you ever thought about super-sizing your children’s ministry? I’m not talking about just adding numbers. I’m talking about super-sizing it with sensational seasonal events for major impact! Read…

How To Publicize Your Events

by Pamela Burton Imagine this: you’ve been working many long hours trying to plan your big “Back to School” event. You’ve got the volunteers, bought the food and drinks and planned great activities. You’re ready to go… right? Not so fast. You missed one very…