Connecting with Kids Archives

Reaching The Inconsistent Family

Leave a Comment / 1. Leadership / INCM Blog Team

Building relationships with families can be tough when we are only seeing kids, parents, and caretakers about once a month.

We can blame COVID, club sports, or summertime schedules, but the bottom line is the same – there are kids and families who just aren’t as consistent at church as we would like.
So, what can we do about it?
This article will help you think of new ways to reach the inconsistent family so they feel connected and you have a game plan for when they visit.

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10 Ways to Engage with Your Elementary Kids Online

Leave a Comment / 4. Discipleship / INCM Blog Team

This post was written by Leann Woelk, a member of the INCM Blog team. One thing I believe we can all agree on in children’s ministry in 2020 is the importance of connecting online with kids and families in your church when we can’t gather together. In 2021, we learned that even when we do

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Connecting in Sticky Moments

Leave a Comment / 4. Discipleship / Guest Blogger

This guest post was written by Ron Hunter Jr., PhD, CEO of Randall House Publications and author of DNA of D6 Buying a gift for a toddler is easier than buying for a middle-schooler or teenager. Entertaining these older ages can be challenging. As kids age, parenting grows more complex. And ministry to them does, too.

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How Simple Connection Can Change a Kid’s Life

Leave a Comment / 4. Discipleship / Joy Goodwin

I never worried about Derrick, a preteen who frequented our children’s ministry. His family was great. His grades were good. His extracurriculars were impressive. He seemed like a perfect kid… until his mom called the pastor with concerns. As a 5th grader, Derrick had fallen in with kids who were making really harmful choices. These

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3 Questions to Ask Families You Serve

Leave a Comment / 3. Ministry Administration / INCM Team

You have likely sent out surveys, emails, social media posts, text messages, and physical mail to the families you serve within the past few months. You might have ramped up your YouTube presence, and you might have wondered if a carrier pigeon would be effective (just kidding). Collectively, we all know that families are feeling

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Our Need for Connection Even in a Pandemic

Leave a Comment / 1. Leadership / INCM Blog Team

This post was written by Mercedes Hayes, a member of the INCM Blog team. It feels like it was years ago, but it wasn’t. I walked into a room that was filled with my church leaders. We sat eight feet apart. We didn’t hug and didn’t shake hands as we began discussing the changes necessary

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Five Steps to Building Relationships

Leave a Comment / 1. Leadership / INCM Team

Start Simple When meeting someone new, start by simply saying “Hi.” Introduce yourself. A conversation must start somewhere and a simple hello and introduction is a good place. Sometimes people stand awkwardly in a group hoping someone will simply give them a kind word or a friendly smile. Be that person. Once names are exchanged,

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The Power of the First Impression

Leave a Comment / 3. Ministry Administration / INCM Team

Today’s post comes from Angela Lewton, the face behind the KidCheck blog and expert on the latest child safety research and trends. In children’s ministry, a parent’s first impression of the ministry is important and difficult to overcome if it’s not positive. People make either conscious or unconscious judgments about cleanliness, security, professionalism, and competence based on that first

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What New Parents Want You to Know about Their First Time Leaving Their Child in Nursery

6 Comments / 3. Ministry Administration, IN > CM Magazine / INCM Team

It was a little bit like walking into the dentist’s office as a little kid — nerve-wracking, unknown possible outcomes, and crying children. That’s a little dramatic, but pretty close to what I remember it felt like as new parents walking our son to nursery for the very first time. We had been at our

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Reaching “None” Families

1 Comment / 6. Outreach / Guest Blogger

Today’s post comes from Colleen Derr, Associate Professor Wesley Seminary. I didn’t know there was the option of “none”! Supposedly the fastest growing religious group in America is “none” – people who have no religious affiliation at all. I grew up in eastern PA during the 70s where everyone was either Catholic or Protestant –

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