Articles Zone

Practical and insightful articles about Children's Ministry.

Looking for some expert advice? This Zone is a treasury of Children's Ministry expertise from the Kidologist and other veterans in children's ministry.

Some of the most popular articles are:

Getting into the Home | Mailbox Ministry | Discipline that Disciples | Entering the World of Kids | First Steps for a New Children's Pastor | The Great KID Mission |

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Plus Why Collections Are Important to Children of Divorce

Here are some important reasons why children like making collections.

Collections
Plus Why Discipleship is Important for Children

You. Me. Every Christian. We are all called to make disciples. Most of us can look back on our lives and name at least several Christians who either discipled us or had a significant impact on us. How many children do you know who are being intentionally discipled by a mature Christian? The children in our ministries need to be discipled, and they need to have several different “disciplers” in their lives.

Discipleship
Plus Why Do Bad Things Happen?

It is the inevitable question that your children will ask you: Why do bad things happen? This creative puppet skit will help explain it to them!

Bible Skit, Puppets
Plus Why Do Behavior Problems Escalate When There is a Divorce?

Read the causes of unruly kids during and after divorce. 

Behavior, Divorce
Plus Why Do Some Bible People Have the Same Name?

The Answer Guys bring you another excellent children's puppet script to help children learn about names of people in the Bible!

Bible Skit, Puppets
Plus Why Family Night?

A quick look at the current need for Family Nights

Family, TV, Statistics
Plus Why Games

Three ways we can use games to teach kids

Games, teaching,
Free Why Gospel Centered Curriculum Matters

We should be filtering everything we tell our kids though God's story.

Curriculum
Free Why I Celebrate Halloween

We are only days away from the spookiest holiday of the year... and I can’t wait. I would like to give a few reasons why my family and I (as the pastor) choose to participate in this holiday.

Reason for Participation in Halloween
Plus Why I Don't Tell My Kids They Can Be Anything They Want To Be

Parents should be far more worried about how God has designed their child and think more about how we can make our kids more God-conscience and less self-absorbed.

Living as Christ
Plus Why I Never Liked January

Since when are goals only for January? You can set goals any time of year... like now!

Goal Setting, Leadership
Plus Why is a Philosophy of Ministry So Important?

Why is a Philosophy of Ministry so important? What is a Philosophy of Ministry? Check out this article to find out!

Philosophy of Ministry
Plus Why is Loyalty Important?

What's the big deal about being loyal to others?

Loyalty
Plus Why Isn't It Working?

Despite all our best efforts, the kids in your ministry sometimes still stray from the faith. How can we as leaders help keep kids on the right path?

Salvation, Evangelism
Free Why Online Church is Not Church

Is church still church if it's online?

What is the Church?
Free Why Our Churches Need More Fathers and Fewer Teachers

There is no shortage of hired teachers in the Christian community. Our culture doesn’t need more tutors.  It doesn’t lack for knowledge. It lacks for fathers. It lacks for people who lay down their lives because they would rather see their sons do more and be more than them.

Fathers, Teachers
Plus Why People Aren't Excited about Your Children's Ministry

Do you feel tired and frustrated by the lack of support and excitement for your ministry? Here are strategic questions to ask to help you examine why.

Vision, Volunteers, Parents
Plus Why We Lose Our Children When They Become Teenagers

How do we help teens learn freedom and independence while maintaining boundaries for healthy growth?

Spiritual Growth, Parenting Issues
Free Why We Need Sunday School Ministry

Do we really need to have Sunday School classes?  

Teaching and Training
Free Why We Need Sunday School Ministry

Just how important is Sunday School? Read this article and you will understand the importance of Sunday School Ministry!

Sunday School
Starter Why Won't We Let Boys Be Boys?

An case for allowing boys to be boys in a Christ-honoring way, rather than a shadow of what God intended for them to be.

Boys
Plus Why You Need to Become a Student of Pop Culture

Children today follow and are excited by what is popular in culture. How much of this "pop culture" should a children's ministry leader know or be familiar with? How does this affect your ministry to kids?

Pop Culture, Connecting with Kids
Free Why You Should Always Skip Your Kids' Baseball Games

This article explores the danger of helicopter parenting in turbulent times.

Family Life
Plus Why Your Church Needs a Children's Check-In Solution

Why does your church need a children's check-in solution? Here are the main reasons.

Check-In Solution
Starter Will Our Children Have Faith?

In his seminal book “Will Our Children Have Faith” John H. Westerhoff, III grapples with the state of Christian Education. Originally published in 1976 by Seabury Press and later revised, expanded and republished in 2000 by Morehouse Publishing, Westerhoff’s discourse deserves wider consideration from church leaders, children’s ministry leaders and educational thinkers beyond the scope of mainline denominations. While many evangelicals would quibble with some of his theological assumptions–he is Anglican, having been originally Church of Christ–they would be wise to listen to the heart of a man who has walked out the struggle of shifting educational tides, especially in the church context. He is a distinguished scholar to be sure. But more importantly he is a thoughtful practitioner of ministry.

Book Review
Plus Winners and Losers

Suggestions on how to handle ministry turf wars and deal with known ministry priorities.

Priority, Budget, Programs
Plus Words of Affirmation

Huge list of phrases you can tell your kids or volunteers to encourage them and affirm them

Encouragement, Volunteers
Plus You Kept Me From Drowning!

It’s really scary to be in over your head, in rough and deep uncharted waters. The frantic efforts to preserve life when taking in water, thrashing about, scared and panicked about what’s next. Managing to gasp for breath, while trying to stay afloat, is overwhelming.

Coaching
Plus You Need These 7 Things If You Want To Make A Change This Year

Sometimes change happens to us and sometimes it happens through us and sometimes they both happen at the same time! So, if you are currently in the process of leading change, here are seven items you will need to initiate change.

Initiating Change
Plus Your Decision To Leave

So you have decided to leave your position as Children’s Leader at your church. Perhaps “going for the door” was not an easy decision to make. On the other hand, it just might have been the obvious choice. God has been speaking to you and you have agreed, it's time to turn in your resignation.

Resignation
Plus Your Gift To God

Taking care of God’s babies, new Christians, is also a lot of work but is very rewarding. If you do your best and rely on the Holy Spirit, those new Christians will soon be growing, walking on their own, and helping others to grow!

Discipleship
Plus Your KidMin is NOT New Family Friendly

How kid-friendly is your church? 

Kid Friendly Church
Plus Your Life Verse

A Life Verse can be your favorite verse from the Bible—you know, a verse that you really like or want to model. How does your Life Verse relate to your Children’s Ministry?

Life Verse
Plus Your Moment is Now

God created you with a purpose, and despite your mistakes He desires to use you.

Motivational, Take Action,
Plus Your Personal Year in Review

What goals are you setting for the new year?  

New Year, Year in Review
Plus Your Step-by-Step Guide to Writing Job Descriptions for New Children's Ministry Programs

Use these guidelines, along with the downloadable template, to create your next job descriptions. 

Job Descriptions
Plus Your Worst Teacher is Better than the Best Video

Videos are fun, but live teachers are better... even the bad ones!

Teaching
Plus Converting the Child-Care Model

When you allow your children’s ministry to be designated as a “child-care” program, you succumb to secularizing your ministry, which makes it more conducive to a “baby-sitting” service, than a legitimate ministry function that is complimentary to a church.

Child Care
Plus Feedback is Your Friend

Many a leader sabotaged his or her ministry simply because they were not teachable. How and why you should SEEK out feedback.

Leadership Development
Plus Fifty Nifty Parenting Ideas for Dads

50 every day simple and practical ideas for dads - little things that can make a BIG difference!

Fathering
Plus Rethinking Follow-Up of Child Converts

A children’s evangelist gives us five steps that might just change the way you think about the follow-up of child converts. Drawing upon over 30 years of full-time evangelism experience with children, Rev. Barney Kinard challenges us to rethink what we are really doing with follow-up. These insights are not only thought provoking, but they can provide a framework to develop your own follow-up program.

Follow-Up
Plus Travel Tips for Families

Some great ideas for surviving long drives in the car with kids!

Family / Travel
Plus Tweeners: PreTeen Ministry

This is a seminary research paper on the topic of ministry to preteen, 10-14 year old children in today's culture and church.

Tweeners
Plus Why I Believe In Object Lessons

This article explains the reasons why object lessons are important.

Object Lessons
Plus Discipline that Disciples

Making Your Discipline Problems Disappear!

Discipline
Plus 3 Steps to Successful Recruiting

I have 3 steps to help recruit in children's ministry. Know where you are going, know who you are recruiting, and know what's next.  

Recruiting
Plus Here's Why You SHOULDN'T Align your Preschool and Elementary Lessons

The advantages to aligning preschool and elementary lessons are less than most people believe and the cost is much higher than most people realize. In short, the cost outweighs the benefits.

Lesson Planning
Plus I AM HERE! (Right to Life Magic Trick)

A magic trick that illustrates the value a human life.

Right to Life
Plus “Focused, Joyful Play”: A Recipe to Motivate Godly Life--Change

Cultivating spiritual change is a lot like cooking. Jesus thought so anyway. Christ compared attitudes to yeast. A little bit of a strong attitude goes a long way. He warned that the legalism of the Pharisees could ruin a whole loaf of spirituality. As a children’s minister, you are a spiritual chef. You influence what spiritual ingredients to which the kids are exposed.

Spiritual Passion
Plus 14 Reasons Why Sunday School Has Declined and 14 Reasons Why Sunday School Could Grow

Over the next 20 years we could experience a virtual flood of new ideas and innovative concepts for the Sunday School hour. These innovative ideas will provide a boundless energy source for the revitalization of the Sunday School and other Discipleship ministries in the church over the coming decade.

Growth
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