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 |
Looking for something you didn't find here? Let us know!
‹ Back to ZonesLevel | Title | Topic | |
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Ten Persuasive Arguments for Stealing Candy Bars
10 persuasive arguments for photocopying copyrighted books, songs, and sheet music, and copying tapes |
Leadership | ||
The Top 10 Children's Bibles
Counting down the Top 10 children's Bibles on the basis of theme, quality of features and how quickly the Bible grabbed the author's interest |
Bible Reviews | ||
The Tyranny of the Telephone - Confessions of a telephone-hating preacher's kid
I don't know what you do to tame the telephone, but I hope you do something. Especially if you have kids. |
Telephone | ||
Thoughts on dealing with our critics
It is a lot easier to criticize than to be criticized. Most of us think it is bad for people under us to criticize, but we think the people over us deserve a bit of it. |
Leadership | ||
Why do Daddy's Die?
The following poem depicts the thoughts a child went through after the loss of a parent. It expresses feelings of pain, confusions and frustration with God, but comes to a beautiful conclusion of courage and gratitude. The poem may be used to bring comfort to families who have gone through similar pain and loss. |
Death | ||
Brownies
An article used to talk to kids about compromise and sin and how 'just a little' can still be very bad. |
Sin, Compromise | ||
Connecting with Kids
If we're really going to make a lasting impact on children, we need to do more than just program for them. We need to make a connection with them that transcends the things that we teach them. |
Forming relationships with kids | ||
Courageous Leaders - Part 2
Some more thoughts on being a courageous leader that I have been tossing around lately... |
Leadership/Vision | ||
Grow Through Vision
We all seem to want to grow our churches, ministries, businesses and the such but more often than not we don't see that growth. Everything rises and falls on leadership. |
Leadership/Vision | ||
Losing Your Marbles Is Good for You
The older I get, the more I enjoy Saturday mornings. Perhaps it’s the quiet solitude that comes with being the first to rise or maybe it’s the unbounded joy of not having to be at work. Either way, the first few hours of a Saturday morning are most enjoyable..... (prepare your heart for a powerful lesson) |
Time Management | ||
The $14 Billion Land Grab for Kids
Defining the marketplace of games, comics, and mass media... and how to respond to interested kids. |
Card games, comics, and media | ||
Around the World in 80 Days Movie Review
Overall, a fun film to watch. Packed with fanciful inventions, multiple cultures, and traditional good guys and bad guys. If you are seeking a modern update on the Jules Verne book, you'll be disappointed. This isn't a "don't see" film, however I'd hesitate to recommend it to families in my church. |
Movie Review | ||
Bionicle: Mask of Light Movie Review
This is a movie review about a recently released video by Legos based on their very popular Bionicle toys. |
Movie Review | ||
Catch That Kid Movie Review
Fun, Light-Hearted, Entertaining Movie with Questionable Antics... |
Movie Review | ||
Cody Banks 2: Destination London Movie Review
Cody Banks 2 proves to be a fun movie that improves on its predecessor. |
Movie Review | ||
Finding Nemo Movie Review
Finding Nemo features several points of application that make for great discussion in your children’s ministry. Take advantage of this film to teach important lessons your kids will never forget. Here are a few I left the movie tonight thinking about: |
Movie Review | ||
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Movie Review
The much-anticipated movie adaptation of the thrid volume of the Harry Potter series has hit theaters. Prisoner of Azkaban is definitely darker than its predecessors and it strays from the kind of adherence to the book that we have come to expect from the Harry Potter movies. It was still enjoyable and leaves you hoping for better when the next Harry Potter movie comes around. |
Movie Review | ||
Home on the Range Movie Review
Home on the Range, though entertaining, lacks the quality that is expected from Disney. Nonetheless, children who do see it will enjoy it, and there is enough humor injected into it to catch the attention of attending adults. |
Movie Review | ||
Hot Spots -- Anatomy of a Technical Difficulty | Troubleshooting Technology | ||
OrangeWatch 2008
An archive of the OrangeWatch beta, which featured a live feed of Kidology member-participating blogs and Twitter updates from the Orange Conference in Atlanta, GA (April 28-30, 2008). |
Conferences | ||
Shark Tale Movie Review
Oscar has aspirations of living big and his schemes usually fall short. However, since claiming to be a "Shark Slayer," Oscar has been living it up! But it's only a matter of time before this scheme comes crashing down! |
Movie Review | ||
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow Movie Review
The adventures of mercenary hero Sky Captain and on-again-off-again girlfriend/reporter Polly as they attempt to discover the person behind mysterious robot attacks. |
Movie Review | ||
The Incredibles Movie Review
Dodger Flebert and Alfie Kloeper discuss the latest Pixar film, The Incredibles... hear them for yourself! |
Movie Review | ||
The Passion of the Christ Movie Review
Pastor Karl was privileged to get to see a pre-release screening of Mel Gibson's new movie The Passion of the Christ on Jan. 20th, and responds here to its impact on him, and answers questions about it's appropriateness for children. |
Movie Review | ||
The Polar Express Movie Review
The Polar Express promises to be a true family movie and a Christmastime classic. |
Movie Review | ||
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie Review
This much-anticipated movie starring the world's most favorite yellow sponge was a great disappointment to this SpongeBob fan and proves inappropriate for younger viewers. |
Movie Review | ||
The Three Musketeers Movie Review
Mickey, Donald, and Goofy star in an animated version of The Three Musketeers. Not a cartoon masterpiece, but a film that possesses good teaching points about teamwork and the body of Christ. |
Movie Review | ||
10 Common Mistakes That Stifle Children's Pastors
Ten things to avoid in your children's ministry. |
Key Concepts for Ministry | ||
10 Mom Trivia Questions from the Bible
Here is a trivia game for your children's ministry on Mother's Day! |
Mother's Day, Trivia | ||
10 Reasons I Believe The Bible Is True
This article is designed to answer a common question among kids - How do we know the Bible is True? |
Reasons to believe the Bible is the Word of God | ||
4 Tips for Turning Supervised Playtime into Ministry
Used in moderation, supervised play time is a beneficial tool to help pastor children and their families. It provides a safe environment for their needs to surface. |
Supervised Play | ||
4 Ways Your Nursery Can Reshape Your Entire Church
How far up on the priority list is your church nursery/preschool? Use it to reshape your entire church! |
Preschool, Nursery | ||
7 Greatest Questions Facing KidMin
Roger Fields outlines what, in his opinion, are the seven biggest question facing KidMin, and those who are called to this ministry. |
KidMin, Trends | ||
A Family of ZAP Religion
We live in a "ZAP" society where everything we want can happen "now". Building a relationship with God does not work this way. As families, we need to work together to instill in our children, by example, the importance of family time with God. |
Time for God | ||
A Fresh Look at Your Ministry
View your ministry with a fresh perspective! |
Vision - Evaluation | ||
A Golden Opportunity and an Open Letter to Philip Pullman
Commentary on how Christians should approach Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass. |
Thoughts on The Golden Compass | ||
A Matter of Life and Death
Children’s ministry is more than presenting values that cut between right and wrong. It is about offering, explaining, and illustrating the life that comes from faith in what Jesus did for them through the cross and resurrection. |
Key Concepts for Ministry | ||
A Quick Webkinz Evaluation
So what is the deal with these "Webkinz"? We've got an evaluation from one of our own Children's Pastors here on Kidology.org. |
Review | ||
A Safe Place
An article that uses a personal experience to look at the necessity for both spiritual and physical safety in ministry. |
Safety | ||
A String Around My Finger
Let us never forget that David danced for the Lord! That he danced with all his might! Let us never forget that we have been called to minister to the children of the Lord. |
Your calling | ||
A Theology for Using Gospel Magic
Is there a Biblical basis for using magic tricks in evangelism? Yes! If we understand that magic tricks are a kind of visual aid. More conventional visual aids in evangelism tends to include story telling, drama, pictures and objects. Alongside these latter visual aids I would include magic tricks as being a legitimate means of illustration. |
Magic | ||
Aiming for Impact: Preschoolers and The Gospel
Are prescool children receptive to the Gospel or is it reserved for elementary aged children, teens and adults? Their hearts are open, but they need us to help them make the connection between the gospel and their lives. |
Preschoolers/Gospel | ||
All I Ever Needed to Know About Internet Safety I Learned in Kindergarten
Common sense approach to Internet safety in the home. |
Internet Safety/Parenting | ||
An Open Letter to Discouraged Children's Workers
A gentle letter intended to encourage weary children's workers who wonder if what they are doing is making a difference. |
Encouragement | ||
Are the Children in Your Ministry Worshippers?
While each of us is uniquely gifted and “wired”, we were all created to worship. God made each and every child in your ministry to worship Him. |
Worship | ||
Around the Table
Family time spent together is important to build trust, confidence, language skills, support, and whatever you can do to help each other grow spiritually. |
Family Time | ||
Becoming An Excellent Children's Ministry Teacher - Part 1: Be Prayerful
How do we find time to pray in the midst of conflicting pressures of time and responsibility which crowd our lives? This article suggest briefly some ways in which we can look at Jesus' prayer life with a view toward applying the resulting principles to our own. |
Becoming An Excellent Children's Ministry Teacher | ||
Becoming an Excellent Children's Ministry Teacher - Part 10: Be Faithful
Teaching children is a labor of love. This is especially true when the teacher has a long-term weekly responsibility throughout the year to prepare lessons and then lead children through the learning process. This labor of love goes beyond merely communicating lesson content, although that is a primary component. It isn’t simply a matter of being creative either, although creativity is always a necessary characteristic. Children’s ministry teachers who excel in their roles do so because of a combination of the factors detailed in the previous installments of this series on “Becoming an Excellent Children‘s Ministry Teacher,“ all of which are under girded by an ethic of faithfulness. |
Becoming an Excellent Children's Ministry Teacher | ||
Becoming An Excellent Children's Ministry Teacher - Part 2: Be Accountable
Accountability in life and ministry, especially ministry to children, is a very real concern in today’s culture. We recognize our need for mutual spiritual encouragement from other believers. Left to our own devices, we tend to struggle. Spiritually. Morally. Relationally. We need each other. We need accountability. |
Becoming An Excellent Children's Ministry Teacher | ||
Becoming An Excellent Children's Ministry Teacher - Part 3: Be Prepared
Preparation is one of the biggest challenges for many children's ministry teachers. I know it is for me. If you find yourself strained for time, wondering how to fit life into the mere 24/7 you are allotted each week, especially with the commitment to teach the little ones entrusted to your care, then take a moment to read and reflect on this brief article. Do so prayerfully, asking God how you might implement at least one point in your teaching ministry this week. |
Becoming An Excellent Children's Ministry Teacher |