Better Children's Ministry

Many children’s ministry leaders express a desire to have a better relationship with their senior pastors and senior leadership. On this episode of “Better Children’s Ministry,” Kelli Johnson and Tara Thomas talk with Jed Manimtim, Executive Pastor at Sunridge Community Church in Temecula, about both sides of this very important relationship. Jed and Tara share about how pastors and children’s ministry leaders can encourage each other and work together to disciple children.

Highlights:

5:20 – The value of children’s ministry in the life of a church

9:27 – How can pastors support children’s ministry?

13:48 – Our relationships with church leaders have layers

14:46 – How can pastors empower and encourage KidMin leaders?

16:24 – How can children’s ministry leaders encourage their pastors?

19:16 – Relating to our pastors when there is no problem that needs solving

20:15 – What does God’s Word say about children’s ministry?

24:09 – Equipping parents together

27:18 – A prayer from Tara

There is a special honor that comes with ministering to boys and girls who aren’t quite old enough to hear and respond to a Bible lesson – at least not in ways we can see. We are talking about infants and children in the church nursery. Jesus himself spent time blessing “little children” by picking them up and laying hands on them. The disciples seemed to think the world would not be changed by holding babies and squandering time with little children, but Jesus’ reaction was different.

In this episode of "Better Children's Ministry," Tara Thomas and Kelli Johnson discuss the unique privilege of serving some of the most helpless among us by ministering in the church nursery. In God’s Kingdom, power is shown in sacrifice. The last are first and the greatest are the least. We do important, impactful Kingdom work when we spend time holding babies.

Highlights:

3:30 – The joys of serving in the nursery

4:52 – What gifting is important for serving in the nursery?

6:17 – What does transformational ministry to babies look like?

8:05 – What does the Bible say about holding babies?

11:10 – Encouragement for those serving the babies of the family

It’s October, which means that a lot of kids in our churches will probably be trick-or-treating and dressing up in costumes. Around the time of Halloween and our fall celebrations, the topic of fear, or being afraid, comes up a lot. There’s a lot of cultural expression around this time of year here in the U.S. that involves dressing up as something scary or wanting to scare people for fun.

But the reality of fear is about so much more than just October and Halloween. Fears don’t always go away as we get older. All of us have experienced fear at some point, and the Bible has a lot to say about it.

In this episode of Better Children’s Ministry, Tara Thomas and Kelli Johnson discuss how we as children’s ministry leaders can comfort children who experience fear and model a godly response to fear in our own lives.

Highlights:

5:45 – How can we as adults help children feel safe to open up when they have fears?

8:44 – It it’s important to the child, it’s important to us

10:37 – How can comfort a child who is experiencing fear when they’re with us at church?

13:38 – There are different kinds of fear

15:30 – Scripture memorization as a response to fear

16:47 – Let the Lord speak into our fears

20:10 – What does the Bible say about responding to fear?

25:34 – Download a free Bible lesson on fear right now!

Every Generation Ministries believes every child can experience the transformed life Jesus intends for them. That is why we help churches give children opportunities to respond to God in their real lives.

The Word of God is intended to impact every single area of our lives. In Deuteronomy 6:4-9, part of the command from God is to practice the truths of God. For this reason, “response” is one of the five principles from this passage that EGM uses to help churches disciple children.

In this episode of “Better Children’s Ministry,” David Jesse and Tara Thomas discuss the practical ways we can encourage children to respond to God’s Word in their real lives.

Highlights:

4:07 – The blessing of watching children respond to Bible truth

6:30 – Children do ministry too

8:55 – How can we facilitate opportunities for response?

11:49 – Hearing and obeying God’s Word

13:04 – Response activity examples

14:44 – “You will be blessed if you do them.”

15:36 – Encouragement as we help children respond to God

The real-life experiences of children in the U.S. vary greatly. The life of a child in a rural southern town is not the same as the life of a child in a major northeastern city. How do we use the children’s ministry curriculum we have most effectively to speak into the lives of the particular children we serve?

In this episode of “Better Children’s Ministry,” David Jesse and Tara Thomas discuss the most important elements of Bible teaching materials that are focused on transformation in the life of a child.

Highlights:

3:02 – What elements of a KidMin curriculum are most important?

4:05 – The challenges of meeting every child’s need with curriculum

10:00 – The value of a singular lesson aim for each Bible lesson

11:34 – Lesson aim examples

12:24 – First, let the lesson change you

13:38 – What does the Bible say about how we teach the Bible?

15:09 – Does every aspect of our time together point back to our lesson aim?

A big part of help children experience the transformed life Jesus intends for them is creating an environment at church where children want to be, and that means helping children have FUN. Although we don’t want the whole point of church to be about entertainment, God’s Word places a high priority on joy in the Christian life.

In this episode of “Better Children’s Ministry,” David Jesse and Daniel Watts talk about how “fun” can be different for different kids and how real fun in church is experiencing relationships and being known.

Highlights:

2:21 – Why is having fun and experiencing joy so important in children’s ministry?

3:30 - Flooding the church bathroom and refrigerator box tag

8:28 – The definition of “fun” is different for different kids

9:20 – How can we help make church a fun place for children?

10:50 – What does the Bible say about the value of fun and joy?

14:18 – Real fun and joy in the church is having relationships and being known

Every Generation Ministries believes every child can experience the transformed life Jesus intends for them. That is why we help churches around the world disciple children using five principles from Deuteronomy 6.

We talk about discipleship a lot on this podcast because it’s really at the core of why EGM exists. On this episode of “Better Children’s Ministry,” David Jesse and Daniel Watts talk about what discipleship is, what evangelism is, where those ideas come from, and why they're both important in children's ministry.

Highlights:

2:54 – What is discipleship?

4:17 – Are there differences between discipleship and evangelism?

5:39 – Discipleship and evangelism are not opposing ideas

7:35 – Focus on proclaiming Good News – to all children

9:13 – How do we develop a discipleship relationship with kids we see for 1 hour per week?

13:21 – Part of discipleship is modeling mistakes, humility, repentance and forgiveness

Sometimes discipleship looks like a birthday party. As a church family, we can partner with parents by simply being present in the life of their child. On this episode of Better Children’s Ministry, David Jesse talks with Tara Thomas about what role the church plays in discipling children and some of the ways a children’s ministry leader can partner with parents.

Highlights:

2:17 – Common dynamics between children’s ministry and parents

5:33 – Inviting parents to serve

7:40 – There’s so much going on in a family’s life

8:50 – We all play a part in discipling children

10:23 – Kids benefit from having other adults disciple them too

12:30 – Encouragement, take two (re-recorded segment)

13:49 – What are we already doing right?

15:22 – Sometimes discipleship looks like a birthday party

Looking for volunteers? Check the youth group!

Many churches have eager, excited teens who want to serve their church, and children’s ministry is often a natural fit. In this episode of “Better Children’s Ministry,” Tara Thomas talks with David Jesse about what a huge blessing teenagers can be to a church’s KidMin. When we disciple these young leaders, we are investing in believers who are just beginning a life lived in service to Christ. It’s a special privilege to pour into those who will be pouring into our churches for generations to come.

Highlights

2:16 – Teenagers are a huge blessing to children’s ministry

4:22 – What are some differences in the needs of teen volunteers?

7:28 – How can we encourage teens to serve in KidMin?

8:27 – We can invite teenagers into the life of the church

9:23 – Encouragement for teens from God’s Word

11:22 – Encouragement for leaders

It seems like there’s an undertone in many churches that children’s ministry is “pre-ministry.” The idea is that we’re serving people who are not yet old enough to have true faith in God, or maybe make a meaningful contribution to the life of the church.

In this episode of “Better Children’s Ministry,” David Jesse talks with Daniel Watts about the value place on children by Jesus himself. When our focus in church is on discipleship and life transformation, we can help even the youngest among us experience a life dedicated to following Jesus and being part of His family.

Highlights:

4:29 – Is children’s ministry REAL ministry?

6:39 – Why would Jesus waste his time with toddlers?

8:20 – Is Christianity all about decision making and understanding?

10:47 – Some of the best disciples are children

12:35 – Helping children feel like they’re part of God’s family

16:25 – Encouragement for the discouraged