4 Ways to Build Relationships with Parents

The name of my ministry, “children’s ministry” misleads me sometimes. I get so immersed in the spiritual lives of my kids that I do forget that it’s the whole family that God wants. I spend a lot of time on outreach and thankfully, I’ve had a good harvest for my efforts. I’ve found that reaching … Read more

How to Partner with Parents in Kids’ Ministry

Great success in evangelism brings big challenges for kids’ ministries. One of those is working with parents, many of whom choose not to come to church – at least in the beginning. The church today is often the only moral voice in the life of a child; at this critical juncture, it’s easy to fall … Read more

The Bible Bee Program for Families

**This guest post was written by Heather Easterday How much time do you as get to spend with the kids of your church each week?  One hour?  Two hours?  Maybe three hours?  It’s overwhelming as a ministry leader when parents count on you to be the one discipling their children.  You need parents leading discipleship … Read more

Printable Child / Baby Dedication Certificate (Free Template Download)

printable baby dedication certificate

Download this printable baby dedication certificate to use in your church to commemorate your next parent-child dedication service. It’s ready to go directly from the free PDF printable, but you can download the WORD doc version if you need a template to customize it for your church. Just use the links below and print on … Read more

How to Get Kids to Behave in Church

Every parent and teacher knows, if given a choice, kids would rather get up and play than sit still for long periods. However, some children have difficulty behaving even if attending a fast-paced, exciting children’s church. There are plenty of reasons why a kid would feel a compulsion to behave badly but a frazzled parent … Read more

How to Plan a Fall Festival

The temperature is dropping, pumpkins are appearing at grocery stores, and Walgreens flu shot commercials are airing—Fall is here! An event we hold at our church every October is Fall Festival. Planning meetings are starting up and we are beginning to line up the details for this event. Here are a few tips if you … Read more

Simple Prayers for Children

Teaching children to pray often includes learning a few sample prayers by memory. This page lists a few that we recommend. You should teach kids to pray using their own words, but these route prayers are powerful tools to help children build confidence in their talking with God. When possible, I prefer biblical prayers. For … Read more

Podcast #14 The Legacy Path with Brian Haynes

In this fast moving interview, I talk with Brain Haynes about his new Christian parenting book titled The Legacy Path. Among other topics, I asked how these principles can help the non-traditional and broken families our churches need to reach with the Gospel. Update ~ Brian also responded specifically to one of my questions on … Read more

Family Devotions with a Kid-Friendly Pirate Theme

I can’t say that I understand the fascination with pirates, but it exists!  Kids love pretending to be pirates!  They adore the ideas of ship travel, the anchor drop, a hook for a hand, buried loot, and treasure maps. You will love these devotions for kids based on that theme! If your little one has a … Read more