Families
Habits of a Disciple-making Family
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 describes a disciple-making family. These are parents and a wider community who are focused and motivated about the faith they are passing on to the next generation. There is no time in a child’s life that they are not being shaped by ideas. Ideas are all around them and are constant. For the…
Read MoreEngaging Families
No matter who we are, what our age is, or where we are from, we are all part of a family. It is important to remember this as we plan strategies in disciple-making. Here are three ideas to use as discussion starters. These questions and activities will help your family, your team and your church…
Read MoreGCF2018 – Budapest, Hungary 14-18 May, 2018
CHILDREN EVERYWHERE WALKING WITH JESUS This is what we long to see happening! We know that children everywhere NEED to walk with Jesus if they are to flourish and become all that He intends. Helping the church to implement this shared Kingdom vision is the purpose of the Global Children’s Forum – a pioneering, partnering community…
Read MoreSpooked by Halloween?
Churches from Latin America to Australia have been running ‘Light Parties’, an alternative to Halloween. An outreach event for the community, Light Parties aim to share Jesus – the light of the world, with fun activities for children and their families. In Latin America, it’s called ‘Octubrillante’ and happened in over 220 cities in 450 churches…
Read MoreLeaving a Godly Heritage
What does leaving a Godly heritage look like? What does it mean ‘to leave a Godly heritage?’ Heritage can relate to many things, but for our purpose we will use the Oxford Dictionary definition which in part states; Heritage is “Valued qualities and cultural traditions that have been passed down from previous generations”. Psalm 127: 3 …
Read MoreIntergenerational Ministry Beyond the Rhetoric | Fuller Youth Institute
“I knew we were starting to get somewhere when my six-year-old son was rattling off who he wanted at his birthday party. There were as many adults as kids on that list.” A pastor recently shared this with me (Brad) as we talked about the emerging conversation surrounding intergenerational (sometimes called cross-generational, or multi-generational) ministry. …
Read MoreThinking Again About Large Group Salvation Prayer
When I started in children’s ministry years ago, I was passionate about seeing kids step across the line of faith and become followers of Jesus. Each time I had the opportunity in a large group setting, I would lead kids in a prayer of salvation. 26 years later, I’m still just as passionate about seeing…
Read MoreWhat Is a Rite of Passage Experience?
One of the rites of passage for the Burns family was when my wife, Cathy, took each of our daughters away for an overnight trip when they were eleven years old to read and discuss a book about healthy, God-honoring sexuality. The twenty-four-hour trip was geared for good dialogue and fun. They went out for…
Read MoreRespond With Compassion (Helping children learn to serve)
How can we model the compassion of Jesus for the needs of the world around us? We are acutely aware of the brokenness in the world which surrounds them. We all have hopes and fears about the future. Too often we provide our children with the adult solutions to some of the world’s problems rather than presenting…
Read MoreWe are what we sing – children, song and memory
I parked my car and headed up the footpath towards the shops past two children aged about three and five years sitting on a bus-stop seat They were singing quietly to themselves,”I can feel a fourex coming on…!’. I stopped. “What other songs do you know?” I asked. They named several – all advertising jingles.…
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