Welcome to our MBI Children and Family Ministry Newsletter! We seek to support Children and Family Ministry by providing free or inexpensive resources that inspire and educate faith in Jesus.
“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15
Ministry Goals
Goals assist leaders by giving a clear objective to strive toward in order to meet the needs of the ministry. With the fall season serving as the beginning of a ministry year, leaders would be wise to take the beginning of this season to establish goals for their ministry. Goals help make events planned throughout the year purposeful and more effective In realizing the ministry’s mission. SMART Church Management has written an excellent article that outlines 4 questions a ministry leader should ask when establishing goals. The article can be accessed here.
In order to establish effective goals, one must evaluate what exactly the ministry is striving to accomplish. A ministry evaluation requires the leader to reflect on past experiences of the previous ministry year. In reflection, leaders can identify needs as well as create potential action steps. For advice on how and when to evaluate your ministry, Debi Nixon, a children’s director at United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, clearly outlines the importance of this topic in her article. To read, click here.
Volunteers
Do your volunteers know your vision? Here in Tony Kummer’s article, he discusses how volunteers become discouraged or overwhelmed when they do not know exactly what the ministry is trying to accomplish. If you are looking to make your vision clearer, Group Publishing gives advice on how to have a vision behind your mission and how to communicate the vision to your team. To read, click here.
Volunteers give their time, gifts, and abilities as partners in ministry. Often times this can be exhausting work! Paul writes to the church in Thessalonica, “encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” Along with having a vision, encouragement is necessary when ministering to your volunteers! Matthew Gilbert gives helpful advice in his article, “An Encouragement for Those Who Serve in Children’s Ministry.” To read, click here.
Help parents to invest in their Children
Parenting Resources
A child’s home life shapes the child’s character. While enjoying time at home, parents can invest in their child’s faith journey in fun and creative ways. Goble etal. suggests four faithbuilding activities to help children and their parents grow in their mutual understanding of God, all while having memorable family moments. To read, click here.
Discipleship as a family
Below is a six-day family devotional to help parents guide their children to healthy independence. It is a helpful resource to encourage children to start gaining independence while learning to rely on Jesus. To read click here.
Building-up Curriculum
Teaching children about Jesus takes an interactive lesson! If your lessons are boring to the child, they won’t pay attention to the message. To find some resources that can help engage a child’s attention, read the article by Terry Vermillion. To read, Click here.
Armor of God Curriculum Example
Finding curriculum that is scripturally sound, affordable, and engaging is challenging. This lesson, by Sunday School Works, is an excellent example that shows the structure of a Biblical lesson that can be used in children’s ministry. To read, click here.
Address Learning styles
Children learn differently. Some children prefer to use visual aids, while others find that they like to experience the world with movement and touch. Children will learn and retain more when they are taught in a style that best suits their abilities and preferences. At the same time, it is important to keep in mind that no child is restricted to one learning style. “Children typically possess a blend of types with one being more dominant”. To read about learning styles as pedagogy, click here.
Teaching the Bible to All Learning Styles
Below is a guide to help your students of all learning styles be impacted by the Word of God. To read, click here.
