Wes Stafford, president of Compassion International is a huge advocate for children of all kinds poor or rich. Here are his five habits for families:
1. Make an unbending commitment to the magical moments of bedtime.
2. Arrange leisure time with a view to minimizing absence from kids.
3. Refuse to let media push kids aside.
4. Sponsor a child as a discipleship tool.
5. Establish a weekly family night.
I was checking out some kids tv over on YTV. There’s a new popular show called Victorious marketed to tweeners. A recent episode is called Ice Cream for Ke$ha. Tori basically is desperate to win a contest to have Ke$ha for a private concert. Ke$ha is a popular musical artist with a hit song called “Blow.” I don’t recommend your child view her music video on Youtube, however, as it is very sexually provocative. So how do you go about choosing what to watch or let your kids watch? Do you know or care what is being consumed? Media has a subtle influence. It can make sin appear fun and exciting. Yet it can also lead down a path of self-indulgence that leads us away from our selfless Jesus. Be careful little eyes what you see. What do you think? What are some of your kids favourite shows?
Westminster Shorter Catechism Flash Cards | D A N G I T B I L L !.
For talking to your kids about faith in God.
Kids need a strong foundation from which they can build their lives. A weak and shifty foundation will cause them to lose faith and lead a life filled with harmful decisions. A strong foundation can give them a great starting point for a life filled with peace and joy-filled decisions. As parents and leaders of kids we can instil the teaching and wisdom of God. One way you can do that is using Fighter Verses for kids. I’ve been doing it with my little ones for a few weeks now using the iPhone app which has an image to go along with it. Try it! You may in fact find that your own foundation gets stronger!
Foundation Verses | Fighter Verses.
Consequences and discipline are necessary and helpful for any parent who seeks to help their child grow up to be a responsible person who makes great choices. Below is a big list of consequences from about.com for your tool belt. But keep in mind the difference between behaviour modification and Biblical correction. As Godly parents, we don’t want plastic children who comply with our wishes. We want children who’s hearts are transformed by the love and power of God through Jesus Christ. Make that your prayer as you discern how you use consequences to shape your child’s heart.
Cory Center for Children’s Ministry | Resources for children’s and family ministry leaders.
Get on board the children’s ministry train! Jesus loves kids and so can we. This resource can help.
I’ve been re-reading “Making Your Children’s Ministry the Best Hour of Every Kid’s Week,” by Sue Miller and David Staal, for one of my seminary classes. The following are some brief reflections.
Much of how I do children’s ministry has been shaped by the Promiseland model that has come from Willow Creek Community Church in Chicago. From later on in high school and using the curriculum in my church, to attending Promiseland conferences throughout college and beyond, to volunteering in the ministry when I attended Moody Bible Institute, to knowing Amy Dolan-a fantastic programmer who I first connected with there, to reading this book, to watching and learning from the exceptional skills of Aaron Reynolds, to using their program structure in my current ministry, I have been surrounded by Sue Miller’s thinking. I’ve used much of what’s in this book in my ministry. It’s helped me with mission and values. We’ve structured our Sunday programs around their structure. While we still have a long way to go towards being strong in all the areas, we’ve been blessed with a strong starting point.
If there’s one thing that I disagree with, and it’s really more of a caution than a disagreement, it would be the focus on models and structured approach. Sometimes we little churches love to tag onto what some other larger church does so we can say we do it this way or that way. That may be kind of like the disagreement in the letter to the Corinthians where some were following Apollos and others Paul, which was causing divisions. I think it’s important to craft a mission statement and adopt some core values and find a program structure that works. It’s efficient and creates focus. I think a potential problem with this focus is it can lead to blind spots where God may be nudging us to another priority, but we’re stuck on our system. This can lead to a lot of discussion on strategies and approaches and priorities, but I think we just need to keep a very clear head and be responsive to God’s priorities even while we hold to our “way of ministry life.”
I think the biggest challenge for me from this book is working with volunteers. If our ministry context would really apply some of the volunteering principles laid out in this book, fewer people would drop out, more people would take greater ownership and increasing numbers of kids and families would be foundational and spiritually solid. I once used the team experience with our volunteers to discuss the ministry monsters from chapter seven. We discussed how well we were doing. Generally, our strengths were that volunteers didn’t commonly feel used and abused and there didn’t seem to be much power mongering. Our weaknesses tended to be the areas of stagnation and isolation. So we need to continue to fight those monsters to watch our ministry blossom. I’d love to see more and more volunteers connected in meaningful relationships and moved toward passionate service! Then families and kids will begin to flourish in this tainted world as they learn to walk through it with Jesus.
This post is a brief review of the book by George Barna called, “Transforming Children into Spiritual Champions.”
I am glad that there is this book called, “Transforming Children into Spiritual Champions,” that is going around the world with it’s perspective that children’s ministry matters. Of course, being in children’s ministry I’m already convinced of that fact, but the statistics certainly show that what is done with “the least of these” has huge impacts on the worldview of our cultures. The stats bring to our attention that much that is shaped in the minds of children will harden into adulthood. Like a soft clay pot that is easily formed and altered, but when aged and left to dry it hardens into a permanent shape. So much of who we are is determined from infancy! Therefore so much of how we live as adults should also be zoned in on how we intentionally and strategically shape and lead children.
I disagree with the exclusivity of this book being only about American children! At the very least, I take offence that Canadians weren’t included in this study! (HA!) Kidding aside, one challenge with a book like George Barna’s is it’s basis on statistics. While statistics are very important to general understandings, they can also be limiting. In other words, God can bring new life regardless of any statistics and regardless of any age. A set of statistics could be one way at one period of history, but then a spiritual awakening can happen that throws the stats out the window! I’m not completely disagreeing with the premise of the book, because statistics are still revealing and helpful. I’m also not saying that George Barna is trying to limit God! I’m just adding some clarification to the overall thrust of the book that is based on people’s responses to a survey, which can be very subjective and apt to change from year to year. How do you think stats should be used in ministry?
I think the most pivotal and foundational part of the book is the chapter called, “Why Kids Matter.” The Biblical basis for this chapter should move anyone to a greater appreciation for how God views children. Beyond mere appreciation, the Biblical texts on children should fill believers with passion for the weakest and most innocent among us. This passion should drive people to make a difference in the lives of children. The section regarding the ultimate battlefront (p.50ff) urges us to put children as the top priority in our battle against the Evil One. Once the clay pot is hardened, it cannot be re-softened. (This is not to say that adults cannot be saved or changed as God can do the impossible). Therefore, the church must put much emphasis and resources into the training up of children to form a Biblical worldview. Doing this effectively would prevent many of the social problems and family breakdowns that occur, as well as, giving as many as possible the opportunity to receive Jesus.
The ministry setting in which I am a part of could be infused with a new passion if these thoughts and ideas could begin to take hold. Myself, volunteers and parents are easily discouraged and can become indifferent in a moment. Greater awareness of the immense value God places on children will alone motivate greater ministry. Strategies, plans, programs, ideas are all important, but if there is no fuel to energize and sustain what’s happening, it’s very easy to dry up or worse, give up. I believe there is much God-honouring fuel (as well as practical suggestions) from the content of this book that can multiply fruit in many lives.
I wish I could attend www.kidbuilders.ca conference, but I’ll be away this time. Check out the children’s ministry link (Glo Media) below from workshop presenter Amber Smith. Here’s a blog from presenter Nicki Straza. Here’s a music website from presenter Mary McKay. And the keynote speaker Craig Jutila (SO bummed I can’t go!) has a good company called Who Will You Empower.
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