Here’s how important Vacation Bible School is: Plus, almost everyone who’s ever lived near a church building knows: this is THE thing churches do in the summer for kids. Which means, if you’ve been around the church world long enough, you’ve probably heard some good, Christian people actually complain about how “that family” always finds…
Content vs. Systems Meet Anxious Amy. She loves, loves, loves Jesus, and she loves kids. She has been leading a large children’s ministry at her own church for over 7 years. And Amy has been running at full speed, ever since she can remember. Her motto is, “If you want something done right, you have…
Over the past several years, I’ve been working on a few projects that have led me to think deeper about a lot of things. Most of these things revolve around parenting and ministry to families. Like many ministry leaders, I’m hoping to be a voice of hope to people as they navigate life and faith….
If you have bi-vocational pastors at your church, you’re not alone. More and more responsibility is being taken on every year by these heroes of ministry. The question is: what can we do to support them and ensure their longevity? Researcher Thom Rainer called the bi-vocational movement “a true revolution in the church.”1 He estimates…
It’s Sunday morning. Everything is ready. Materials are prepared, worship is cued, and volunteers are in place. Then it happens. One child’s behavior sends your morning off the rails. So much for well-made plans. All children deal with behavioral issues now and then, but what if that behavior tells you something else? What if the…
You’ve been waiting for what seems like an eternity. You’re antsy and even a bit sweaty. You’ve replayed this moment countless times in your mind. The minutes crawl, your heart races and your mind wanders. What will it be like? How fast will I actually go? What if I throw up? Suddenly, you realize ……
More than ever, pressure is being put on ministry leaders to “bring people back” to church. As I’ve spent time with youth ministry leaders over the past year, I’ve noticed that the idea of large-scale youth ministry events being the fix-all solution has seen a resurgence amongst churches of various denominational backgrounds and sizes. The…
For six years my husband has been an aspiring gardener. When we moved to rural New Jersey (yes, such a thing exists) he was inspired by the local farms to start a family vegetable garden. Every year, he and our children prepare the same patch of lawn, plant some seeds, and then we all wait…