A warm bath and soft jammies. A cozy blanket, the rhythm of a rocking chair, all settled in on Mom’s or Dad’s lap. And now the best part: Storytime. Our evening routine when our kids were much younger often felt a bit frenzied: dinner negotiations with willful toddlers, baths that somehow got mom and dad just as wet, persuading our … Read More
Mom, ROACH!
My coffee was still hot. The kids’ breakfast was underway. I settled into the corner of our living room couch, put my feet up, and opened a book. Before I had even set my eyes on the page Evan’s voice hollered from the breakfast table: “Mom, ROACH!!” I followed his gaze to the floor of our living room, where a Texas-sized cockroach was scurrying … Read More
It’s In the Bag
Plates had been cleared from the table. We settled into the living room next to our spouses. Before launching into our small group discussion that week, someone asked: “Why did you decide to keep visiting our church?” Some were invited by a family member. Some lived in the neighborhood nearby. Some had grown up there. One of the wives spoke up with … Read More
#imsonotfine
His excited grin. Plump cheeks. His tiny hands clutching the obligatory “My First Day of Kindergarten” sign. Facebook memories had done it again. I sat at the breakfast table and scrolled through pictures of my now 6th-grade son’s first day of “big” school. These photos carried me back momentarily to a time when his shoes weren’t bigger than mine and I still stashed … Read More
3 Easy Ways to Connect With Kids This Summer
How do we stay connected with kids and families over the summer? It’s a challenge for every church, and even more so now that we’re already operating at a disadvantage due to the pandemic. Of course, there’s no magic formula, but here are three easy ideas that might help you this summer! Use Family Worship at Home Many of our … Read More
Introducing “Family Worship at Home”
Everything is different this year. And it looks like our new reality will continue for awhile. Church leaders haven’t been able to meet in person with their kids and families, and if your church is like ours, you’re moving VBS online or maybe you’ve cancelled VBS altogether. But maybe this isn’t just a season to be endured, but an opportunity … Read More
5 Things Parents Look For When They Visit Your Children’s Ministry
I’ve been on staff at my church in preschool ministry for 13 years. When you’ve been in the same place doing much of the same thing for so long, it’s easy to get in a rut, stay in your bubble, and forget what it feels like to walk into your building and experience your children’s ministry for the first time. … Read More
3 Things I Learned Doing Children’s Ministry in a Bar
I am the Children’s Ministry Coordinator at City Church Houston, which is a fairly young church plant. Our vision is to renew Houston by bringing beauty into broken places, and it just so happens that we have church in a bar. Since day one our church has met at the House of Blues in downtown Houston, and our children’s ministry … Read More
The Major Shift in Worship and Children’s Ministry that No One Is Talking About
A cosmic paradigm shift has occurred in the worship and children’s ministries of many churches. And though somehow this shift seems to have occurred under the radar, church leaders are awakening to its true significance. For a large and vital segment of our congregations, the role of worship leader has been transferred out of the worship ministry and given to … Read More
Wonderfully Made: Choosing Life
I watched this video for the first time with tears streaming down my cheeks in the lobby of an Orlando hotel. We have been so blessed over the years to have our songs travel all over the nation and even occasionally around the world. (I’m not exactly sure how it happens, I just know that my ASCAP statement includes royalties from Norway.) … Read More
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