It’s summer in Houston. We hunker down in our homes, air conditioners wheezing out tepid air under the weight of the 115-degree heat index. We venture outside at our own peril. So what better time to talk about Christmas? But in a sense, this is the perfect moment to have this conversation. Christmas isn’t a monolithic monument, standing alone on … Read More
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
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
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
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
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
Bible songs are an awesome way for kids – and adults – to learn Scripture! Songs have a unique ability to get stuck in your head, which makes them great for helping us remember important information. That’s why the very first step in teaching kids to read is singing their ABCs. In fact, you can probably think of several important things you learned … Read More
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
The Creator The darkness must have been impossible to comprehend. It wasn’t a darkness like we experience, a temporary veil that hides imperfectly objects which we know will reappear with the sunrise. It was the darkness of a world that had never known light. It was the deep darkness of nothing. And then, in the beginning, a single word was … Read More
A Head Above This wasn’t the way it was supposed to be. God had rescued his people from slavery in Egypt. He had parted the sea and destroyed the pursuing Egyptian army. He had endured their idol-making and their incessant complaining, though he had provided for their needs at every step of the way. He had fulfilled his promise though they … Read More
