E-VAL-U-ATE: To judge or determine the significance, worth, or quality of. Evaluating your children’s ministry is one of those things that can be tedious, time consuming, and certainly not very glamorous, but so necessary to the success of your ministry. And the reality is that the evaluation of your ministry is happening constantly, whether you have an active and intentional evaluation system in place or not. Who evaluates children’s ministries? Children Did you realize that the kids in your ministry evaluate what’s happening every week? And many times, they choose, whether subconsciously o ..read more

Dear Children’s and Family Ministry Leader, We’re here to remind you just how much you matter! Remember that you are important, and what you do is important. You Matter You are important to kids in your church.  As you work to create environments that welcome and engage kids, you make space for God’s Word to take root. As you present the gospel to children, you share the good news of Jesus that forever changes lives. You are important. And as you make sure kids are safe—physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually—you are caring for God’s little children. You are reminding them of t ..read more

With all the things on our to-do lists, it can be really hard to decide what is most important in our children’s ministries. Whether deciding on priorities for programming or volunteer training, there’s just so much to do. But there is one practice that should come above everything else. Jesus replied, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments. Matthew 2 ..read more

All of us make decisions every day. We make little ones, big ones, and some in between. And sometimes the ministry decisions we make are life-changing decisions. Here are 3 decisions you won’t regret as a children’s ministry leader. First and foremost, take the time each day to spend time with Jesus. Without Him, we can’t grow in the ways that we need to. Supporting Your Senior Leadership If you can begin your ministry with a strong mentor, we highly recommend it. And if this person is part of your senior leadership, that’s even better! It’s such a gift to have the support of your senior lea ..read more

This article was transcribed from portions of the Ministry Spark Webinar: Known, Loved, and Led: Helping Children Know Who They Were Created to Be with speaker Courtney Wilson. You can watch the full webinar here. When we minister to young children, we may not always see the end of the story. At the end of the day, what I can tell you is that I taught God’s Word. I testified to the good news of God’s grace. I taught the whole will of God. I come from Iowa, but my parents were from small, farming communities in Iowa. And my dad had this big giant family with seven brothers and sist ..read more

Easter is approaching fast! Easter weekend can be a wonderful time in the world of Children’s Ministry, but it can also be really hard. It’s typically one of the highest-attended weekends of the year, which means it comes with extra weight. Hosting lots of visitors comes with high ministry expectations—not to mention lots of pressure! But it’s also really exciting. So how can you prepare your heart for Easter? Are there things you can do to get your ministry ready and alleviate some of the pressure? Yes! 5 Things Your Ministry Can Do to Prepare for Easter 1. Advance Planning for Easter Hopeful ..read more

Are you serving simply where you’re comfortable, or are you serving where you’ve been called? Poor leadership can manifest itself in many ways. And there are seasons where good leaders can be poor leaders if they’re not careful to check themselves. Some examples of poor leadership can be seen in: Unclear vision Lack of communication Indecision Complacency Pride The list could go on. And there are integrity gaps in leadership that we all have to work to fix. Have you served under a poor leader? Are you serving under one now? Many of us have served under poor leadership, and it’s a difficult ..read more

What do you know about the families in your ministries, and how are you working to build relationships with them? We get that, depending on your church size, it will shape what you can individually do. However, your team and your ministry should be focused on relationship building. Here are 7 things you need to know (or should be learning) about the families at your church. What to Know About Families in Your Ministry 1. Know Their Names How many parents’ names do you know? It’s said that the most important word to any of us is our own name. Knowing the names of your parents sets the stage for ..read more

Easter Sunday, and the weeks leading up to it, is an incredible time to learn, celebrate, and reflect on, the greatest miracle to ever happen! The death and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ, is the linchpin of the Christian faith and the key to everlasting life. Christ walking out of the grave, defeating sin and death, is worthy of our celebration! A fantastic way to teach, learn, and celebrate together as a kids’ ministry, is through crafts and activities. Kids learn through so many avenues, by listening, creating, and even sharing what they are learning. Christ walking out of the gr ..read more

This lesson preview is pulled from the 5-lesson Easter Series from Wonder Ink. It is flexible and can be used in large group/small group and in classrooms. Download and view the full 75-minute lesson + the family event preview here. LESSON AT A GLANCE: Ezekiel and the Dry Bones WONDER TRUTH: God Has Good News for His People SCRIPTURE: Ezekiel 37 GOD’S BIG STORY: God shows Ezekiel a vision reassuring the prophet that God still had good news for His people—He would bring them back to Him and put His own Spirit of life in them. WORD OF WONDER: He saved us. It wasn’t because of the ..read more