Take time to reflect and plan

At Wantirna, (where I'm employed part time as the Children's ministry worker) we've come to the end of another busy year. The other day I said to to a friend, "It's good to do children's ministry, and it's also good to stop doing children's ministry." I think you know what I mean. As you come to the end of the year, may you experience something of God's pleasure in your work and take time for a well earned rest.

Yet at the same time I'm excited about next year. It's a strange thing. My excitement comes form the time I and others in our team have spent reflecting on how we want the ministry to develop. We have a vision for the ministry and some very specific things we want to work on.

Holidays ought to be a time to rest, but they do not need to be a time to go brain dead. Why not spend some time personally and with your team reflecting and planning?

Here are some questions you could consider to guide your thinking.

• What is the purpose of your Children's ministry? Summarise it in a few sentences or key points.
• Do your ideas match Biblical ideals? (if you're not immediately clear what the Biblical ideals are, perhaps it's a good time to investigate what the Bible says, otherwise your probably ministering out of tradition or the expectations of the church, rather than Biblical conviction.)
• What are the strengths of your current program (ie where does it fulfil the Biblical ideals?)
• What areas of weaknesses do you want to improve? List the things you wish to do better.
• Prioritise this list. What is most important? What will you work on first?
  
• Consider what you might to do to implementing or change the important items on your list. Who can help you? What steps will you take?
• Set some specific items for action.

May the Lord give you a season of refreshing this Christmas as you remember his coming. May he strengthen you for the work yet to be done as you prepare for what is ahead and consider his coming again.

Children's ministry outreach - MOPS

Wondering how to reach out to the community in children's ministry? Why not consider MOPS for next year. Here's how it works in Sutherland... wow! Praise God!

The Ministry of MOPS,
by Marianne Vanderkolk, Sutherland CRCA.

The MOPS ministry is a very exciting ministry of building bridges and furthering relationships in the community. It is based on a Friendship Evangelism model so when coming to a MOPS morning, it looks more like a community mothers group than a church-run outreach. This, we believe, is what makes MOPS such a powerful ministry.

Since Mothers of Preschoolers can often feel overwhelmed, alone, insecure, stressed and extremely busy, the program is designed to provide them with “Time-out” while their children (Moppets) are being looked after by a capable team of helpers.

Each MOPS group structures their morning differently. We begin with a very relaxed morning tea, followed by a talk. Speakers have included people from within our church and from the community – dealing with a huge range of topics including cake decorating, hairdressing, mission topics, health and fitness topics, Discipline DVDs by Dobson, as well as using the MOPS curriculum which usually has 6 DVD sessions on various mothering topics. Then we have some discussion questions. At this time, the Christians in the group and the MOPS team can answer questions from their own personal experience and bring in their journey of faith appropriately. Following this, we have some time for a creative activity which can include cooking demonstrations, crafts and other activities.
The aim of MOPS is to bring mothers to a knowledge of Jesus Christ through friendship evangelism and subsequently, using tools such as Christianity Explained, Christianity Explored and others, to explain the gospel clearly. Since we first began in July 2008, we have seen a number of ladies come to church and church run activities (since it is a very familiar place for them and their children), go through Courses, attend a special MOPS Bible Study on the alternate week, and come to faith and also profess their faith.

The MOPS Bible study is a wonderful opportunity for interested ladies to learn about God without any prior knowledge of God or the Bible. It runs on the same day as our KYB group and so the two groups meet at morning tea. Some ladies have moved from the MOPS Bible Study to the KYB when they are ready to go more into depth.

Another aim of MOPS is to encourage young women in developing leadership skills. It has been a great opportunity for young church mums to enter into various roles and work in a committee.
We are very thankful to God for the fruit of the MOPS ministry and we pray that He will continue to bless those who come and bring more into relationship with Himself.

CRCA Training in 2011: coming to a State near you.

Training is something close to my heart. Over the years I have benefitted enormously from the insights, inspiration and practical help it's provided, especially at critical times like the start of a new year. It's been well worth the effort. In early 2011 we plan to offer training thoughout the states. We've called it 'Stretch training.' 'Stretch' though will be different from some of the events I've attended. The emphasis at Stretch will be practical and team orientated. For example, one workshop will focus on five key dimensions of children's ministry. Throughout, teams and individuals will reflect on their situation and have the time to consider what they need to do in their own context. There will be other practical workshops too and time to network with different children's ministry teams to share insights and resources.

We urge all children's and youth ministry teams to attend. States will be notified of the times and places as they are finalised.

Before you kick the year off, why not take time with your team, for a good Stretch?

What Curriculum in 2011?

We are always in search of excellent curriculum material and the end of a year is the opportunity to review what we have been using.
You will never find curriculum that 'has it all' (whatever 'all' is) yet there are a few important guidelines to remember as we dive into the sea of options. (Hint; don't stop reading till you hit the final point of this article; it contains perhaps the most important consideration.)

1. God centered themes.
Too much of the curricula I have seen treats the Bible like a set of fairy stories ending with the words, "and the moral to the story is ....;" at which point they give a little child centred application such as, "be good, don't lie, trust God." Yet the Bible is essentially a story about God. A curriculum must make God and his wonderful plan in Christ its main theme. For example, through the story of David and Goliath children need to get a sense that God was raising up his anointed king to save his people, not, "... you don't have to be afraid when you face giant obstacles in your life" (Of course, in God's king, Jesus, we overcome in all things, but that is only true when we realise who God's king is!) A curriculum must be true to the purpose and intent of 'His-story' as it unfolds in Christ.

2. Depth of application
How deep can you go with a five year old? Answer: as deep as you can. Much of the material we use is like an express train that rockets through story after story without pausing in any depth to explore how it applies to a child's life. Consequently, we end up with children who raise their hands to tell you, "I know that story" and then switch off. We must find creative ways to apply the word to life.
There should be depth in a number of different areas.
Firstly, a multi faceted deepening relationship with God. Paul's prayer must be our goal, "...that you may know him (God) better" (Eph. 1:17.) Not just factual knowledge, but a personal, practical knowledge that is demonstrated by trust and obedience. How do our lessons engage children to explore and respond to God at a personal deepening level. Does the story lead to prayer (what kind of prayer?) worship (in what way?) thoughtful meditation, reflective writing (a poem, a story?) creating, a particular response of obedience, and so on. Do not finish with a story or theme (even if it means stretching it over a few lessons) unless you've applied it to their relationship with God.
Secondly, application should be age appropriate. For example, ask yourself, for what does a five year old need to trust God; what about a ten year old? The curriculum should apply the same story or theme to children in different ways according to their age and context. In this way children are taught that they never 'know it all' but rather discover that in ever relevant ways, the Bible applies to them.
Thirdly, the curriculum should guide and explore different ways children can respond. Always having a list of questions to answer, or a sheet to colour in, or a craft to complete is not sufficient. The story or theme should lead us in this, and as it does so we can apply it through different means such as, creative play, skits, drawing, making, journaling, writing, serving,.... and so on.

3. Parental involvement.
Take home questions, information, prayer and discussion suggestions are invaluable to enhance the impact of what you are teaching and to endear your ministry to parents.

4. Actually reading the Bible.
Reading from a Bible may not explicitly be mentioned in the material, yet it's worth mentioning as vital to any teaching we do. By getting children to bring their Bibles, read them and work with them ensures they are hearing God's word in the form in which it comes to us as well as learning to use their Bibles for themselves.

5. It is taught by teachers who have a rich and real walk with God.
A teacher impresses young children with who they are. Our passion for Christ, his word and the way we live it is the key to ANY curriculum. In some ways, a fully prepared curriculum removes a powerful and necessary process in teaching; the teachers personal investment and connection with the material which often only comes through the hard work of study and preparation. The material we use must never be allowed to become a substitute for reliance on the Holy Spirit and personal conviction about the truths we teach. One set of material I have investigated calls this dimension 'teaching from the overflow.' I think they've got it in one. Throughout the year, regardless of the material, leaders need to maintain and build their spiritual life and work hard to teach out of a personal rich and real walk with God.

Do you think there are other important considerations?
What do you think about 'pre-packaged' vs 'do it yourself' curriculum?

Children's Ministry to the down and out.

Metro ministries is the world's largest children's ministry. But it is not in the leafy suburbs of middle class America. It is in Brooklyn New York. Watch this video, it's an inspirational introduction to the work of God in children's ministry. It reminds me of Paul's words,

... God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.

It's probably more important that you watch the following video than the previous one for in it founding Pastor Bill Wilson shares his heart for the work. You will get a sense of the Christ like attitude, the cost and some of the practices that makes the ministry a powerful instrument in God's hands.

Question: What attitudes stand out for you as the ones we need as we pursue children's ministry in our context?

Calling Volunteers: Sink or Swim

Finding volunteers for children's ministry can be difficult. Here's a story from the Uniting Church of how one leader approached the task.*
What can you learn from her experience? How might you use the principles in your context?

"Due to a number of reasons, the volunteers on the children’s roster at my church had declined from about 8 people to 3 in the space of a month at the end of last term. This left us wondering if Kids Church would continue in Term 4. For a couple of weeks, the need was announced in the notices with no response. Listening to these requests for help, I was reminded of an article I’d read earlier this year in the Children’s Ministry Magazine (May/June 2010, Vol 20, No. 2) titled Titanic... or Carnival Cruise Ship.

The article says that “people won’t board a sinking ship” but will “line up to board a Carnival Cruise ship...to join something that’s a fun adventure, feels like family, and knows where it’s headed.” It lists a number of “signs to know whether you’re sending distress signals - or going full speed ahead” (p48).

Taking this on board and feeling strong promptings from God about a way forward for our Kids Church, I shared in the church service about what our Kids Church was about: relationships, discipleship (God and me, me and others), and keeping things simple and fun. I also shared about what happens in a session and about the kids (we have a great bunch of kids!).

I shared about the opportunity for people to join in who had key teaching skills and outlined their role (including the need for a police check and Child Safe Environments training), the roster and how they would be supported.

I then shared a possible new way forward for Kids Church that I’d felt God had given. I commented that many people in church have skills and hobbies, such as craft, cooking, sports, music, drama and that they could share these in kids church to help children either engage with or respond to the story. I explained that they would not be responsible for planning the session, they would not be left in charge of the children or have to worry about behaviour management. I outlined how they would be supported, that their role was for one week only, they needed a police check and they could just plan for their part of the session to share their interests with the kids.

I also expressed that I hoped they would be blessed by meeting with the kids and that through this the kids would also get to know their wider church family!

I emphasized that I knew support was important because our kids are too valuable to send people out who are ill-equipped and that the adults (potential volunteers) are too valuable to just send out with the kids to sink or swim.

After sharing once, 2 key teachers (who actually happen to be school teachers!) and 6 helpers signed up and the next week another 3 helpers signed up. This gave us a full roster for the whole term! And a few interested in helping next year.

Most of these people are not involved in other ministries. A few had been thinking about Kids Church but weren’t sure what was involved, others just hadn’t thought they could do it. A few others I’d never met before, so I’ve talked with my church leaders to ensure they are appropriate people for Kids Church.

I admit that this has given me more work to do in the short-term answering all of their questions and reassuring them of how we’ll make things work. But last Sunday, I stayed in church, while for the first time a new teacher and helper ministered with the kids. I caught up with them afterwards, and the new helper who had shared her scrapbooking crafts asked me when she could join in again! Next week, we’re looking forward to one of our “grandmothers” helping the kids to bake morning tea for the church and the week after we’re telling the story using musical instruments with a mum and her teenage son. I’m not sure how it’s all going to work but it’s definitely a fun, church-family adventure!"

*Used with permission. Taken from: "What's Up?" a newsletter of the Resource Centre for Children's and Family Ministry, Uniting Church of SA -
http://mrn.sa.uca.org.au/mrn-centres/resource-centre-for-children-and-family-ministry.html

Fathers shepherding children.

While this blog normally focuses on the church's ministry to children I thought I'd slip in an inspiring and practical article about fathers caring for the spiritual development of their children. It has a couple of suggestions about how to do this. It also focuses our attention on the power of personal ministry to children and for me, sparks ideas about how we can mentor children one on one.

Here's a snippet. You can find the rest at: http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2010/07/21/how-can-i-make-sure-i-am-individually-shepherding-my-children/

How can I make sure I am individually shepherding my children? – by Brian Croft

This faithful father shepherded his seven children by taking one morning a week to meet individually with each of his children. Seven days in a week–each of the seven children got one morning each week with their dad. They prayed, read scripture, talked, and read a book of that child’s choosing. Inspired by his amazing example, I came home and established a similar model in our home that I remain faithful to this day. Here is what I do to individually shepherd my four children regularly in addition to our regular time of family worship, as well as implications attached to it:
1) Monday through Thursday each child gets a day and on his or her appointed day stays up 30 – 45 minutes later than their siblings to meet with me before bedtime. I thought they would be excited about it for a few times, but then grow bored with it. Not so. Years later, they look forward to that time more than anything, which provides a natural accountability when you are tired from the day and are tempted to skip for that evening.

Have you heard or used any other practices? Let me know what you've discovered or used.

Taking the pressure off Children's Ministry

Last week I had what is becoming an all too familiar conversation with someone about children's ministry in their church. The current leader(s) would be stepping down at the end of the year and they were not sure who would be taking over. It confirmed for me that there is a particularly high turn over of leaders in children's ministry. Sometimes a change is necessary and healthy. Often though, we loose experienced, committed people and the children's ministry suffers accordingly.
This article is not to pour guilt on leaders who leave; their reasons are always justified. However, there seems to be a couple of key reasons why people leave and I wonder if we addressed these more effectively, could we not hold on to experienced, capable leaders.

1. Reason One: Worn out by the weekly grind.
Many churches schedule Children's church every Sunday. Eventually the pressure of preparing week in and week out, while missing out on regular church, takes a toll. To ease the pressure and refresh your leaders you may try the following:

a. Change the schedule for children's church. For example: rather than having children's church every week, change to a '4 week on, 2 week off time table.' In this way your leaders will have regular breaks and children will adjust to regular services (when the children are in church, find ways to engage them in the service.)

b. Or you may try rotating teachers throughout the year to give each leader some time off. Some churches rotate a different team each term. Or find other leaders to step in from time to time. On those weeks change the program to something they can handle. For example, regularly conscript some younger leaders to lead games and include a different teaching time. On these Sundays give a couple of the adult leaders time off.
The goal is to find ways to keep leaders fresh and enthused. If your leaders are groaning under the load they are likely to leave.

If you have found other ways to overcome this problem, please let us know.

2. Reason Two: Feeling unsupported in an unimportant ministry.
Children's ministry is often taken for granted in many churches and it's profile is not high. Leaders who feel their work is unimportant or unappreciated will soon loose interest and leave. To work against this try the following:

a. Make sure your leaders know the value of their work. Remind them regularly about the importance of children's ministry in the Lord and it's vital role in shaping children in the formative years of their life. Our leaders must be continually reminded that, in the Lord, their work will bear lasting fruit for the kingdom. It reminds me of the story of the three men breaking rocks on a building site. When asked what they were doing one replied, "I'm breaking rocks." Another said, "I'm earning a living." The third proudly stated, "I'm building a cathedral!" You can guess who was the most enthusiastic and committed to his task. So too with children's ministry. Develop a sense of calling in your leaders by reminding them of what they are doing and why.

b. Share the vision and direction of your children's ministry with the whole church. Newsletters, up front announcements, regular prayer requests, letters home to parents, Children's services and a rotating door of volunteers in your children's ministry are ways to ensure your church understands the vital nature of your work. Never miss an opportunity to build the profile of your ministry to the level at which it ought to be at.

c. At least annually, but also more regularly, reward your leaders for their hard work and commitment. Cards, phone calls, personal visits, regular outings and annual dinners will keep them motivated and enthused. Leaders who put in ought to be encouraged and rewarded for their commitment and will be reenergised and motivated by the support.
d. Make sure that children's ministry has a significant slice of the church's budget. Spend what has been allocated and do not be afraid to ask for what you need. A ministry the church is supporting is a ministry worth having.
If you have other ideas or examples of how to keep your leaders feeling appreciated and supported please pass it on.

What do you think is the greatest reason why leaders turn over so regularly in children's ministry? Do you have any suggestions or examples of what can be done about it?

Postmodern Children's Ministry: A Book Review

By Ivy Beckwith. Published by Zondervan

I cannot recommend this book enough. In it you'll find some very stimulating and helpful chapters such as:
'The Beginning of Faith' (a discussion of child development and its relationship to spiritual development.) 'Children in Community' (a great chapter outlining the traits of community life essential to faith formation) and 'The Bible is for Children To' (a passionate, well argued and Biblically sound plea to take the Bible seriously in children's ministry.)

Beckwith does not avoid confronting the shortcomings in much that goes for ministry to children in our day. In its place she argues for a ministry that takes the nature of children and their spiritual formation seriously.

This book will help deepen your understanding and increase your passion for truly transformational children's ministry. To top it all off, she basically comes from a Reformed perspective!

Get this book, read and digest it's contents. Four out of five stars from me.

Selecting the Right Children's Story Bible

Finding a children’s story Bible that suits the understanding level of your children can be hard and the options are plentiful and varied. When you are trying to cater for children of different ages it becomes even harder. As you go out hunting for a Bible, I encourage you to consider these following options concerns.

1. Is the Bible about God? This sounds like a dumb statement, however this is the number one concern when selecting a children’s story Bible. The Bible, being God’s Word, is a means by which God reveals himself to us. Through Scripture, we learn of the story of creation, sin, God’s saving plan in Jesus and the redemption and restoration of creation in and through Jesus Christ, His Son.

So when looking for a story Bible ask yourself this; is the revelation of God there? Does it capture the longing of creation for salvation? Is it pointing constantly to the coming of the Christ and the second coming of Christ? If not, it really is little more than a storybook.

By this I mean, the story of Jonah is not the story of Jonah, it is one of the many stories of God that make up the great revelation of God and His work. The central character of the story of Jonah is God, on a mission to set His creation free! Jonah is a story about God and how he wants his Word to go out to some of the hardest of places; it is a story of how he calls ordinary people to do extraordinary things, about how he triumphs over human weakness and fear and how he softens hard people’s hearts to His good news. The story of God in Jonah is also a part of the greater story of God’s saving plan, God wants to set his creation free from sin and death and there is one to come later who would also know storms at sea and risk death because of his message. He will also know three days in a dark place only to re-enter the world and complete the work of seeing people set free

It is hard to find a children’s story Bible that is intent on focussing on God as the central character, and point us constantly to the hope we have in God in Christ. It is easy to write the stories, to make up cute little moral connections to help our children be ‘good little boys and girls’, but to centralise it on God in Christ is an often missed, yet fundamental ingredient. There are good children’s story Bibles out there so research well and pray for guidance.

2. Illustrations. Good story and good pictures seem to be the rule for what makes a good children’s story Bible. Often when you look over one, both the author and the illustrator are credited on the front cover. Illustrations do capture the interest and the imagination, helping the children enter into the story and understand it.

As you look over the illustrations, consider if they are helpful or unhelpful to the story. Much of the Bible is set in a different time and place to ours; it both reveals mystery and invites us into mystery. The imagery that the Bible carried with it in our imaginations can be loaded, and for children just as much so. Therefore, illustrations can help us all to understand the setting and maintain a visual interest in the story, but over-dramatic attempts to illustrate the story carries with it the potential to limit imagination or explain that which is not revealed.

Think for a moment: let’s say we were to illustrate God as a big white-haired, white-bearded, old, friendly looking man sitting on a cloud throughout our literature. Is this actually helpful or unhelpful? In Scripture, God chooses to reveal Himself as in a cloud by day and in fire by night, as a voice in a burning bush, as a burning pot and on Sinai amid massive stormy, smoky drama. Is illustrating Him as the white-haired man, limiting our children’s ability to enter into the wonder of what and who is God? Are we restricting Him to one place, one race, one size, human, and having the attributes of only one gender? Is this helpful? Is that the way God is revealing himself in scripture? I remember one time on a road trip my son asked me “Dad, how big is God?”. While the theological and rational answers flooded to mind, I am glad that I stopped thinking answers and replied “How big do you think he is?” Scripture invites us to wonder and be amazed, to ponder the mystery. At what point do our attempts to illustrate, just like our rational adult needs to explain and understand, actually hinder the revelation God has intended in Scripture?

The children’s story Bible we are using at the time of writing has great colourful and engaging illustrations, however when I look at them discerningly, they are very ordinary and somewhat disproportionate. For example, the other night Jesus, when sleeping through the storm, was lying on his back on the deck of the ship and took up half the boat, meanwhile the boat was a tiny thing on the biggest monster of a wave. To make it even stranger was the face that a disciple hanging off the mast was being blown horizontal. All that being said, I remember thinking (as we were laughing about it as a family) “I like this”. It helped the children engage with the story and you could visualise that Jesus was asleep, but it did not really add anything, nor distract from the essence of the Bible story.

3. Is it all there? The art of writing anything is deciding what to include and what to leave out. It is no different when a writer decides to paraphrase the Bible for the children. We have already discussed the importance of checking that the children’s story Bible includes the foundational themes of the revelation of God and salvation in Christ. As you search for a Bible, take time to explore what is there and what is missing. Make sure that you are comfortable with what is not there. Being a story Bible book for children it makes sense that the author would choose to leave out some material. However, some do not cover the death of Jesus, some do not cover the expectant return of Jesus and there might be other aspects important to you that are not covered, like the covenants, Mount Sinai and the giving of the law. Be sure you know what you hold as important to be included and take the time to be sure that it is there.

© Jonathan Vandenberg

As to suggestions, you may choose to look at some of these,

Candle books "My first Story Bible'.

The 'Look and See' Bible
The Big Picture Story Bible, by D. Helm (Crossway, 2004).
The Jesus storybook Bible, by S Lloyd-Jones (Zonderkids, 2007).
The Beginner’s Bible, mentioned by The Goodbook Company.

Never too late to try.... again.

A good way to reinvigorate your children's ministry is to build on past successes. Even after a long break. This is what Sth Gippsland CRCA has done. After many, many years of clubless holidays, they have again ran a holiday club. Far from taking the, 'been there done that' attitude, this enthusiastic bunch (I know, I've met them) has experienced God's blessing in their efforts. Read about their Ship Shape holiday club, and see if this is the type of blessing you would want in your own children's ministry.

All in all it was a great event and we saw many blessings from the Lord. The children who came participated well in every aspect of the programme.

We had singing (thanks to Mrs Susie who led us so energetically) craft, Bible stories, drama...who could forget the drama team - they were so believable!

The children learnt about what it is to follow Jesus and even when we don’t show our love for Him, as Peter did when he denied his Lord, He still loves and forgives us. They learnt about the "greatest treasure" being Jesus and not things in this life.

The numbers fluctuated a bit but averaged between 45-50 each day - all in all about 60 children participated over the week. We were really happy with this number as we could manage with our team and resources.

Please continue to keep the children and their families in your prayers that they may grow in their faith.

Thanks to everyone for helping in whatever way...on team, as a helper, setting up and preparing craft, baking for our morning teas, donation of money etc, but mostly for your prayers. The parent/family BBQ and concert night was extremely well attended also.

Until next year when we hope to do another Holiday fun week we'd like to say thanks to you for your support.

Reinventing something you've already done has it's advantages, especially if the initial experience was positive. You can tap into the bank of positive feeling and rekindle latent enthusiasm. On top of this you have people with experience, skills and knowledge. Especially if you're ministry is lagging why not get some momentum by launching from success?

Can we help each other?

At times children's ministry can seem like a job which we tackle alone. Isolated in our own churches we forget the hundreds of passionate people though out the denomination who want to see our children's ministry succeed and grow. I'm sure your one of them!
How can we help each other? One way is by prayer. As Paul himself said,

He has delivered us... On him we have set our hope... as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many. 2Cor. 1:10 - 11

Together we can support and help each other through prayer and see a movement of God among us to grow our children and ministries in answer prayer.

On the contact page, email through your requests. With your permission we can circulate them by email and join together in prayer. Who knows what God will do!

If you do not wish to receive prayer requests in this way, just let us know and we will take you off that mailing list.

Recruiting the leaders you need: a training resource

One of the greatest challenges in children's ministry is recruiting leaders.

“Part of your role as leader is to find and develop your replacement who will do a better job than you.”

Yet, there are never enough leaders.
The main obstacles seem to be our hesitation to ask already busy adults to add one more thing to their hectic life or our reticence because we wonder if the person is 'the right kind of person' for children's ministry. Then there are the discouraging knock backs and general disinterest. Easier, we think, just to put an add in the newsletter and see what happens. Yet that rarely works.
Recruit we must and now is the time to begin thinking about next year. It may seem hard, yet there are things we can do to make it easier. Here is the short list.

• 1. Adopt a recruiting attitude.
• 2. Pray
• 3. Hunt
• 4. Inspire
• 5. Involve.

For a more complete description of each of these go to the web site 'training' page. See Leaders and download the file 'Recruiting Leaders.' Let me know how you get on, or if I can help you with any of the ideas mentioned.

Big Picture Children's ministry.

From my own experience and shortcomings in children's ministry I have begun to compile a list of what I've called, "Important but neglected dimensions of Children's ministry." I've included things like, 'developing leaders' and 'prayer.'
However one topic has come to stand out over the rest. I call it, "Working from a bigger picture of Children's ministry."
What I mean is, most of us would rightly feel affronted if people said we were merely babysitting. We would retort, "It's much more than that!" But then just what is it? We often describe it in terms of teaching. Yet this answer too is far from satisfying because it is too narrow. We do more than impart information and our role must include much more if it is to reach what God intends.
A more complete answer sees us as those who help shape young lives as disciples of Christ and to develop children to become mature in Christ with all that that entails. What Paul says metaphorically, we say literally,

"My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you." (Gal.4:19)

Another way of describing this is to say our aim is to develop truly wise children. Wisdom means applying God's ways in every aspect of life. Wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord (Prov.9:10). Wisdom enables a person to effectively navigate life (Prov.2:6-11). It has high values, is deeply satisfying and brings rich rewards (Prov.3:3 - 6.) In Proverbs 4:7 the child is told,

Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom.
Though it cost all you have, get understanding.

If we are to do this well it is not enough to have a series of 'lessons' on proverbs. The challenge is to imbed, promote and practice the principles of wise living in the very fabric of our ministry. For example; a wise person is proactive and works hard. Where in our program are children given the opportunity, expected or rewarded for taking initiative? How do we encourage them to do so? On the contrary, we as adults often prepare everything and simply 'spoon feed' the children week after week. At an age appropriate level could we give children responsibility for aspects of the program? Could we take time to reward those who make an effort "while no one is watching?"

If we are to do this well we need to have in mind some of the fundamental practices of wise living which we will aim to incorporate into our ministry. What would you include in such a list? The list should not comprise so much of christian virtues (such as 'being kind') but of habits of wise living. This is because we can all think of various christian virtues, but the goal is to develop children who are committed to choosing the good, whatever that good may be. Perhaps that is one of the habits: 'Chooses the high road.' Your list should include personal habits, as well as 'communal' habits, that is, how they work with others in community. I'd be interested in what you would include in your list. More next time.

Resources: 'The Next Generation' videoette.

This is a short, endearing, yet challenging three minute video that highlights the importance and urgency of Children's ministry. In it Australian children speak of their needs, dreams and desires. It raises issues for discussion among those who shape strategies and programs for children.

You can use this to inspire your team, or better still, your whole church.

To make the most of it do not just show it and leave it without comment or opportunity for further action. You might try some of the following:
* Make it part of a children's service in which children play a major role.
* Include some specific requests and examples of how people can get involved in Children's ministry.
* Follow it with some specific points of prayer about your church's children's ministry.
* Incorporate it in at a congregational meeting to highlight the role of children's ministry.
* Use it in a small group followed by questions for discussion.
* Use it in a commissioning service for children's ministry.
* Have everyone involved in Children's ministry stand up or come to the front for prayer.

You can download it from here...

Training: A Ministry in prayer

This is the first of our 'Stand Alone units' of training. The aim is to use these units to develop and train your team either at regular team meetings or on special training days.

We begin with prayer. It's vital isn't it? How is your ministry founded and supported by prayer? How do you teach and lead children in the consistent discipline of prayer?
The answers will vary in each ministry. Yet we all know that God works wonderfully in answer to prayer. Through prayer lives and ministries are transformed by His Spirit. What small or big steps might your team take to focus and improve the way you pray?

A Ministry in Prayer is a practical workshop designed help you develop prayer in four key areas: as leaders, as teams, in children and in the church.

As you go through this workshop as a team you will reflect, brainstorm and take action to build a ministry rooted and built up in prayer.

You can download it here

Where does Faith Begin?

This is a very important question for those of us who aim to shape the faith of children. The answer we give has implications for how we teach, involve and minister to children.

In a new book, 'Shaped by God' (edited by R. J. Keeley) Don C Richter writes,

"For almost everyone, faith begins in practice rather than belief."

What does this mean? Richter quotes Miroslav Volf to explain further,

People come to believe either because they find themselves already engaged in Christian practices (say, by being raised in a Christian home) or because they are attracted to them. In most cases, Christian practices come first and Christian beliefs follow - or rather, beliefs are already entailed in practice, or that their explicit espousing becomes a matter of bringing to consciousness what is implicit in the engagement of the practices themselves.

Faith is formed when beliefs are lived out in the 'practice' of the christian life. We fan the flame of faith when we "notice, name and nurture practice connections with Scripture."

Our ministries to children then, as much as possible, ought to provide them with the opportunity to engage in the disciplines of the Christian life in response to God's Word.

For example, we not only provide opportunities for children to hear the stories of Scripture but for them to become story tellers. Not only do we pray for them, but we help them to pray for each other. How do our ministries lead them to give, serve, lead worship, teach, profess faith and care in ways appropriate to their age?

All of this is reflected in Jesus command, "make disciples... teaching them to obey..." The challenge and privilege is to apply this to children whose faith we are shaping.

(The book, Shaped by God' can be ordered by request from the Resource Centre.)

We need your support for Chaplains in State Schools

The question that we are being ask frequently since the political manoeuvrings of a few weeks back is what difference will the change of Prime Minister make to the continuation of chaplaincy funding. Our response is that it will most likely be determined by how well we (i.e. us, you and other supporters of chaplaincy) across the country let the Prime Minister and Labor members of Federal Parliament know of the benefit that the chaplaincy service and chaplains are within the school and broader community. To this end the National School chaplaincy Association (NSCA) have set up a web based lobbying strategy, similar to what was done last year so that we can start writing to our local members and the Prime Minister.

Please log on to support.schoolchaplaincy.org.au to register your support for chaplaincy. Please pass this link onto your networks and others who will get behind this campaign.

With the impending election it is the right time for the government to appreciate that chaplaincy is important to the community and its continued funding will be valued.

Welcome to the Blog

My name is Ray Rus. Recently I was appointed to the denominational position of Children's Work Coordinator.

I'm the husband of Wendy, father of six children and two grandchildren (seen in the picture below)

I'd like to pray for you, hear your stories, share resources, learn from what you know and give you the opportunity to do the same from others.

It's exciting to know that there are many of you who feel the same way and Iook forward to partnering with you in the vital work of nurturing God's covenant children and building the church of the future.

From my experience children's ministry is underrated and undervalued. My aim, therefore, will be to do what I can to develop a community of children's workers within the denomination who inspire, resource and encourage each other.
I'd like to pray for you, hear your stories, share resources, learn from what you know and give you the opportunity to do the same from others.

Therefore, my work will focus on these four things:.
* To advance the cause of children's ministry generally in the churches.
* To promote child safe practices.
* To develop effective leaders.
* To provide accessible resources.

I will be visiting most states over the year and I look forward to seeing you.
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Join the dots

What means a dot? Perhaps not a lot. Or maybe more than you think. Recently, at the ministers and wives', conference Toby, Helen, Maggie and Ron from Cadets and Gems asked ministers to stick dots on a large sheet of paper which they had hung on the wall. We were to choose the age bracket in which we had turned to the Lord. The results looked like

Why we like Childsafe

Redlands has implemented Child Safe for a number of years. Through experience they have discovered the benefits of running child Safe. I asked Margaret Nugent, the coordinator to give three reasons why they are sold on Child Safe. She writes,

The Value of Children's Ministry

Charles Spurgeon, the great English preacher, once said,
"It is assuredly a noble part of benevolence to deliver the gospel to the sons of men;
and, if possible, this benevolence is of a still higher kind when you deliver the truth
of God to children,

Our Churches outreach in State Schools

Last week I received an email from the principle of our local primary school.
"Can you please tell me who the Kids Hope mentor co-ord is? I have two children who would benefit from a connection with a mentor."
Kids Hope is a wonderful 'one to one' mentoring program in which a mature christian adult is paired with a child for one hour once a week.
If you or your church is looking for an opportunity to outreach to children at your local primary school, Kids hope may just be that open door. It's simple and Schools love it. Typically, the children who are mentored are children with special needs (Jesus' least of these?) Every week my child greets me with a big smile and leaves me with a big hug. By God's grace I know I am making a difference in his life; he tells me so.

The key points of kids hope are,
"One church partnering with one school.
One mentor for one child
One hour, once a week."

Some of our Churches (Dandenong, Wantirna, Hope in the Hills and Wonga Park) have been mentoring for a number of years.




Any church can join Kids Hope and begin to mentor. Kids hope is administered through World Vision who train and support the program. All you need to do is apply to World Vision, gather some mentors, undergo a day of training and then approach a school.

Kid's hope has given me the opportunity to share the love of Christ and to witness to the school community of his goodness, and isn't that what we are all about?

Go to the Kids Hope web site and check out

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