Children know God. They encounter God in diverse ways as they walk along the spiritual journey. Amidst this diversity, four distinct avenues for connecting with God emerge in the lives of children: word, emotion, symbol, and action. These are the four spiritual styles, broad approaches to spirituality and faith through which children experience God and make sense of their lives in the world around them. Children's Ministry that Fits blends insightful research, relevant theory, and practical ministry into a guidebook for discovering and understanding children's spiritual styles. Drawing from theology, personal experience, and the spiritual lives of children, David M. Csinos offers practical wisdom that will help pastors, parents, and teachers to move beyond one-size-fits-all approaches to children's ministry and begin nurturing the spiritual lives of children in welcoming and inclusive environments.

Attract kids to church, the logic often goes, and you get parents in the pews. All that's left is to get the kids out of the way. Here children's ministers David Csinos and Ivy Beckwith draw on research in human development and spiritual formation to show how children become disciples and churches become centers of lifelong discipleship.

Always have a great big-fun game at your fingertips for any area of children's ministry, daycare or after-school programming! From creative children's workers comes this tried-and-true colossal collection! Why just tell kids about David and Goliath and have them color a handout when you could play...Human Slingshot (p. 110) where kids link arms to make "slings" and launch paper "rocks" at a nine-foot high target (and then have a great discussion about the story)? Have big-time fun making Key Bible points! In this whopping collection, you'll find just the right game for every lesson or ministry need. Every time. Book jacket.

Presents a new paradigm for children's ministry in the emerging church of the 21st century and explores current ways churches are putting that vision into practice.

Struggling to offer a children’s program that resonates with young families? Finding it difficult to recruit teachers and volunteers for your children’s program? Want a children’s ministry that is grounded in Christ’s foundational teachings and relevant to the experiences of children today? This must-have guide to rethinking your children’s ministry is informed and intelligent, with the lighthearted humor so helpful to working with children. Through storytelling, testimonials, and research-based creativity, you’ll be inspired and energized to use your church’s gifts, your children’s interests, and your families’ needs to develop a children’s ministry that fits your church and the people in it. An appendix includes sample lesson plans, suggested Bible stories and book, and sermons. Colette Potts offers a successful model for a congregation to turn around their children’s ministry program to engage the whole congregation in worship, learning, and service while partnering with parents for bridging the formation gap between Sunday morning at church and the rest of the week at home and beyond.

Much ministry to children looks more like mere entertainment than authentic spiritual formation. But what if children's ministries were rooted in a mind set whereby we taught children, with our words and actions, how the story of God, the story of church history, the story of the local community, and the story of the child intersect and speak to one another? What if children's ministry was less about downloading information into kids' heads and more about leading them into these powerful, compelling stories? Beckwith aims to help ministers and parents create a ministry that captures children's imaginations not just to keep them occupied, but to live as citizens of the kingdom of God. In addition to providing theological reasons for formational children's ministry, the book offers examples of how Ivy and other practitioners are implementing a formational model.

A step-by-step guide to building a strong children's ministry that is a vital part of the church. People know they are called to children's ministry when they get goose bumps and butterflies from something a kid says or an idea that they know will communicate the gospel to children. Building Children's Ministry provides the practical information to transform those feelings and that calling into a successful children's ministry that is integrated into the life of the congregation. The book is divided into topical chapters, including: Getting the support of the pastor and the congregation Statements of purpose Budgets and fundraising Recruiting and keeping volunteers Safety and security Discipline and appropriate policies Choosing and evaluating curriculum Publicity Building Children's Ministry is a practical guide through the challenging (but exciting) steps between recognizing the need for children's ministry and creating a program that ministers to children and their families.

"The strong and spicy heat of the gospel is the secret to effective and exciting ministry just look at the early church! Gospel advancement was at the heart of the early believers? discipleship, and the book of Acts gives us a vibrant picture of God's plan to use us to build His kingdom. In Gospelize Your Youth Ministry, Greg unpacks the model found in the book of Acts, unveiling the seven key ingredients present within the early Church. Today, youth leaders can blend these same basic ingredients together in their own unique, customized recipe to create a gospelized youth ministry that results in dynamic kingdom growth. For youth leaders and adults with a heart for youth ministry who are looking to spice up their ministry and (re)discover the joy, excitement and transformation they?ve been longing to see and that Jesus promised! The gospel is the perfect kick! "

This JAM-PACKED, CHOCK-FULL book of more than 200 GIANT-SIZED games will fill your ministry with TONS of fun and laughter! With a variety of games for preschoolers through preteens, you'll find the perfect game for every occasion! Each of these fun-filled games is tied to a different topic, with a Scripture connection and discussion to help kids understand the Bible point. You'll bring more depth and learning to topics including The Body of Christ, Salvation, Faith, Creation, Fear, Following Jesus, Trust, Forgiveness, Friendship, God's Love, Jesus' Birth and Resurrection, Grace, Prayer, Thankfulness, and so many more! Every game includes an overview that includes the game's energy level, supply level, age level, and preparation needed, so you'll be able to find the best fit for your lesson and time slot. Plus, these relational, cooperative games can be used anytime...wherever they fit into your schedule or to fill an on-the-spot need! Reinforce your lessons with these 200+ must-have games that'll help kids actually remember what they learned!

The story of Jesus interacting with the Emmaus disciples after his resurrection provides an outline for what a gospel-centered kids ministry looks like: gospel-centered teaching that points to Jesus in every session, gospel-centered transformation that positions the gospel to change a child's heart and then his or her behavior, and gospel-centered mission where kids join in on the big story of Jesus that continues to unfold. Seven out of ten kids will walk away from church after they turn eighteen. About five will return when they have families of their own. But two will never return. Clearly, something isn’t connecting with our kids. As kids ministry leaders, we need to take a hard look at what we are missing in our kids ministries and provide kids the one thing that will satisfy them and keep them connected to the church—the gospel. Gospel-Centered Kids Ministry also addresses how to communicate with and encourage gospel-centered leaders and parents as part of your ministry.