Listening to God on Your Life Journey
Last night was my final night as the Director of Pioneer Clubs. It felt bittersweet--full of nostalgia and a good measure of doubt. I’m very thankful that it was a wonderful night full of 70 kids enjoying activities, ice cream, relationships, and Bible exploration; I’m going to miss it! The Christian life is a long journey, full of unexpected twists and turns; it is not a short trip around the block. At merely 24 years old, it seems as if I’ve already made many of life’s “big” decisions. I accepted God’s gift of salvation. I chose and graduated from a
Embracing Thankfulness
The beginning of my thankfulness journey started with a painful conversation 22 years ago with an employee who told me that I rarely thanked them for their work. I remember being surprised by this comment. But then I took some time to process it and decided that perhaps this was an opportunity for me to grow in this area. I began challenging myself to enter my world with appreciation and thankfulness. Here are some things I realized that helped me learn to be more grateful: You are called to be thankful “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s
5 Ways To Start The Year Off Well – Guest Blog by Sue Bowker
Summer Break is nearly over, and the calendar has flipped to reveal that fall is here. Parents are already planning for their children’s fall activities. It is time to gear up for the new club year! 1. Set up Prayer Partners for your Leaders: Who could be praying for your leaders and children throughout the year? Challenge your whole church to be involved by matching up prayer partners with your leaders. Communication could be as simple as a quick phone call, email, or text to let partners know how they can pray intelligently. As co-ordinator, I am updating the church on
Looking For Volunteers?
Volunteers can be challenging to find and keep. Sometimes it seems like we are trying to patch a boat that never stops leaking. Could there be a better way? Perhaps we need to evaluate what we are looking for in a volunteer and recruiting for a certain kind of volunteer rather than just grabbing any warm body that happens along. Here are some important things to consider when looking for a volunteer: • A vibrant relationship with Jesus. If they love Jesus and go to him for support, they will be able to stay the course when it gets tough
Modeling The Battle
As a leader, I often wrestle with the concept of disclosing my sins and personal struggles to my children or leaders. I usually refrain from sharing, whether out of motivation for a good reputation, respecting boundaries, or not wanting to over share. Some things should stay private, to stay between you and God or with just 1-2 other people. I am not going to give you a solution about when and what to intentionally share. However, I want to think about a question today. Do our kids see us modeling our fight against sin? One of the ways kids learn
8 Ways to Engage with Technology in Children’s Ministry
As a millennial, I often wrestle with how to engage technology in children’s ministry. It often seems like we have to compete for the attention of our kids against the tidal wave of big budget animation, shorter attention spans and thousands of other activities. In a time when many people are addicted to their phones and social media, I wonder whether we should encourage the use of media, completely avoid it, or find some middle ground. Should we engage in a way that our children are familiar with and already connect to? Is there a way to approach engaging technology
