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Each year, my Christmas list includes lots of books.  So, at the start of each year, I like to share the new books that I received.  Here is one of my new books for 2019:

It's hard to believe that another year of Hide N Seek has come and gone.  Hide N Seek is our midweek ministry to 4 year olds through 4th grade students at Hesston MB Church. Each year we end with a program for families and the congregation.  This used to occur in the evening, but the last few years we have moved it to Sunday during our worship service. At the program, our kid's choir will sing several songs they have learned this year.  You will also hear the Bible verses that each of the age groups have learned during Bible Memory.  I encourage you to come out and support our kids and you will be blessed as they share their gifts of song and scripture with you.  Our worship service is at 10:10 a.m. and our address is 610 W. Randall in Hesston, KS.

Each year, my Christmas list includes lots of books.  So, at the start of each year, I like to share the new books that I received.  Here is one of my new books for 2019:

Each year, my Christmas list includes lots of books.  So, at the start of each year, I like to share the new books that I received.  Here is one of my new books for 2019:

Last year, I wrote a curriculum for our 2nd-4th grade classes at our mid-week program at church called Hide N Seek.  The curriculum focused on who God is. As part of that curriculum, my friend Brittni Rhodes, made images to convey the truth about who God is.  I would like to start sharing these images weekly as a reminder of the good, great, and awesome God we have.  

For the rest of 2018, I will be sharing books I recommend because they are some of my favorites.  New Book Friday will resume in January. Enjoy!

Today, I am attending The Apprentice Gathering at Friends University in Wichita.  During the day, I attended a workshop led by Mimi Keel. Below you will find notes from the workshop: John Westerhoff in “Will our Children Have Faith?” writes,  In the formation of children we do four things: We tell and retell God’s story until it becomes our own personal story We participate in the Eucharist and the liturgy We listen and talk to each other about our relationship with God We practice acts of ministry together Holistic-Relating to the whole, rather than dissection of the parts; whole is greater than the sum of its parts The Whole Child Multiple-Intelligence Theory Educational philosophy that is based on developing the whole child Creates environments for the whole child to explore Types of multiple intelligences-Bodily, Verbal, Musical, Naturalist, Interpersonal, Mathematical (Logical), Visual See Handout: Multiple Intelligences and Prayer Video...

For the rest of 2018, I will be sharing books I recommend because they are some of my favorites.  New Book Friday will resume in January. Enjoy!

It's hard to believe that another year of Hide N Seek has come and gone.  Hide N Seek is our midweek ministry to 4 year olds through 4th grade students at Hesston MB Church. Each year we end with a program for families and the congregation.  This used to occur in the evening, but the last few years we have moved it to Sunday during our worship service. At the program, our kid's choir will sing several songs they have learned this year.  You will also hear the Bible verses that each of the age groups have learned during Bible Memory.  I encourage you to come out and support our kids and you will be blessed as they share their gifts of song and scripture with you.  Our worship service is at 10:10 a.m. and our address is 610 W. Randall in Hesston, KS.

A few weeks ago I finished reading Gospel Centered Kids Ministry by Brian Dembowczyk. He works for Lifeway and leads the team that produces Gospel Project for Kids Curriculum. Here are some quotes from the final chapters of the book: We see that Jesus met the spiritual needs (teaching and preaching), the physical needs (healing), and emotional needs (compassion) of the people.  Harvesting the fields always starts with me before they...Statistically, the ripest harvest field for the gospel falls in the demographic of kids. We need leaders who are to help kids see the gospel, love the gospel, grow in the gospel, and dedicate their lives to the gospel. Kids leaders might not be thought of as theologians by many people, but I believe we should be some of the most sound theologians in the church. Gospel transformation takes place when we spend time with Christ and let Him drive the gospel more deeply into our minds and hearts. Then, and only then, will the Holy Spirit produc...

One of my stops during Sabbatical Trip 2 was to The Village Church in Dallas, TX.  I attended their worship service two weeks in a row. I also had the opportunity to observe their children's ministry for 5th grade and younger.  Here are a few thoughts from this visit: Matt Chandler and the Village Church have been taking some heat recently via social media. I was encouraged by Chandler's confession and repentance during the worship service. He was humble and gave permission for the congregation to contact any of the elders if they had been hurt by their actions.  His words and posture showed sorrow for his and others' actions Children's Ministry curriculum that is gospel centered and Jesus focused--I know this seems like a no brainer, but so much of the curriculum for kids is about morals and being good.  I appreciated Kid's Village (1st-5th) focus on the attributes of God. These are prominently placed in all of their rooms. See picture below. Repetitio...

As I mentioned in a previous post, last week I started reading Show Them Jesus by Jack Klumpenhower. You can visit his website here  Below, I have included a section from Chapter 3 on growth for kids.  It was so helpful to me and will impact how I teach in the future. Church kids come in one of two types--unsaved and saved. Both types desperately need to see Jesus. . .We make a mistake if we think kids are saved by hearing the good news and trusting Jesus, but then grow as Christians some other way. . .We grow in the same way we became Christians--rooted in Jesus, with our hope in the good news. As kids learn about God's goodness and holiness, they ought to increase in aw of him. That's growth. And as they examine themselves and see the ugliness inside, they ought to increase in conviction of sin. That's growth too. But the combination of these will drive them to despair--unless their understanding of the forgiveness and righteousness they have in Jesus also grows. ...