Dad in the Middle » Think Tank

Does God Call People to Children’s Ministry? (Children’s Ministry Think Tank)

Wayne — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 13:00:00 +0000

The latest Children’s Ministry Think Tank was published yesterday over at Ministry-to-Children.com. I contributed my thoughts to the question again this installment, and I must say, I am honored to be amongst the contributors this month which include Gina McClain, Sam Luce, Kenny Conley and Brenna Phillips. In fact, I am pretty sure that if someone did a “which one of these doesn’t belong” on this particular Think Tank, I would definitely be the answer!

The question for this installment was:

“How do you understand God’s calling to children’s ministry in your own life? How would you counsel a young person who is exploring this children’s ministry as a vocation? What do you make of Kids Pastors who move on to other positions in the church such as executive or senior pastor?”

You can get to the post by clicking on this link or clicking on the logo above. Let me know what you think!

Where do you fall on this issue? Were you called to Children’s Ministry? What is your story? What do you think about those who use Children’s Ministry as a steeping stone to other ministry positions?

Santa Claus and Children’s Ministry (Children’s Ministry Think Tank)

Wayne — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 14:00:03 +0000

In case you missed it earlier this month, the latest Children’s Ministry Think Tank was just published over at Ministry-to-Children.com. I was going to promote it then, but I didn’t want to interrupt the whole Christmas Carol Advent The Think Tank got into the Christmas spirit this month to have a look at what Santa has to do with the holiday. I contributed my thoughts to the question again this installment along with several others involved in Children’s Ministry.

The question for this installment was:

How do you handle the whole issue of Santa Claus in your ministry? How would you redirect a group of children at church who are debating his existence? What advice would you give Christan parents & grandparents about Santa?

You can get to the post by clicking on this link or clicking on the logo above. Let me know what you think!

Where does your family come down on this issue? How do you handle Santa Claus with your kids? Any personal experiences you want to share about your kids?

The Age of Accountability (Children’s Ministry Think Tank)

Wayne — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:55:17 +0000

The latest Children’s Ministry Think Tank was just published over at Ministry-to-Children.com. I contributed my thoughts to the question again this installment along with several others involved in Children’s Ministry.

The question for this installment was:

“What do you teach about concerning a child’s condition (sometimes called age) of accountability for responding to the Gospel? How would you counsel a parent who is concerned about a preschool aged child who seems disinterested in learning about Jesus? If you had to estimate (and you do), what is the chronological age that most children become fully accountable for their decision about Christ?”

There are a lot nuances to this questions and different opinions. You can get to the post by clicking on this link or clicking on the logo above. Let me know what you think!

Where do you fall on this issue? Do you think there is a so called “Age of Accountability?” How would you define it? Any personal experiences you want to share about your kids?

Teaching Kids How To Pray (Children’s Ministry Think Tank)

Wayne — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:00:37 +0000

I was asked to provide my answer to the question for Children’s Ministry Think Tank #6 over at Ministry-to-Children.com.

The question for this installment was:

“How do you teach children to pray? How do you approach this differently with children you know to be unconverted? How do you encourage kids to develop self initiative in their own prayer lives?”

You can get there by clicking on this link or clicking on the logo above. Make sure you check out the contributions from the other authors!

Children’s Ministry Think Tank

Wayne — Tue, 12 May 2009 17:30:33 +0000

I posted the Blog Patrol early this morning , and this blog post didn’t make the cut (though I do plan to include it next week). So, I wanted to make anyone involved in Children’s Ministry aware of a continuing blog series from Ministry-to-Children.com called “Children’s Ministry Think Tank.” For each question, several guests from the world of Children’s Ministry are invited to weigh in on a topic of interest in Children’s Ministry. The plan is to do approximately 2 posts per month.

The topic for the most recent discussion is the baptism of children. The question posed is:

“What is your church’s policy about baptizing kids? Is there any age absolutely too young? If you had to pick a “typical” or “ideal” age what would you say? What happens when a kid comes back for re-baptism as a teen?”

Weighing in on the topic this week are:

Glen Woods, a Children’s Pastor in Portland, Oregon (Children’s Ministry Conversation)
Jared Kennedy, Director of Children’s Ministry at Sojourn Community Church in Louisville, Kentucky (sojournkids.com)
Brenna Phillips, Children’s Family Minister at Mission Fellowship Church in Middletown, Delaware (www.brennaphillips.com)
Terry Delaney, Children’s Minister at Carlisle Avenue Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky (Christian Book Notes)

The inaugural issue of “Children’s Ministry Think Tank” posed the following scenario:

“Jon is an 8 year old boy with little church background. He’s been coming to your children’s programs for several weeks. One day he sticks around and seems like he wants to talk. He says, “I don’t want to go to hell, how can I be saved?” How would you respond?”

Contributors to that discussion were:

Brenna Phillips, Children’s Family Minister at Mission Fellowship Church in Middletown, Delaware (www.brennaphillips.com)
Glen Woods, a Children’s Pastor in Portland, Oregon (Children’s Ministry Conversation)
Jared Kennedy, Director of Children’s Ministry at Sojourn Community Church in Louisville, Kentucky (sojournkids.com)

I think this is an invaluable resource for people working in Children’s Ministry and thank the good people at Ministry-to-Children.com for putting it together. I’m looking forward to furture installments as well!