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2020-02-26 to 28 Pictures: Charleston, South Carolina

One of the few upsides of having to cancel our Spring Break trip last March at the onset of the pandemic is that we are "stuck" with a rather large voucher from one of those discount airlines. Last autumn, Tricia and I spent a weekend in Savannah, Georgia and had a...

A John 3:16 Craft for Kids

John 3:16 is one of the most well known and reassuring verses in the Bible. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.John 3:16 (NIV) The following is a little craft I threw...

2020-03-01 Pictures: Lyndsey’s College Signing Day

This afternoon Lyndsey made it official, signing her letter of intent to play college basketball for the Hiram College Terriers starting next year. While she made the decision and committed to Hiram before Christmas, she has been looking forward to this day since her...

2020-02-13 Pictures: Lyndsey’s 18th Birthday

I am little behind on posting photos. These are some of my favorites from a couple of weekends ago when we got a chance to celebrate Lyndsey's 18th birthday. It's hard to believe that my little girl is officially an adult. It was nice to have the family all back...

What is DOCTRINE?

Introduction I love working with kids, and I love teaching them hard concepts in ways they can understand. To that end, for years I have been working on a dictionary of theological terms for kids and teens. In sharing those definitions, there seemed no better place to...

If You Want It Done Right

In all likelihood, you know how the phrase ends: If you want it done right, DO IT YOURSELF! This is a bit of a mantra for me, and frankly, something that I struggle with daily both in leadership and in my Christian walk.  In theory, this is easy to accept. ...

What Does God Hate?

This is the little and humble post that started it all. I happened to be reading through my Bible, and this passage impacted me so much that I posted a little blurb about it on Facebook. That was July 28, 2008, and I've been writing and sharing ever since. (Maybe...

#20 – You Must Keep Learning to Keep Teaching (Tips For Large Group Teaching)

Welcome to a continuing series of tips on working with large groups of children. I hope that you will find these tips useful and be able to implement them in your dealings with large groups of kids. If you do, please leave a comment and let us know. For a complete list of posts in this series, please see the index page. So, without further introduction, here is today’s installment.

God had entrusted us with the education of his children.  And it’s not just any education we’ve been entrusted with.  If we were only teaching them arithmetic or science, our burden would not be so great, but we are charged with teaching them about God.  We are given the task of showing them how to have a relationship with their Creator and Savior.

In order to do that, we must constantly be learning and growing as followers of Christ in own lives every single day.  There are a ton of great books out there on Children’s Ministry.  There are endless books on theology.  There are thousands of sermons you can download directly to your iPod and listen to on your morning or afternoon commute.  There are thousands (if not millions) of Christian websites and blogs.  We live in an age unparalleled in terms of the availability of information.

No matter what resources you choose to use, the most important thing is that make a concerted effort to stay informed and continually expand your own knowledge of both the specific things you are teaching and the Bible in general.  You must know your theology and doctrine, you must understand the meta-narrative, and you must know your Bible if you undertake to teach children.  Although the information you share in a lesson given to kids will likely not be as in depth as one you might share with adults, that does not lessen the preparation and research and meditation that you should do.  You should still understand the deeper meaning of any story or text that you plan on teaching.  This will help you to ensure that you are not “proof texting” or misrepresenting the passage.  It will put you in a better position to answer any questions that may come up.  And, it will further your own spiritual journey.

Return to the Tips for Large Group Teaching in Children’s Ministry index page.

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