Pastor S And Elder S Handbook For Children S Ministries

A Guide for Pastors, elders, volunteers and children's leaders parents and others in the local Church who wish to understand how to organize, a new children's ministry or strengthen an exsisting one.

The definitive resource for children's ministry leaders and home schoolers. Expected to become the textbook and reference guide for Christian educators, this handbook outlines development stages, curriculum, activities, and goals for specific age groups from birth to age 12. Includes sample job desriptions, budgets, program proposals, and supplemental resource information.

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.

Many children’s ministries are a flurry of activity, run by dedicated volunteers and staff who put in long hours and work hard for the good of the children and parents they serve. Yet despite good intentions, many children’s ministries today are not effective. They lack purpose and intentionality. A twenty-five year veteran of children’s ministry in the local church, pastor Steve Adams has ministered to families in multiple churches, from tiny church plants to his present position at Saddleback Church. In this book, Steve applies the revolutionary insights of the Purpose Driven Church to children’s ministry and leads readers on a journey of discovery, showing them how to develop an intentional ministry process that moves children toward spiritual health while building a healthy ministry environment for those who work with kids. You will learn how to ask and answer five simple but powerful questions: Why are we on this journey? Where are you and where are you going? Who are we trying to reach? How will we move our children towards spiritual health? What are the essential elements necessary for the journey? There is no single key to a successful children’s ministry, nor is there only one way that works for everyone. But there is a proven process you can follow and Steve shows how children’s ministries all over the world are reaching their God-given potential by discovering their biblical purpose, avoiding the traps of frustration and burnout.

Often, a disconnect exists between the way pastors, children’s ministry volunteers, and churches describe the health and impact of children’s ministry volunteers (and the overall functioning of an ongoing children’s ministry). The volunteer dysfunction that is evident in many churches goes beyond the building scenario or the current strategy that leadership is pursuing. If one asks the pastor of just about any local church how the children’s ministry is going, most pastors will respond positively. However, if speaking with a children’s ministry volunteer, one is likely to hear, “I am burned out, but I feel obligated to serve here because we have such a shortage of volunteers and I do love these kids.” Too often, there is no program in place to monitor the health of the ministry. Official training is lacking, church vision is blurred, and many children’s ministry volunteers feel like they are nothing more than large-group, unpaid babysitters. This book analyzes these problems and provides pragmatic, systematic steps to a healthier, more robust children’s ministry.

Now available in paper, this resource provides church workers with information on teaching approaches, program administration, and childhood development related to teaching children up to age twelve. Topics cover age-group characteristics, discipline, learning styles, summer ministries, and more. After exploring the biblical and historical perspectives on why the church is called to minister to children, the authors provide suggestions for developing primary goals and objectives for children's programs. Entries are arranged alphabetically for easy reference and include detailed information on children's ministry resources. The book is a companion volume to The Christian Educator's Handbook on Teaching, The Christian Educator's Handbook on Adult Education, and other books in the series.