CONTENTS
Foreword 9 Introduction 11 Contributors 13
CHILDREN’S MINISTRY IS ABOUT THE GOSPEL 1. What? Use the Bible with children?! 21 Linda Greenwood 2. Relationships are more important than programs 27 Yvonne Gunning 3. Think BIG: Put the Bible into every ministry 34 Bruce Linton 4. Be involved in resource-raising 42 Zac Veron
THE CHILD OF GOD 5. Children can commit to following Jesus 51 Yvonne Gunning 6. Christian children—sinners in need of saving? 57 Chris Jolliffe 7. All children of Jesus are ministers 63 Zac Veron 8. Children learn in different ways 68 Kirrily Griffiths
THE PARENT AS THE CHILDREN’S MINISTER 9. Helping children grow in the Lord 77 Pete Tong 10. Creating mission-minded children 84 Tabatha Broxholme 11. Partnership with parents 90 Bruce Linton
THE CHILDREN’S MINISTRY LEADER 12. Depend on God in prayer 97 Jana Koulouris 13. Invest in training 102 Jana Koulouris 14. Mentoring and training 107 Linda Greenwood
THE CHURCH THAT DOES CHILDREN’S MINISTRY 15. The bigger picture—strategic planning 117 Jana Koulouris 16. Small churches can have an effective children’s ministry 122 Kerrie Newmarch 17. Choosing and training leaders 130 Bruce Linton 18. Everything has a reason 135 Bruce Linton 19. Follow-up comes before outreach 140 Yvonne Gunning 20. Big is not always best—small group ministry 146 Linda Greenwood 21. How to write a children’s talk 152 Pete Tong
22. Puppets—why we use them 162 Stephen Urmston 23. Kids’ holiday clubs 170 Jana Koulouris 24. Together away 177 Linda Greenwood 25. What if the children misbehave? 184 Linda Greenwood 26. Pay heed to sexual protocols 192 Kylie Williams
THE SCHOOL THAT NEEDS CHILDREN’S MINISTRY 27. Don’t underestimate the importance of Scripture in schools 203 Linda Greenwood 28. Connecting with the school community 209 Yvonne Gunning 29. Building a Scripture team 215 Sheree Veron
RESOURCES FOR CHILDREN 30. Children’s and family devotional guides 223 Wendy Lin
CHAPTER 1
WHAT? USE THE BIBLE WITH CHILDREN?! LINDA GREENWOOD Principle: Put the Bible into the hands of children early and often. Error: Not putting the Bible into the hands of children!
Allow me to ask you three opening questions.
1. When did the Bible become an unlocked treasure for you? Our desire as parents or children’s ministry leaders should be to help children to unlock the Bible and teach them to read the Bible in a way that is appropriate to their age—as soon as they are able. Children need to know that: • • • • •
the Bible is God’s book the Bible is a challenging book the Bible is a positive book the Bible is an understandable book the Bible is God’s story of saving people.
What? Use the Bible with children?!
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Timothy learned the Scriptures as an infant on the knee of his mother Eunice and grandmother Lois (2 Timothy 3:15; c.f. 2 Timothy 1:5). Thank God for Eunice and Lois!
2. What is the value of telling children Bible stories week after week? Children, at the very least, must understand that the stories they are being read and told are all true and from the Bible. It is in his word that God teaches us and our children about himself and his love for us. And this is so important that we should start early, and we should do it regularly and intentionally.
3. How do we go about unlocking God’s word for children? It is not difficult! Patience, consistency and enthusiasm on our part are required. As we teach the Bible and teach Bible skills it helps if we are excited about what we are teaching. When I was a child the Bible did not always make sense to me. I loved Sunday school and school Scripture—but try as I may, I struggled to understand the Bible. The Bible translations in use were difficult, full of ‘thees’, ‘thys’ and ‘verilys’! The memory verses seemed random. I questioned what Job and Psalms had to do with Jesus, especially his death and resurrection! For me, the pieces started to come together when I was a young adult, in a Bible study group. It was then that the many ‘light globe moments’ started to happen—but it could have happened a lot earlier! So here are some tips for putting the Bible into the hands of children— early and often: • Take the Bible seriously yourself. To teach the Bible well we need to understand the Bible ourselves. Practise what you want children to adopt—read regularly and intentionally, pray that the Spirit will give you insight and understanding, and read handbooks, Bible notes and/or commentaries to help deepen your understanding of what God is saying. • Give children the Bible. Put the Bible into the hands of each child. Preferably, begin with the CEV translation. Make sure it is ageappropriate. Encourage them to read it each day—or follow a reading plan, kids’ study guide or journal to help.1
1 See the ‘Resources for children’ section of this book for kids’ Bible material which may be good to give to each child.
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• Teach children that the Bible is God’s word. It needs to be read, listened to, understood and taken seriously. In fact it is the most important book to read. • Teach children that the Bible is a challenging book. It will challenge their attitudes and the way they should live their lives. Tell them that the Bible will reveal God’s love for them and explain how they are saved into eternal life. • Read the Bible with life and energy. Learn to read the Bible out loud. Read the Bible well and with enthusiasm, when appropriate use emotion, show excitement, pace your reading and vary the tone of your voice. As you do, children will engage not only with you but also with the precious words you are sharing with them. • Put the Bible in context for children. Do what you can to help children to understand more about the time and place of what they are reading. Use books, visual aids, internet searches, maps or timelines, show them food or clothing, and be creative in helping them to step into the context of the story. • Help children to apply the Bible. Tap into their world and apply the Bible to their lives in the here and now. Adults find this helpful—and so do children. For example, use games to teach Scripture or teach Bible skills, and help kids to pray about the things that they have learned from the Bible. • Don’t assume too much. When you first start using the Bible with children (especially those from non-churched or non-Christian homes) don’t assume they know their way around it. It is your privilege to show them! You may need to explain what a Testament, book, chapter and verse is, and how to find it! • Be patient and consistent. You are setting up foundations which will need to stand for a long time—don’t be surprised if they take time to establish. Before long you will have a group of children who will automatically pick up their Bible before a talk or a lesson. They will keenly ask ‘What book, what chapter and what verse did you say?’ And then these children will happily read along with you as you share God’s word with them. Let’s pray that, like Timothy, in time they will be teaching others the Bible.
What? Use the Bible with children?!
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APPLICATION GUIDE WHAT? USE THE BIBLE WITH CHILDREN?! Principle: Put the Bible into the hands of children early and often. Error: Not putting the Bible into the hands of children!
The Apostle Paul gives thanks to God for his dear friend and brother in faith, Timothy. How special to come from a family of faith! In Timothy’s case he is a third-generation Christian, in the sense that his grandmother and mother had also come to faith such that as an infant Timothy was privileged enough to be brought up in the gospel (2 Timothy 1:5). As Paul bears testimony, Timothy’s learning and instruction did not end at childhood. Timothy’s instruction continued under God, in Christ, through Paul and then on through him to others who would be reliable and in time qualified to teach others (c.f. 2 Timothy 2:2). In Timothy, Lois and Eunice’s godly investment paid eternal dividends—for which we today can be very thankful. It is never too early to start reading the Bible and praying with children.
Check your attitude 1. Do you believe the Bible is the word of God and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work? No? 2 Timothy 3:16–17 is worth a read. It makes the case that the Bible is God’s word—a claim to its own authority and purpose. What would you place as more helpful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness than the Bible? Would God agree?
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Yes? How does your personal Bible reading practice reflect this belief?
2. Do you believe the Bible is relevant to all who hear—even a child? No? Please read Deuteronomy 11:18–21.
Yes? Please read this book and take from it as much as you can to be effective in sharing the gospel with children!
Parents 1. Does your child/children have a Bible that is suitable to their age and stage? If not, get them one! Even for babies and non-reading children, having a Bible is still important. As you read and share the stories in the Bible, your child will come to know the Bible stories so that when they are able to read they will discover more fully what God is saying. Help them to see that reading the Bible is a privilege and a necessity.
2. Have you taught your child that the Bible is the most important book they could read—and that it is more important than TV, sport, homework, and so on? Can your child see that the Bible takes priority in your reading?
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3. What daily and weekly routines do you have in place to ensure that reading the Bible with your children is given high importance? For example: • Morning routine—breakfast, Bible, dress, pack bag, clean teeth and out the door. • Evening routine—home from school, play, homework, dinner, Bible (at the table), bath/shower, clean teeth, TV and bed. • Weekend routines—sleep-in, special breakfast, Bible game (Bible verse for the week!) and so on.
Children’s ministry leaders 1. You give much of your time to minister to children. Giving children the word of eternal life is time well spent. How do you ensure that you give Bible ministry to children priority over other competing agendas (childcare, keeping a child quiet, etc.)?
2. What are you and the other leaders trying to teach from the Bible this term? • How are you going to teach it with life and energy? • How will you put the children into the context of the Bible passages? • How are you planning to help the children apply what you teach from the Bible?
Remember to pray about your important ministry and the kids in your care, that they will grow in their faith and, in time, help others grow in faith as they live out the gospel of Jesus Christ.
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