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Category: DiscipleLand

A BRAND NEW Kids Church Curriculum!

I am excited and honored to be the first to tell you about a BRAND NEW curriculum for children’s church! It is called DiscipleTown! While it is part of the comprehensive children’s discipleship strategy from DiscipleLand, it is a highly creative and fliexible children’s church curriculum that will work in ANY church setting.  More details and a chance to pre-order will released NEXT WEEK. Here is a SNEAK PEEK VIDEO leaked on YouTube direct from the author, who you just might recognize, even with the shades on! FORWARD TO YOUR FRIENDS AND HELP SPREAD THE WORD! If you are still choosing what to teach in September, let me encourage you to plan on DiscipleTown! The first unit will be a four week series on How to Worship, which is a wonderful way to start out the school year – and as a downloadable product, it will be in your hands soon! You can then use whatever else you have planned in October. You are welcome to ask questions in comments, and I will answer the best I can. Complete details will be coming NEXT WEEK!

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Family Ministry, Trading One Extreme for Another

There is a really good audio message on the “Centrality of the Home” over on DiscipleBlog.com, and I agree with MUCH of what Pastor Voddie Baucham preaches, however, I really struggle with his description of what is being called “FIC” or Family Integrated Churches. On this page he describes an FIC church as one that: Family Integrated Churches come in all shapes, sizes and varieties.  There are FICs in virtually every denominational and theological tradition, and in most sections of the country.  While no two FICs are exactly alike, they do have certain distinctives in common. Families Worship Together If you’ve ever walked into a FIC during a worship service, perhaps the first thing that struck you was the fact that there were so many babies and small children in the service.  We have grown accustomed to the presence of children in the service, and the children grow accustomed to being a part of the worship experience.  No one will stop you at the door if you try to enter our service with your toddler. No Systematic Age Segregation One of the biggest distinctions of a FIC is the absence of age-graded ministries.  We do not have segregated youth ministry,…

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D.I.S.C.I.P.L.E.S.H.I.P. Series Launched

Over on DiscipleBlog.com I have launched a new series called D.I.S.C.I.P.L.E.S.H.I.P. – Twelve Tips to help you become a more effective discipler of children. Here is the first one. To keep up with all twelve, subscribe to the DiscipleBlog.com RSS feed. D = Develop a Relationship “And He walks with me and He talks with me; And He tells me I am His own; And the joy we share as we tarry there; None other has ever known.” Every notice that Jesus’ primary method of discipleship was based upon relationships? Jesus didn’t establish schools, write curriculum, or host seminars. While He certainly did teach the masses – he discipled in relationship with those who were close to Him, and it was THOSE disciples who turned the world upside down after He left them. As I look back over some fifteen plus years of professional children’s ministry and many more years of just life ministry, it is those I discipled relationally who I see producing the greatest fruit. They are ones in Bible college, becoming missionaries, and going into ministry. While I am NOT assuming any credit for their godly choices, I am saying that being discipled prayed a part in…

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Curriculum: Your Ministry’s Foundation

While the word “curriculum” may solicit yawns from many people, don’t underestimate the importance of curriculum on your ministry! The foundation of your educational ministry is your curriculum. Everything else hinges from and is built upon the foundation laid by your educational hour teaching material. How high and how deep and how broad your educational ministry will be is greatly determined by curriculum. HOW DO YOU CHOOSE CURRICULUM? THE WRONG WAY: Use what you have always used Let your teachers each pick their own Look at tons of samples and pickone based on what appeals to you Depend on curriculum promotions Use what some other great church uses THE RIGHT WAY: Determine what YOU would like to accomplish in your Sunday School educational program. List your educational goals List weaknesses with current material. Make a list of what you are looking for. THEN look at published materials that match your criteria. I remember when I started my previous ministry, our curriculum situation was a mess! Here was what we were facing: Every teacher used what they liked, over five published curriculums were in use, some taught without any published material. Repetition and Omission of Bible stories was not only likely,…

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What Happened to the Bible?

Jump over to DiscipleBlog.com where I posted a thought provoking article on what I am calling the Bibleless Trend in Children’s Ministry. I am certain if you teach children the Bible you will find it just might give you pause for consideration – or encourage you if you are not part of this rapidly growing trend that has rendered thousands of evangelical children’s ministries void of actual Bibles in children’s ministry! Let me know our thoughts there on at this post. Go there now. There is a great discussion on the post on Kidology.org Join the discussion!

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How Can We Motivate Our Kids?

Here is an excellent post from the DiscipleLand newsletter: Many kids have lost interest in spiritual matters. They are discouraged about trying to please God. From their perspective, it is not “cool” to be godly. So they focus on their own desires and let the world guide them. The number one challenge in churches today is to overcome mediocrity. Christian kids are satisfied with lukewarm-ness. To counteract this trend, some churches have replaced content-rich children’s ministries with high-energy programs. This may keep kids from being bored and it may eliminate the need to recruit volunteers, but it also severs teacher-learner relationships that foster discipleship. If we routinely motivate kids with flashy events, we are doomed to the “bigger and better” cycle. Each new program must offer more energy, excitement, and “wow” than the previous one. Instead, we must move kids from extrinsic to intrinsic motivation. Throughout the Bible, God uses a variety of cause-effect techniques to motivate His people. Some are positive and some are punitive; some are earthly and some are eternal. Some are fascinating and some are frightening. Remind children that every human being will someday meet the Creator face-to-face-and give an account to Him. Every child can…

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