Monthly Archives: September 2015

Now Available: God's Gospel

September 30, 2015

We often think about what our children will inherit from those who have gone before them.

But what about the one inheritance that will last forever?

Christian parents have already faced the reality of their own sin, helplessness, and need for a Savior. And, though our young children's lives often seem simpler than ours, their spiritual predicament is every bit as real. They are never too young to hear God's good news for them as they face eternity–but as a parent, you may be wondering how to explain it to them in a way they can understand. We are excited to announce the release of our favorite author's first book. In God's Gospel, Jill Nelson continues the Making HIM Known family devotional series as she demonstrates that even young children

Worship Devotional Encouragement

Awake My Soul and Praise the Lord

September 29, 2015

Each Monday, the Children Desiring God team gathers together for a time of devotions, hymn singing and prayer for each other and each of you. This week, we sung the hymn, Awake, My Soul, and with the Sun, which Thomas Ken wrote based on the following verses:

Awake, my glory! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn! Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Psalm 57:8 & 103:1

Although you may not recognize the title or composer, the eleventh verse is on of the most frequently used pieces of music in public worship...commonly known as the Doxology.

Encouragement News

Encourage One Another in Community

September 28, 2015

When we as a team look back on our conferences, one of our favorite things is being able to connect with you, our partners is ministry. It a joy to meet you, hear your testimonies on how God is working in your ministry, share ideas, answer questions and see you networking with others. While we can't wait to see you face-to-face at our National Conference in April (registration details coming in the next few weeks), we want to keep this connection going year round and help you meet fellow partners in ministry from around the world.

You are invited to join the Children Desiring God Community on Facebook. The purpose of this group is to provide a place for children's ministry leaders and volunteers to gather and support each other as we spread a passion for the supremacy of God in all things so that the next generation may know and

Teaching Vision Theology

Are There Threats to the Gospel in Our Classrooms?

September 23, 2015

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This may seem like a sensationalized question but I would ask you to read on before simply dismissing the question out-of-hand. This came to mind after reading the 9Marks answer to the question: “What are the most dangerous threats to the gospel today?” What is interesting about the answers is how there is often a subtle version of these dangers lurking in children’s Sunday school classrooms—even in many solid, Gospel-exalting churches. Here are five dangerous threats to the Gospel noted by 9Marks that I believe are especially relevant to our classrooms. My observations, as they specifically relate to children’s and youth ministries, are in bullet points below each point.

1. The prosperity “gospel.”The belief that the gospel is about God making us rich is a lie. Jesus came to save us

Teaching Vision Theology

Understanding the Meaning

September 22, 2015

Learning to think deeply and understand rightly is hard work. Period! This is especially true when it comes to the Bible. Therefore, we believe that Christian parents and the church need to pursue a rigorous study of the Bible and training of the mind for our children and youth. Here is how we state this in our core principles:

We believe that if children are to embrace and live out the Gospel, they must have a right knowledge of God and His purposes, as revealed in His inerrant and authoritative Word. Therefore, children must be taught to properly study and interpret God’s Word. Using an age-appropriate, step-by-step approach, the lesson format trains students to interact with the text using proper Bible study methods. This process begins in earnest in first grade and increases in depth and rigor as children age and mature. Furthermore, we incorporate an interactive teaching style, carefully laid out for teachers, that serves to develop critical

Teaching Vision Parenting

Understanding and Helping the Families in Your Church

September 21, 2015

Does it ever feel like the parents in your church seem to view children’s and youth ministry as a “drop-off” center meant to do the work of discipling their children? Or, maybe as a parent, you feel as if the church treats you somewhat like an incompetent outsider when it comes to discipling your own children? In either case, and in everything in between, Timothy Paul Jones has an important article: “Family Ministry: Three Truths and Three Tips for Engaging with Families in Your Church.” He states,

[Parents] have observed their children’s spiritual development from a disengaged distance. They have watched youth and children’s ministers stretch and strain to promote growth.

Now, in a growing movement in churches throughout the world, ministers are suddenly turning to these parents and shouting, “It’s time to engage!” The problem is that many of them

Parenting

Everything They Need

September 16, 2015

A very helpful observation and some advice for parents from Christina Fox:

I once had a teacher tell me that a person can lose everything they own, but no one can take what they have learned. If we lost everything but still had God’s word in our heart, we’d have everything we need. That’s because God’s word isn’t just a book; it’s the source of all truth and wisdom. It tells us who we are and how we got here. It shows us our greatest problem and our greatest need. It reveals all that God has done for us through Christ and the only way to salvation. It tells us all we need to know to live for God in this fallen world. God’s word is food for our souls. Unlike any other book we read, it is active and alive, transforming us from the inside out. And it’s our source of comfort and peace in a dark and confusing world.

As believers, we desire for our children to

Teaching

Inviting Constructive Criticism

September 15, 2015

One of the most important things I’ve learned over the years as a Sunday school teacher is the necessity of being teachable so that I might become a better teacher. No matter how many years you’ve taught or how experienced you are with a certain age group or curriculum, there is always room for growth. One of the most helpful tools for me personally is the critique of other teachers and small group leaders. But this usually won’t happen unless you first ask others to observe you teach and offer you constructive criticism afterward. Here is an example of how you can go about doing this:

A few days before you are scheduled to teach, ask another teacher or a small group leader to observe you. Make sure they understand that you want them to give feedback and helpful criticism of the lesson. Extending this kind of invitation will make it much more likely that he or she will feel the freedom to be honest with you.
If the observer does

Vision Worship Youth

We Need the Wisdom of the Past

September 14, 2015

We need the wisdom of the past

The title is a quote from an important article by Stephen Nichols, “Youth-Driven Culture” (posted at Ligonier Ministries). The contemporary church needs to hear his words and think deep and hard as to whether we have promoted an unhealthy and unbiblical fixation on youth in our local churches. Here is how he begins the article,

The subtle and not-so-subtle pulls of the idolization of youth manifest themselves in three areas. The first is an elevation of youth over the aged. This reverses the biblical paradigm. The second is a view of being human that values prettiness (not to be confused with beauty and aesthetics), strength, and human achievement… The third is the dominance of the market by the youth demographic. That is to say, in order to be relevant and successful, one must appeal to the youth or to youthful tastes…

Teaching Vision Encouragement Theology

Teaching the Hard Parts to Young Ears

September 09, 2015

In her seminar “Teaching the Difficult Doctrines in Children’s Ministry,” Sally Michael addresses the sentiments of yesterday’s post, “Can We Just Skip that Part?” concerning the necessity of teaching children the “raw parts” of Scripture—the violence, adultery, etc…She answers the common objection that these parts are inappropriate to teach to children. She states the following:

An average American child will see 200,000 violent acts and 16,000 murders on TV by age 18 (according to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary’s report on “Children, Violence, and the Media” in 1999)
Programs designed for children more often contain violence than adult TV (according to the National Television Violence Study in 1998)

It’s