Last night at our kids program, we had two students who were having a very hard time settling down and settling in. They were a bit of a handful throughout the evening, and by the time we got to our small groups, they were not about to comply. So without a second thought, the grade director and the program director sprang into action. Instinctively, separately, each took one of the boys. They stayed in plain sight of the main group, but they each found a spot to sit and have a private conversation. I wandered nearby, just see how it was going with each child. My heart swelled when I…

I have encountered kids who think they are in the same “spiritual boat” with their family, so to speak. Scripture makes it clear that each of us must decide whether we believe that Jesus is God's Son who came to take away our sin. It's our job as leaders to make this clear to our kids.

When teaching men to pray, the first thing Jesus said was, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be thy name…” The Greek word for hallowed is hosios. It means sacred, consecrated, treated properly, right, purely. God’s name–His reputation–is of the utmost importance. God cares about His reputation for a very good reason…

When we look to Jesus as our perfect example of a teacher and leader, we can't help but notice that He was full of questions for His students. What benefit was there for His asking when He already knew every answer? 

You may have heard it said that a person’s greatest strength is often their greatest weakness. When a God-given strength goes unchecked, it can become a liability. There is a way to bring balance back into the equation. 

Recruiting volunteers is nothing less than offering a personal invitation to join God in what He is doing in the lives of children. Use this guide to invite the right people to join your team, and do it in a way that makes them most likely to say yes!

Try this experiment with your kids…

Do kids worry? You bet they do! And it robs them of the joy God has planned for them. Fearless living isn't some kind of ethereal mystery! There are steps we can take; God's word tells us how. We must teach it to our kids and model it for them. (Of course, we leaders have to own it before we can do either.)

One pastor said, “I could give the same sermon with a different personal story, and everyone will think I’ve given a completely new sermon. But if I tell the same personal story with a completely different text, everyone will think I’ve told the same sermon twice!” Funny enough, it’s the stories that stick. Why do personal stories strike such a chord? I believe it’s because kids want to know these things can really happen. These aren’t just ancient stories. These supernatural truths don’t just apply to bearded men wearing robes. Kids want to see the principles of God’s kingdom being lived out now–in our time, in our town, by real…