Formational Children's Ministry (ēmersion: Emergent Village resources for communities of faith)

Author: Ivy Beckwith
Publisher: Baker Books
ISBN: 144120735X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 160

Book Description
Much ministry to children looks more like mere entertainment than authentic spiritual formation. But what if children's ministries were rooted in a mind set whereby we taught children, with our words and actions, how the story of God, the story of church history, the story of the local community, and the story of the child intersect and speak to one another? What if children's ministry was less about downloading information into kids' heads and more about leading them into these powerful, compelling stories? Beckwith aims to help ministers and parents create a ministry that captures children's imaginations not just to keep them occupied, but to live as citizens of the kingdom of God. In addition to providing theological reasons for formational children's ministry, the book offers examples of how Ivy and other practitioners are implementing a formational model.

Postmodern Children's Ministry

Author: Ivy Beckwith
Publisher: Zondervan
ISBN: 0310257549
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 178

Book Description
Presents a new paradigm for children's ministry in the emerging church of the 21st century and explores current ways churches are putting that vision into practice.

Better Safe than Sued

Author: Jack Crabtree
Publisher: Zondervan
ISBN: 0310828767
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 242

Book Description
Most youth workers will admit that they don’t spend a lot of time thinking about safety in their youth ministry. Sure, they shout, “Seat belts!” when the crew loads into the van, or they use the buddy system when at theme parks. But beyond that, they’re mostly concerned with introducing students to Jesus. Nothing’s wrong with looking after their spiritual well-being, but overlooking their safety can lead to pain and problems for you, your students, your church, or your community.The reality is, whether it’s a game of dodgeball in the church gym, or a rock climbing trip during a summer retreat, you have precious cargo in your care, and it’s your responsibility to make sure they return home safely and in one piece.Better Safe Than Sued is an essential guidebook for anyone in youth ministry—paid or volunteer, veteran or rookie. Along with questions to get you thinking about your own ministry context after each chapter, inside you’ll discover how you can make your ministry a safe place for students and leaders as you read about:• Safety while riding in buses, vans, and cars• Camps, retreats, and conferences• Selecting staff• Avoiding sexual misconduct• Establishing a No-Bully Zone• How to handle injuries, and much moreMake sure your ministry is safe and that you’re protected so you never have to be the one saying, “I never took safety seriously until ...”

Children’s Ministry That Fits

Author: David M. Csinos
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1498273343
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 176

Book Description
Children know God. They encounter God in diverse ways as they walk along the spiritual journey. Amidst this diversity, four distinct avenues for connecting with God emerge in the lives of children: word, emotion, symbol, and action. These are the four spiritual styles, broad approaches to spirituality and faith through which children experience God and make sense of their lives in the world around them. Children's Ministry that Fits blends insightful research, relevant theory, and practical ministry into a guidebook for discovering and understanding children's spiritual styles. Drawing from theology, personal experience, and the spiritual lives of children, David M. Csinos offers practical wisdom that will help pastors, parents, and teachers to move beyond one-size-fits-all approaches to children's ministry and begin nurturing the spiritual lives of children in welcoming and inclusive environments.

Children’s Perceptions of the Role of Biblical Narratives in Their Spiritual Formation

Author: Annie George
Publisher: Langham Publishing
ISBN: 178368237X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 303

Book Description
In the Bible, storytelling is an important means to pass on the revelation of God. God repeatedly commanded the people of Israel to tell his mighty acts to the next generation. Invariably churches follow this mandate and use biblical narratives as a means to transmit God’s self-revelation to enable transformation. The author, Dr Annie George, listens to the voices of children in order to understand their perceptions of how storytelling of biblical narratives help them in their spiritual formation. Dr George’s research highlights the importance of evaluating the impact of biblical narratives from a child’s perspective as well as emphasising the need to give the same priority to the spiritual transformation of children as with other areas of study and ministry.

Children's Ministry in the Way of Jesus

Author: David M. Csinos
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
ISBN: 0830864687
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 210

Book Description
Attract kids to church, the logic often goes, and you get parents in the pews. All that's left is to get the kids out of the way. Here children's ministers David Csinos and Ivy Beckwith draw on research in human development and spiritual formation to show how children become disciples and churches become centers of lifelong discipleship.

Don't Have a Messed-Up Sunday School or Church School

Author: Dr. Oneal C. Sandidge
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 1410752283
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 204

Book Description
This book is like no other book because it is the only known book to provide the ABC's for organizing or reorganizing the Sunday school or church school. The book is also loaded with suggestive forms to help any leader to construct his or her own forms for Sunday school or church school administration. This book reminds the prospective teacher, the current teacher, the VBS coordinator, training administrators, and the support leader and workers of their responsibilities. Any church pastor, superintendent, church leader, professor of Christian education, or director of Christian education will find this book as a valuable tool in Christian education.

Encyclopedia of Christian Education

Author: George Thomas Kurian
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 0810884933
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 1667

Book Description
Christianity regards teaching as one of the most foundational and critically sustaining ministries of the Church. As a result, Christian education remains one of the largest and oldest continuously functioning educational systems in the world, comprising both formal day schools and higher education institutions as well as informal church study groups and parachurch ministries in more than 140 countries. In The Encyclopedia of Christian Education, contributors explore the many facets of Christian education in terms of its impact on curriculum, literacy, teacher training, outcomes, and professional standards. This encyclopedia is the first reference work devoted exclusively to chronicling the unique history of Christian education across the globe, illustrating how Christian educators pioneered such educational institutions and reforms as universal literacy, home schooling, Sunday schools, women’s education, graded schools, compulsory education of the deaf and blind, and kindergarten. With an editorial advisory board of more than 30 distinguished scholars and five consulting editors, TheEncyclopedia of Christian Education contains more than 1,200 entries by 400 contributors from 75 countries. These volumes covers a vast range of topics from Christian education: History spanning from the church’s founding through the Middle Ages to the modern day Denominational and institutional profiles Intellectual traditions in Christian education Biblical and theological frameworks, curricula, missions, adolescent and higher education, theological training, and Christian pedagogy Biographies of distinguished Christian educators This work is ideal for scholars of both the history of Christianity and education, as well as researchers and students of contemporary Christianity and modern religious education.

Shaped by the Story

Author: Michael Novelli
Publisher: Sparkhouse Congregational
ISBN: 1451472897
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 93

Book Description
After more than a decade in youth ministry, Michael Novelli felt like he’d tried everything to connect his students to the Bible. Then a missionary introduced him to the art of Bible storying--an imaginative way to engage in the scriptures through storytelling, creative reflection, and dialogue. He soon discovered that Bible storying was not only an effective teaching approach, but a powerful way to awaken people to new purpose and identity rooted in the biblical narrative. In 2012, Michael partnered with sparkhouse to create Echo the Story curriculum, based on his approach to Bible storying. Michael has seen people of all ages benefit from this imaginative way of encountering God through the Bible. In this book, you’ll find methods for adapting Bible storying for varied contexts and ages, testimonials from people using this approach, tools to create your own Bible storying narratives, and details about the proven learning theories guiding this approach.

Exploring and Engaging Spirituality for Today's Children

Author: La Verne Tolbert
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1625641222
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 365

Book Description
Exploring and Engaging Spirituality for Today's Children: A Holistic Approach answers questions about the most effective ways to help children, pre-teens, and teens develop spiritually. This collection of research gleaned from presentations during the Fourth Triennial Children's Spirituality Conference at Concordia University in 2012 is divided into four major sections: (1) theological and historical foundations, (2) engaging parents and congregations, (3) engaging methodologies, and (4) exploring children at risk, child pornography, social justice, intercultural diversity, and abstinence education. Researchers acknowledge that the home is the foundation for Christian nurture. In Exploring and Engaging Spirituality for Today's Children, both scholars and ministry leaders come together with parents to promote a holistic environment where children are encouraged to love, respect, and obey God. From birth to high school, children's voices resonate throughout these studies as they are invited to share their reflections and experiences. Exploring and Engaging Spirituality for Today's Children is a lively, easy-to-read collection that reflects a broad range of faith traditions and is ideal for all those who are committed to the spiritual development of children.