KidMin

A successful Sunday school is more than a good curriculum, it’s a bridge that connects classrooms with family rooms in the home. Alongside a pastoral vision for ministry, children's ministry leaders can partner with parents to help them "train up a child in the way he should go" (Proverbs 22:6). Sunday school curriculum combined with online family devotions can help.

Facilities caring for children frequently include a child check-in process to keep the kids in their care safe. These processes range from the use of pen and paper to an electronic system with kiosks, a dedicated check-in area, or mobile equipment. Organizations are regularly expected to expand past these initial check-in offerings, to support new growth and keep current, tech-savvy families engaged.

Speak to any parent and they will tell you how it seems their teens are so distant. They see them but interaction is a different story. In some of these cases, those teens are just individuating and going through natural adolescent changes. This is a normal process, or so I hear. I'm not a parent myself but I do like paying attention to the all-consuming trends around me some teens create. These trends are created by their use of various technologies, music styles, and language shifts. Because of this, it's always quite interesting to me to ask them, "what are your top three apps?" The answers often lead me to insights into their world and what they are discovering. 

'Tis the time of year for churches far and wide to facilitate Vacation Bible School, commonly know in 'churchese' as VBS. VBS can have a huge impact both within your church community and in your larger community. Because there are so many different sized churches, and so many different styles, formats, and sizes of VBS, we polled about 15 churches to take a closer look at the facilities costs related to VBS programs.

As a parent, you are concerned for your child's safety on the Internet. Teens and even young children as young as one are using mobile technology on a regular basis. Because technology changes so fast, it's helpful to have a sense of some of the concerns we all face. By being aware, and taking appropriate steps to safeguard our children, we can be aware of the dangers and teach our families how to move about the web safely.

Children's check-in software is an invaluable resource for the church. Whether you have ten kids or 1,000 kids coming Sunday, having a system in place that serves the needs of children and parents well, while allowing ministry leaders to do their jobs well, is the goal. We've taken some time to round up some of the most popular kids check-in software options available today.

It's hard to fathom, but religious activity among American young people is at a notable all-time low. Millennials (born ~1980-2000) are less religious than their parents or grandparents, and, though little data has been collected on Millennials little brothers and sisters (Gen Zers, 2000-Present), it is safe to assume they aren’t pumped about revival meetings or Bar Mitzvahs either.

After celebrating two years in our church plant, we finally have seven teenagers in our youth group. Our church was started by 30 millennials who wanted to create a new faith community in our town for folks like them—people who didn’t feel safe in a traditional church setting but who desperately wanted to connect with a body of believers on a weekly basis.