Children's Ministry Workshop

 So two weeks ago, Max was helping with the weekender at CHBC (where about one hundred pastors come to observe the church, hear seminars, etc- this was how Max first got connected with the church last May).

One of the seminars they offer during the weekender is a children's ministry workshop.  When I heard that this particular workshop was open to anyone (and free, including a Chick fil a lunch!), I immediately was interested to attend and learn more about it.  At this point, we still have no idea where God is leading us, but regardless of where we end up, I knew this seminar would be very useful to me as a pastor's wife and mother of four.  (A great deal of this post is for myself, so that I can look back on it to easily find the resources they mentioned if/when needed).

The first thing we were asked is if parents at our churches see themselves as the primary spiritual caregivers.  Parents need to be reminded of this fact, but they must also recognize that there is no special formula that  will guarantee our children's salvation because it is the work of the Holy Spirit.

Three ways to support parents

1.  Providing safe childcare at church, using secure search   (great customer service and honest about   pricing).
2.  Sending parents home "filled up" with good preaching and teaching is the best way to train children, since they have their children the majority of the week.  Most of the take home materials or book recommendations they give for parents are from Christian Focus whose main goal is to faithfully represent scripture, church history, and missions.
3.  Well trained and supported teachers and curriculum.

For sunday school, ages 4-4th grade, they used to use Children Desiring God curriculum but recently switched to  Treasuring Christ curriculum  which teaches from Genesis to Revelation for k-4th grade.  This particular curriculum is free for church plants, and then charges established churches based on the size of their youth group.  They fell in love with this curriculum because the lesson prep for the teachers is a week of devotions, so the natural overflow from their quiet time comes out as they teach the material. 
Praise Factory   is a curriculum written by Mark's wife, Connie.  Praise Factory is used for the preschool program, and also for K-3rd grade during the sermon when the kids are dismissed.  There is a "big idea" (ie "the Creator God") which is the same for three weeks, but the story is different each time, including stories from the old and new testaments, church history, and missions. 
The Gospel Project  is one other resource that was mentioned.

Four fundamentals they desire to pass on to the children, which have been taken from Psalm 66.

1.  Live joyfully - teach children how to go through life joyfully, realizing there is a great God leading us to an eternal reward, no matter how good or bad our lives are in the present.  (v.1)
2.  Live to glorify God in all things, regardless of the outcome (v. 2-4)
3.  Teach children the great things God has done (from v. 5-7 referencing the parting of the Red Sea)
4.  Tell the gospel that saved you.  Your life is different because of this gospel, so share it with the kids and get excited about it! (v.8-20)

One of the best things I learned from this workshop is to teach kids to apply "ACTS" (the principle that is often used for remembering how to pray) to any story or passage of scripture. 
Adoration - What is something we can praise God for in this story?
Confession - what can we confess from this story?
Thanksgiving - what can we thank God for?
Supplication - what can we pray for from this story?

This is a great way for anyone to study the Bible!