Why is Deeper In for Children a Great Fit for Your Children's Ministry?

There is no shortage of curriculum resources available for churches to choose from for their Children's Ministries - many of which are well written, so what makes Deeper In for Children the curriculum for your church? It is designed to do some unique things . . .

Some Thoughts About Deuteronomy 6 & Psalm 78

Children's ministry matters because children matter. God gave very specific directions to parents, grandparents, and to His people in general about how important it was for them to love Him and then pass this love for Him to their children. 

Help Children go Deeper Into God's Word with Deeper In for Children

Deeper In for Children is written to engage children in the learning process from start to finish by getting children to open Bibles, research the Bible event for the day, and prepare props which they use during the Large Group time. We do these things so the children go deeper into God's Word and will remember what they did in class and will be able to understand and live God’s Word in their everyday lives! 

Equip Families to Hand Down a Confident Faith

June 2015 in a town not far from where I live, a tornado hit; four churches in this small  community were seriously damaged. One church was 160 years old. The members of this church were understandably quite dismayed and disheartened to see the significant damage to their church. However; their sadness turned to rejoicing a couple months later when the builders who began the work to rebuild brought them shocking news. As these builders surveyed the damage and began the work, they discovered nothing was holding up the floor of this old church building. The years had taken their toll and unbeknownst to the church members, their church floor was unsupported and about to collapse. The tornado actually saved them.

Teach The Essential Part - It Matters

One of the roles and responsibilities of people who serve in Children's Ministry is for them to help equip, encourage, and come alongside parents and grandparents as they hand down confident faith to the children God has entrusted to them. Children spend from one to eight hours every four weeks at church - and more and more of them spend just an hour or two every four weeks - but they live with their parents; and if their grandparents are engaged they are spending significant time with them as well. Obviously we will be most effective as people who serve in Children's Ministry when we equip, encourage, and come alongside parents and grandparents to help them hand down confident faith.

Who Benefits & What Does This Mean?

Which of the families in your ministry will benefit from having grandparents who are engaged, equipped, and encouraged to focus on being intentional in the way they pass on a heritage of confident faith? While the answer may seem obvious, this is a serious question with a serious answer, because the truth is each and every family in your ministry will benefit from this, including . . . 

This IS Job One . . .

I watched a video by George Barna today and want to share a few of the main points he makes . . . consider the following -

• Children are THE most important mission field you as an adult will ever encounter!
• Children are THE mission field God sent parents and grandparents to win over for Him!
• Nobody else will have the impact on children a parent and grandparent are able to have!

Engaged Grandparents = Grandparents Who Value the Children's Ministry

As I talk about Grandparenting Ministry, you may wonder how such a ministry really connects with a Children's Ministry . . . well; "consider this; if you have grandparents who are engaged and focused on passing on a heritage of confident faith to their grandchildren, these grandparents will become much more interested in the Children's Ministry. They will want to know what is happening in the Children's Ministry. They will care about what happens in the Children's Ministry. They will become much more focused and committed when it comes to praying for the Children's Ministry!"

Make a Difference in the Other 165 Hours

While serving in Children's Ministry is something which matters and gives us an opportunity to impact lives and make a difference, we are limited by time. A week has 168 hours - 168. Of these 168 hours, even in the best situation, we have  children in our ministries for three of those 168 hours - just three. Yes, we are able to make a difference in those three hours, but we are greatly limited as we are not able to be with those children for the other 165 hours of the week - or anywhere close to those 165 hours. But their parents are. And their grandparents have the potential to influence them for many of those 168 hours as well.

Be Aware of the Impact You Make

As a leader in your church's Children's Ministry, you matter. What you do matters. The decisions you make matter. You and these things matter, because you, the things you do, and the decisions you make impact the lives of the children and families in your church. For this reason before you do something or make a decision, please consider the following things you may not think to consider . . .