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Practical Strategies for Gospel-Centered Children’s Ministry
When building a children’s ministry at a church, there is so much to consider: Which curriculum should we use? How many volunteers do we need? How do we keep parents in the loop? And that’s before we run into stalled check-in computers, missing activity sheets, and floors that need to be vacuumed. While all of the tasks of children’s ministry are important, leaders can get easily distracted with the everyday work of doing ministry and lose sight of the main focus—the gospel.
Writing from personal ministry experience, Jared Kennedy shares a four-fold approach for gospel-centered, missional children’s ministry: hospitality, teaching, discipleship, and mission. This practical resource covers a variety of topics ranging from creating child protection policies to putting together lesson plans to catechism, helpful for children’s ministers and volunteers alike as they disciple children with the powerful message of the gospel.
Introduction
Part 1: A Gospel-Centered Vision for Children’s Ministry
Chapter 1: Stop! Believe! Christ Sent Me.
Our Both-And Mission to the Next Generation
Chapter 2: Knowing What We Shouldn’t Do
Warnings from the History of Family Ministry
Reflection on Part 1
Part 2: Create Welcoming Environments
Chapter 3: Meeting Jesus at the Front Door
Welcoming and Including Kids and Families
Chapter 4: Safety and Security in a Corrupted World
Our Responsibility to Protect Kids from Abuse
Reflection on Part 2
Part 3: Connect Kids to Christ
Chapter 5: Three Ways to Tell a Bible Story
The Priority of Gospel-Centered Teaching
Chapter 6: The Proud King’s Nightmare
Putting Gospel-Centered Interpretation into Practice
Chapter 7: Hands-on, Real-life, Engaging Discovery
Teaching with Excellence
Reflection on Part 3
Part 4: Grow with Kids and Families
Chapter 8: Step-by-Step, Stage-by-Stage
Helping Kids Embrace the Gospel as They Grow
Chapter 9: Catechizing the YouTube Generation
An Ancient Path toward a Gospel-Formed Life
Reflection on Part 4
Part 5: Go! Send Kids and Families on Mission
Chapter 10: Graceless Parents, Overly Spiritual Ministry, and Sticky Notes
Empowering Families with a Gospel-Fueled Witness
Reflection on Part 5
Conclusion: Courage for the Harvest
Acknowledgments
Notes
General Index
Scripture Index
| Contributors | Jared Kennedy |
|---|---|
| ISBN | 9781433576874 |
| Format | Paperback |
| First published | March 2022 |
| Dimensions | 133mm x 203mm x 15mm |
| Weight | 0.27 kg |
| Language | English |
| Pages | 240 |
| Publisher | Crossway |
For years, when students have asked me, ‘What’s the one children’s ministry book that I should read first?’ I couldn’t recommend just one. Instead, I recommended three: one about organization, one about teaching, and one about keeping children safe. Now I can recommend just one to read first because Jared Kennedy has managed to fit all of those essential elements into a single book!
Keeping Your Children’s Ministry on Mission delivers as advertised. Kennedy rightly knows that the gospel is the only means by which we will have a lasting impact on the next generation. To this thesis Kennedy adds a wealth of practical help and instruction to guide your ministry. Every senior pastor and children’s ministry director should read this book and get it into the hands of all their teachers, helpers, and parents.
I can’t think of a ministry in the church more complex than children’s ministry, and I can’t think of a better guide through that complexity than Keeping Your Children’s Ministry on Mission. Whether you’ve worked with kids for days or years, you’ll find this book comprehensive (from abuse policies to age-graded teaching), balanced (holding onto what’s biblically ideal and practically realistic), and immediately helpful. Jared has packed more than a decade of experience and breadth of perspective into ten short chapters. It’s like having your own children’s ministry consultant only a shelf away.
