Category Archives: Parenting

The Best Parent Email I Ever Sent

I’d like to share with you the most successful parent email I ever sent. I have found email to be an effective way to recruit parents to serve in Kids Ministry, but it has to be short, direct and give a strong ask.   Like most churches, COVID decimated our volunteer force. When we re-started our […]

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year – Part Two

Fun presents, extra sweets, a vacation from school—what’s not to like for a kid, at Christmastime? It is easy for children to get a little carried away.  There may even be a point, when your kids get cranky or overtired and would rather watch Netflix than sit and talk with Grandma and Grandpa. Here are […]

How to develop a heart of THANKFULNESS in your kids

Thanksgiving is a time where we stop and are thankful for what God has done for us.  Many families have Thanksgiving traditions they celebrate on Thanksgiving Day, such as telling others what we are thankful for. When my kids were younger, as a parent, I wanted to see my kids be thankful, not just on […]

How Kids Help Grow Your Church

The church growth people tell us that kids are one of the top three reasons why people choose a church. 1. Pastor 2. Worship 3. Kid’s ministry I discovered this early on. I was helping my youth pastor plant a church in Michigan. I had all the kids in one room because we were just starting out. I was teaching on […]

Can love be confusing to kids?

The Bible says that “God is Love,” but what does that mean? The way we use the word love in the 21st Century can be confusing for children. We say, “I love my Mom” and “I love candy.” Is love just an advanced case of the cooties or is it what compelled Jesus to the […]

Do our kids feel entitled at Christmas?

The following is a quote from Dr. Henry Cloud about entitlement. “Pointing to one character trait that causes more misery in people’s lives than any other would be difficult. Certainly one of the top three or four destructive traits would be having a feeling of entitlement. Entitlement is when someone feels as if people owe […]

One Way to Partner With Parents

You and I become like the people we hang with. The same thing is true concerning our children. Our kids become like who they hang with. If they hang with kids who love the Lord, they will love the Lord. The reverse is also true. I have had parents say this to me, “I decide who my kids’ […]

Are the Formative Years really that important?

I love spending time with my grandchildren Andi (6), James (8) and Luci (4). Not only is it great fun, but every experience is a learning experience. This picture is from this summer. – Lutsen, Minnesota Are a child’s most formative years — from birth to age five? Studies show that 90 percent of a […]