On my tenth birthday, I received a gift that made me nervous. It was a seven-book set called The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis. Their strange covers bothered me a lot. So did the first book’s title: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. I thought, Whoa, that title has the word “witch.” Those are bad. Should I even read this? Eventually, I read Lewis’s first Narnia chronicle multiple times...
I’m passionate about helping children to see how every part of a church worship service tells the story of the gospel. But God hasn’t just commanded us to worship him when we come to church. The Bible teaches us to praise the Lord during every part of our day. God wants us to teach our kids to live fully worshipful lives. In Psalm 78:4, the songwriter, Asaph, declares: “We will . . . tell the...
Because children often absorb stress from their environment, helping your child through emotional turmoil and strain means starting with an assessment of your own level of stress. “HELP!” you might say. “My life is a stress mess!” When we remember the truth that we can’t get everything done or do everything perfectly, we can begin to take a step back and breathe. We can learn to rely on the work...
Living in the midst of a pandemic has forced us to reckon with our fears and anxieties in ways we otherwise may not have. In ordinary circumstances, we are able to create routines, life rhythms, and a sense of security that enable us to manage fear and anxiety. But when we are placed in a prolonged season in which there is a lack of surety about the future, our old coping mechanisms do not work...
Ministry to children and teens is different from ministering to adults. Many ministry workers avoid children and teens, knowing it requires a different approach. We can often make the mistake of relating to children as we do with adults, when many young people simply cannot interact at an adult level. If we want kids and teens to open up about their world, and if we want to minister with them...
