Making Your Children's Ministry the Best Hour of Every Kid's Week
Promiseland is Willow Creek’s highly successful children’s ministry. Using examples from Promiseland and churches of all sizes around the country, this book provides step by step guidance and creative application exercises to help churches develop a thriving children’s ministry—one that strives to be the best hour of every kid’s week. Included are Scripture-based principles and practical resources for church staff members and volunteers who agree with the critical role children’s ministry plays in a local church. Making Your Children’s Ministry the Best Hour of Every Kid’s Week, based on twenty-eight years of experience at Willow Creek, explains four ministry foundations: Mission, Vision, Values, and Strategy. Content includes: Detailed answers to questions facing every children’s ministry: • What does Jesus expect from children’s ministry? • How can we evangelize lost kids and disciple saved kids at the same time, and should we? • How do we engage kids so they don’t become bored? • How do we get better at recruiting and leading volunteers? • How can our ministry be a safe place for children? • Six specific ministry values that address the needs of today’s children • Practical first steps for ministries that want to get serious about change • Clear indicators of success in children’s ministry
CONTENTS
Foreword by Bi l l Hy b e l s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Foreword by George Barna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
1. THE GREAT KID-VENTURE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 The Journey to Build a Dynamic Children’s Ministry
2. IMAGINE THE BEST HOUR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 A Compelling Vision Makes All the Difference
3. YOUR MISSION, SHOULD YOU CHOOSE TO ACCEPT IT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 The Benefits of a Clear Starting Point
4. THE BIG SIX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Core Ministry Values to Reach Today’s Kids
5. LARGE GROUP, SMALL GROUPS, BIG PEOPLE . . . . . . 85 So What Does Sunday Morning Look Like?
6. SHARING THE DREAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 Get Wild about Volunteer Recruiting
7. LESSONS LEARNED. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 How to Treat Volunteers
8. FIT FOR THE ADVENTURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 Thriving in Ministry---Not Just Surviving in Ministry
9. SUNDAY MORNING HEROES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 Real People Making Real Differences
A Final Word . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Personal Exercises and Team Experiences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Appendix A: Mission Statements Based on the Great Commission; Indicators of Spiritual Maturity---The Five Gs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Appendix B: The Ten Core Values of Willow Creek Community Church;
Six Core Ministry Values . . . 183
Appendix C: A Typical Hour in Promiseland; Spiritual Gifts . . . 187
Appendix D: Promiseland Curriculum . 191
Notes . . . 193
Acknowledgments . . . 197
Product Details
- Title : Making Your Children's Ministry the Best Hour of Every Kid's Week
- Authors:
- Staal, David
- Miller, Sue
- Barna, Bill Hybels and George
- Publisher: Zondervan
- Publication Date: 2009
- ISBN: 9780310540076