Much ministry to children looks more like mere entertainment than authentic spiritual formation. But what if children's ministries were rooted in a mind set whereby we taught children, with our words and actions, how the story of God, the story of church history, the story of the local community, and the story of the child intersect and speak to one another? What if children's ministry was less about downloading information into kids' heads and more about leading them into these powerful, compelling stories? Beckwith aims to help ministers and parents create a ministry that captures children's imaginations not just to keep them occupied, but to live as citizens of the kingdom of God. In addition to providing theological reasons for formational children's ministry, the book offers examples of how Ivy and other practitioners are implementing a formational model.
This highly anticipated resource establishes the importance of children's education to the life of today's faith communities. A very readable textbook, "The Ministry of Children's Education presents foundations for education in the faith, explores contexts in which contemporary faith is nurtured, and suggests practical helps for creating programs that work in congregations.
A guide to children's ministry that serves families with special needs Jesus set a high standard when He said "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven." The call is not limited to children who will sit quietly at His feet and listen, who color between the lines, who raise their hands and wait to be called upon, and who work at grade level. Children's ministries are responsible to be ready to bring children with disabilities to Jesus' feet too. Every Child Welcome is the guide for leaders and volunteers to assist in purposeful planning and skill development for a ministry inclusive of children with unique needs. Experienced children's ministry leaders, and parents of special-needs children themselves, the authors are superbly equipped to offer a thoughtful, thorough approach to creating a positive environment for children--one where all children will be able to digest the important concepts being taught. For leaders and volunteers, Every Child Welcome will provide the knowledge and tools to * create a welcoming environment before kids arrive * help children learn more effectively by connecting new information to what they already know * reinforce the main idea of a lesson, building background knowledge and reviewing important concepts * supplement instruction with hands-on activities to increase attention and participation * reinforce and wrap up an activity effectively
What do you need to lead a special needs ministry? Leading a Special Needs Ministry is a practical how-to guide for the family ministry team working to welcome one or 100 children with special needs.
Presents a new paradigm for children's ministry in the emerging church of the 21st century and explores current ways churches are putting that vision into practice.
Attract kids to church, the logic often goes, and you get parents in the pews. All that's left is to get the kids out of the way. Here children's ministers David Csinos and Ivy Beckwith draw on research in human development and spiritual formation to show how children become disciples and churches become centers of lifelong discipleship.
Now available in paper, this resource provides church workers with information on teaching approaches, program administration, and childhood development related to teaching children up to age twelve. Topics cover age-group characteristics, discipline, learning styles, summer ministries, and more. After exploring the biblical and historical perspectives on why the church is called to minister to children, the authors provide suggestions for developing primary goals and objectives for children's programs. Entries are arranged alphabetically for easy reference and include detailed information on children's ministry resources. The book is a companion volume to The Christian Educator's Handbook on Teaching, The Christian Educator's Handbook on Adult Education, and other books in the series.
Children's Christian Education: 12 Essentials for Effective Church Ministry to Children and Their Families fills the need for a fresh and comprehensive resource of twelve essentials for providing quality Christian education for school-age children during their first- through sixth-grade years. Each chapter addresses one of the essentials needed for the most effective Bible teaching ministry for this age group and also gives strong focus to working with the families of children-single-parent families or families with both parents in the home. Children's Christian Education: 12 Essentials for Effective Church Ministry to Children and Their Families addresses the need for an all-age Bible teaching ministry following or prior to Sunday worship. It also addresses outreach to young families and quality teaching and ministry. It gives help for getting the support of the pastor, staff, and congregation for this age group. The resource emphasizes that all are called-lay teachers and workers as well as the pastor and staff. As servant leaders, the pastor and staff have the unique call and roles to equip laypeople for their call to minister within the congregation and beyond. This book is part of a series that provides the essentials for effective church ministry to all age groups, as follows: Preschool Christian Education; Children's Christian Education; Youth/Collegiate Christian Education; and Adult Christian Education.
In the past fifteen years, Brazil has made great strides in increasing its population's access to early child education, with both preschool and creche enrollment increasing by over fifty percent. Education programs for young children have consistently been shown to have long-term positive effects on life outcomes of participants. In Brazil, these programs have demonstrated positive impacts on, for example, income, length of schooling, and test scores. However, the quality of pre-schools and creches is essential in achieving these improvements, and even in capital cities, very few centers are rated as high-quality centers. Representation of the poorest and most vulnerable children among those attending pre-school and creche still lags considerably behind that of more privileged children, although poorer children stand to gain the most from early child education programs. Additionally, large rural-urban and regional disparities exist. This book details the literature on the effects of early child education and the importance of quality, and gives a comprehensive view of the quality, regional, and socioeconomic gaps in early child education in Brazil. It further examines existing public and private initiatives in Brazil, and discusses how they can be leveraged to effectively and efficiently provide quality pre-school and creche care. A central aim of the book is to provide policymakers with specific recommendations of policies to improve the quality and equity of the early child education experience in Brazil. Given the difficulty in reaching children in remote areas and the need to expand coverage to the poorest segments of the population, Brazil will need to be strategic in how and where it invests. It should target new centers and allocate existing spaces to the poorest people and areas. Municipal policymakers should allocate public spaces in a transparent manner, provide guidelines to institutions, and monitor them. Teachers need guidance on the best activities to use, to improve child outcomes. The use of participatory budgeting could potentially improve access and equity by involving the poor directly in the budgeting process. Increased cross-sectoral coordination could improve child welfare in cost-effective ways, and public-private partnerships could stretch existing resources further and expand coverage more quickly.
No teacher wants to be a drill sergeant. No child wants to be in trouble all the time. . . . . Imagine being able to take all the energy that you spend on crowd control and pour it into teaching kids to know, love, and follow Jesus. You can. Teachers who are masters at classroom discipline aren't born that way--they're trained. These teachers have learned what makes kids tick, how to teach kids of all learning styles, and the importance of respecting their students. Excellent teachers know and understand their students' needs and then create a classroom environment where diverse needs can be met. # This book offers you the tools for teaching through your own example as well as by lesson. You'll learn to honor children as Jesus honored them, to understand and meet their needs, and to recognize and deal with differences in personalities and learning styles. # You'll find practical help for the nitty-gritty situations that come up in classrooms week in and week out. # You'll receive expert advice on important issues such as how to deal with children with Attention Deficit Disorder (A. D. D. ), # Find advice on how to work with parents to improve your relationships with students. # The final chapter offers training principles of positive discipline as you work together to develop a unified discipline plan for your church.
