For many youth, whether or not they feel welcome determines whether or not they keep coming to Friday Youth. If they keep coming, they will keep hearing the gospel of Jesus, the gospel that has the power of salvation! If they don’t come back, they may not hear about Jesus. Therefore, it’s heaps important that we think through how we go about welcoming. Here are some tips to help us think through how we go about welcoming.

Many Kids’ Church teams are blessed with teenage leaders. At Hope Church, we have a team of junior leaders that we call “LiTs”. They are a great blessing to our teams. However, given that they are younger and have less life experience than the adult leaders on their teams, they will require specific support as we grow them into godly, competent leaders and teachers of God’s Word. Here are a few thoughts on how we can support them.

If I’m honest, discipline is one of the things I find hardest about leading at Kids’ Church. I want to disciple these kids and share Jesus with them. I don’t want to discipline them. But we have to. It’s really hard. Strike the right balance between “fun” and “firm” is tough. It gets particularly tricky when you have a child (or multiple children) with special needs. If we get discipline right, it makes discipling much easier and way more effective.

At one level, MCing at Kids’ Church is one of the easiest jobs to do. If you have a good system going, you can prepare it in 10 minutes. But it’s also one of the hardest jobs to do as it involves a lot of up-the-front stuff.

The kids’ church talk is finished. You head off into our discussion groups. You walk over to your table. There are no chairs. There are a couple of pencils but they’re blunt. And there’s no red or green. You have the sheets from last week. And … you’re not really sure what you’re meant to be doing. But you’ve got five kindergarten kids with you waiting for you to do something. Except for the kid who has sensed your uncertainty and run away. And the other one who keeps interrupting you with anecdotes about Pokemon every time you try to speak.

You’re sitting in a meeting with your Kids’ Church team. Your leader tells you that you are down for a talk next term. You’re freaking out! What? Why? How on earth do I do this? It can feel pretty daunting. But fear not. You can do it! Here are ten tips to help you on your way.

Matthew 28:18-20, often referred to as the Great Commission, is a pivotal passage for understanding Christian mission. Sometimes I hear people saying that it doesn’t apply to all Christians, just the disciples, those immediately present with Jesus when he said what he said. Therefore, unless we are “evangelists”, we are “off the hook” when it comes to evangelism.

In youth and children's ministry, leaders pour their hearts into their work, sacrificing time on Friday nights, Sunday mornings, and various points throughout the week. The sacrifices are worth it. But after a long week/term/year, it’s easy to forget what we’re on about, why we’re on about it, and how we go about it.