Imagine telling a child a story but stopping at the moment of peril, before the story ends and everyone lives happily ever after. A story without a resolution is enough to keep a child awake at night. We would never do that. Yet we often do something very like it with the story of Jesus. We stop at the resurrection, or perhaps at Pentecost, and leave out the part where he comes back. Ask a group of children in many Western churches to tell you the story of the Bible, and the

When I train children's leaders, I like to ask a simple question: how many of you know what your children's prayer life looks like at home? I jest that 90% of children's leaders have no idea, and the other 10% are lying. It gets a laugh, but it points at something uncomfortable. Most of us would say, quickly and sincerely, that children's ministry is about the child's walk with God, not about the session. But ask how we follow up on last week's lesson on prayer, and there is

We must raise up a generation who are ROOTED in the word of God. This does not mean simply being familiar with Bible stories or understanding theology. It’s more than just memorising verses. It is possible to have all these things and still not be rooted in the Bible. We are not merely talking about children who love the Bible or read it regularly. While these are important, they are not the end goal. If children are to be truly rooted in the Bible, all these elements are nec

Helping under 5s connect with God through His word. The Life Changing Word God’s word changes young lives. One Easter we taught some toddlers about how Jesus swapped everything at the cross. One person arrived with a naughty sign around their neck. When they came to the cross Jesus swapped their naughtiness for his goodness. For another person, Jesus swapped their sadness at the cross. For a third person, Jesus swapped their sickness. This simple teaching allowed children to