Welcome to our children's ministry channel! If you have any suggestions for this channel, please e-mail us.
Showers for the Tender Harvest: Don't Offer Cold Fire by Jill Nelson
Skill without passion is cold fire. Do not offer God cold fire. Read more...
Showers for the Tender Harvest: Goofy Games for Great Get-Togethers by Jill Nelson
Children's ministry is not all preaching and praising. Sometimes it's fun and games. And sometimes thinking of new games to play with your active crowd can be a teeth-gnashing experience. To help you out, I've listed three games that have come across my path recently and went over big with the kids. Read more...
Showers for the Tender Harvest: Treasure Your Teachers by Jill Nelson
Do people turn and walk the other way when they see you coming with your I-need-a-Sunday-School-teacher smile? One way to beef up your recruitment potential is to treasure your existing teachers. Besides, if you do all you can to avoid burnout in your staff, your need to recruit will go way down. Read more...
Showers for the Tender Harvest: Write the Vision by Jill Nelson
Have we gotten our children's ministries into sync with God's vision and goals? Have we made our vision plain on paper so those in our sphere of influence may join with us? In performing this simple act, we hold a major key to victory in our lives and ministries. Read more...
Showers for the Tender Harvest: Adventures in the Throne Room by Jill Nelson
Music rocked the auditorium, flowing in waves across the sea of children crowded against the stage. Hands waved in the air like a forest of palm branches. Young bodies bounced uncontrollably in the rhythm of delight. Mouths moved in sync with the lyrics. Fresh faces alight with joy tilted upward toward the object of their adoration.
What's all the fuss about? A frenzied rock group? The latest boy-band? Elvis? Not a chance! Read more...
Showers for the Tender Harvest: PRAISE! If the Children Won't Do It, the Rocks Will! by Jill Nelson
Evidently, God does not want us to act like a bunch of dumb rocks when it comes time to worshipespecially not the kids. They need to be jumping out of their skins with joy, praising God with their whole beingsspirit, soul, AND body! Read more...
Showers for the Tender Harvest: Drama in Children's Ministry by Jill Nelson
Throughout the ages, drama has never ceased to be an effective tool for ministry to any age group. Children are especially stimulated by an entertaining enactment that helps them remember a point. Any time is a good time to incorporate drama into your children's ministry: Read more...
Showers for the Tender Harvest: Bible Camp: Honing Sharp Arrows for the Lord by Jill Nelson
Every children's minister or Sunday School teacher should have the opportunity to accompany their kids to summer Bible camp. Between swatting mosquitoes and dodging water balloons, they might have their lives changed forever. Read more...
Showers for the Tender Harvest: Ready, Set, Go! It's Kids Crusade Season by Jill Nelson
Summer is a popular time for children's crusades or Vacation Bible Schools. If you are preparing for one in your town, here are a few tips to help the experience go more smoothly. Read more...
Showers for the Tender Harvest: Time Tamers for Sunday School Teachers by Jill Nelson
My grandmother had a hot pad hanging on her kitchen wall embroidered with the words, "Round Tuit." Now that she'd gotten a "round tuit," there were no more excuses for procrastination! Not that any of us deliberately procrastinates. Heaven forbid! (Sheepish grin.) Read more...
Showers for the Tender Harvest: Creative Conflict by Jill Nelson
Conflict is inevitable in children's ministry, because children will always test their limits. A part of our calling as children's ministers (and parents, as the case may be) is to help our charges define and respect healthy limits in order that we may foster an atmosphere for the Holy Spirit to work effectively. Read more...
Showers for the Tender Harvest: Let's "Apologize" To Our Kids by Jill Nelson
How do we know there is a God? Why do we say Jesus is the only way to salvation? Isn't anything we believe all right, as long as we're sincere? Profound questions in a supremely confusing world. Our children will be confronted with these daunting puzzles long before we are ready for that to happen. Read more...
Showers for the Tender Harvest: Children's Ministry -- It's the REAL Thing by Jill Nelson
Unfortunately, children's ministry is looked upon by many in the Body of Christ as menial. Even some that are involved in it by God's calling regard the position as little more than a stepping stone to those "greater things" they envision for themselves. Read more...