Your story – A visionary Australian research project
Your Story is a visionary research project featuring stories from over 400 Australian young people. The project explores questions around who and what has, and is, shaping their faith in their childhood, adolescence, and the present, by listening to young people narrate their faith story.
Here are four key findings from this research, and their implications for ministry.
Five Strategies to Cultivate a Culture of Church-Parent Partnership
The childhood years are foundational for a young person’s spiritual development. Yet children’s ministry is too often carried out in isolation from the families to whom these children belong.
When the church and home are aligned in purpose, vision, and strategy the discipleship and spiritual formation of children flourish. So, what does meaningful partnership between the church and the home look like—both theologically and practically?
Too comfortable for Christ
When life feels full and comfortable, why would anyone think they need Jesus? The “I’m fine, thanks” fallacy is one I’ve encountered time and time again. Young people often don’t perceive their need for Jesus because life feels good, and they don’t see themselves as "bad people."
Here are three approaches to help young people see their need for Jesus, even when they don’t feel it.
Fostering a sense of belonging in kids ministry
Low and irregular attendance at church is a concerning trend for leaders today. As someone particularly concerned with the discipleship of children, sporadic attendance is discouraging, so we can’t ignore the impact this will have on children.
Here’s one area I think children’s ministry leaders need to consider - fostering in our young people a sense of belonging at church.
Two ways to get quiet discussion groups talking
Think of a time where you’ve asked a question in a discussion and everyone falls silent… is it the good kind of silence, or the not-so-good kind?
One kind of silence is productive, while the other is detrimental to forming a good group culture. One kind of silence promotes discussion, the other hampers it.
Here are two simple tools that will help you create a platform for the types of discussion where you get the good kind of silence.
SRE classroom tips for supporting students with ADHD
It can be hard to know how to support young people who have ADHD, whether you are aware of the diagnosis or not. Getting to know each student, especially those with diverse needs, is going to be most helpful. But this can be difficult, if not impossible, with such limited time and a whole class of kids.
Here are four tips to make your SRE class beneficial for all students.
Shaping classes for student success: Making the right thing to do the easiest thing to do
When doing the right thing is also the easiest thing, students build good habits—and we spend less time managing behaviour. Here are my four top tips for classroom management.
Responding to Big Emotions in Children
Join Annemarie on a journey into the heart of children's emotions, where frustration, anger, and sadness often run wild. Discover why it's crucial to acknowledge these feelings without judgment and how to clarify boundaries while offering support and empathy.
Gospel-shaped Discipline and Sin in Children’s Ministry
Where do we turn to when children are misbehaving? Read how you can respond in a godly manner.
Age of Conversion and the Faith of the Family
Discover how the faith commitment of parents influences the age at which individuals embrace Christianity, reinforcing the importance of familial faith practices.
Accessibility and the Eras Tour
What Taylor Swift can teach us about including people with disability in our churches
The Questions Kids Always Ask in Primary SRE Classes
Here are some ways you can prepare yourself when the tough questions come up in your SRE class.
Five Tips For Leading Games Well
So, what makes a youth group game awesome? Here are five tips that will help you to take game-time to the next level.
TayTay and Gifts of the Spirit
Whether you're a Swiftie, a curious bystander, or someone seeking deeper spiritual insights, this article helps us to contemplate the divine origins of talent and the transformative power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
Key routines and expectations for my SRE class this year
Three expectations and three routines you can develop for your Kindy SRE class.
Equipping and Empowering Junior Leaders to Serve
Equipping and empowering teenagers to serve as junior leaders within your church’s ministry programs is one of the best places for this to happen.
So how should we be thinking about junior leaders, and how can we best help them to start well?
Why Mission is Only Half the Answer
Over the last few years, there has been a corrective occurring in our churches, kids' ministries and youth ministries. More and more I’m hearing about evangelism being put back on the agenda and discussion around strategies for mission and how to increase “mission heat”.
Youth Ministry is More Than Future Fruit
Why do we do children’s and youth ministry? Is it so that in 5-10 years’ time we can have faithful adult disciples of Jesus who can become children’s and youth ministry leaders?
Lessons from Christian Endeavour, A Training School for the Church.
Today, Christian Endeavour has faded from memory and few young people have heard of it. But are there lessons that we can learn from this remarkable youth organisation?
Helping kids recognise and name their feelings
Helping young people grow in their emotional understanding is all part of helping them grow as embodied humans made in the image of God. Here are three ways to help young people recognise and name their emotions.