carolyn on January 18th, 2011

I can’t believe it’s been two years since I posted on Leading Kids Today!  I got busy with other things and this blog took a back seat, but with encouragement from a good friend, I’ve decided to revive Leading Kids Today with a slightly different focus.  Previously I focused on how to lead children, both [...]

Continue reading about A new year, a new focus

Whether it’s the beginning of a calendar year or a school year, most of us make New Year’s Resolutions of some sort or another.  Perhaps you’ve decided that this is the year to get in shape, get out of debt, go on weekly dates with your spouse, be more positive, or read your Bible a [...]

Continue reading about Ten Questions to Help You Start Your Ministry Year Off Right

carolyn on October 28th, 2008

Last Sunday in Discovery Unlimited, our 4th and 5th graders got to make individual servings of ice cream to illustrate the virtue of determination. If you ask any 4th or 5th grader who was at our church last Sunday, they’ll tell you it takes a long time to shake up a baggy of milk and [...]

Continue reading about Messiness: a secret to success in children’s ministry

carolyn on October 16th, 2008

DUH!!!  We all know that regular exercise strengthens our muscles.  We also know if we stop exercising, our muscles atrophy. Did you know the same is true for spiritual exercise?  If we engage in consistent spiritual training, in time, we’ll detect real spiritual growth.  However, if we fail to get regular spiritual exercise, our faith [...]

Continue reading about Does Regular Exercise Really Make a Difference?

carolyn on October 6th, 2008

Aside from being focused on helping kids find and follow Jesus, the backbone of any children’s ministry is its consistent, committed leaders.  When leaders aren’t consistent and when they aren’t committed for the long haul, the program loses its effectiveness. At the Lawrence Free Methodist Church, we are blessed to have so many people who [...]

Continue reading about Your Labor Is Not In Vain

carolyn on September 25th, 2008

I couldn’t wait until next week to write again because I wanted to celebrate with you some things that happened last Sunday in our ministry.  God is at work and it’s exciting!! Last Sunday was fall kick-off Sunday at our church.  It’s always a great day with a big party on the church lawn after [...]

Continue reading about Wow! What a day!

carolyn on September 21st, 2008

Last week I introduced a few tips for how keep energetic kids engaged in your small group. Since this is such an important topic and since there are so many great ideas, I’m continuing with that topic this week. One of the best ways to keep energetic kids engaged in your small group is to [...]

Continue reading about An Indispensable Tip for Engaging Energetic Kids

carolyn on August 31st, 2008

I strongly believe that positive life change happens in loving relationships. Therefore, if we want kids’ lives to be changed as a result of attending church, we need to create environments in which they can be in loving relationships. This is why small groups with consistent kids and leaders are so important. When kids develop [...]

Continue reading about “I baked you a delicious cookie.”

carolyn on August 5th, 2008

Many years ago I was at a crossroad in my life, trying to figure out where I really fit in at church. I had been involved in our Wednesday night children’s program for years and then transitioned to teaching an adult class on Sunday mornings. After doing that for a while, I took a break [...]

Continue reading about Want to grow in your faith? Try serving!

carolyn on July 17th, 2008

Last Sunday I had the privilege of leading the first grade small group in DU. It wasn’t actually a small group; the kids filled two round tables (a topic for a future post.) It had been more than a decade since I’d led a group of kids that age and I truly enjoyed being with [...]

Continue reading about God Is Working