When children have a listening companion who hears, acknowledges, and encourages their early experiences with God, it creates a spiritual footprint that shapes their lives. Lacy Finn Borgo draws on her experience of practicing spiritual direction with children as she introduces key skills for engaging kids in spiritual conversations, offering sample dialogues, prayers to use together, and ideas for play, art, and movement.

Want to see your church’s kids transformed for Jesus? Struggling to get the whole church on board? Know what you want to see happen, but not how to make it happen? Leading KidMin is about what it takes to achieve big-time change. Moving past the “why” and getting straight to the “how,” Leading Kidmin provides tools and strategies for actually leading, influencing, and implementing change on a local church level—all from the vantage point of the children’s ministry director. The mission of Leading KidMin is to create a movement of change-agents who don’t just know that change is needed, but are equipped to make it happen, leading their churches in becoming more aligned, effective, and geared for growth. Pat Cimo and Matt Markins, veterans of KidMin, are prepared to make you the change-agent you want to be—and that your church needs you to be. Are you ready?

"In The Godbearing Life, the authors offer a lively spiritual primer and practical guide for those who pastor young people. Dean, Foster, and DeWald rechart a course for youth ministry through the classical spiritual disciplines of the church"--

What is youth ministry actually for? And does it have a future? Andrew Root, a leading scholar in youth ministry and practical theology, went on a one-year journey to answer these questions. In this book, Root weaves together an innovative first-person fictional narrative to diagnose the challenges facing the church today and to offer a new vision for youth ministry in the 21st century. Informed by interviews that Root conducted with parents, this book explores how parents' perspectives of what constitutes a good life are affecting youth ministry. In today's culture, youth ministry can't compete with sports, test prep, and the myriad other activities in which young people participate. Through a unique parable-style story, Root offers a new way to think about the purpose of youth ministry: not happiness, but joy. Joy is a sense of experiencing the good. For youth ministry to be about joy, it must move beyond the youth group model and rework the assumptions of how identity and happiness are imagined by parents in American society.

As new research continues to show, the cultural gap between secularism and the convictional Church continues to widen. KidMin and youth leaders are asking, "Are we adequately discipling today's kids to lead the future of the church in a culture that's becoming increasingly hostile to the gospel?" For many, the answer is "no," and a new conversation around making Resilient disciples is emerging. Resilient is an honest calling to ask robust questions about the future; it is a timely conversation in the midst of changing cultural landscapes; and it's a love letter to KidMin leaders and disciple makers to walk this road of child discipleship together. Resilient Child Discipleship focuses on three key areas, essential for shaping long-term faith: Belonging - Highly relational ministry led by a loving and caring adult Believing - Deeply Scriptural ministry rooted in the truth of God's Word and the power of the gospel Becoming - Truly experiential ministry, designed to move kids from simulation to real-world application of faith-based living Resilient equips you with an innovative, biblical and proven child discipleship philosophy to build your ministry around - plus practical questions to equip you and your team! Inspires and facilitates the crucial conversation of our time that will shape the future of the church Loaded with content to help your pastor cast vision and elevate the importance of children's ministry Helps cut through the clutter of the many responsibilities of KidMin to get to the most essential and effective aspects of children's ministry that most influence long-term discipleship into adulthood Child discipleship is the leading factor when shaping the future of your church The culture is changing so rapidly and radically that the future is likely to look far different than the world we know today. The children's ministry community has new conversations to explore as we prepare today's kids to lead the fearless future of the church.

Advice on how to care for pastors' kids and allow them to find their own faith and identity. Pastors' kids are often burdened by others' expectations, but there is a wonderful solution, both at home and in the church: grace. In this revised, refreshed version of Barnabas Piper's best-known book, the author candidly shares his own experiences as son of pastor and bestselling author John Piper, offering a challenge to our churches and to the families at their very heart: how to care for pastors' kids and allow them to find their own faith and identity. Foreword by John Piper.

The definitive practical guide to setting up a dynamic children's ministry that will last. Topics include writing a children's ministry mission statement, writing kid's ministry budgets, choosing the right curriculum for your church's needs, safety and security checklists, effective communication with staff, volunteers and families and effective recruiting techniques. This manual is fun, poignant and interactive! Now a mandatory college textbook at Valley Forge Christian College in PA for all children's ministries majors.