D6 Blog
Bringing Joy to the Ends of the Earth
My five-year-old insists that crayons are an essential purchase this season, and I can only agree. She has a deep joy for giving to kids she may never meet, a joy she shares with her little brother as they intentionally pray over every colorful shoebox gift we pack as a family. I love getting to model generosity for my children and teach them about Jesus. God nurtured these desires in my heart and continues to demonstrate His perfect timing in fulfilling the deep desires of my heart. And it...
Listen to the Future
I love going to conferences for children, youth, and family ministry. Mostly because I love the energy around this particular group of people. Let me explain. These people work with the future. They are constantly immersed in working with “the next generation” so they...
The Promise
When we adopted our son Luca from Russia in 2008, we had to take two separate trips in the fall of that year. The destination each time? A small orphanage, Konakova Children’s Home, located outside of the small town of Tver, about two hours north of Moscow. The first...
We Should Be the Helpers, All the Time
Since I started blogging, I’ve had a number of posts that have gone “Christian viral” and one that went “viral viral.” I’ve received messages from all over the world, positive and negative, regarding what I had written. Some declared support and praise for what I...
What Will They Do on Their “Worst Day Ever”?
“This is the Worst. Day. EVER!” If you have children, I imagine you’ve heard them say this once or twice when things didn’t quite go their way. Like maybe when they have to clean their room or eat all their dinner. We smile, because we’ve all been there, but at...
Family Ministry is not “Family” Ministry
When you hear the words “family ministry” what comes to mind? What did you picture in your head as you heard those words? Many people tell me that when they think of family ministry, the first thing they picture is, well, a family—dad, mom, kids… you get the idea....
Putting Faith in Its Place
If you are a parent of a young child, you probably have a plethora of plastic plates in your cupboards, with little compartments for each part of the meal, because if you are a parent, you KNOW that the food can’t touch! My 4 yr. old son is very clear that not only...
3 Ways to Get Your Team on the Same Page for Family Ministry
Google “family ministry” and you could spend some significant time filtering through the nearly 7 million results returned by your search. For the better part of the past decade, family ministry has become a buzzword of sorts in church culture and can sometimes lead...
Coaching the Weak-Side Foot
The whole world watched as U.S. Women’s team member Carli Lloyd scored three goals within just 16 minutes to defeat Japan in the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup. This particular game would also be the last World Cup match for Abby Wambach who holds the record for most...
5 Ways to Help Parents Lead Their Kids to God
There are very few ways to serve others in this world that are more fun and impactful than working with children in your local church. Whether you’re a “professional” receiving a paycheck for your leadership in the children’s ministry, or a volunteer that is paid in...
5 Steps to a Healthy Family Ministry in Your Church
Do you avoid going to doctor? We find every reason not to go, not the least of which is that we think whatever is wrong will go away on its own. While some issues might resolve without being addressed – some will only get worse. My wife lost an aunt because she...
20 Ways to Turn a Snow Day into Memories!
Some people dread the cold snowy weather. The thought of being stuck in the house all day does not always seem fun. Even though the kids are excited that school is out, they will soon be asking, “What can we do?” Here’s a list of 20 fun and simple things that you can...
Daddy/Daughter Time!
I’m sure I could have many more teenage followers from my daughter’s school had I entitled this article “How to Date MY Daughter,” but alas I have her convinced that at this age dating boys is not in her best interest right now. But that is another blog post for...