by Dr. Lorie Lee Let me be transparent. When I heard that I was meeting a little eight-year old girl, named Audrey Mae, I immediately had a stereotype in my mind. She would be super cute, have perfectly straight hair with perhaps a ribbon or bow in it and very...
What does it mean to “welcome” a child? Then they came to Capernaum. While Jesus was in the house, He asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” But they were silent, for on the way they had been arguing with each other which of them was the greatest. Sitting...
The other day, my son and I were at a community center that had, as part of the building, a small room called the “Children’s Chapel.” Inside the room were a few instruments (mostly drums), a number of boxes that had Bible stories inside of them, and several benches...
We need to disciple our kids, but effective discipleship is not going to happen from a stage or in a large group setting. Relationships are the key to discipling our kids and training them up to be godly men and women. Are we surrounding our kids with the right...
Thanksgiving is a great opportunity to connect with your kids while they're out from school! Here are four simple ways to do so. #1 Involve your kids in the planning and prepping for your Thanksgiving meal. Let them help with decorations Ask if they would like to...
“If you could eat dinner with anyone, who would you pick?” Before you keep reading, take a moment and answer the question. Where did your mind go? Someone famous? Someone from the Bible? A hero or a friend? I recently saw a commercial from Australia where this...
Church attendance. Yup, we’re gonna go there. First the good news, because we need the good news. Jesus is Lord. Nothing can change that. And the church is the body of Christ, and nothing can change that. So that alone should stir an undying hope within our...
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...
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...
What two words have the power to keep you going? That’s right, you guessed it…thank you! (“You won a vacation” is four words!) You know how well those two little words can encourage you to keep at it. When someone notices and says “thank you for all your hard work” it...
If Jesus were the guest preacher at your church, what would you do with your kids? Let that question sink in for a moment. This question was posed by Rob Rienow to a group of ministers and parents yesterday and I literally watched the reactions go from “Bring them of...
Planning Center loves churches. In fact, two thirds of our team have worked on staff at churches. We know what it’s like to be in the trenches, struggling with the complex problems a church faces. Sometimes, adding a complicated management system on top of the mess...