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...
We loved being at D6 with all of you who attended the D6 Conference! It was an amazing experience full of great conversations about the many challenges and opportunities you face in family ministry. We are excited to share more about What’s in the Bible? and our...
Many little girls dream about what it’s going to be like to have their own family when they grow up. Perhaps you were one of those dreamers. Or maybe when you fell in love with your children’s father, you had dreams of the happy family you and he would one day have....
I have four kids that span in age from 5 to 16—three girls and one boy. It doesn’t matter their age or their gender, here are three things that work to make my kids feel like they are special and unique. And they will work for you. (Side note: I don’t have the corner...
One common concern I often hear from parents and other adult church members about including children in the corporate worship setting is that kids won’t “get” anything out of the worship or the sermon. From an adult perspective, there are certain things we want to...
“I can’t fix this,” I said to my son Luca, as he complained to me yesterday about a neighborhood conflict he was engaged in. “But, Momma, Riley and Addison want girl time, and they don’t want to play with me.” I responded, knowing he would never understand the concept...
The game ‘Hide and Seek’ is a familiar, fun childhood activity. The point, obviously, is for one individual to search out every possible spot of the given area in order to find the concealed person. The anticipation of finding the one hidden is what makes the game so...
Abandonment. It is a force. A sweeping, unrelenting storm whose winds blow like a gale, terrorizing the soul. I’ve seen it. It is not a pretty sight. Abandonment is fond of the night. It stalks its prey. It lies in wait until the day’s activities are done. The mind...
My wife and I don’t have children, and the most I had ever been involved with family ministry at our church was the three-year period that we spent volunteering in the four-year-old class on Sunday morning, where our largest victory was the fact that we only lost one...
Go to any children’s or student ministry conference today, and you’ll hear speakers hit the stage and talk about the idea of your ministry investing in families. Processing how to impact kids more effectively and then figuring out the parent issue also can be...
What if you found out that a specific group of families in your community were unreached with the gospel? What if I told you that families from this group regularly share stories with me about rejection from churches? You’d want to know the group, wouldn’t you? I...
For many people, death is a scary subject. When a child experiences the death of a family member or friend for the first time, it is important to carefully walk them through the experience. Most of the time parents don’t do this very well leaving children with some...