Concordia Publishing House

Vacation Bible School is a blast! The week is filled with fun activities, catchy songs, delicious snacks, and time with friends. For some, VBS can be the turning point in their faith. The volunteer who has been doing this for years walks away with a deeper knowledge of how to share the Good News of Jesus with others; the new volunteer experiences what it’s like to encourage a young one in his or her faith; the older VBS participant looking at his or her last VBS before becoming a volunteer has memories of how impactful this event can be. All these things and more are jam-packed into a five-day VBS. With all those possibilities, the best thing we can do is pray for everyone who gets to be a part of VBS!

Going to church as a family is a blessing. When young children are a part of your family, you need to think ahead when it comes to church. Families with young children may need to ask these questions when preparing for worship: “How do I help my child participate in the service?”; “How do I help them concentrate?”; “What should I do if my child wants to start moving around?”

A popular way churches equip families with young children is by providing “busy bags” or “quiet bags” to keep children engaged during the church service. Rather than putting together a random selection of toys or books, consider these resources, which will also help your child learn about what they are experiencing at church!

The season of Lent is a time to reflect on repentance, grow in love, and recognize Jesus’ work on the cross. Lent connects us to the Bride of Christ throughout all time and all places. It is historic. It is personal. However, that doesn’t mean that it is easy to teach! Let’s take a little pressure off of planning and look at 5 books to use during this Lenten season to teach kids what it means that God made us His through Jesus.

Vacation Bible School is a great tool for engagement, learning about Jesus, and sharing the Gospel. It is a big undertaking to plan and put together a successful VBS.

This summer at Vacation Bible School, we’re covered in Jesus’ grace! Our theme for this year, God’s Living Water: Covered in Jesus’ Grace, is inspired by 1 Timothy 1:14, which says, “The grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” Each of the lessons focuses on biblical accounts that emphasize the Living Water, Jesus Christ. In this post, we’ll break down how to use the curriculum for Vacation Bible School.

Confirmation is a big step in our church journey. It is meant to prepare believers for future living and learning. But confirmation isn’t just a one-time process; rather, it encourages continual growth and lifelong learning. The Enduring Faith Confirmation Curriculum does just that. Read on to see everything the curriculum offers!

When we read with children, we know how to correct their mistakes, but sometimes we don’t know how to help them pronounce, understand, and retain new words. Here are some tips for teachers, parents, grandparents, and anyone else who works with children on how to teach hard Bible words.

Here are five books about children’s ministry—from early childhood to young adult—that will have you feeling ready to take on your role as a Sunday School teacher!

As a child, the sounds of bells and Christmas carols, the smells of pine and cookies, and the love of Christ in the air are all things I loved about the holidays. My top three memories of growing up at church were the Christmas service, the Easter service, and Vacation Bible School. Why were these events more impactful to me than any other church service or lesson? It could be that they were all held are during a school vacation, during which I had extra time to spend with family and friends. It could be that these are all times when families in the church come together to celebrate our Savior. Or it could be because all of these events are filled with stories and lessons of who Jesus is and what He did for us. So what does Christmas and the nativity have to do with Vacation Bible School? EVERYTHING! The lessons and stories that are taught during VBS, Easter, Advent, and Christmas will follow children throughout their lives.

This post is adapted from Connected for Life: Essential Guide to Youth Ministry and was written by A. J. Mastic.

Maybe serving in youth ministry is a new journey for you. Perhaps you trained for this—or maybe you’re a new volunteer and you’re wondering what you’ve gotten yourself into! No matter how you got to this point, what’s important is that as you take your first steps in youth ministry, you do so with an awareness of not only your skills, but your roles. Am I a teacher? chaperone? dodgeball referee? friend? mentor? A good understanding of your roles will help define your work and the nature of your relationships with the youth.