Sticky Faith
Author
Kara Powell & Chap Clark
Who should read it
Recommended for youth ministers, children's ministers and christian parents.
Why
Sticky Faith encourages parents and the church to take a more serious look at nurturing lifelong faith in children. This book seeks to equip its readers with practical types to reverse this trend of high school giving up their faith by giving young people a sticky faith that perseveres against the tides of secularism, doubt, and fleeting temptations. Young people need a clear and honest understanding of both the gospel and biblical faith so they are aware of their significant role in the kingdom of God seen in the Bible. Sticky Faith does not try to build a robust theology of spiritual parenting or critique modern styles of parenting. This means it can be overly pragmatic and neglect the insights of Scripture in this topic. Sticky Faith is full of great practical advice providing discussion starters for those who want to grow young people with sticky faith.
Publisher
Grand Rapids: Baker, 2016
Show them Jesus
Author
Jack Klumpenhower
Who should read it
Useful for anyone involved in children's ministry. This is a great book for a ministry team to read together.
Why
A question that children's ministry leaders often ask is how do I teach children while avoiding moralism. Show them Jesus seeks to answer this question. Klumpenhower shows nots only why the gospel should be front and centre of every children's ministry lesson, but also how to teach the good news in ways that will engage head, heart and hands.
Publisher
New Growth Press, 2014
Sustainable Children's Ministry
Author
Mark DeVries & Annette Safstrom
Who should read it
Recommended for anyone starting out in a children's ministry leadership role and those building a children's ministry from the ground up in a smaller church or church plant.
Why
Subtitled 'from last minute scrambling to long-term solutions', this book looks at the underlying systems and structures in church-based children's ministries (or lack of them). Highly practical, with numerous appendixes full of samples and examples, this book guides the reader to see the need for systems and how to create them. The authors address areas like 'chronic leader shortage', 'workhorse' leadership, working well on a staff team and how to delegate well.
Publisher
IVP Praxis, 2018
The Art of Group Talk
Author
Phillips & Duckworth
Who should read it
This is a must-read for anyone leading a small group of kids. It is a great training resource.
Why
A light, easy to read introduction to leading small groups of kids. Moving from the purpose and goal of small groups down to the practical details of making it work, this is a hugely helpful resources for all leaders. It includes suggestions of items to prepare, ways to deepen relationship with children and helpful clarity on why it's all worth the effort.
Publisher
Think Orange
Relational Children's Ministry
Author
Dan Lovaglia
Who should read it
Recommended for Children's Ministers, key lay coordinators, and any invested leaders who desire to be "change agents" in their local ministry.
Why
In Relational Children's Ministry, Lovaglia aims to help children's ministry leaders hit the "reset button". He considers 5 discipleship invitations modelled by Jesus and discusses ways to put these into practice in children's ministry. Children's ministry leaders will learn how to make their ministry a disciple-making ministry that shapes kids into lifelong followers of Jesus.
Publisher
Zondervan, 2016
Leading KidMin: How to Drive Real Change in Children's Ministry
Author
Pat Cimo and Matt Markins
Who should read it
Recommended for children's ministers, key lay coordinators and any invested leaders who desire to be "change agents" in their local ministry.
Why
Leading KidMin provides a guide on how to assess and realign your leadership of children's ministry within the church. Full of wisdom and stories from the authors' extensive experience in children's ministry, this book provides a clear and accessible guide for re-calibrating your ministry towards your intended ministry goals, and leading the change that you wish to see; with the church, leaders, parents and the children themselves.
Publisher
Moody Publishers, 2016
The Bible Story Handbook
Author
John H. Walton and Kim E. Walton
Who should read it
While written particularly with Primary School children in mind, The Bible Story Handbook is an excellent resource for every leader of children and youth (and even adult!) ministry as they prepare teaching times on narrative passages of the Bible.
Why
Husband and wife team, John and Kim Walton bring together John's expertise as a Bible scholar, with Kim's experience in writing and reviewing children's ministry curriculums, to prepare this excellent handbook. Each of the 175 narratives chosen explore the passage under 6 headings; (1) Lesson Focus, (2) Lesson Application, (3) Biblical Context, (4) Interpretational Issues, (5) Background Information, and (6) Mistakes to Avoid. The authors keep the big picture of the Bible at the forefront of their lesson guides, keeping the focus on God's meta-narrative of the Bible as central to each passage.
Publisher
Crossway, 2010