Developing Children’s Ministries online Course

Developing Children's Ministries online Course

Courses for this focus area will help you understand best practices for children's ministry.

There is no clearer mandate for the church than its responsibility to edify and train children. From the early Old Testament mandate to teach the love of God to children, to Jesus' act of placing a child at the center of the disciples as a model of the kingdom of God, children rest in the love of adults as well as in the grace of God himself. Children, as God's own creation, come to this world in need of care, as the child Jesus came. Children also bring gifts as they grow up, whether it be their patterned vulnerability or their exuberant creativity. A world without children would be like a place without games, without mischief, without pure honesty, and kind dependency. The church's mandate to partner with parents in caring for children provides a solemn reminder that holiness of heart and life can best be measured by our love for God and children.

The crucial task of local congregations remains the provision of strong leadership to guide and empower children. Too often, leadership among children must resort to independent ministerial training, often inconsistent with Wesleyan-Holiness teaching and practice. This module is intended to provide a comprehensive, theologically grounded approach to ministry to children for the kingdom of God.

This module represents the diligent efforts of a team of academic writers in collaboration with the Children's Ministries division of the Sunday School Discipleship Ministries International (SDMI) department at the Church of the Nazarene's Global Ministry Center. The team has been working for several years, writing and re-editing previous editions, including this same module. As in the case of works by several authors together, the project offers a diverse range of ideas and methods that coincide or intersect with one another with common themes and interests.

The table of contents for this study follows this order:
Introduction
Lesson 1: Introducing Children's Ministry
Lesson 2: Children in the Scripture
Lesson 3: The Child in History and Contemporary Culture
Lesson 4: Understanding the Development of Children
Lesson 5: How Children Learn
Lesson 6: Global Diversity and Ministry in the Church
Lesson 7: The Spirituality of Children
Lesson 8: Spiritual Formation
Lesson 9: Pastoral Care
Lesson 10: Relational Leadership
Lesson 11: Programing for Children's Ministries
Lesson 12: Developing a Strategic Plan, Calendar, and Ministries Budget
Lesson 13: The Church: A Safe Environment
Lesson 14: Evaluating Curriculum, Events, and Ministry Programs
Lesson 15: Storytelling, Spiritual Formation, and Biblical Interpretation
Lesson 16: Discipline and Classroom Management
Lesson 17: Evangelizing and Discipling Children
Lesson 18: Leading Children in Worship
Lesson 19: Children in Ministry
Lesson 20: Ready to Minister

Go here to register for this virtual course: https://discipleshipplace.org/index.php?option=com_studies&view=curriculum&id=77&Itemid=492&lang=en