Have you ever had a moment in your ministry when you wished you could pick up the phone and talk to a children’s ministry hero? Maybe you wanted to bounce an idea off someone, or you were looking for new ideas to launch your ministry, or you were facing a challenge you didn’t know how to overcome.  In those moments, we’d all love to be able to pick up the phone and call someone like Dick Gruber or Mark Entzminger, but that’s probably not feasible.

Instead of stalking a children’s ministry guru, buy the book 6 Children’s Ministry Essentials, edited by Dick Gruber. Reading through this book made me feel as if I were having a personal children’s ministry conference in my own living room, or as if I were sitting across the table from other children’s ministry leaders who had some answers to my questions.

This book consists of a selection of blog posts from My Health Church Kids written by 29 different authors, divided into six categories, and transformed into a quick-access guide for Kidmin pastors and leaders. You can read from experts on topics such as:

• Nursery and Preschool
• Gender-Specific Children’s Ministry
• Spirit-Empowered Children’s Ministry
• Outreach and Evangelism
• Kids and Grief
• Volunteers

There were amazing nuggets throughout this book. Here are a few that stood out to me:

“If I wanted to make healthy disciples, I needed to include parents. What happens at home is more important than what happens at church.” (Jim Wideman, p. 4.)

“Parents won’t entrust their children to the childcare staff of your church unless they feel their children are safe. If they don’t feel safe to leave their children, you won’t have the opportunity to minister to the children or to their parents.” (Spencer Click, p. 17.)

“Host gender-specific ministry outreach events as a way to create momentum. While boys and girls in youth ministry might share the same interests, boys and girls in kids ministry share vastly different interests.” (Cara Railey, p. 25.)

“When children receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit, they become empowered to pray with more effectiveness, to overcome temptation, to understand God’s Word in a deeper way, and to witness to their friends.” (Dick Gruber, p. 35.)

“People ask me all the time why we take risks to reach, disciple, and empower children. I say behind every risk, every fear, is a testimony. Children are so open to the gospel and to the supernatural. What are we doing to help them discover how God wants to use them supernaturally to build His kingdom?” (Michelle Wellborn p. 43.)

“We have so many single-parent families and parents who are just trying to get by. One way we can reach out to a family with both kids and adults joining in, is by sponsoring a family with a Christmas tree and a few Christmas presents.” (Heather Marble, p. 67.)

“The church should plan activities in order to accommodate children living in divorced families. Giving them every opportunity to participate helps to build and strengthen their connection within the church body.” (Keith Swartzendruber, p. 84.)

“Training is an ongoing process, and there will always be new topics to communicate. Keep a list of elements for staff training, and begin to gather resources to provide that training. Once the resources are developed, you can easily pass them along to a new leader.” (Mark Entzminger, p. 102.)

6 Children’s Ministry Essentials has become a staple on my office bookshelf, one that I know I will come back to again and again.

If you don’t have this book, I recommend you purchase it!

To purchase 6 Children's Ministry Essentials, CLICK HERE.