Children’s ministry is arguably one of the most important ministries of your congregation, but it can often be hard to find and maintain the energy required to keep the program running. Energizing Your Children’s Ministry, new from Concordia Publishing House, provides the tools congregations need to get the spark back in their children’s ministry programs. “Energizing your children’s (or any other) ministry is ultimately not about an excellent program, the right curriculum, sharp advertising, or well-trained volunteers,” writes author Cynthia Brown. “In the end, it’s the Holy Spirit who is in the business of revitalization.”
With over forty years of experience in children’s ministry, Brown has seen what works. In Energizing Your Children’s Ministry, she shares lessons from her experience along with dozens of practical resources for those who are teaching the Gospel to children.
Brown begins with the fundamental ABCDs: assess your church’s needs, build relationships, create a leadership team, and define the focus. According to Brown, these crucial steps are key in creating and leading children’s programs that inspire and educate children and their families.
Energizing Your Children’s Ministry is loaded with lists, form templates, charts, and more to help children’s ministry leaders recruit volunteers, set goals, define needs, and more. For more information, please contact Lindsey Martie, Public Relations, at 314-268-1303 or at lindsey.martie@cph.org. To purchase Energizing Your Children’s Ministry, visit cph.org/childrensministry.
What people are saying about Energizing Your Children’s Ministry:
“Energizing Your Children’s Ministry is an excellent resource for churches seeking to understand how to organize their children’s ministry. Leaders who are either new to ministry, revitalizing their children’s ministry, or desiring to train their teams to better understand the scope of children’s ministry will benefit from this quality resource.”
—Dr. David L. Rueter, Associate Professor of Christian Education and DCE Program Director, Concordia University Irvine, CA; author of Teaching the Faith at Home (CPH 2016)
“Cynthia Brown invites you to grab a cup of coffee and sit down for an intriguing discussion in an often-overlooked area of the church—children’s ministry. You may wonder what questions you would ask this veteran of front-line ministry with children and their families. But no worries; she supplies fourteen critical questions (and answers) that guide the children’s ministry novice, volunteer, veteran, or professional on a journey that will energize ministry with children and their families. Professor Brown outlines a biblically based, relationally focused process, which helps you develop direction, plan and organize, recruit and train others, to move your vision forward in children’s ministry!”
—Dr. Steve Christopher, Family Life Program Director, Concordia University Ann Arbor, MI
“Wouldn’t it be incredible if every child and family the Lord gave us the opportunity to serve was welcomed warmly, taught with joyful enthusiasm, and excited to participate every Sunday and bring their friends? If your children’s ministry needs some energizing, this book by Cynthia Brown could become your new best friend with resources and blueprints for considering and guiding change. Every family ministry or children’s ministry leader (lay or professional) would benefit from reading it personally and then recruiting a group of committed volunteers to read it together and begin looking at positive steps that can be taken to energize children’s ministry in the local congregation. One size doesn’t fit all, and the people best equipped to solve the challenges of ministry are those who live it every week in their own church. This book can help with that.
This is a timeless and timely book designed to help all of us ‘up our game’ so that precious children are brought to Jesus without hindrance. I can’t wait to order multiple copies and get a group going to consider how we might better serve families and energize ministry to children at my church. Thank you to Cynthia Brown and Concordia Publishing House for a book that brings research, ideas, and practical wisdom all together in one place for all of us to use!”
—Jill Hasstedt, DCE, Zion Lutheran Church and School, Belleville, IL
About the Author
Cynthia Brown is an adjunct professor in the Family Life department at Concordia University Ann Arbor and developed the core curriculum for the children’s ministry concentration. She has over forty years of experience working with children in both school and church settings.
