Drew Boswell

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The Importance of Continued Education in Ministry


Teaching involves many skills that have little to do with natural gifting. Even if a person is very gifted, they may be using methods that have grown outdated with the children who are being taught. A person would never go to a medical doctor for help if the doctor were using Civil War era instruments or were not up to date on new medicines or procedures offered. Teachers in the classroom can quickly become irrelevant if they are not aware the culture around them.

There are several ways to help teachers, helpers, administrators, etc. to improve the skills they need within the church. There are yearly or monthly training opportunities led by the local church, mentoring/apprenticeship in the classroom or on-the-job training, local workshops sponsored by creditable children’s ministry companies, and denominational training either locally or nationally.

Choun and Lawson explain, “Training events introduce new materials, methods, and programs. Society is changing rapidly, and curriculum publishers are responding with materials tailored to the specific needs of today’s children.”[1] While it is certainly true that “the Word of our God stands forever” (Isa 40:8), the methods that were once very impacting and powerful do become obsolete. Some archaic methods can actually distract a student from learning instead of enhancing the learning experience. Training, therefore, should be designed to show teachers how to include culturally relevant materials to their students, and use the current cultural trends as a way to teach and expound Scripture. Understanding this concept Children’s Ministry Magazine includes a section that is called “Keeping Current.” They define this section of the magazine as “What you need to know about today’s kids and their culture; plus creative lessons to use the current song, video, or news story.”[2] Within this section there are often current movies given with teaching points based upon scenes from the movie. Different age groups are also broken down with specific cultural developments given in each age group. For example, a new toy that is popular among preschoolers or a video game among the pre-teens may be described. A teacher could reference this magazine to get an insider’s view of her student’s world in order to use it as an illustrative bridge to the Bible.

Since culture is always changing, a teacher’s approach and methods (not the message) should always be changing. Training then becomes paramount in order to keep teachers informed of cultural trends. Being informed is also another way that a teacher can show her love for her students. She cares enough to take the time to craft a lesson that includes their world and is designed just for them.

[1] Robert Choun and Michael Lawson, The Christian Educators Handbook on Children’s Ministry (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1998), 288.
[2] Christine Yount Jones, ed., “Keeping Current,” Children’s Ministry Magazine (May/June 2006 ): 6.

Communicating With Parents

Once learning goals and objectives have been set in place, they need to be communicated to the parents. It is not enough to give the parents a booklet showing them the goals, but the church must also show them how they can use the information to supplement what they are teaching at home. Along with this information given, there should be an explanation as to why it is given to them and the biblical mandate to parents from God’s Word. A parental training opportunity, such as a workshop or seminar, would also educate parents on ways or methods that can be used to teach their children in the home. It could also show parents who may be struggling with similar challenges that they are not alone. These parents could be a source of support and fellowship for each other.

As a way of continued communicating with parents, other than a one time or yearly event, would be a posting of learning objectives outside the church classroom.  Teachers can post their learning objective for the day on the outside of their door, at registration areas, or in bulletins, or newsletters. A teacher could also create an online or print newsletter with all of the pertinent information of her class. Whatever the teacher decides to communicate, the important thing is that what is going on in the classroom is being shared with the parent.

The Importance of Continued Education in Ministry

Teaching involves many skills that have little to do with natural gifting. Even if a person is very gifted, they may be using methods that have grown outdated with the children who are being taught. A person would never go to a medical doctor for help if the doctor were using Civil War era instruments or were not up to date on new medicines or procedures offered. Teachers in the classroom can quickly become irrelevant if they are not aware the culture around them. There are several ways to help teachers, helpers, administrators, etc. to improve the skills they need within the church. There are yearly or monthly training opportunities led by the local church, mentoring/apprenticeship in the classroom or on-the-job training, local workshops sponsored by creditable children’s ministry companies, and denominational training either locally or nationally.

Choun and Lawson explain, “Training events introduce new materials, methods, and programs. Society is changing rapidly, and curriculum publishers are responding with materials tailored to the specific needs of today’s children.”[1] While it is certainly true that “the Word of our God stands forever” (Isa 40:8), the methods that were once very impacting and powerful do become obsolete. Some archaic methods can actually distract a student from learning instead of enhancing the learning experience. Training, therefore, should be designed to show teachers how to include culturally relevant materials to their students, and use the current cultural trends as a way to teach and expound Scripture. Understanding this concept Children’s Ministry Magazine includes a section that is called “Keeping Current.” They define this section of the magazine as “What you need to know about today’s kids and their culture; plus creative lessons to use the current song, video, or news story.”[2] Within this section there are often current movies given with teaching points based upon scenes from the movie. Different age groups are also broken down with specific cultural developments given in each age group. For example, a new toy that is popular among preschoolers or a video game among the pre-teens may be described. A teacher could reference this magazine to get an insider’s view of her student’s world in order to use it as an illustrative bridge to the Bible.

Since culture is always changing, a teacher’s approach and methods should always be changing. Training then becomes paramount in order to keep teachers informed of cultural trends. Being informed is also another way that a teacher can show her love for her students. She cares enough to take the time to craft a lesson that includes their world and is designed just for them.

[1] Robert Choun and Michael Lawson, The Christian Educators Handbook on Children’s Ministry (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1998), 288.

[2] Christine Yount Jones, ed., “Keeping Current,” Children’s Ministry Magazine (May/June 2006 ): 6.

Understanding Roles of Church and Home (Part Six; Evaluation and Data Collection)

Evaluation and Data Collection

Lately I have been thinking about the strategy that the church uses as a means to encourage the spiritual formation of others, specifically children. The following is the sixth article of a series of articles that attempts to understand how we can do this.

Another form of evaluation is the collection of data and concrete ways of showing progress, plateau or decline. If an administrator asks, “Are we doing what we should be doing?” most of the time the response back would be, “I hope so.” But how does a church actually know if it is being effective? Eldridge says,

Evaluation is more than gathering data, it is determining worth or merit.  Assessment is often used synonymously with evaluation. However, assessment is a valueless measurement. The purpose of evaluation is not to measure or acquire facts, but to make decisions. In addition to counting noses or offerings, we need to measure the biblical knowledge and Christian behavior of our congregation. This information should be acquired for the purpose of making decisions on how to increase the impact of educational experiences in the church.[1]

This process begins with collecting accurate data and then using this data in such a way to determine a strategy to reach a goal or an outcome. This process could begin as simple as taking roll in the classroom. This information can determine attendance patterns for the church as a whole or identify an individual student who may need some extra attention or follow-up due to a lack of attendance. Data can also help to identify areas of weakness with the individual ministry and goals can be set to deal with this concern. For example, after gathering the data it may be determined that several of the students only attend every other week. After further investigation it is discovered that these students are from divorced homes where they are with other parents every other weekend. Specific ministry can then be directed toward these children that would address what they missed the weeks they were away. This new ministry direction is different from those that are there every week. But it was not until a leader gathers and studies the data that she may be able to identify the weak areas and then design a new way of reaching these children for Christ. In many churches data are either not collected at all or if they are collected the data are not evaluated to make any kind of pertinent decisions.

[1] Ibid., 310.

Digging For Gold, Found Alot of Rocks







This evening the Wolves Cub Scouts of den #277 went on the road to dig for crystals. Between six to eight really cool crystals were found by the boys and fun was had by all. We would dig out debris from the embankment, put it on a screen, shake and viola – rocks or crystals! A water bucket was used to clean off the mud and to wash our hands.

Thank you Jeff B. for leading us and letting us borrow your equipment.

"For by grace you have been saved through faith." Ephesians 2:8

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