Sticky Faith by 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 by 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 by 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 by 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 by 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 by 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 by 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

Family Ministry and the Church by Chris Shirley

Who should read it

Useful for anyone leading a children's or youth ministry. Also recomended for ministry staff teams to read together.

Why

Family Ministry and the Church explores the role of the church in strengthening families and equipping them for discipleship, and the role of the family in building the church. Shirley takes the reader through an exploration of what family ministry is, and why the family and the church need each other. With other contributors, the book delves into how to equip families for ministry at different life stages with the goal of seeing families and churches working together in effective disciple-making ministry.

Publisher

Randall House Publications, 2018