Recently we had a couple of children (9 & 11) who expressed a desire to be baptised, both having come to faith a short while ago. We were thrilled, but aware that we’ve not baptised children before and that our usual ‘prep’ wouldn’t be appropriate. Ahead of the Baptism service at Easter, I produced a two-sided worksheet; the first side…
Following a sudden death in a family in our church I’ve produced a set of cards to help the family communicate as they grieve. The idea is for a child/young person (or parent) to complete the card highlighting a particular feeling/frustration then hand it to a family member/friend to inform them how they’re feeling and allow them to respond appropriately.…
On Sunday 4th March I ran in my first 10k race as part of the Milton Keynes Festival of Running. Primarily I did it to raise funds for my role at Spurgeon Baptist Church – more of that here. But it has also been a personal ambition to complete a 10k, for about the last 10 years! So, to quote…
I’ve just finished publishing the latest Youth Ministry Update newsletter. Click below to view it online, or download it in PDF format. Whilst it’s great to hear the news of new and existing projects, please pay special attention to the final section about how to support us – this is what makes the projects possible. Thank you…
Last Saturday the second Youthwork Summit took place in Manchester. I attended along with about about 750 other youth workers/ministers, paid & volunteer, full & part time, along with 20+ speakers, the Rend Collective Experiment, Mark Yaconelli, and the amazing team who put the event together and served us on the day. It will take a while to properly reflect…
On 21st March we held an event, in partnership with the Milton Keynes Bridgebuilder Trust [MKBT], which aimed to ‘bless, refresh, resource & encourage’ Christians in Education across Milton Keynes.We were joined by 18 attendees, representing 9 Churches & 11 schools/institutions/organisations. Delegates included teachers (current, supply & retired), teaching assistants, deputy headteachers, assistant principals, administrative officers, KS3 coordinators, a reading…
This is part six of the series looking at the inclusion of Children & Young People in Worship. I’ve updated recently on my presentation to and the outcome of the Church meeting in relation to the changes I proposed. Now I want to start updating on the progress which has been made so far and where we’re going next.With the review…
I’m not a Children’s worker: it’s not my particular gifting. But I’m being increasingly challenged about the importance of work (particularly evangelism) with children. More on that later…but for now my mantra will be: Aim LowerThink SmallerGive UpGo and have a cup of coffee * And here’s why: * to be fair, this has always been part of my personal…
You may remember some months ago I started a series entitled ‘worshipping together‘. I was reviewing the inclusion & engagement of children & young people in our services at Spurgeon Baptist Church, and the posts were a chance for me to air my thoughts and discuss them before proceeding. Here’s a quick précis of each of the posts: Including Children…
Just seen this version of the 10 Commandments, rewritten for kids: Put God First: God is number one, everything else comes second. Nothing else is more important than God Don’t say ‘God’ when you don’t mean it Have a restful day – chillaxing every week Respect. Treat adults how you would like to be treated. Don’t hurt anybody Stick together/look…
I put this short presentation together to assist & encourage the Amicus members to reflect on the last year. If you’ve not tried Prezi, give it a go. It’s a simple yet sophisticated new approach to presentations. Don’t take my word for it though, check out some of the popular presentations which have been created using the tool. Amicus New…