In Depth:  children & youth

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Starting September well
youth ministry

Starting September well

Jonny Woodbridge
Jonny Woodbridge

How has your new academic year begun? It can feel like landing back to earth with a bump and maybe you wonder how you ever used to cope doing all a normal term-time week entailed?

We all want to start the term in a great place so we can hit the ground running but I'm sure we all achieve that to different extents and are painfully aware of those areas we weren't quite ready for. Before I share what those are for me, here are a couple of ways we were able to begin in good shape thanks to two wonderful members of our youth and children's team.

Is purity back in fashion?

Is purity back in fashion?

John-Edward Funnell
John-Edward Funnell

Each summer, I have the opportunity to serve the next generation of leaders, missionaries and committed church members at youth camps in Wales and Romania. What I have observed recently is a growth in an almost puritanical movement within our youth.

As I teach the Bible and engage with Gen Z and Gen Alpha*, I am encouraged by their deep commitment to Jesus and their desire to live authentic holy lives. They have all grown up in a post-Christian secular society, saturated with sexual ideology and they are seeking refuge. I see a counter-culture that is being refined by secularism, calling a new generation back to holy living.

Children's books that look at the apostle Paul

Children's books that look at the apostle Paul

Catherine MacKenzie
Catherine MacKenzie

A kids’ camp needs a team: someone with a flair for administration, another with a talent for drama; and don’t forget the cook, the minibus driver and a first aider! You rarely get all in the same person. It’s the same with children’s books.

You will often find that one title is educational, another has a better narrative, still another has good resources, but the next one has excellent application.

The highs and lows of camp ministry
youth ministry

The highs and lows of camp ministry

Jonny Woodbridge
Jonny Woodbridge

Many like me will have served on some sort of camp over the summer and be reflecting on the experience.

Here are some of my thoughts as I consider the highs and lows, and ultimately how worthwhile it all is.

How should we approach 'preaching' to young people?
youth ministry

How should we approach 'preaching' to young people?

Robin Barfield
Robin Barfield

In my last article we considered the importance of considering Scripture as a dynamic where our young people encounter God. It is not primarily about God or about them, but about how God communicates with them. If it were just about God, then it would be a lot longer! How does that affect our ‘Bible talks’?

Letter

Children & smartphones

Date posted: 17 Jul 2024

Dear Editor,

Thank you for Glyn Harrison’s wake-up call in the June issue of en, ‘Social media and our children’ on page 15. After clearly sounding the alarm, Glyn concludes by asking: ‘And what are we going to do about it now?’

Songs that inspire

Songs that inspire

Catherine MacKenzie
Catherine MacKenzie

We all know what it’s like to see our favourite book made into a movie – the delight when it’s done well, the frustration when it’s not. But let me introduce you to some writers who have taken well-known Christian hymns as their inspiration for a children’s book.

The first is by Sinclair B. Ferguson: Jesus Strong and Kind (ISBN 978 1 527 110 007). Ferguson has taken the key theological points from Colin Buchanan’s much-loved children’s hymn and dug deeper into God’s word showing where the truths of
these lyrics are rooted.

Scripture Union’s new boss aims for 95% of children

Scripture Union’s new boss aims for 95% of children

Iain Taylor
Iain Taylor

Dave Newton took over as National Director of Scripture Union (SU) in March. Now he has his feet under the desk, Evangelicals Now asked him about his vision for its future.

SU was originally founded in 1867 to help adults and children know God through the Bible. Today, its 1,500 volunteers run over 60 camps and missions a year.

Keswick 24: Hope-filled conversations  with our children

Keswick 24: Hope-filled conversations with our children

Amy Smith
Amy Smith

We were off to the zoo! My four young children were in the car, we’d waved Dad off to work, the buggy and picnic were packed. As we reached the motorway, a little voice, full of worry, asked: ‘Where are we going and how long for?’ In all my preparation I’d missed a key moment – I hadn’t talked to the children! Four little people had no idea what was happening.

For one little boy, for whom all the events of moving from foster care to his new adoptive home was a conscious memory, this was a problem. He was understandably worried that he was leaving home and might not see Dad again. Without his question, I might have missed what was going on. Instead, my awareness of my son’s heart meant I could wrap him in a hug and say: ‘You are our little boy, God has given you to us and us to you, you are home with us.’

Do we need 'less Bible' in our Youth Ministry?
youth ministry

Do we need 'less Bible' in our Youth Ministry?

Robin Barfield
Robin Barfield

Evangelicals love the Bible! We know that God speaks through it, and we love hearing from Him. That’s why we love being ‘Bible-centred’ and we are keen to make sure that shows in our ministries and our programmes. This is all wonderful but I wonder if sometimes, in youth ministry, we push this dynamic too far in a way that hampers what we are doing.

Part of the problem is that we can easily lose sight of the dynamic which the Bible sets us. In the 70s and 80s the Bible became a book about us. The reaction to this was that in the 90s and 00s we were told this was wrong; the Bible is a book about God. This has led to a model where the adult teaches, and the young person passively sits and listens. Rather, the Bible is how God speaks to us. There are two people in this encounter: the giver and the receiver. What is occurring when the Bible is opened is that we encounter God!

Christians under fire

Christians under fire

Book Review Stories to inspire our children.

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Handling screen time
helping children find faith

Handling screen time

Ed Drew
Ed Drew

I led a table at a seminar for parents on tackling screen time, organised by my local secondary school.

For the first discussion, each of the ten parents at my table told a story to illustrate why we were there. We heard about ruined holidays, sexting, repeated arguments ripping apart families, and young people who wander around their home fixed to their hand-held games console. There was a shared sense of despair. Perhaps my group wasn’t representative, but there were eight other tables. I do not see much difference in stories from church families. It is always one of the top questions we are asked in parenting seminars. I suspect in church we might just be less honest about the size of the problem.

'We need older Christians in our lives' - reaching young adults with the gospel

'We need older Christians in our lives' - reaching young adults with the gospel

Eilidh Best
Eilidh Best

When I was a student, I intentionally set out to meet with as many people I didn’t know in my congregation as I could. I realised that I didn’t really know many people outside of my own young adult bubble. 

Naturally, the people who were available during the day were retired and those of generations above me. So, we met for coffee, sometimes more than once, and simply chatted about life. 

Children cherishing Scripture

Children cherishing Scripture

Catherine MacKenzie
Catherine MacKenzie

The Bible is important. Is that an understatement? Probably.

But we need to face truths like this in our families and churches. Ecclesiastical architecture clearly points out where preaching was central to worship simply by the position of the pulpit. When it is front and centre the preaching of God’s word was held in high regard.

A dagger to the heart:   ‘I have no friends’
helping children find faith

A dagger to the heart: ‘I have no friends’

Ed Drew
Ed Drew

For one of my children, there was a three-year period straddling primary and secondary school when bedtime often meant tears.

There were long conversations in which they begged not to go to school. While much of the time was spent clarifying the law on attendance, the problem was not legal, but all about friendship. The words that kept on putting a dagger through my heart were: ‘I have no friends.’ I learnt that naming children in the class like a desperate form of bingo did not help. Nor did organising playdates. Nor did conversations with the teacher, or other parents, or even those other children themselves.

‘Unspeakable heartbreak’: parenting a prodigal child in a ministry home

‘Unspeakable heartbreak’: parenting a prodigal child in a ministry home

Anon

Sadly, some of our children don’t come to Jesus in repentance and faith but turn away in hostile rebellion.

A cocktail of external social influences can mix with internal trauma, hormones, and indwelling sin to stir up hostility to parents in general and Christianity in particular. Whilst we still love them dearly, such children bring us unspeakable heartbreak. And, in a ministry home, we and our children have the added pressure of having our congregation watching us. We feel the heaviness of our responsibilities to both our children and our church. O Lord, help us!

The preacher’s perils
imperfect parenting

The preacher’s perils

'Imperfect Mum'
'Imperfect Mum'

Dear Preacher, We are so thankful for the preaching gift God has blessed you with – a gift that has blessed us and our children, and our church family, for longer than you’ll ever know.

But please, stop apologising for the length of your preaching or the number of points your sermon has! I worry about the message it sends to our children.

Parents’ dependent faith
helping children find faith

Parents’ dependent faith

Ed Drew
Ed Drew

I have a friend who grew up in Nigeria. As a child, his family would pray before going on a journey across their city.

They never felt sure that they would arrive safely or in good time. Dependence on the Lord was the air he breathed. His parents led him every day in looking to the Lord to provide.

The widespread miracle
helping children find faith

The widespread miracle

Ed Drew
Ed Drew

Three-quarters of British parents of under fives have contact with a church through its toddler group.

That is extraordinary. Is there any other ministry in our nation that is reaching three-quarters of a demographic?

Insidious patriarchy?
imperfect parenting

Insidious patriarchy?

'Imperfect Mum'
'Imperfect Mum'

It’s not often a conversation with my children stops me in my tracks, but this one still troubles me for reasons I’m not sure I can fully articulate. But I’ll try.

I was at the dinner table with my two youngest, an unopened Amazon package sitting on the sideboard. The chat went like this:

New school year – new  opportunity?
helping children find faith

New school year – new opportunity?

Ed Drew
Ed Drew

Uncomfortable shiny shoes. A new pencil case full of stationery treats. A staged photo on the doorstep, complete with fixed grin and new uniform. This is the evidence of a new school year.

For many families, there is far more happening beneath the social media surface.

Mum, am I bisexual?
helping children find faith

Mum, am I bisexual?

Ed Drew
Ed Drew

Lucy was chopping vegetables in the kitchen when her nine-year-old daughter, Holly, said, ‘Mum, I think I might be bisexual.’

Lucy remembers putting down the knife, quietly taking a deep breath and choosing to ignore all the little voices that were screaming in her head. All good so far.

When older children walk  away from church…
imperfect parenting

When older children walk away from church…

'Imperfect Mum'
'Imperfect Mum'

Dear reader, my heart and soul are heavy as I write. An older child of mine has fallen for the world hook, line and sinker.

My mind thrashes around searching for answers I don’t have; my prayers go unanswered; the tension in the home is palpable; and I need Godly counsel in dealing with it.

‘This is me’ – but is it?
helping children find faith

‘This is me’ – but is it?

Ed Drew
Ed Drew

There is an incredibly powerful song in the film The Greatest Showman called ‘This is me’.

It is sung by the cast of Barnum’s Circus. Audiences come to see them because each is in some way a ‘freak’, but together they are a tight-knit family. Against the finger-pointing and the pity, they sing together ‘This is me’. Their lives have been defined by rejection because of what they look like, whether it be their extreme height (or lack of it), their impressive beard (on a woman), their birthmarks, or their tattoos.

Pray like a child with  your child in tears
helping children find faith

Pray like a child with your child in tears

Ed Drew
Ed Drew

When my child is crying, my prayers are different.

They have a problem and I can’t fix it. I take it to our Father in heaven. He loves my child more than I do. He has all power at His disposal. The words I pray feel like they really matter.

Youth for Christ

Youth for Christ

Jordan Brown
Jordan Brown

Web Review YOUTH FOR CHRIST

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Parents, you matter!
helping children find faith

Parents, you matter!

Ed Drew
Ed Drew

Multiple surveys consistently find that about three-quarters of the UK church came to faith before they left secondary school.

This is consistent with the Bible story (Prov. 22:6, Ps.78:1-6). Given the disproportionate influence of those first two decades of life, it is vital that we understand the key effective steps in ensuring we hand our faith onto the next generation.

The pause. Then the scream
helping children find faith

The pause. Then the scream

Ed Drew
Ed Drew

It might be at school drop-off. The sweet little boy, with a mop of wild hair, runs excitedly along. His legs are moving too fast for his body, then comes that awful moment when you know he’s about to fall.

The sound of knees hitting concrete. The pause. Then the scream. Every parent steps towards him, hands out, gasps of sympathy, longing to fix it, wipe the tears and take away the pain.

‘If only I’d done parenting  differently…’ Really?
imperfect parenting

‘If only I’d done parenting differently…’ Really?

'Imperfect Mum'
'Imperfect Mum'

The Imperfect Parent’s household is going through a season of endings and of new beginnings, involving a fair amount of reminiscing, of celebration and of anticipation. And while there’s much thankfulness to God for too many mercies to count, there’s also regret at where we’ve failed.

Rare is the seasoned parent who does not look back over months and years without regret – usually with a touch of self-flagellation. As I ponder the last couple of decades, there are too many ‘if onlys’ to count. If only I’d not cared so much about what others thought of my parenting skills and more of what the Lord wanted of me.

Why won’t you just change?
helping children find faith

Why won’t you just change?

Ed Drew
Ed Drew

There is a corporate mantra, ‘Culture eats strategy for breakfast’.

It warns against trumpeting the five-year plan, putting up workplace posters and rolling out a training scheme for every employee without changing the culture of the team. No amount of resolutions, colourful charts and snappy sentences will bring about change unless accompanied by shared convictions and habits.

Parenting for the day  when you’re not there
helping children find faith

Parenting for the day when you’re not there

Ed Drew
Ed Drew

Jake is Sarah’s eldest child. I saw Sarah on the first Sunday after she dropped Jake off at university for his first term.

She said to me: ‘It’s pathetic. I want to get into the car and drive four hours to take him to church! When I left him, I had plastered his desk with Post-it notes telling him the address of his local good church. It’s so close to him. He needs to walk out of his door, turn right, go 300 yards and walk through that door. It couldn’t be easier. But it’s up to him now.’

Families reaching families
helping children find faith

Families reaching families

Ed Drew
Ed Drew

Evangelism always takes courage. The awkwardness can be real. The goal is worth it: whole families turning to Christ. Those families are best reached by Christian families.

I was in the first month of working for a church. I was young. I had no children. I was sat in the home of a couple from church (who I had only just met). That week their five-year-old had told them a story from school. She had got together with her best friend from church and had cornered a boy from their class. With their prey unable to leave, she told him: ‘You’re going to hell if you don’t become a Christian.’

The dark web and my  daughter’s secret
imperfect parenting

The dark web and my daughter’s secret

'Imperfect Mum'
'Imperfect Mum'

A girl in her late teens sits down next to her mother. I sense all is not well. ‘Mum, I need to tell you something.’

My heart lurches with a familiar parental dread. I’ve been here before with her. More than once. What can it be now? Can it be worse than what’s come before?

Give your family a  Ugandan New Year!
helping children find faith

Give your family a Ugandan New Year!

Ed Drew
Ed Drew

In Uganda, for Christmas, most city dwellers head to the countryside where their families live.

Traffic jams are worse than normal. Cars are loaded up with treats that can’t be bought in the rural areas. Once they arrive, families sit together and tell their stories; they laugh, they eat and they celebrate. We heard about a Ugandan Christmas on our recent Faith in Parents podcast, ‘Christmas elsewhere’. What struck me most was that families reflect on the past year and they plan the next year – together. There is celebration in the discussion. They are not remembering their country’s progress or their team’s season or their school’s achievements. It is a celebration of their own special family. Theirs is a unique conversation.

Monsters in the dark
helping children find faith

Monsters in the dark

Ed Drew
Ed Drew

Have you seen the recent news footage of flash floods sweeping through towns or villages?

Twice in the last month flooding in our little corner of suburbia has made it into the national news. The crisis response is clear. The Fire Brigade is called to pump out. The strongest and fittest carry the vulnerable to safety through the water. And then the cameras return two weeks later. As the water ebbs away, so does the jovial wartime spirit. Instead, each house fills a skip with stinking carpets, broken kitchen appliances and ruined personal treasures. The clear up is usually more painful and longer lasting than the crisis.

Scripture for children

Scripture for children

Robin Ham

Book Review BIBLE APP FOR KIDS

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Helping our children in a  post-Christian culture
defending our faith

Helping our children in a post-Christian culture

Chris Sinkinson
Chris Sinkinson

I recently took part in a secular radio interview on the archaeology of Nineveh and was surprised that the radio show host had never heard of Jonah.

Perhaps I should not have been – Biblical literacy has been waning fast. On Jeremy Clarkson’s recent TV farm show, his side-kick labourer indicated that he had never heard of Moses. Given the origins of his own name, Caleb, that is all the more striking.

Plucking up the courage to  talk about sex
helping children find faith

Plucking up the courage to talk about sex

Ed Drew
Ed Drew

What is a wet dream? I was asked this by my 11-year-old son this week.

He was looking at the syllabus that had been sent home by his year six teacher. I was into my second sentence when he interrupted me: ‘Can I have the short version?’ I was encouraged by that. He has noticed that whenever we talk about issues around biology and sex, I give full answers and ask him questions. This is partly to compensate for the huge awkwardness I inevitably feel. I think I may have over-compensated!

Why  Children’s  Books?

Why Children’s Books?

Catherine MacKenzie
Catherine MacKenzie

A wealth of good children’s literature is available these days. High-quality production and stunning illustrations mean that we are spoilt for choice as far as visual impact is concerned.

However, the old adage ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover’ has never been more true. Although children learn a lot through what they see, ultimately we need to teach our children the truth of God’s word. Jesus Christ is the Word made flesh – He was not described as a picture, or music, made flesh. Judge a book by its artwork if you must, but ask yourself these questions:

How do I improve my  child’s behaviour?
helping children find faith

How do I improve my child’s behaviour?

Ed Drew
Ed Drew

It’s the common question. It’s a good question. As a parent, I want to know the answer. On occasion, I think I have asked my own children.

There are two ways to answer this question.

Five lessons on family Bible  times (learnt the hard way!)
helping children find faith

Five lessons on family Bible times (learnt the hard way!)

Ed Drew
Ed Drew

I write books of family Bible times and I want to inspire parents to raise their children knowing Christ, but my own family Bible times are rarely inspirational.

I have a photo (not shown here) of me leading our family Bible time. I am sat in the middle of the sofa with my Bible open. Two of my children are curled over the arms of the sofa, their backs to me. Only my youngest seems engaged, and that is because my arm is clamped round his waist so he can’t escape. I use this photo because it captures our normal. Here is what I have learnt, with my own family, through all the mistakes, frustration and confusion.

When it falls apart...
helping children find faith

When it falls apart...

Ed Drew
Ed Drew

My friend, Amanda, vividly remembers the moment it all fell apart during a family Bible time. I’ll let her tell the story…

‘Halfway through, my 13-year-old daughter lay down on the kitchen bench to go to sleep, my 11-year-old son put his head on the table and closed his eyes, and my seven-year-old daughter decided it was the moment to practise her cartwheels. It all felt too hard, and tears started rolling down my face. That was the moment I was tempted to give up. Tempted to think it was all a waste of time. It was only God’s kindness that motivated me to keep going.’

It’s going to be a very  Covid Christmas
helping children find faith

It’s going to be a very Covid Christmas

Ed Drew
Ed Drew

Christmas is not cancelled. I promise. The angel Gabriel will terrify Mary, baby Jesus will be laid in a manger and the shepherds will run through Bethlehem with the good news of great joy for everyone.

Emmanuel will still be ‘God with us’ despite social distancing. In fact, ‘God with us’ will mean all the more this year. The Son of God chose to enter our lockdown, joining us in our struggles by becoming a child in an unsettled family. He gets it.

Keeping children involved in church

Keeping children involved in church

Gareth Edwards

The Youth and Familes Pastor at King’s Church, Chessington, shares five ways to help

Yes, we can meet again as a church family gathered together on a Sunday! Yippee!

How to respond to a crisis
helping children find faith

How to respond to a crisis

Ed Drew
Ed Drew

During lockdown I was told that there are usually three stages to a crisis. I see these responses in the lives of the families I know, including my own.

1. Emergency response. The first weeks of lockdown. Hard work. Getting by. Running on adrenaline. Late nights. Early mornings. The crisis feels very real. Is our family safe? Is there food on the table? Eventually, we realise that lockdown isn’t ending anytime soon.

Parenting as God’s children  in lockdown
helping children find faith

Parenting as God’s children in lockdown

Ed Drew
Ed Drew

I’m finding these days bruising. Between us, my wife and I have eight days of work to squeeze into five days each week. We are sharing the time with our children, so that one of us works in (peaceful) isolation, while the other is a combination of referee, teacher and bringer of light relief to the children.

My particular struggle is disproportionate disappointment when the children demonstrate that they are – children. That is, they are prone to accidents, likely to discourage each other and sometimes lost in bouts of frustration. In short, my children need me to parent them!

Identity with Christ and in Christ
helping children find faith

Identity with Christ and in Christ

Ed Drew
Ed Drew

An eight-year-old boy walks through his front door in tears. His Christian mum walks in behind him. They are just back from the school run.

He runs off to his room shouting: ‘I’m never going to school again.’ He says he has no friends. He says he always plays alone. Every night he cries, begging his mum to let him stay at home, ‘just for tomorrow’.

Families opening up the Bible
helping children find faith

Families opening up the Bible

Ed Drew
Ed Drew

There was a public debate between Professor Richard Dawkins, the famous atheist biologist and Professor John Lennox, the Christian mathematician.

Dawkins started by summarising his greatest problem with Christianity (with a tone of total disdain): ‘[Lennox] believes that the creator of the universe, the God who devised the laws of physics, the laws of mathematics … billions of light years of space, billions of years of time … couldn’t think of a better way to rid the world of sin than to come to this little speck of cosmic dust to have himself tortured and executed … That’s the God that John Lennox believes in.’

Halloween: ‘Why can’t we  be just like everyone else?’
helping children find faith

Halloween: ‘Why can’t we be just like everyone else?’

Ed Drew and Amy Smith

It’s nearly Halloween – the annual ‘celebration’ of all things dark and sinister, cobweby and pumpkiny, spooky and scary.

For many parents, nothing is scarier than the question children ask about Halloween: Not ‘Why are those people wearing scary clothes?’ Or ‘Why are my favourite sweets suddenly orange?’ But ‘Why can’t we do Halloween like my friends do?’

I don’t wanna go back to school
helping children find faith

I don’t wanna go back to school

Ed Drew
Ed Drew

Sand is still in their shoes, postcards are on their way to grandparents, and suntans have not yet faded; but nerves and worry about the new school year have already started.

I know a girl; let’s call her Ella. She gets very anxious about school. Friendships are hard to navigate. She’s up in the night. She’s sometimes sick in the morning. Her Mum feels exhausted, knowing that she will peel her daughter off her leg at the school gate. Everyone feels like a failure.

Do I have to go to camp?
helping children find faith

Do I have to go to camp?

Ed Drew
Ed Drew

I remember being asked by a mother what more she could do to encourage her 14-year-old son to stay close to Christ. Her family was already an active part of their church. She was already doing a great job opening the Bible when she could and taking him to Christ in conversations.

My first step was to encourage her. Her son was safe in God’s hands. She could rely on her Heavenly Father to show her son all love, patience and mercy. Her regular prayers for her son’s heart to always belong to the Lord were being heard. Her desire to surround him with great teaching, great role models and a great church family was bearing fruit in his life. I wanted her to know that his salvation was not a burden that she had to carry.

Cartwheels, Bricks, Marbles
helping children find faith

Cartwheels, Bricks, Marbles

Ed Drew
Ed Drew

Amanda vividly remembers the moment when she cried at her kitchen table in front of her three children.

At the time, her 14-year-old daughter was lying on the floor, her 12-year-old son had his head in his hands and her six-year-old girl was doing cartwheels around the room. Why the tears? Well, all this was happening in the middle of her family Bible time.

What to do with Walliams?

What to do with Walliams?

Ed Drew
Ed Drew

Youth minister, Ed Drew, reviews David Walliams’ bestseller

It was the second-bestselling book of 2017 – only Jamie Oliver beat him!