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Books for Christian Ministry with Children
I’d like to share some resources that have helped me over the years while working with children and families in church ministry contexts.
You’ll notice one book in this list that seems out of place (the Jonestown one). I included that as a narrative about how NOT to lead families and children in ministry. It is a warning to all of us who work with children to steer clear of the vices that plummet leaders into grave destructiveness.
Jerome Berryman. Godly Play. San Francisco: Harper, 1991.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Life Together. New York: Harper, 1954.
Diana Garland. Family Ministry: A Comprehensive Guide, Second Ed. Downer’s Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2012.
Jeff Guinn. The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones and Peoples Temple. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2017.
Catherine Stonehouse. Joining Children on the Spiritual Journey. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1998.
Teacher Tip: The Right Question to Ask Yourself
Teacher Tip: How can I help these kids best learn what I’m teaching?
Notice I didn’t say, “How should I teach the content of my topic to these children?” There’s a big difference there. Do you see it?
One is teacher-focused. The other is learner-focused.
Your work as someone who teaches kids in any capacity is not to show off your knowledge to them – or even to put on a good show and entertain them. And it is not to simply download information into their little brains as if you have all the knowledge and they don’t.
Ask yourself, “What is the end-goal here? And what is the most effective way to help these students move from where they are to this end-goal?”
Think about the children: who they are, the context of their community, culture, and family life. Think about how you can best translate the content of your teaching into their world, their minds, and their actions. And do so humbly, admitting that you have a lot to learn from them as well. Then follow up on it and see if they are grasping and living out your hoped-for-outcomes.
Finally, take what you’re learning from that process and do it all over again with the new knowledge you gained from that first cycle. Repeat.