Top Blog Posts of 2015

Hello readers! Like many other sites, I’d like to offer you the top ten posts of the year from right here at jessejoyner.com

top blog posts

Thank you to all of you who take time to read my blog. I’m not a professional writer. I hope to provide blog content that is helpful to people who work with children, serve in ministry, or who are generally interested in creativity and the circus arts. These 2015 posts are ranked by total number of page views over the course of the past year. Thank YOU, the readers, who read these posts and caused these following posts to rise to the top…..

I’ll count down backwards. So here they are, drumroll please!

10. Father Abraham for Today’s Kids – A review of a great video song resource from CrossKid Nation.

9. Fire and Ice Festival in Somerset, PA – A look at this fun winter festival at which I juggled the chainsaw and fire in very cold weather!

8. WinterBlast 2015 at Camp Orchard Hill – Gearing up for this annual youth camp in the snowy mountains of Northeastern Pennsylvania.

7. Expect the Unexpected – My favorite ministry moment of 2015. I guess you have to read it to find out!

6. Fun and Easy Summer Camp Games – A simple list of games that are simple yet powerful in summer camp settings.

5. Object Lessons and Props are Biblical – My discovery that object lessons are nothing new! They’re all over the Bible.

4. Where Do Kids Belong in Church? – Apparently this struck a chord. That doesn’t surprise me. Is intergenerational worship to be preferred over age-segregated worship?

3. A Great Mother-Daughter Event Idea – Thanks to my pastor friend Alan Phillips, I learned about this neat idea and got to participate in one myself.

2. The Power of Mister Rogers’ Shoes – Mister Rogers has left an impression on anyone over thirty in America. My observation as to why I think that is the case.

1. Five Ways to Redeem Halloween – I’m somewhat surprised that this was the hottest topic on my blog this year. I’m glad people found it helpful. In the post I try to offer suggestions as to how we as Christians should respond to/buy back a celebration that some Christians shun altogether.

 

John Wesley in America

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John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, made a missionary trip to the colony of Georgia in the 1730’s. I recently spoke at Epworth-by-the-Sea, a Methodist retreat center on St. Simon’s Island, GA. This is the place where the Wesleys (John and Charles) came, particularly Fort Frederica. There is a beautiful Celtic cross commemorating their time on the island that we got to visit.