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Children’s Ministry

Little people have a big place in God's heart

Little people have a big place in God’s heart and have a vital place in our movement. A key way that we support Children’s Ministries is through our Children’s 4D Ministry Network.

This network is a community of leaders of Children’s Ministries for the Baptist Churches of South Australia. We meet, connect, and share this site in order to support one another and to continually grow in the skills and practice of leading a Children’s Ministry in a local church.

Keeping our children safe

Churches should be safe places where people of all ages feel safe, and its our duty to make sure we take care of our young people.

Child Protection Resources

Click here to find out more about our collaboration with Cecil the Sheep, and how you can be involved!

Upcoming events

What’s on for children, plus trainings for pastors, leaders and teams

Children’s Ministry Resources

Discover resources and recommendations to help develop and strengthen your children’s ministry

Invisible

COVID-19 Resources

For information on e-safety click here.

Colin Buchanan and Compassion have teamed up to provide some great FREE resources here.

SMG has some great information around wellbeing using Kimochis. Find our more here.

ABCDEF of Encouragement for Parents from Richard Black here.

Baptist Care SA have put out some resources around parenting through the pandemic. Find out more here.

COVID-19 Emerging Generations Report: some great information around the impact that COVID-19 is having on the emerging generations. Brought to you by McCrindle Research here.

Websites

Lost Sheep – Fantastic resources by our very own Andrew McDonough. There are fun resources on the site, and the stories can be downloaded for on-screen presentation (and printable version for reader) for $10. The books are available through Koorong.

SA Christian Endeavour – A great website and network. In conjunction with Scripture Union they run an annual 4-day camp in January for 9-13 year olds.

Children’s Ministry Network (CMN) – A collaboration of people from all denominational backgrounds who are passionate about connecting those who minister with families across Australia, to provide a platform where people can connect, support, equip and contribute to a community of awesome people who believe kids and families take up a huge part of God’s heart.

max7.org – An open source ministry resource library “helping leaders disciple children and young people”. Their statement of faith is the Lausanne Covenant.

Scripture Union Webshop – Books, curriculum, multimedia – good stuff.

Ministry To Children – “We are not a bookstore. We are not a big publishing company. We are not a paid membership site. We are simply an online resource to help you tell kids about Jesus. If your passion is reaching and teaching kids, then this blog is for you.”

GodSpace – “Aussie Bible lessons for 4-12 year olds” This is a curriculum designed especially for missional settings – put out by the NSW Baptists for RI in schools etc.

Christian Playtimes A NSW ministry to equip and resource your Playtime be an effective mission for your local community families. Plenty for playgroups & evangelism!

Godly Play – a Montessori method of telling Bible stories using parables, sacred stories and liturgical lessons about religious traditions using simple materials.

Barnabas in Churches – a UK site that is passionate about bringing the Bible to life for children and families. Lots of ideas and resources.

CEP (Christian Education Publications) – Australian resources produced mainly by evangelical Anglicans – lots to browse through.

UCA SA Children & Families Site – an excellent, up to date site based right here in SA.

MediaCom – These guys are ecumenical though pretty much Uniting Church. They are based in Adelaide.

Anton’s Antics – This guy (Stephen Shearsby) does one-man gospel shows for children and families, but also has DVDs and resources.

Playgroup Resources – The Uniting Church has this great page for churches that run playgroups. Scroll down for lots of ideas.

Here2Stay – Lots of great ideas and resources on faith formation for the generations.

Sermon Notes: Kids Edition – A helpful worksheet for kids to use during services.

Teaching Kids to Pray for Miracles – article from childrensministry.com

Songs

Christian Singer/Songwriters for children based in Adelaide:
Sean W Smith
Chris Jaensch

Interstate Singer/Songwriters:

Colin Buchanan

 

We’re always looking to add to our collection of children’s songs. If you come across one that’s great, please contact us.

Curriculum

The resources below are not directly connected to us, so disclaimer: We don’t necessarily approve of everything you might find on them. 

Kids Sunday School Place
A curriculum used and recommended by Aldgate Baptist: “We use them and iI think they are really Biblically sound resources. Our teachers have also found them very useful. $100ish/annum and some lessons available for free … you can easily check the website out without signing up. kidssundayschool.com

Bible Stories For Young Children
A resource from Coromandel Baptist right here in SA. Stories from the whole Bible and accompanying notes for teachers. Useful for Sunday Schools, home schooling or for family devotions with young children. Free download & use with standard conditions.  Explore

Big Truths for Young Hearts (Years 5&6)
Robyn from Narwee Baptist in NSW has developed a two year program to teach our Years 5 and 6 kids the truths of the Christian faith, based on the Bruce A Ware book Big Truths for Young Hearts. It covers things like … who is God, who is Jesus, who is the Holy Spirit, who are we, how are we saved, what takes place in the end. It is set up for small groups and goes beyond just a Bible story and application. Robyn’s program is excellent and we highly recommend it for those with kids in Years 5 & 6 who are wanting a firm grounding for their kids. Robyn is happy to email you the Word docs for the full 2 year program if you contact her on robyn@narweebaptist.org.au.

GodSpace (4-12 year-olds)
This is a resource developed by the New South Wales Baptists. Aussie Bible lessons for 4-12 year-olds. Lesson materials are being used enthusiastically in a number of different settings. These include joint denominational SRE teams in NSW government schools, RI classes in Queensland and CRE teams in the ACT and Christian schools all around Australia. Others who have found GodSpace works well for them are church kids’ groups, multicultural kids’ clubs found in every Australian state and major territory as well as churches in New Zealand and other countries. Explore

Orange
Used by several of our churches whatisorange.org A very comprehensive curriculum that has parental through-the-week involvement as a focus. Says Lorinda from Aldgate: “$600ish/annum You have to purchase before you can see much but lots of things included…TV for parents to watch at home and discuss the weeks topic”

Open.Life.Church
Some great free resources to check out here!

Missional Resources

Global Interaction kids resources here

Hugh Halter has written an excellent little e-book on how to be on mission as a family. To download “A Righteous Brood” click here.

Recommended Reading

Post Modern Children’s Ministry – Ministry to Children in the 21st Century (Ivy Beckwith)

Transforming Children into Spiritual Champions – Why Children Should be your Church’s #1 Priority (George Barna)

Party on Together – Multi-Age Worship Resources and Bible Studies (Beth Barnett)

Collide – Exploring Intergenerational Ministry (Tammy Tolman)

 

Kids Bibles:

The Jesus Storybook Bible (Sally Lloyd-Jones)

Parenting Resources

Chat Matters placemat resource by Here2Stay. Click here.

Child and Adolescent Psychologist Kirrilee Smout comes  highly recommended. Click here.

Parent Cue App – designed to help every parent do something each week to help move their child towards a deeper faith and a better future.

Additional Needs

Baptist Care SA has some excellent resources around inclusion. For more information and downloads click here.

Kids Hope is a great program around mentoring kids in schools. Explore

Lent and Easter

The resources below are not directly connected to us, so disclaimer: We don’t necessarily approve of everything you might find on them.

Easter Plus Blog
EasterPlus Blog
 includes Easter resources, ideas, reflections, Easter activities, children’s programs, worship ideas and humorous stories.

Love Life Live Lent
Love Life Live Lent book and booklets contain over 40 simple things to do during Lent: one action for each day. These actions help us to transform our world – locally, nationally and globally. Separate booklets for kids and youth/adults. Explore

Advent and Christmas

The resources below are not directly connected to us, so disclaimer: We don’t necessarily approve of everything you might find on them.

Advent in 2 Minutes
A great little video posted on YouTube by BustedHalo explaining what Advent is. Grab it here

Advent & Christmas Ideas on Pinterest
By Mary Hawes Explore

Why Christmas
A fun site with all kinds of facts and interesting bits! By James Cooper Explore

5 Printable and Free Christmas Resources for Children
From the Ministry-to-Children website (USA) Explore

The History of the Christmas Tree
Explore

Christmas Celebrations Around the World
Suggested by Mary Johnson from the other side of the world, onya Mary! Explore

Truth in the Tinsel
Experience the Christmas Story during December using this great resource. Each day it will lead you through a passage of Scripture, a corrsponding ornament craft and talking points for you and your kids. Explore

Some great video resources for Chrismas services:

The Christmas Story (St Paul’s Auckland)

An Unexpected Christmas (St Paul’s Auckland)

When God was Born (St Paul’s Auckland)

Christmas According to Kids (Southland Christian Church)

A Social Network Christmas

Silent Monks sing the Hallelujah Chorus

Bethlehemian Rhapsody

Advocating for Children's Ministry

Here are some useful resources for advocating for the importance of children and children’s ministry in your church.

Aim Lower (Lausanne Movement’s “World Congress on How to Not Stuff Up the Great Commission Too Much”)

Today (from the Global Children’s Forum of the Lausanne Movement)

Next Generation

Can’t find a resource?

Join one of our Facebook groups and ask our network of Next Generations leaders!