At the Threshold: Children's Ministry in Liminal Time

In recent years, Christian Education has often been left in the hands of church leaders.  In the disrupted season in which we now find ourselves, churches and families are trying to figure out how to partner together to spiritually form their children in ways that are new and different than before the stress of a pandemic, economic difficulties, social injustices, and uncertainty shifted the day-to-day of “normal” life.

This episode explores the spiritual needs of parents and children during this season of the coronavirus crisis, ways that families can engage in discipleship together, and what churches can do in terms of outreach, mission, evangelism, and discipleship during this season. Shelly and Ashlee are joined by Rev. Melissa Collier Gepford who serves as the Intergenerational Discipleship Coordinator of the Great Plains Conference, Mona Candea who currently serves as Children’s Ministry Coordinator at Grace United Methodist Church in Olathe, KS, and Madison Stumbough, who is the Family Ministries Director at Grace United Methodist Church in Winfield, KS.

This episode debuted July 16, 2020.

Also, here are some resources that were mentioned or shared by our panelists.

• Books:
  • Faithful Families: Creating Sacred Moments at Home by Traci Smith. Published by ChalicePress.com, 2017.
  • Grow at Home: A Beginner’s Guide to Family Discipleship by Winfield Bevins. Published by Seedbed, 2016.
  • Seven Things John Wesley Expected Us to Do for Kids by Christopher Miles Ritter. Published by Cokesbury, 2016.
  • Books by Barbara Brown Taylor, includes several children’s titles: https://barbarabrowntaylor.com/barbara-brown-taylor/books/

• John Wesley Writings:
  • “On Family Religion”: http://wesley.nnu.edu/john-wesley/the-sermons-of-john-wesley-1872-edition/sermon-94-on-family-religion/
  • “On the Education of Children”: http://wesley.nnu.edu/john-wesley/the-sermons-of-john-wesley-1872-edition/sermon-95-on-the-education-of-children/
  • An article outlining the responsibilities (and opportunities) for Methodists from a historical perspective. https://peopleneedjesus.net/2015/06/19/seven-things-john-wesley-expected-every-methodist-preacher-to-do-for-kids/
• Playlister (@ Home version): Monthly subscription for a video compilation. You can upload your videos, create an active hyperlink, and then share. SUPER user friendly. Basic starts at $12.99/month. https://www.playlister.app/
• Deeper KidMin: Zoom games, socially distant games, and “faith at home” activities for families are available here. Some are free, others are at budget-friendly prices. https://deeperkidmin.com/
• Parent Cue Sunday @ Home: Orange is providing weekly videos and parent guides on their website updated every Saturday with new content. https://theparentcue.org/faith/
• Coronavirus Church Handbook for volunteers:
  • Kids: https://www.timberlakechurch.com/hubfs/Kids%20Safety%20Policy%20Handbook%20V2.pdf
  • Youth: https://www.timberlakechurch.com/hubfs/Students%20Safety%20Policy%20Handbook%20V2.pdf
• Bible App for Kids (by Life.Church): Free app with great games and videos to help kids learn the bible  (Search Bible App for Kids by Life.Church).
• LaCroix Kids (a United Methodist church in Missouri) is using Google classroom to distribute their weekly lessons. Here’s an example: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1_4NUQuNJJmCZsUnZYpKVaBxL7wzSV6iWoPwNwJwE9y8/edit?fbclid=IwAR3H8C1CIUZYTQAytLIgsjzhbmxoaB2ErBxx9GRLcH6OrUW3pgq0ExAlr_g

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