Table of Contents

Acknowledgments 9

Foreword 11

Introduction 13

Chapter 1 Leadership and Children's Ministry 15

Times Have Changed

Chapter 2 Communicating Up, Down, and All Around 27

The Art of Vision Casting

Chapter 3 It's All About Teamwork! 37

Chapter 4 The Art of Developing Volunteers 49

But Call Them Leaders!

Chapter 5 They Want Disney on a Dime 59

Creating Fun Environments that Lead Children to Christ

Chapter 6 It's More Than Just About Kids 69

Partnering with Parents

Chapter 7 An "Others Focused" Children's Ministry 85

Chapter 8 Your Best Teaching Tools 95

The Holy Spirit and You

Chapter 9 They Will Know if Fun Is a Core Value! 105

Chapter 10 Is Your Children's Ministry a Safe Place? 115

Chapter 11 Celebrating the Rites of Passage 133

Chapter 12 Creating Family Discipleship Experiences 147

Chapter 13 Great Children's Ministry Leaders Keep Growing 163

Chapter 14 Spiritual Formation 177

Keeping Your Bubbles in the Middle

Appendix A Resource Listing for Children's Ministry 187