Resources to Equip Children's Sunday School Leaders

Emerging Leaders

Calling

	God is Calling – Call to Ministry Curriculum (Track One for Ages 9–10) Barton, Cheryl, USA, Warner Press
	God is Calling – Call to Ministry Curriculum (Track Two for Ages 11–12) Barton, Cheryl, USA, Warner Press

Leadership

	Nurturing The Leader Within Your Child - What Every Parent Needs to Know Elmore, Tim, Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2001
	A Call to Character Greer, Colin and Herbert Kohl; New York, HaperCollins Publishers, 1995. A Family Treasury of stories, poems, lays, proverbs, and fables to guide the development of values for your and your children.
	Servant Leaders Lingo, Susan; Standard Publishing, 2000. 13 Fun Filled Bible Lessons About Serving God.

Resources to Equip Leaders

	Transforming Congregational Culture (ISBN 0-8028-0158-3) A wonderful, wonderful resources for leaders who are concerned about changes in congregational life that bring about changes in individual lives—-from Board culture to ministry culture, from an end to a means, from givers to receivers who give.
	Children’s Ministry Smart Pages (ISBN 0-8307-3096-6) For grades 1-6 contains administrative information and forms for the Children's Minister as well as materials for leader equipping. Contains a CD-ROM. Materials are reproducible.
	Early Childhood Smart Pages Sheryl Haystead, Gospel Light, 2002. Includes programs and curriculum, facilities and supplies, recruiting and training, games, art and music, teacher preparation, take-home papers, miniposters, storytelling and prayer, all designed to help create the most effective children's ministry.
	Embracing Parents: How Your Congregation Can Strengthen Families Jolene and Eugene Roehlkepartain, Abingdon Press, 2004. This book challenges pastors and other church leaders to expand their vision, become proactive in meeting the needs of families and help the church to be a place where parents and their children can grow. The authors provide key research findings, true stories, quizzes, checklists and practical tools that congregations can use to become more effective. Even the most experienced pastor and church leader will find new ways to strengthen their families–and their churches.
	Between Everything: Teacher Helps for Transitioning Preteens Ed Trimmer and Patty Meyers, Abingdon Press, 2004. Designed to help Sunday School teachers smooth the transition for fifth, sixth and seventh graders as they take the giant steps from childhood to youth to adulthood, and from concrete thinking to abstract thinking.
	Building Faith at Home Mark A. Holmen, Regal Books, 2007. Shows the Church how it needs to reestablish the home as the primary place where faith is nurtured and partner with parents to equip them for faith building at home.
	Nurturing Faith in Families: 425 Creative Ideas for Family Ministry Jolene L. Roehlkepartain, Abingdon Press, 2002. Practical, easy-to-use ideas for ministering to families that can be used in various aspects of church life.
	Preteen Ministry Smart Pages Gordon and Becki West, Gospel Light, 2005. Provides a solid, practical and comprehensive understanding of how to build an effective ministry that reaches preteens.
	Takeout Training for Teachers Keith Johnson, Group Publishing, 2006. 52 training sessions help leaders prepare to be effective teachers, stay composed when things don't go as planned, use creativity in the classroom and build relationships with children. Reproducibles and entire book on CD included.

Recommended Reading List for Children's Ministers

The following recommended resources may be purchased through your favorite bookseller:

	Aleshire, Daniel. Faithcare: Ministering to All God's People through the Ages of Life. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1988.		Allen, K. Eileen and Marotz, Lynn. By the Ages:Behavior and Development of Children Pre-Birth through Eight. New York: Albany, 2000.
	Barna, George. Transforming Children into Spiritual Champions. Ventura: Gospel Light, 2003.		Beckwith, Ivy. Postmodern Children's Ministry. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005.
	Borba, Ed.D., Michele. Parents Do Make a Difference Josey-Bass, 1999.		Caldwell, Elizabeth F. Making a Home for Faith, Nurturing the Spiritual Life of Children. Cleveland:The Pilgrim Press, 2000.
	Capps, Donald. The Child's Song – The Religious Abuse of Children. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1995.		Chapman, Gary. Five Signs of a Functional Family. Chicago: Northfield Publishing, 1997.
	Chapman, Gary. The Five Love Languages of Children. Chicago: Northfield Publishing, 1992.		Castleman, Robbie. Parenting in the Pew. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1993.
	Coleman, Paul. How to Say It to Your Kids When Bad Things Happen. New York: Prentice Hall Publishers, 2002.		Coles, Robert. The Spiritual Life of Children. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1990.
	Crasy, Elizabeth. Without Spanking or Spoiling. Seattle: Parenting Press, 1993.		Dawn, Marva J. Is It a Lost Cause? Having the Heart of God for the Church's Children. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1997.
	Duckert, Mary. New Kid in the Pew: Shared Ministry with Children. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1991.		Elkind, David. The Hurried Child. Reading: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1988.
	Elkind, David. Reinventing Childhood. Rose, NJ: Modern Learning Press, Inc., 1988.		Elkind, David. Ties that Stress: The New Family Imbalance. Harvard University Press, 1994.
	Fitzgerald, Helen. The Grieving Child. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992.		Foster, Charles R. Educating Congregations. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1994.
	Freudenburg, Ben and Lawrence, Rick. Family Friendly Church. Loveland: Group Publishing, 1998.		Fuller, Cheri.  Opening Your Child’s Spiritual Windows.  Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2001.
	Geary, Bonnie L. and Thomas F. Geary. Nurturing the Souls of Our Children.   Macon: Smyth & Helwys, 2002.		Gilbert, Roberta M. Connecting With Our Children – Guiding Principles for Parents in a Troubled World. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2000.
	Halverson, Delia. How Do Our Children Grow? Introducing Children to God, Jesus, the Bible, Prayer and Church. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1993.		Hays, Rita B. The Children's Minister Discipleship Resources, 2007.
	Haywood, Janice. Enduring Connections: Creating a Preschool and Children's Ministry St. Louis: Chalice Press, 2007.		Heller, David. The Children's God. Chicago: University of Chicago Pres, 1986.
	Houser, Tina. Building Children's Ministry Thomas Nelson of Nashville, TN, 2008.		Talking to Your Child about God. New York: Berkley Publishing Group, 1988.
	Jones, Timothy.  Nurturing a Child's Soul.   Nashville: Word Publishing, 2000.		Leffert, Nancy.  Starting Out Right: Developmental Assets for Children.  Minneapolis: Search Institute, 1997.
	Leman, Kevin. Bringing Up Kids without Tearing Them Down. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publisher, 1995.		Lester, Andrew D. Pastoral Care with Children in Crisis. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1985.
	Lester, Andrew D. When Children Suffer. Philadelphia: Westminster Press. 1993.		May, Scottie. Children Matter. Grand Rapids:Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2005.
	Miller, Craig and Kenneth Norton, Mary Jane Pierce. Making God Real to a New Generation. Nashville: Discipleship Resources, 2003.		Morgenthaler, Shirley K., Ed. Exploring Children's Spiritual Formation – Foundational Issues. River Forest: Pillars Press, Concordia University, 1999.
	Morgenthaler, Shirley K., Ed. Right From the Start – A Parent's Guide to the Young Child's Faith Development. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2001.		Nelsen, Jane. Positive Discipline. Ballantine Books, 1987.
	Peters, Becky. Building Faith One Child at a Time. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1997.		Price, Max. Help! I Teach Children's Sunday School: A Guide to Effective Teaching and Faith Development. Macon: Smyth/Helwys Publisher, 2003.
	Ratcliff, Donald E. Handbook of Children's Religious Education. Birmingham: Religious Education Press, 1992.		Richmond Garland, Diana S. and Penecost. Diane L. The Church's Ministry with Families. Dallas: Word Publishing, 1990.
	Roehlkepartian, Eugene and Jolene. Embracing Parents: How Your Congregation Can Strengthen Families. Nashville: Abindgon, 2004.		Roehlkepartian, Eugene. The Teaching Church. Nashville: Abingdon Press.
	Roehlkepartain, Jolene and Nancy Leffert. What Young Children Need to Succeed. Minneapolis: Free Press Publishing, 2000.		Stonehouse, Catherine. Joining Children On the Spiritual Journey–Nurturing a Life of Faith. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1998.
	Swift, Madelyn. Discipline for Life: Getting it Right with Children. Forth Worth: Stairway Education Programs, 1998.		Thompson, Marjorie J. Family–The Forming Center–A Vision of the Role of Family in Spiritual Formation. Nashville: Upper Room Books, 1989.
	Tobias, Cynthia Ulrich. Every Child Can Succeed. Colorado Springs: Focus on the Family Publishing, 1996.		Vanderwell, Howard. Jan Rogers Vann, Foreward. The Church of All Ages
	Westerhoff, John H. III. Will Our Children Have Faith. (revised) Harrisburg: Morehouse Publishing, 2000.		Yust, Karen Marie. Real Kids, Real Faith. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publisher, 2004.

DVDs to Equip Children's Leaders

"Pavestones 1: Children’s Leaders"
A 30-minutes DVD with leader and learner’s guides. Gives overview of job profile and/or ministry description for a Children’s leader. Available through the Emerging Leaders Team for $10, contact Diane Smith.

"Pavestones 2: Children’s Leaders"
A 30-minutes DVD giving teaching tips for leaders of children in grades 1-6. Available for $10 through Emerging Leaders Team, contact Diane Smith.

"Turning Children into Spiritual Champions"
Available from Barna Group for $20 (805.397.0000)—an excellent resource.

The Children's Ministry Strategist can provide assistance and resources for planning, organizing, choosing literature, and equipping of leaders/shepherds to ensure the faith development of children in grades 1-6.

For more information about Sunday School,
please contact Tony Brooks.