September 2023

Trying to do ministry alone is kind of like trying to play on a seesaw by yourself. It may sort of work for a little while, but eventually, your thighs are burning and there’s not much payoff. Just like a seesaw, when you do ministry alone… You burn out! I know “with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26) but it’s just not healthy for you or your ministry. Carrying the weight of every responsibility will leave you feeling worn out, overworked, and constantly behind. You’ll be jumping as hard as you can on that seesaw but will only go so high, wasting a lot of energy in the process and not getting much accomplished. Before long, you won’t be able to keep up the pace you’ve set, and everything (your family, your ministry, your sanity) suffers. You leave out! Maybe there’s someone else on the playground who wants to...

As we head into the time for planning your fall fest, Trunk or Treat, and general fall season, you may be wondering if all the time, energy, and money you spend on your special fall events are worth it. Here's some encouragement from one of our DKM Vendors, Meghan Clayton from Meghan's Ministry:  Recently, I coordinated an event that was an absolute disaster on my end. But the kids had the most fun they have ever had. When I arrived at the church three hours prior to the event, everything went wrong. All of my setup took ten times longer than planned. Items I had set out were stolen, my technology did not work, and I was an absolute mess. I closed all my activity rings on my watch before the event even started because I was running around the church trying to troubleshoot everything that went wrong. As a type A personality who typically has...

As kids get into the groove of the school year with new classes, friends, sports teams, and more, they will probably come up against questions - asked in their own minds and by those around them - about their identity. Who are they? WHOSE are they? Where do they belong? I'm excited to share this week's guest blog post from Christie Penner Worden from Raise Up Faith about helping define identity with kids:  How do we help kids truly know who they are, rooted in identity, and confident children of God? How do we tell them the truth without pretending the world around them won’t answer what we struggle to talk about? The word “identity” has caused confusion over the last number of years. And I wonder if we have been part of the problem, as the Church, misusing or abusing the word, from a place of misunderstanding, fear, or even bias?...