This is a guest post by Keith Ferrin.  Keith is a pastor, speaker, and author of the books Falling in Love with God’s Word and Like Ice Cream: The Scoop on Helping the Next Generation Fall in Love with God’s Word.  You can find Keith on Twitter and on his website www.thatyoumayknow.com.

Two Simple Ways to Make Sure Your Kids NEVER Like the Bible

Sarah, Caleb, and Hannah. All three are under 10 years old. All three live in my house. All three have the very real potential of growing up believing the Bible is true…and boring. If your kids grow up believing the Bible is true, is that enough? If they think this “true” book is dry, boring, and “for old people” will the Living Word of God ever be more than just a phrase?

Unless I am intentional (more on the power of that word in another blog post) about helping my kids fall in love with God’s Word – they never will. I run the risk of doing the very things that will cement in their minds the boringness – and irrelevance – of the Bible. So…if you want to make sure your kids never like the Bible, there are two ways to guarantee it:

#1: Don’t let them see you liking it.

This is the one that hits the hardest. We all know the truth of the saying, Our kids do what they see us doing, not what we tell them to do. If you want your kids to stay away from the Bible, all you have to do is stay away from it yourself. Thankfully, the opposite is true as well. If you want them to fall in love with God’s Word, let them see you reading it and enjoying it.

In 2010 I moved my early morning time in God’s Word from my upstairs office (where I prefer to read, pray, and study), to my living room couch. Each morning I would read until my first kid woke up. They would groggily lumber down the stairs, crawl into my lap, and we would sit. Sometimes we would talk. Sometimes not. Sometimes I would tell them about what I was reading. Sometimes we would simply talk about the upcoming day or a crazy dream they had. It quickly became one of our favorite parts of the day.

I didn’t fully realize the power of this early morning time until returning from my last trip. After snowstorms in Seattle and Chicago kept me stuck in the Windy City an extra 46 hours, I landed in Seattle and was greeted with a monster hug from my oldest (now 9). The second thing she said to me (immediately after You can NOT travel for several more months!) was So…does this mean you’ll be on the couch in the morning? I’m not moving back to my office until my youngest moves out!

#2: Only talk about it at church.

Let’s face it. We are an “outsourcing” society. Someone else can do our shopping, clean our house, mow our lawn, or walk our dog. Honestly, I think a lot of that outsourcing is good. I am all for saving time. However, thinking that getting our kids to church on Sunday and youth group on Wednesday is going to guarantee that they like the Bible and love Jesus is a massive mistake.

Here is why. Our kids are connected to everyone and everything that’s important to them – all the time! Between cell phones, texting, Facebook and Twitter (just to name a few) there is rarely a time when they aren’t connected. “Connected” is possibly the single, best word to describe this generation. And yet, the temptation for me is to feel like going to church (and eventually youth group) is making it a priority.

The harsh reality is this – If it’s not relevant on Tuesday mornings at 10am or Friday nights at 8:30pm, then it’s not relevant. There must be conversations at home, over meals, in the car, or walking through the store. We must intentionally (there’s that word again) help our kids connect the Bible to everyday life.

Fortunately, the more I talk with my kids about the Bible, the more they like it. And the more I like it. And the more they bring it up. And that is a beautiful thing!

You can find out more about Keith Ferrin and Like Ice Cream: The Scoop on Helping the Next Generation Fall In Love with God’s Word at www.thatyoumayknow.com.

“I want to make sure I’m ready to tell my friends about Jesus at school but I’m afraid I won’t remember what to say.”

Here are some ideas to help your kids be ready to share about Christ when asked:

1. When a friend begins to share about a tough experience; listen to their story.
2. Connecting their story to your story.  Share about a time when you went through a similar experience.
3. Connecting your story to God.  Share how God helped you in your experience.
4. Connecting their story to God.

Option A: Then say, “If God can help me, I know He can help you.”  Would you like me to pray for you?

Option B:  I remember hearing a story (from the Bible or from church) that is like your story.  Tell the story of God’s care as it relates to the story.  Then ask to pray for your friend.

Helping our kids feel confident that they can share their faith is important.

Play really does help you have the right to pray with and disciple kids.  There are age, gender and social barriers to name a few that are leveled through play.  During play kids see what you have in common with them.  Barriers come down when the kids see you care enough about them to take the time to play.

While playing and talking with kids they can see you as a real person.  These conversations can be intentional so as to provide bridled disclosure of leader’s hard times.  When that child has a tough time, they will come to you.

Keep in mind that play looks different for girls and boys.  Boys want to be rough and active for the most part while girls like to talk and complete small tasks (like painting nails or crafts) while talking.

When was the last time you played games or went to a kids neighborhood to build a relationship with a student?   How can you introduce playing in your ministry setting (either before, during or after class)?

Several universities and educational organizations in the UK recently released a report entitled “Children’s Playground Games and Songs in the New Media Age.”  This report addresses the rising concern that free play is disappearing from childhood.  The perception is that parents and teachers often provide so much structure to a child’s time that free play and games fall by the wayside and the worry is that children who engage in media and technology play even less, especially outside.

What kind of games to kids play?

According to the report, while children have a access to more choices in relation to their leisure activities and greater independence from adults than previous generations, play is alive and well.  However the findings were clear that media, specifically television, has influenced the types of games and play children create in social settings.  While clapping games, rhyming games,  ball games, jokes and rude rhymes still permeate child’s play, researchers observed children pretend playing (and singing and dancing) reality television shows like X-Factor. This type of play is referred to as “media-based play.”

The report presented this conclusion about the influence of media and technology on modern play:

Modern children are, then, immersed in an enveloping mediascape, which is impossible for them to ignore.  However, our research indicates that playground culture, and children’s games are not overwhelmed, marginalized or threatened by the quantity and plurality of available media.  We have seen that children make use of the cultural and media resources that surround them, and creatively manipulate them to their own ends.

You can download the entire report here.

One of four children, my Maxx (5) loves to have personal time with me.  In order to get time alone with him I started inviting him to “mid-night breakfasts”.  Since I tend to work late at night to get my work complete, it was great for us.

I recently chatted with some ministry volunteers who felt disconnected from their leadership.  Although their children’s ministry director had no time, she agreed she must take time for her team members so they would feel loved and valued.  After looking at her calendar, drive-time, evening chats or early breakfasts made it possible to make those connections to benefit her momentum in ministry.

Are there opportunities without cheating your family or adding too much to your schedule you could take time for your volunteers?

~Rhonda Haslett

One of the questions I’m receiving from children’s and family ministry leaders revolves around kids and cell phones.

Should we allow cell phones in our children’s ministry environments?

How should we use texting to enhance children’s ministry?

What are some good family boundaries for mobile families?

Clearly the issue of kids and their cell phones is a big deal to the field of children’s and family ministry leaders.  That’s a good thing because kids are becoming increasingly digital.  In April, Intel released the results of a survey entitled “2011 State of Mobile Etiquette: Parents, Children and Their Relationship with Mobile Technology.”  Here are some highlights from the survey:

• Half of children 8-12 years old report that they have two or more mobile devices.
• Nearly 1 in 5 children 8-12 years old (19 percent) say they have 3 or more mobile devices.
• Children report spending approximately 2-3 hours per day using their mobile devices
• Compared to younger children (ages 8-12), teens spend significantly more time on
• their laptops (3.7 hours vs. 3 hours) and cell phones (2.9 hours vs. 1.9 hours).
• One-third of children report they would rather go without their summer vacation than give up their mobile devices.
• Fifty-nine percent of children have witnessed their parents commit common mobile infractions, including use of a mobile device on the road (59 percent), at dinner (46 percent) and during a movie or concert (24 percent).
• Nearly half of U.S. children (49 percent) say they don’t see anything wrong with using technology at the dinner table.
• 42 percent of children think their parents need to disconnect more when they are at home.

How many kids in your ministry come to church with a cell phone? When parents ask you what kinds of healthy digital boundaries should be set in the home, what do you say?  Let us know in the comments!