Showing posts with label girls. Show all posts
Showing posts with label girls. Show all posts

Why It's Important For Kids to Grow Up with Married Parents

8:35 AM  Dale Hudson  

One reality that today's kids face is not growing up with their married mom and dad.  Over half of kids ages 15 to 17 do not live in a home with their married mother or father.  Over 40% of kids are born out of wedlock.

This means over half of kids will enter adulthood without the benefits of intact family life. 

Does this make a difference?  Let's examine the facts.  Children's raised by their married parents have...
  • substantially better life outcomes compared to children raised in single-parent homes 
  • higher education attainment levels
  • better emotional health
  • greater self-esteem
  •  higher regard for marriage
  • better chance of avoiding the pitfalls of high-risk behaviors (boys who grow up without a father in the home are more likely to engage in delinquent behaviors & girls who grow up without a father in the home are seven to eight times more likely to experience teenage pregnancy)
  • better economic well-being (marriage decreases the chance of childhood poverty by 82%)
How are we going to change this? 

We must teach the next generation about the benefits and value of marriage.  We must hold up God's golden standard for the family which is one man and one woman married for life.

We must provide solid per-marital counseling for couples.

We must reach out to married couples who are struggling and help them journey back to a healthy marriage.

Marriage was designed by God and is the foundation on which a family is built.  

For more help on marriage and family ministry, I encourage you to check out the D6 conference that will be held this fall.  It is one of the leading conferences that equips churches to reach and disciple families.  You can get more information at this link.  
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Are You Making This Big Mistake in Your Children's Ministry?

7:13 AM  Unknown  


A common mistake I see many Children's Ministries making is not having enough boys on their praise team.  This seems to be a struggle for many.  There is a natural tendency to fill up your praise team with girls because they are more willing and ready to participate in the elementary years.

But...it is extremely important to have a solid group of boys on your praise team as well.  Gene Del Vecchio, in his book Creating Ever Cool...A Markers Guide to a Child's Heart, reminds us that boys are turned off during the elementary years if something appears "girlish."  On the other hand, girls will accept something that appears "boyish" during this years.  Bottom line...if you appeal to the girls, you will only connect with the girls.  If you appeal to the boys, you will connect with the boys and girls.

This is why it is so important to have a good mixture of boys on your praise team.  Here are some ways to get more boys involved.

Have a male worship leader.  A male leader will draw boys to your praise team.  If you can find an older high school or young adult male to lead...that's will be an even bigger draw for boys to get involved.

Reserve at least half the slots on the praise team for boys.  The quick, easy route is to just fill up your praise team with girls.  But be intentional about enlisting boys for your praise team.

Use songs that appeal to 5th grade boys.  Walt Disney taught us that we should always appeal to the oldest kids in the group.  Cool runs downhill.  Your target should be a 5th grade boy.  If he connects with the song, then all the kids will think the song is "cool" and engage.

What are your thoughts on this?
Do you think it is important to have boys on the praise team?
What challenges have you faced with getting boys to join the praise team?
What are some things you have done to get boys to join the praise team?

Would enjoy seeing your thoughts and ideas in the comment section below.

Posted by Dale Hudson
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