We live in a glorious era of technology. Our phones alone contain far more processing power than the first space shuttles. We can have conversations, order pizza, even find our future spouse—all from the palm of our hand. Even the most common individual has some of the greatest knowledge in history at their fingertips 24/7. How do you take this knowledge and make your children's ministry better?

The volunteers in our churches are my heroes in so many ways. They sacrifice their time, talent and treasure for the ministry. They are not required to be there, but many times they are more committed than those of us who are paid to be there. This is why I always want to ensure I am saying “thank you” and showing them proper appreciation. Here are six simple yet effective ways to show appreciation to your volunteers.

Over the years, the term “Parent Meeting” has meant parent workshops about hot topics, program and policy changes, open house meet and greets, and private one-on-one meetings. No matter what the reason, the truth is no one likes “meetings.” But that doesn’t mean they have to be lame wastes of time either. This article points to one big tip that will save you lots of time planning and conducting parent meetings.

We all have heard of the bucket challenge, the mannequin challenge, the selfie challenge. They bombard our social media feeds. But have you ever thought of using the challenge phenomenon to encourage students to live out their faith? The 21-Day Limitless Challenge began as a question that seemed to haunt our Girls Ministries team each year during planning. “How can we help girls apply what they have learned at camp in their school and at home?”