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?

God has perfected praise in the hearts of children. A child will just as naturally shout, “Praise God,” as he will, “Look there’s a butterfly.” So what is it that deters children from worshiping God in our children’s churches? Let's examine four factors contributing to the struggle to get kids to worship: parenting models, volunteer involvement, worldly distractions, and lack of planning.

It is easy to overlook parents, but this is a huge mistake. We need them, and they need us. So here are five ways I have found over two decades of youth and kids ministry to help you better connect with parents.

A mom has the ability to nurture her kids through words, acts, and care. She is often the main person who brings unity and structure to the family. Her words are held in high regard and often repeated. Mandy Groot gives four great pointers on what every mom should tell her kids.

The heart behind JBQ—the reason all 576 questions were written in the first place—was because leaders in the Assemblies of God feared a time when children would become biblically illiterate. There was initially no goal of taking teams to a national competition. because they were concerned with what would happen if kids associated winning and losing with the Word of God. So let’s go back to the heart of JBQ by implementing 10 steps that will reinforce the true “heart of JBQ.”