A Case Study of Online Children's Ministry in South Korea During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This article presents the case of a church in South Korea known for doing effective online children's ministry since the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The study explored how the church transitioned from in-person to online worship and conducted online children's ministry during COVID-19. Data were collected through interviews, observations, documents, and videos. Results illustrated the process of transition and exposed the positive and negative aspects of online ministry. Future ministry considerations are also discussed.

Kriteria Guru Sekolah Minggu sebagai Gembala Anak Berdasarkan Yehezkiel 34:11-16

Sunday School ministry plays a pivotal role in introducing Jesus Christ as a Saviour to the children. As a children's pastor, Sunday School's teacher must have specific criteria to make the ministry grow even better. This research method is qualitative, followed by the descriptive analysis along with literature review toward the text in Ezekiel 34:11-16 "God, the True Shepherd (NKJV)." The study obtains three manners of God as a shepherd: God is gathering the scattered sheep, giving comforts to the sheep, and giving a proper rescue for each sheep. Leaning on those manners will lead the children's ministry in the church.AbstrakPelayanan Sekolah Minggu dinilai penting untuk memperkenalkan Yesus Kristus sebagai Juruselamat kepada anak-anak. Guru Sekolah Minggu sebagai gembala anak harus memiliki kriteria tertentu agar pelayanan anak di dalam gereja dapat bertumbuh. Metode penelitian yang digunakan adalah kualitatif dengan analisis deskriptif dengan studi pustaka terhadap teks Yehezkiel 34:11-16 “Allah sebagai Gembala Israel yang Baik (TB).” Hasil penelitian menemukan tiga sikap Allah sebagai gembala yang menjadi kriteria bagi gembala anak yaitu Allah mengumpulkan domba yang terpencar, Allah memberikan kenyamanan bagi domba, dan Allah memberikan pertolongan yang tepat bagi setiap domba. Dengan dasar tersebut maka dapat mendukung pelayanan penggembalaan anak di dalam gereja.

Reflections on Ministry amongst Children during the Covid-19 Pandemic

The role and function of children’s ministry during the first six months of the Covid-19 pandemic is explored, including a comparison of observations from four different contexts: Norway, South Africa, The Netherlands, The United Kingdom. Theological reflection examines the emerging ecclesiologies, form and adaptation of sacramental practices and pastoral care of families during this time of crisis. This investigation acknowledges awareness that there were significant restrictions and consequent challenges facing churches during this time, causing implications on children’s ministry that were unprecedented and frustrating for the Church on a global scale. Observations and recommendations are presented to aid churches globally in ensuring that children’s ministry during such times of crisis is child-centred, values the child as part of the body of Christ, fosters intergenerational role modelling and solidarity, and helps rather than hinders children on their spiritual journey.

The Child in Our Midst: The Shifting Trends in Ministry with Children and Families over the Past Forty Years

For the past 40 years, the field of children and family ministries has emerged, developed, and been strengthened through the intentional engagement of various teaching/learning approaches, the influence of developmental theory, and the rise of a children’s ministry leadership vocation. The significant growth and development with children and family ministries have contributed to the movement away from a narrow and simplistic view of children to a deeper understanding of how children’s spirituality and faith develops. Yet, more diverse research and improved ministry practices are needed. Integrating children as full participants in the faith community, along with continued evaluation of and improvements in teaching and learning practices, integral partnerships between home and family, and additional voices and diverse perspectives will all aid in better understandings and practices in ministry with children and families.

Utilization Of The Puppet Stage As A Method Of Contextual Evangelism To Sunday School Children Aged 5-10 Years

Children's ministry is very motivating for the church and child servants because it affects the growth of the child's faith. One of them is the ministry of evangelism. Evangelism is the message of salvation and judgment in Christ Jesus. Children aged 5 - 10 years do not usually understand and interpret themselves as "Christians" because they only follow what their parents do and do. = 'So it is necessary to teach through evangelism to these children. The question is how does a minister convey the "gospel" message to children so that it can be understood easily and what are the results of the ministry? This paper has two purposes. First, the servant understands the method or way of a servant to convey the "gospel" message simply. Second, so that children better understand the true meaning of the Bible. The research method used is qualitative by interviewing sources to examine and understand the attitudes, views, feelings and behavior of an individual or group of people and literature research to support this writing.

Childhood Significant Experiences that Contribute to Christian Commitment in Young Adulthood

Childhood experiences are significant to adult spirituality. Understanding these influential experiences can assist professors of Christian education as they seek to empower future children’s ministry workers. This article seeks to understand how childhood experiences influence adult spirituality. In-depth interviews and grounded theory were utilized on 21 participants between 22 and 30 years old. Results from this study created seven themes revealing the childhood experiences that contribute to Christian commitment in young adulthood.

Book reviews

In this section ten books are reviewed, presented in the following general order: children’s ministry and families, youth ministry and families, adult ministry and community/small groups, foundations of Christian education, teaching-learning process, spirituality and spiritual formation, and leadership and administration—although reviews may not appear for each area. A list of each area and responsible editors appears after the last review in this section. We invite readers to consider reviewing a book for CEJ. Guidelines are available in downloadable documents at www.biola.edu/cej under Publications Policy on the drop-down menu.