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Children’s Ministry
Whatever the season, here are some physical and online resources for you to keep the Gospel present in your children’s lives all year long.
The Met Activity Guide
Age Appropriate Worship | Online Resources
The Met Activity Guide:
Our Children’s Ministry put together a Journey to the Met. Find the paintings online and then work through the Activity Guide below!
Every Picture Tells a Story: Redeemer Hudson Kids Activity Guide
Toddlers (ages 2-4):
Read Aloud Bible Stories: This series of books by Ella K. Lindvall are great for toddlers with their simple text and artwork.
Karyn Henley: This author has crafted some strong curriculum sets with engaging songs for young children. They’re available for purchase online at Amazon.
Toddlers/Elementary (ages 2-8):
Sally Lloyd-Jones: This author of the bestselling The Jesus Storybook Bible and has resources on her website to keep children busy, entertained and, most importantly, full of hope.
Young Elementary (ages 4-8):
Young Children and Worship: This excellent book is by Jerome W. Berryman—the founder of The Center for the Theology of Childhood, which is part of the Godly Play Foundation, and Sonja M. Stewart. It was written to help children worship and experience God through listening to simple Biblical stories, interacting with simple materials and wondering about our not-so-simple Creator. This is the basic approach we use for all of our children’s classes at Redeemer Hudson.
Following Jesus: More about Young Children and Worship: Here is another book by Sonja M. Stewart that focuses exclusively on the New Testament and incorporates the storytelling methods from the Godly Play Foundation.
Older Elementary (ages 8-12):
The Radical Book for Kids: Exploring the Roots and Shoots of Faith: This innovative book by Champ Thornton communicates deep truths to kids, as well as provides fascinating information on church history and the Bible. Champ Thornton is also the author of several beautiful picture books for younger children.
The Gospel Story Bible: Discovering Jesus in the Old and New Testaments: This book by Marty Machowski, beautiful in both design and content, encourages children to look for Jesus everywhere in the Bible.
The Action Bible: God’s Redemptive Story: Here’s a terrific, solid and beautiful version of the Bible by Serio Cariello for all of you comic fans out there—young and old!
Books for Parents and Teachers:
Godly Play: An Imaginative Approach to Religious Education: Here’s a book for parents and teachers from Jerome W. Berryman that outlines the basic philosophy of the Godly Play program.
Offering the Gospel to Children: This book by Gretchen Wolff Pritchard also shows fresh, practical ways to offer the Gospel to our children. We have used this book (along with Berryman’s book) in the past to train our teachers here at Redeemer Hudson.
All Ages:
Cooking with the Bible: Here’s a book of great recipes from Anthony F Chiffolo that correspond to various stories throughout both the Old and New Testaments. Be sure to try the fish fry that Jesus had with His disciples after is Resurrection!
Music:
Justin Roberts: This is a four time Grammy-nominated musician who has a wide range of catchy (yet incredibly emotionally resonant) material, both sacred and secular. My favorite is his song “Where Were You?” from the album Why Not Sea Monsters: Songs from the Hebrew Scriptures.
Rain for Roots: Here’s a collective group of singer-songwriters who have some amazing “singable scripture” that kids and adults will love.