Welcome to the July/August issue of Equip for Ministry. We have enjoyed putting it together. We are focusing on the highlights of our recent annual children’s ministry conference. Over 200 men and women from across the PCA attended the conference. The number of teaching elders present also encouraged us. We think it just might be getting through that children’s ministry is a key to building the church. Perhaps some are reading the gospels more carefully and seeing how Jesus develops a theology of children in his overall kingdom story.

Christian Education and Publications is often associated with the Sunday school or our work with children and youth, and rightfully so. We do work primarily with those who lead, teach, and work with those groups. But our overall aim is to help local churches see the important place of children and youth ministries. We want them to see that they are not disconnected from the rest of the church.

At the end of the conference, we had a question and answer session with the three keynote speakers on the panel. There were some good questions, one of which I respond to in the “In Case You’re Asked” section. As I moderated the panel, I came across a couple of questions such as: How do you get the senior pastor to see the importance of children’s ministry? How can we help the elders in the church see how important that ministry is?

We have a number of churches that do see the importance of the rising generation and are doing positive things in their philosophy and methodology of ministry. There are also those that have not caught the vision. When the various parts of a church’s ministry is not coordinated into the whole of the mission then trouble, discouragement, and frustration can easily develop.

We asked our coordinator of youth ministries, Dean Conkel, to teach a seminar dealing with children’s workers and youth workers. It was not only a well-attended seminar, but also much appreciated. I asked Dean to put his notes from the seminar into article form, which became our lead article for this issue. I hope you will read and glean from the many ideas that are set forth there. I further hope that local church leaders, including pastors, will read this and think about the place of children and youth in the life of the church and how we communicate to them and their significance in ministry.

When churches have unlimited resources to invest in ministry to the rising generation there are other challenges that are faced. When churches have limited resources, or believe they have no resources to invest in that kind of ministry, other problems develop. Finally, there are those churches that feel they have to make choices between the two groups and conflict can arise. We obviously do what we can to help churches create a teamwork atmosphere rather than a competitive one. Dean has some creative ideas and thoughts to encourage a complimentary approach in ministry.

There are several news items, as well as usual “Equip Tip” that you may enjoy reading. In “Buy the Book,” we have chosen seven books from a range of topics that we believe you will want to know about. There are so many more that we would like to make you aware of and we do that using our website. In this issue we have selected one on developing a biblical world and life view written by George Barna. This is a particularly valuable book in that it covers the bases without being too technical. I really appreciated the book on High-Tech Worship. It was stimulating and most helpful in responding to the challenges of today’s worship. The book Listening to the Past, which I encourage pastors to read, will be beneficial in keeping things in perspective. The book on world religions is also a helpful and important book for us to read and study, especially living in our pluralistic culture. Most of you know the name John R. W. Stott. He is one of my favorite writers and commentators. The book Why I Am a Christian will be a good read for you. And finally the Three Dimensions of Leadership and The Heart and Hand of God will be two books that you want to know about.

I trust that you will also carefully look at the advertisements in this issue. As the training, resource, and publications committee of the PCA, we want to do what we can to keep you in the loop of the available resources and training for your local church. Our staff is committed to assisting you in whatever ways we can to help you be more effective. Our bookstore staff and inventory are for you, as well as our lending library of tapes and videos and CDs.

As you read through this issue, if you think someone in your church who would benefit from reading this, please share your copy with them or call us and request an additional copy. May God bless and use us together to make a difference in a world that needs help, encouragement and hope.

Charles Dunahoo
Coordinator CE&P and Editor of Equip for Ministry

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