Children’s Ministry Seminar

About Children’s Ministry Seminar

The purpose of the Children’s Ministry Seminar is to equip children’s ministry leaders and volunteers within the local church to build up and minister to boys and girls (birth to 5th grade) in alignment with God’s Word, the Bible. (Ephesians 4:12)

Publisher

Steve Karges

Category

religion & spirituality

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

3 Jan 2022

Latest episode

9 Jul 2025

Latest episodes

36 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   9 Jul 2025

   REPLAY Episode 014: Children’s Pastor’s Testimony

   Children's Ministry Seminar EPISODE 014: CHILDREN’S PASTOR’S TESTIMONY by Steve Karges Original Release: September 21, 2022 In the first three episodes of this podcast, I told the story of how I got started in children’s ministry. I began at age 15 as a church volunteer leading Junior Church for kids in elementary school. Then at age 19, I served part-time as the Youth Director at two small churches simultaneously. When I was 22 years old, I ventured into full-time ministry with Children’s Ministries International, where I have served since 1980. In this episode of the CHILDREN’S MINISTRY SEMINAR podcast, I want to share my Christian testimony with you. This is the story of how I came to Christ. It was fifty-five years ago as of this writing, that my life was changed forever. On June 4, 1967, at the end of a Sunday morning worship service, I walked down the aisle of the church that I attended as a child in southern California and received Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord. I was nine years old. On that Sunday, around noon, there were no bells or whistles, no bright lights, or thundering noises, but Jesus transformed my life. All my sin (past, present, and future) was forgiven, removed, and transferred to Christ on the cross, and His righteousness was deposited into me! In 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NASB) it says, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” Through the work of Christ at Calvary, I was justified before the Holy Triune God and adopted into His family. After I made my public confession of faith in Christ before the congregation, I was immediately baptized by immersion and identified with my Savior and Lord in His death, burial, and resurrection. I am undeserving of God’s grace and did nothing to earn it. My salvation is a gift from God. As a Christian, I experience God’s unconditional love when I feel unworthy and His joy when my heart is broken. I know His peace during life's raging storms and His hope in disappointment. I am guided by His Word and indwelling Holy Spirit when I need a personal GPS. Jesus meets every need. He brought meaning, purpose, and direction to my life when He rescued me on the cross from my sin and God’s wrath. My next stop is Heaven! Through Christ, I have the strength to stand up again when I stumble or get knocked down because I know Satan is defeated, victory over sin is guaranteed, and my future is secure with my Lord for eternity.I am not perfect – just ask my wife! I am simply someone who was lost, and God found. I am grateful He came looking for me and reached out in love. I am glad I reached back by faith. In Luke 15:32 (NASB) it says, “But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.” Fast forward fifty-five years to 2022 when this episode of the CHILDREN’S MINISTRY SEMINAR was recorded, and today I am a children's pastor with a global ministry, where I have served for the past 42 years. I have learned from the Bible, and from my own experience, that God awakens His chosen ones (some during childhood) to understand the gospel, repent of sin, believe in Christ, and then to follow Him for the rest of their lives. Jesus did all the work to secure my salvation and I have received all of the benefits!I celebrate Jesus today, to the glory of God the Father! And that, my friend, is my Christian testimony. FOR YOUR MINISTRY TOOLBOX 1)  Please note the difference between a testimony and the Gospel. A testimony is simply an individual’s story of how they came to Christ. The Gospel is the story of Jesus; who He is, and what He has done, and how the benefits of what He has done may be appropriated by believers. Do not mistake a testimony for the Gospel, which you can find in your Bible. 2) Write down your testimony and review it once a year to remind yourself of the day when Jesus saved you. Then thank God and rejoice, as you celebrate His

2. 

   25 Jun 2025

   REPLAY Episode 013: Teaching Children About Jesus

   Children's Ministry Seminar EPISODE 013: TEACHING CHILDREN ABOUT JESUS by Steve Karges Original Release: April 27, 2022 As children's ministry leaders, our primary focus should always be to teach boys and girls about the true Jesus from the "Word of Truth," the Bible. Clear Bible teaching is what children need to hear every time they come to church, and this must become your number one priority if it isn't already. I cannot emphasize strongly enough the importance of teaching kids about Jesus from God's Word. Almost every religion on earth claims some manner of belief in Jesus. But when those claims are held to the light of Scripture, it becomes very clear that they are teaching about a false Christ, not the Biblical Jesus. It is not uncommon for children whose parents profess faith in Mormonism, Islam, Hinduism, New Age, or some other non-Christian religion to visit your church with friends. These children may have heard the name of Jesus at home, but that Jesus is not the same Jesus that the Bible tells us about. Never assume that the kids in your children's ministry understand who the true Jesus is, because there are many false christs that they may hear about from others. (Matthew 24:5, 24; Mark 13:6, 21-22: Luke 21:8) The true historical Jesus is the One revealed in the Bible. Remember, God's Word is where we go for Truth (John 17:17, Psalm 119:160). Here is what the Scripture says about the true historical Jesus. The true historical Jesus of the Bible fulfilled more than 300 Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah (Isaiah 53; John 19:28; Matthew 5:17; Luke 4:21, 18:31; 22:37, 24:44). The true historical Jesus of the Bible was born of a virgin. His birth was miraculous (Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:27; Isaiah 7:14). The true historical Jesus of the Bible is God! He is the second person of the Triune God, who is also known as "God the Son" and "Son of God" (John 8:58, 10:30; 1:1, 18, 5:26) Matthew 3:17, 17:5; Mark 1:11, 5:7, 9:7; Luke 1:35, 3:22) The true historical Jesus of the Bible is fully God and fully man. He has two distinct natures (Colossians 2:9; Titus 2:13; John 1:14, 8:58, 20:28; Luke 2:52, 24:39). The true historical Jesus of the Bible is sinless. He is perfect and has never sinned (I Peter 2:22; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:15; I John 3:5). The true historical Jesus of the Bible performed many miracles (John 2:11, 23, 3:2, 4:54, 6:2, 14, 11:47, 12:18). The true historical Jesus of the Bible died on the cross to atone for the sins of all the people who would believe in Him (John 3:16; I John 2:2; Romans 3:25; Hebrew 2:17; Revelation 1:5). The true historical Jesus of the Bible was bodily raised from death to life by the Holy Spirit, under the full authority of God (Romans 8:11; John 2:19-21; Acts 2:24, 32). The true histiorcal Jesus of the Bible defeated Satan, sin, and death for all who would believe in Him (Hebrews 2:13-14, I Corinthians 15:3; 2 Timothy 1:10; I Peter 2:24). The true historical Jesus of the Bible ascended to Heaven, where He lives today, awaiting His Second Coming to earth (Acts 1:9-11, I Thessalonians 4:16-17; Hebrews 9:28). The true historical Jesus of the Bible is the only One who can save us from our sin and God's wrath. Only through God the Son can we know God the Father (John 14:6; Romans 5:1, 8-9; 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-9). The true historical Jesus of the Bible is Lord of all (John 13:13)! Teach these things about Jesus to the boys and girls in your children's ministry so they can discern between the true Christ and the many false christs that are deceiving people worldwide. When we teach children, it is essential that we stick to the Scripture and not add to it or remove anything from it. In other words, we do not makeup stuff about Jesus. God has told us everything He wants us to know about His Son in the Bible. There is a very solemn warning in the Bible that we must heed. It is found in Galatians 1:9 (ESV) and says, "As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone

3. 

   11 Jun 2025

   REPLAY Episode 012: Why Teaching Children Christian Doctrine Is Essential

   Children's Ministry Seminar EPISODE 012: WHY TEACHING CHILDREN CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE IS ESSENTIAL by Steve Karges Original Release: April 20, 2022 Christian Doctrine is essential for you to know and teach to the boys and girls in your children's ministry. Unfortunately, the word "doctrine" is often viewed negatively in the church and misunderstood by many Christians. The word doctrine, translated from Greek, means teaching that comes from an authoritative source. So when I speak of Christian Doctrine, I am referring to the teaching and instruction in the Bible, which comes from God, who has all Authority and is the Source of Truth (John 17:17). There are many doctrines, but Christian Doctrine only comes to us from the Bible, not from people or other religious books. As children's ministry leaders, it is vital for us to know Christian Doctrine so we can teach it to the children we minister to. We must be careful what we teach to kids. That is why we only teach from God's Word and not from other sources (I Timothy 4:16). There may be times when you are tempted to replace what God says with man-made doctrine or tradition, but RESIST DOING THAT! Jesus rebuked the scribes and Pharisees for "teaching as doctrines the commandments of men" (Mark 7:7, ESV). In the Bible, doctrine is broken down into spiritually related fields of study. We see an example of this in 2 Timothy 3:16 (ESV) which says, "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work." Christian Doctrine is important because our faith is based on a specific message, which is Christ died for our sins, and He was raised to life on the third day according to the Scripture (I Corinthians 15:3-4). If the message is changed, then the basis of our faith will shift away from Christ to something else (Hebrews 13:8-9). Therefore, the Holy Spirit uses sound doctrine based upon Scripture to lead us to the truth (John 16:13-15). In children's ministry, we must move beyond shallow teaching and take kids deep into the Bible, so they can see for themselves what God says. I want to show you how to systematically teach Christian Doctrine to boys and girls by focusing on one specific doctrine essential to the Christian faith, THE DOCTRINE OF CHRIST. The Doctrine of Christ helps us to understand who Jesus is and what He has done,  as documented in the Old and New Testaments. The Doctrine of Christ is the Biblical truth we believe about Jesus. Please note that the Doctrine of Christ is not a single lesson that we teach occasionally. Instead, this doctrine infiltrates all of our teaching, and we come back to it repeatedly. From the time a child is born until they graduate from elementary school, we want to walk them through the Scripture to reveal what it says about Christ. So there are times when we give an overview of the Doctrine of Christ, and there are times when we dig deeper into specific aspects of who Jesus is and what He has done. For example, the Scripture says that Jesus Christ is God. He is the second person of the Triune God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). Because He is God, Christ the Son has all the Divine Characteristics and Attributes of God the Father. So begin by taking children through a study of Christ in Eternity Past. Then encourage the kids in your children's ministry to keep their Bibles open and walk them through the Appearances and Activities of Jesus in the Old Testament. Follow that with the Prophecies of Christ in the Old Testament, before looking into the New Testament to see where those Prophecies came true. While they’re in the New Testament, show your kids how Christ became a man through His miraculous birth and lived on earth. Explain to the children how Jesus had two natures. He was fully God and fully man at the same time. Then dive deep into Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John to show them the eyewitness a

Reach and audience

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Apple Podcasts (US)

3.7 / 5

3 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 10 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

7

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

32

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