CentriKid

quiet time

Helping Preteens Grow Spiritually

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We think there are very few things as important as spending time in God’s word. This is important for adults, and it is equally important for kids. In fact, we will be talking about these spiritual practices this year during FIT: Faith in Training. Every day at CentriKid, we provide campers with a “Time Alone with God” devotion. This a time for kids to break away from others and spend time alone praying and reading scripture. We also send each camper home with a CentriKid devotional which includes 4 weeks of devotions after camp to follow up what God has taught them at CentriKid.

Kids should not just have devotions while at camp or during the weeks following camp. Kids should make quiet time a focus all year long. We are blessed to be able to be apart of Lifeway Kids, who provides really great devotionals for preteens ages 10 and up to use every day of the year: Bible Express! Here’s what you can expect:

What To Expect With Bible Express

  • Designed for preteens (5th & 6th graders).
  • Builds discipline of a daily time with God.
  • Helps develop Christian values

What Preteens Will Like About Bible Express

  • Separate devotions for boys and girls
  • Interactive activities
  • Cool articles and fun facts

In fact, our CentriKid Office Team members Collin, Isaac, and myself are writers for Bible Express! I remember using Bible Express devotions when I was kid, and I am now excited to be writing devotions for other kids and helping preteens grow spiritually.

Check out Bible Express and how you can get a free sample by following this link!

Also, check out my older post about Explaining Quiet Time to Kids!

Children Teaching Other Children

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Kid Reading BibleThis summer at camp, one of the staffers on our team said “we are children teaching other children.” Since then I have tried to examine my role in ministry as well as a follower of Christ. As a camp pastor, I was seen as a spiritual leader, but the truth is, whether you have been in ministry for a few weeks or you collect doctorates in theology, you are still a child in Christ and there is so much more we can learn.

Read Matthew 18:1-5

Jesus says that it is the ones who humble themselves as children who will be the greatest in Heaven. As a follower of Christ, our eyes are open everyday to a deeper understanding of who God is. We continue to learn, we continue to grow, and through all of it we become even more humble as we see more of His power.

Has a child ever come up to you when they were scared or tired and reached up asking you to hold them? The humility that they have to say, “I can’t do this anymore,” or “I need your help,” is the same attitude that we need to approach God. As leaders or teachers, we need to rely on God every day to carry us through the situations that we cannot navigate ourselves. Colossians 1:16 reminds us that it is through God’s amazing power that everything is created through Him and for Him. However, we are still His children and it is that same power that is at work in us everyday.

Take a moment today and pray that as you minister to children or love a family, that you will be as a child, humbled in knowing that God is the center of our faith and that it is only through His gifts and mercy that we are able to be able to show people his glory.

Explaining Quiet Time to Kids

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Few things are more important than spending time alone with God reading the Bible and praying each day.  This is how we learn more about God, grow closer to Him, and strengthen our faith and understanding of Him.  We see in scripture how Jesus often withdrew to spend time alone with His Father. In my own spiritual journey, I became a Christian when I was in 5th grade, but I did not experience major growth until I began having a daily time alone with God in high school. Quiet time is important!  (which is why we start each day of CentriKid with it)

“Quiet time” may not sound that great to kids who do not enjoy sitting still for any period of time, and it sounds miserable to kids who do not like to be quiet.  (In fact, that’s why we call it “Time Alone with God” at camp.) Between school activities and sports practices,  teaching kids the importance of stopping for a little while each day and spending time with God should be priority in kids ministry.  Explaining quiet time to kids is important; they need to know why we do it.

I explain it to kids this way:

Quiet time is basically a conversation between us and God.  This is how we can learn more about him and grow closer to Him.  Think about your best friend.  Why are you close to him/her?  It is probably because you have spent lots of one-on-one time getting to know each other and talking about everything.  Our relationship with God is so much bigger and better than that!  Like scheduling a daily phone call or a FaceTime call with your best friend, make time in your day to talk to God whether it is before you go to school or before you go to sleep at night. Spending time each day praying and reading you Bible is how you get to know God, and how your relationship with him grows deeper and deeper! 

Ultimately, kids need to know that spending time praying and reading their Bible is extremely important. Before you explain this to kids, look at your own life and how much emphasis you place on your own quiet time with God.  In this busy world, do you set aside time to grow in your relationship with God?   Make quiet time an intentional part of your day each day!