Pick of the month
Come Alive
Bethel Music Kids (4 Stars)
Bethel are making a statement with Come Alive. The production is excellent and from the first track you can tell that it is something special. The album has plenty of energy and the tempo of most of the songs reinforces that. But there’s not much in the way of ‘fun’ about the album. This is a serious worship album for kids and Bethel make no apologies for that.
Many of the songs are what we might consider ‘adult’ worship songs from Bethel, which have been rearranged for kids. This speaks a lot about their ethos of worship: there doesn’t need to be such a dividing line between adult and kids’ worship. However there are some lyrics that children might struggle with, such as, ‘Your love is sweeter than wine’. How many kids do you know who have an appreciation of wine to make this line meaningful?! (Hopefully none!) That said, my own children (aged three and five) both love this album (and don’t drink wine), so I’d happily recommend Come Alive for families with children aged three to nine.
Pete Sheath is a songwriter and the children, youth and families minister at St Saviour’s, Guildford
Brian and Jenn Johnson are songwriters and worship leaders at Bethel. Here’s what they said about the creation of Come Alive.
Jenn: Something that’s really celebrated, especially with this album, is fun and I think that we can never lose sight of the fact of the fun element to worship. Yes, there’s a reverence and there’s an awe, but God is so fun and he is so wonderful - we have this saying that God is as happy as he is holy, and I think that that’s what we want to champion in our kids. Just seeing that in the kids, seeing the fun and the raw and the real, that they’re not going to be into any fluff – I think it’s just incredible to watch that unfold.
Brian: In my own life, I grew up seeing worship leaders and I learned from them by watching, not just by listening to them. What’s exciting about Bethel Music Kids is that kids will get to watch other kids worship God. Worship is a real expression of your heart to God. In a lot of churches, worship can feel like it’s just for the adults. There can be a disconnect for the kids and we’re trying to bring them in to worship and encourage them to be caught up in worship, in his presence. What happens when our children are in the atmosphere of worship, even if it’s not a heart connection yet is that they will encounter him and they will grow into a heart of worship.
Starting Rite
Jenny Paddison (4 Stars)
This course introduces spiritual nurture to parents with babies up to one year old. It includes detailed instructions on preparation for the course and its resource lists are exhaustive. The five sessions are all very baby and parent-centred and cover the mystery of God, God’s unconditional love, baptism symbolism, prayer, and scripture, using lots of sensory activities. The CD contains resources including fliers, handouts and evaluation forms.
I enjoyed the writer’s style (there are some good chuckles) and found the concept exciting and well-presented. I’m now thinking about how and when I could start this as an extension of a parent and toddler group. The presentation is very Anglican-focused with lots of references to christening and infant baptism, which may be off-putting for those from other denominations. However, it is worth persevering, as most of the sessions need little or no adaptation to work theologically in any church. The third session (‘Splash!’) would require some adaptation for use in churches that do not baptise infants, not to the activities, but it might need different explanations from the leaders.
I would recommend this without hesitation to churches that baptise babies and, with some advice, to those that don’t.
Alison Clark is a children’s evangelist, specialising in under-fives, based in Bedford
The Personality of Jesus
Francis Clark (revised by Ashley Denton) (5 Stars)
One of the first youth and children’s work books ever written was Francis Clark’s Christ and the Young People. His book, originally published in 1916, sparked new thinking about the importance of youth and children’s ministry and the theology behind it. To him, youth and children’s ministry was all about Jesus Christ. Fast-forward 100 years and Ashley Denton has revised the book.
This is a slim book, and it brilliantly reflects on different facets of Jesus’ personality. In each chapter we are led to ask, ‘Am I becoming more like Jesus?’ Moreover, it has a timeless quality about it, despite it having been revised.
This isn’t a book to rush through and tick off your list; it is worth returning to regularly and, as Clark intended the book to be used in small groups, Denton has helpfully included discussion questions at the end of each chapter. I would go so far as to say that this makes an ideal follow on to Alpha or an introduction to Christianity course: through the various chapters, not only are we introduced to Jesus and his character, but we are also shown a mirror and encouraged to look at ourselves as disciples and as youth and children’s workers. One hightlight is: ‘If you want to be an effective leader of young people, begin by becoming pre-occupied by these genuine traits of Jesus. Then, being shaped by his character you will naturally draw others to him as well.’
Ali Campbell is a youth and children’s ministry consultant
The Unofficial Bible for Minecrafters
Christopher Miko and Garrett Romines (5 Stars)
The Bible for Minecrafters is one of the best books / comics I’ve ever read! It shows the Bible in a completely new and exciting way. ‘Minecraft’ is my favourite game in the world, so when I was handed a copy of The Bible for Minecrafters I was so excited! I’d never seen a book like this in my life.
Sometimes for kids, the Bible can seem like a long, boring book, however this book has taught me loads about the Bible and the best part is it’s in ‘Minecraft’! The Bible for Minecrafters is a giant comic book with each picture being made entirely on a ‘Minecraft’ world! The buildings and pictures are so well built; they’re amazing to look at. My favourite story from this book was the tower of Babel as the tower was so astonishing and well built it must have taken the Minecraft builders ages to create it. It is now my favourite story from the Bible; I had never heard of it before I read this book.
I would definitely recommend this book if you want your children to read more of the Bible as it takes you on an amazing adventure through the Bible. Even my Muslim friends love this epic book.
Noah Brierley is 11 years old and a huge Minecraft fan
100 Things for Your Child to Know Before Confirmation
Rebecca Kirkpatrick (3 Stars)
The idea of this book is to highlight key Bible passages and Christian teachings that every teenager ‘arriving at confirmation classes’ should have a grasp of. The idea is that parents, youth and children’s workers and vicars would read this book in advance of preparing confirmation candidates.
It is split into easy-to-follow chapters and is well laid-out. Rebecca Kirkpatrick is an American pastor, so naturally there are some ‘Americanisms’. However, each topic is covered thoroughly and explained well. I would recommend this book for parents of confirmation candidates, as I would hope that those preparing teenagers for confirmation would already know and be covering all these topics throughout confirmation classes. (If not, perhaps those facilitators need to look at their course material!)
For £9.99, it’s quite an expensive resource for parents. From my own experience, we provide parents with information during the confirmation course that would serve the same purpose as this book. Personally, I won’t use this book again, but if you are looking for something to tell you what your child will learn during a confirmation class, then this is a good starting point.
Elise Allanson is minister for children aged 0-18 at Pinner Parish Church. She loves musical theatre and her miniature dachshund, Minnie
