FourFiveSix

My messages rarely have a point. Well, they have a point, but I don’t use it. And to be honest, the entire ministry is better for it. I recently began to purposefully erase the main point from my messages when speaking to preteens so that our small group leaders could deliver that point. I was [...]

I’ve been there, trust me, I’ve been there. The well thought out lesson, great Biblical content, and some nice power point slides. You are ready to teach God’s Word! Except Sunday comes around and, well, you know how this goes. Some kids look asleep, others look like they cannot stop moving, and the same two [...]

Righteousness. Salvation. Justification. Melchizedek. (Okay, maybe not.) But these are the kinds of “Christianeze” words that we use on a consistent basis, that hopefully we are clearly defining for our preteens, especially to those who are unchurched. We are all probably pretty conscious of explaining these difficult words and often times then supplementing an easier [...]

Time Machines From September to December I try things out and learn along the way, wishing I had a time machine so I could go back and try again with the things I’ve learned. Only here’s my secret: I do have a time machine. I call it “January.” And instead of going backwards, it takes [...]

How many times have you told your preteens: “Your faith is something you live every day, not just when you are here at church.” Or my favorite: “You do know you can open your Bible during the week, right?” If we can help preteens develop the habits of opening and reading their Bible and wrestling [...]

  Ideally, I like a good steak from one of my father-in-law’s cows cooked medium over a grill in my backyard with a huge salad full of delicious veggies fresh picked from the garden while sipping a cool, tall glass of iced tea brewed from tea leaves I acquired during a weekend trip to Asia. [...]

Here’s an idea I came across while reading an article written by Shawn McEvoy, the Managing Editor of Crosswalk.com. Taking an arrow, I point out the feathers and ask why the feathers are important. Without the feathers, it’s just a pointed stick, and doesn’t fly too well. Now I point out the one unique feather [...]

In honor of Reformation Day and Martin Luther’s iconic 95 Theses, below are my 9.5 Theses of Preteen Ministry: 1 – Have fun. When you teach, when you sing, when you do anything. Because they all want to. 2 – Be serious. When you teach, when you sing, when you do anything. Because they are all [...]

Preteenministry.net is a website filled with creative resources for preteen ministry. The FourFiveSix team is a big fan of this site, especially since it is run by our very own Nick Diliberto (the host of FourFiveSix On-the-Air). On this site you will find weekly blog posts, curriculum for your preteen ministry and a coaching series [...]

“Last night,” I said to the preteens sitting in front of me, “I went to the grocery store and bought ONE breast of chicken. I had to go to the meat counter to buy just one, because otherwise you have to buy a package of three. Then, I took that ONE breast of chicken home [...]