Helpful guides

Both Scripture Union’s Top Tips booklets and the Children’s Ministry Guide books are designed for all those working with children and young people and written by experts and practitioners.

They are big on practical advice, but with just enough theory, Bible basis and case studies to help you understand the issues and improve your ministry with children and young people. Top Tips are all 36 pages - short enough to digest over a cup of coffee – whilst Children’s Ministry Guides are about 100 pages, give a bit more content and may take a couple of hours to read.

At £2.99 or less they are ideal to give to anyone who is newly joining your ministry team for help and encouragement, or to use as the basis for training and refreshing sessions for your whole team (most of the Children’s Ministry Guides include discussion questions that you could use in team meetings).

For more information, click to go to categories or titles, or browse the whole list below.

Browse all books about children's ministry in the shop...

Areas of ministry

Children's Ministry Guide to Building a Team (Andy Back) ~~£2.99~~ £2.69
Andy draws on a wealth of experience gathered over many years in youth and children's work, serving on a variety of teams under a range of leaders, as well as being in a leadership team himself.

The topics include Biblical leaders (drawing lessons from the team-building styles of Moses, David and Jesus), accountability, recruitment, delegation, team-building exercises, recognising leaders, and empowering young leaders.    Buy...

Children's Ministry Guide to Working with Under 5s (Sue Price) ~~£2.99~~ £2.69
This book encourages churches to assess and improve their under 5s ministry - motivating them to consider how they guide their youngest church members along the first steps of their faith journey, support their church families, and reach out to young families in their community.

Chapters cover typical patterns of development for the five years from birth; various settings where churches are likely to be providing for under 5s (including all-age church, church crèche and children's ministry groups, midweek services for under 5s and carers, toddler groups and playgroups); effective ways of telling stories and using music, drama, games, crafts etc; the opportunity provided for reaching out to parents and how the church can offer them support and guidance; and the responsibilities of under 5s workers and the support they need.    Buy...

Children's Ministry Guide to Tailored Teaching for 5-9s (Sue Price) ~~£2.99~~ £2.69
This guide provides short, easy-to-read insights into child development and learning preferences and offers practical ways of using that information to improve your environment and teaching sessions - so that you can give every child the best possible opportunity of developing a personal relationship with Jesus.

The first part of the book will help you understand and categorise the developmental stages and learning preferences of the children with whom you work. The second part will give you strategies and ideas for tailoring your teaching to best serve those children in their walk with God.    Buy...

Children's Ministry Guide to Working with 9-13s (Andy Back) ~~£2.99~~ £2.69
'Fear them!' 'Exclude them!' 'Ignore them and they'll go away!' These may have been past attitudes of churches towards adolescents. But when we try to empathise, welcome and love them, we'll find sometimes scared, sometimes angry, often bewildered nearly-adults bursting to rebel while facing increasing responsibility.

This book will help you understand some of the physical, mental and emotional changes that happen to boys and girls between the ages of 9 and 13 and give you some strategies and practical ideas for smoother, more productive group times.    Buy...

Top Tips on All Age Worship (Nick Harding) ~~£2.99~~ £2.84
An inspirational look at how all-age worship is do-able in our churches, why it's desirable and the benefits it can bring.

This guide explores some of the features of an all-age church, the different components of a worship event, and how to use them. It also contains practical pointers on how to lead all-age worship.    Buy...

Reaching out

Top Tips on Reaching Unchurched Children (Helen Franklin) ~~£2.99~~ £2.84 currently out of stock
A guide for anyone reaching out to unchurched children, with ideas for communicating the gospel in this context.

It explores biblical principles on evangelism and looks at building relationships through natural points of contact with children outside the church. It also gives practical tips on the language to use and how to talk about God to children who know nothing about him.    Buy...

Top Tips on Developing Partnerships between Church and School (Gill Marchant and Alan Charter) ~~£2.99~~ £2.84
Explore opportunities for Christians to create partnerships with local schools to deliver Extended Schools Services, on school, community or church premises.

This guide includes inspirational stories of people who have demonstrated that 'Every child matters' in church and school. It also has ideas for being a volunteer in your local primary or secondary school.    Buy...

Top Tips on Welcoming Children of Other Faiths (Gill Marchant & Andrew Smith) ~~£2.99~~ £2.84
A guide that explores what the Bible says about those of other faiths and how we should live out our faith amongst them.

It's packed with practical, fun ideas to strengthen or even kick-start a ministry among those of other faiths, equipping you to build relationships with children and their families.    Buy...

Developing faith

Children's Ministry Guide to Leading a Child to Christ (Cathy Kyte) ~~£2.99~~ £2.69
We teach children the good news about Jesus Christ and sometimes forget to challenge them to make a personal commitment to him.

This helpful guide addresses some of the difficult questions: How young is too young? What if their parents are from another faith? How can you tell when a child is ready? It also provides insights into the practical issues of sensitively encouraging a child to respond to the Lord, examining children in the Bible, the essential elements in a gospel message and a wonderful chapter on 'How not to..'    Buy...

Top Tips on Explaining the Cross (Helen Franklin, Steve Hutchinson, Robert Willoughby) ~~£2.99~~ £2.84
Practical advice and inspirational stories for anyone wanting children and young people to understand and respond to the cross.

It includes clearly presented Biblical ways to explain the meaning and effect of Jesus' death and resurrection: Jesus takes our place; Jesus triumphs over evil; Jesus as a reconciler; Jesus' dramatic rescue bid.    Buy...

Top Tips on Encouraging Faith to Grow (Ruth Hassall and Piers Lane) ~~£2.99~~ £2.84
Encouraging faith to grow is not just something that happens formally, but it certainly happens throughout life. At its most basic, it arises as God's people - adults, children and young people - relate to one another in the course of everyday living, in the home, in a church community or in the wider world.

What does the Bible say about faith? How do the three key responses of playing, learning and exploring shape our understanding of faith development? This readable and practical guide is packed with wisdom and ideas that will inspire anyone wanting to develop the faith of children or young people.    Buy...

Top Tips on Growing Faith with Families (Pauline Burdett) ~~£2.99~~ £2.84
Family life can be challenging and messy. This guide explores what the Bible says about growing faith with families and reaching out to families with the good news of Jesus.

It's packed with practical, fun ideas to strengthen or even kick-start a family ministry and to make church 'family-friendly'!    Buy...

Top Tips on Prompting Prayer (Sarah Bingham and Vicki Blyth) ~~£2.99~~ £2.84
This guide covers what the Bible has to say, has principles for prayer and practical help for those who find it a struggle helping others to pray or who just want to be more effective.

There are plenty of fresh ideas and true stories, things to think about and challenges to provoke action, knowing that God loves to talk with us. Buy...

Top Tips on Discovering the Bible with Children (Terry Clutterham and John Stephenson) ~~£2.99~~ £2.84
The Bible is the world's best-seller, full of gripping stories, powerful poems and wise advice for living, believed by Christians to be the clearest way to discover God and respond to him. But, it's a huge book, written by dozens of authors over many centuries, who lived in very different cultures and it is not an obvious book for children.

Yet God's word is as much for children as it is for adults. How can we help them engage with it (even if they can't or don't read), understand it and learn to love the Bible? This readable and practical guide is packed with wisdom and advice to help you grapple with these further. Buy...

Top Tips on Exploring the Bible with Young People (Terry Clutterham and John Stephenson) ~~£2.99~~ £2.84
The Bible is the world's best-seller, full of gripping stories, powerful poems and wise advice for living, believed by Christians to be the clearest way to discover God and respond to him. But, it's a huge book, written by dozens of authors over many centuries, who lived in very different cultures and it is not an obvious book for young people who think it’s not for them, old or not relevant.

Yet God's word is as much for young people as it is for adults. How can we help them engage with it (even if they can't or don't read), understand it and learn to love the Bible? This readable and practical guide is packed with wisdom and advice to help you grapple with these further. Buy...

Specific activities

Top Tips on Communicating God in non-book ways (Kathryn Copsey and Jean Elliott) ~~£2.99~~ £2.84
Ancient stained glass windows, PowerPoint presentations, games, social networking, laughter, celebratory feasts - some non-book ways of meeting God are new for our time, some have been around for centuries. All of them ultimately lead to discovering the God we encounter in the Bible.

God chose to 'move into our neighbourhood' when Jesus came to earth where he built relationships with everyone he met! This book challenges readers to use every means possible to introduce children and young people to God, emphasising again and again the vital place of relationship-building.    Buy...

Children's Ministry Guide to Storytelling (Ruth Alliston) ~~£2.99~~ £2.69
Stories influence the way we think; encourage us to identify with other people's situations and promote caring and understanding; stimulate thoughts, imagination and creativity; stir emotions; and help to answer the deep questions of the soul such as Who am I? Where is God? Why am I here? When will good triumph?

Reviewing a wide range of storytelling styles, drawing on the example of Jesus as the master storyteller, and gives a plethora of practical tips, this book will give you the confidence to tell stories that children will find memorable.

It includes chapters addressing storytelling for under 5s, for 5-9s, and for 9-13s.    Buy...

Top Tips on Sharing Bible Stories (Gill Marchant, Sue Brown and Andy Gray) ~~£2.99~~ £2.84
Jesus told stories to crowds of people. Some understood and responded, some were puzzled and some were offended. That's the effect stories can have!

Storytelling is a vital tool for anyone working with children and young people. This book explores what the Bible says about storytelling, presents some basic principles and then gives loads of ideas on how to effectively share Bible stories with imagination, enjoyment and impact    Buy...

Children's Ministry Guide to Using Dance and Drama (Ruth Alliston) ~~£2.99~~ £2.69
The expressive arts are highly appropriate ways to worship God and teach spiritual truth. Here are many examples of how to teach children of all ages to gain the maximum from creative acting and movement, including mime, improvisation and the use of ribbons and flags. Also included are overviews on the use of dance and drama in Bible times and through Church history.

Divided into two sections, addressing dance and drama separately, each section includes chapters addressing using dance / drama with under 5s, with 5-9s, and with 9-13s.    Buy...

Children's Ministry Guide to Fun & Games for Active Learning (Jenny Brown) ~~£2.99~~ £2.69
Part of the learning process includes our physical response. This is a fascinating study of the value of activities of all kinds, from action songs to sports, and from running about to action-based learning.

Chapters cover the value of physical health and activity; the place of sport in society through history; the relevant scriptures; and age-appropriate examples of how to include movement and action in sessions.

It includes chapters addressing active learning for under 5s, for 5-9s, and for 9-13s.    Buy...

Particular needs

Top Tips on Welcoming Special Children (Denise Abrahall) ~~£2.99~~ £2.84
A guide for anyone helping children with special needs to know God, a challenging but deeply rewarding ministry. Containing stories from group leaders and parents, the book examines what we mean by special needs and what the Bible says on the subject.

With practical ideas for welcoming special children into churches and children's groups this book also explores the implications of the Disability Discrimination Act for churches.    Buy...

Children's Ministry Guide to Dealing with Disruptive Children (Andy Back) ~~£2.99~~ £2.69
This guide provides biblical insights and practical advice on maintaining discipline, being self-disciplined, and knowing how to exercise corrective discipline.

It explores the 'why?' considering various causes of disruptive behaviour: medical, chemical, social, spiritual, lack of training, sin and others. It then turns to the 'how?' and offers various styles based on different value systems, with advice and experience of successful discipline techniques and policies.    Buy...

Top Tips on Handling Difficult Behaviour (Graham Finch) ~~£2.99~~ £2.84
A guide for anyone seeking to disciple children effectively, exploring the reasons for bad behaviour and examining the common mistakes made in dealing with it.

This book will help you learn how to take control, and how to enlist the group's help in making times together enjoyable for everyone.    Buy...