RICHMOND — For nearly a decade the Virginia Baptist Mission Board’s children’s ministry certification has impacting churches across Virginia.
Begun in 2005, the certification courses are designed to help prepare those “interested in a lifetime commitment to ministering to children and their families.” The program is ideal for those who currently lead or are planning to lead children’s ministry in local congregations, as well as those graduating from seminary or considering a seminary degree and who wish to specialize in children’s ministry.
In 1999, Janice Haywood, children’s ministry specialist and adjunct professor at Campbell University Divinity School, began teaching children’s ministry courses in North Carolina. After much success with the program, she was approached by Diane Smith, former Mission Board children’s ministry strategist, to begin similar courses in Virginia. The program began in the spring of 2005 with 11 students and has since impacted the lives of numerous students, churches, and children throughout the state.
Janice Haywood leads a children's ministry certification class.
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“My greatest joy is hearing the stories of how the students/ministers are implementing the knowledge they gain to guide their church in the spiritual formation of their children,” said Haywood. “Often they enter the certification without knowing what they don’t know, and they leave the program with a vision of what their children’s ministry could be.”
To receive a certification in children’s ministry, five courses must be completed successfully and consecutively. Courses include Teaching Children, Minister of Childhood Education, Connecting Children, Families and the Church, Exploring the Biblical/Theological Foundations for Children’s Ministry, and Teaching Preschoolers. One course is offered each semester and is broken down into two weekend sessions. Classes begin on a Thursday evening at 6:30 and wrap up on Saturday at noon.
“The children’s ministry certification courses provided me with valuable skills and tools to take back and put into action in my own church,” said Paula Dustin, preschool director and volunteer children’s ministry coordinator at Round Oak Baptist Church in Corbin, Va. “As a volunteer children's ministry coordinator, I was blessed to have the opportunity to learn about the wealth of resources available, lesson ideas, volunteer management, use of space and so much more.”
Upon completion of the courses, students must begin working on a practicum. A practicum is a “major ministry project” that can be completed after the fourth or fifth certification course has been taken.
Former student Denise Salvi, who currently is working on her practicum, said, “I loved coming home from each weekend course of study with materials in my hand and new knowledge that I could immediately implement into my programs with the children and parents. It’s that knowledge that is helping me coordinate the renovation of our children’s building for my practicum.”
Salvi is director of children and family life at Vinton (Va.) Baptist Church.
According to the Mission Board’s web site, “A practicum allows participants to plan, direct, and evaluate a special program or project directly related to an area of study in the curriculum.” It is a “self-directed learning project under the supervision of a professor.”
Once the practicum is completed, graded, and found satisfactory, the student is presented with his or her certification, awarded by the Mission Board, during a Sunday morning service at the student’s church. Two hours of credit may also be applied toward a degree at the John Leland Center for Theological Studies.
“Taking the children's certification courses have opened my eyes of how a true children’s ministry should operate,” said former student Marcus Vaughan. “Janice Haywood is an outstanding director giving the courses a core curriculum to follow and it works.”
The Mission Board is currently accepting applications for the fall course, Teaching Children. Session one has been scheduled for Oct. 3-5 and session two is set for Nov. 7-9. For more information or to apply, visit www.vbmb.org.
Stacie Yaunsem is preschool director/volunteer children’s ministry coordinator at Calvary Baptist Church in Floyd, Va.