Janice Haywood leads Virginia Baptist children's ministers in a certification seminar.
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RICHMOND, Va. — Eleven children’s ministers from across the state gathered in Richmond Oct. 8-10 to complete one of five courses required for certification in children’s ministry. According to Diane Smith, children’s ministry strategist with the Virginia Baptist Mission Board, certification is offered to “help cast a vision for children’s ministry in the local church.”
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Janice Haywood, adjunct professor at Campbell University Divinity School in Buies Creek, N.C., is leading the course entitled “Connecting Children, Families and the Church.” She recently retired as director of children’s ministry for the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina.
“This is actually the second part of the course,” Smith explained. “They came to the [Virginia Baptist] Resource Center Thursday evening at 6:30 and they will be here in classes through noon on Saturday.” Four other two-part courses and an 80-hour practicum are required for certification.
“Five or six of the 11 are working on their practicums which are projects designed for their particular churches,” says Smith. She cites “developing security processes” and “producing policies and procedures for doing background checks for children’s workers” as examples of practicums.
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Two of the 11 are applying two-credit-hours earned during certification toward a master’s degree in church leadership offered by the John Leland Center for Theological Studies in Falls Church, Va. A few others have been awarded non-traditional scholarships by the emerging leaders team of the VBMB.
“Those attending the certification seminar represent a true cross section of Virginia Baptist life,” observes Smith. “They are from every size church from all geographical areas. Some are full-time; others are part-time and some are volunteers.”
Other courses are called “Exploring the Biblical and Theological Foundation for Children’s Ministry”; “Teaching Preschoolers”; “Teaching Children”; and “Minister of Childhood Education.”
Certification is awarded by the VBMB.
Jim White is editor of the Religious Herald.