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children's ministry cartoons

Down to Our Level Cartoon

Last Sunday, I had several kids who wanted me to play games with them. They like it when an adult takes an interest in them. Several years ago, such an incident inspired this “down to our level cartoon.”

Down to our level cartoon. A girl says about a teacher, "He was sitting down to get to our level, when his back filed a formal complaint."

I’ve learned that when I’m consistently in a classroom, and I take an interest in what the kids are doing, they naturally want me to participate in their activities. To me, it’s common sense. But how often do we do just that? How often do we set aside our agenda for a moment and focus on the other person?

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children's ministry cartoons

Spiritual Discipline for Kids Cartoon

I have worked with kids at church for some time. My goal has been to pass along some of the joys and insights I have learned along the way. That can be challenging when children are excited and very active. So this led to this spiritual discipline for kids cartoon.

Spiritual discipline for kids cartoon. A teacher says, "It can be challenging to teach spiritual discipline to a child who once stuck gum drops up his nose."

Morning and Evening Kids

There is a big difference between a Sunday morning and an evening group of kids. On Sunday morning, most children are subdued. They may be just waking up. Perhaps the cereal hasn’t kicked in or they were doing activities the night before.

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children's ministry children's ministry cartoons K! Magazine Kidzmatter Magazine Magazine motivation work

When You Just Can’t Work Remotely

As the novel coronavirus concerns ramped up, there was a big emphasis on working from home. But we soon heard, “What happens when you just can’t work remotely?”

For many office jobs, we found it was a possibility. As a graphic designer, that can be a preferred mode of working. After all, you just need a laptop and a speedy Internet connection, and you are in business. However, after two years, we’ve found there are aspects of remote work that just don’t work.

Also, there are many jobs where that just isn’t possible. Manufacturing requires workers to be at the machines and be productive. As a Graphics Manager at such a facility, I soon found I was needed at the plant. While we had some office workers off-site as a precaution, we still needed office workers there to keep the jobs moving.

While some schoolwork can be done remotely, someone has to be there to guide a child and keep him out of trouble. Someone has to be home to feed her. Sure, The parent can do that… while they are working remotely… and having their web conference with that important client… and keeping the dog quiet. What could go wrong?

We soon found out! Remote learning has been very hard for students. I feel for them. While remote employment has worked, remote learning has been very hard for kids.

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children's ministry cartoons

Cartoon: Volunteer Donuts

I have heard some lamenting over the past year when it comes to workers in the church. This cartoon I drew about volunteers and donuts in 2013 reminds me that volunteering has changed dramatically since the pandemic.

Cartoon of a man tossing a donut to a teenager. The man says, "The youth have been great volunteers. Plus, they word for donuts!"

While some teenagers may still be as enthusiastic as the guy in the cartoon, it has been a challenge to recruit volunteers. This article from Christianity Today illustrates the challenges many churches are facing.

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children's ministry cartoons webcomic

10 Myths About a Church Nursery

Nurseries are magical places. grandmotherly types get to rock babies and workers get to dole out Cheerios® and Goldfish® Crackers by the truckload. Yet, new volunteers still get intimidated by the church nursery. Fear not! For Behold! I give you 10 myths about a church nursery.

Cartoon of two babies. One says, "It's not so bad here, kid. The snacks are great, they have decent background music and the rattles are to die for."
I drew this in the early days of my cartooning career.

I first wrote this humorous list in a time before COVID. Since the pandemic, volunteering in nurseries has dropped off dramatically in churches across the United States. Yes, churches are still waiting for volunteers to come back.