Category: children’s ministry cartoons

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children's ministry cartoons

Cartoon: Old Curriculum

Change can be hard in churches and in children’s ministry. I remember one church that had some old curriculum dating back ten years or more. One of the teachers was comfortable with it and had no desire to update or refresh the lessons.

This led to the following cartoon idea:

Cartoon of two women with scrolls

Truths are timeless. But cultural references can get stale quickly. If you have a curriculum that references pet rocks, mimeographs, or George Beverly Shea, your lessons probably need to be updated.

That isn’t to say new is always better. Many churches are on tight budgets. Plus, lessons of the past can have a solid track record that the new curriculum can’t compete with. If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it, right?

Publishers and Old Curriculum

That said, I sympathize with publishing houses. After all, It is very difficult to keep a business going when past lessons work just fine. Is it the teacher’s problem that a publishing house needs to keep the lights on? No, but we lose something special when we lose a publisher due to economics.

I’ve been on the side of the teacher’s desk and the publisher’s. I’ve come to realize we need each other. Without innovation coming from publishers, we begin to lose our effectiveness to reach new generations. And without affordable options, teachers have to find ways to cut costs without losing their ability to reach kids.

In other words, Kids haven’t changed over the years, but culture sure has! What may have grabbed a child’s attention in the 1970s won’t do so now. Technology has grown and our attention spans have shrunk. We need to keep teaching timeless truths but do so in a dialect that speaks to today’s culture.

I drew this cartoon for Kidzmatter Magazine.

Editor’s Note: I originally published this blog on October 6, 2015. I revamped and updated it for timeliness and comprehensiveness.

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children's ministry cartoons K! Magazine love Magazine

Loving your Neighbors the right way

Alas, if you get slapped with a restraining order, you probably aren’t loving your neighbors the right way! What does it look like to help those around us when society has become very suspicious of anyone offering help?

Cartoon of a boy and a teacher. The boy says, "Every time I try to love my neighbor, I get hit with a restraining order!"
Continue reading “Loving your Neighbors the right way”
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children cartoons children's ministry cartoons Parenting Cartoons

Jacob and Esau

The other day, I was in a Sunday school class when two boys began wrestling. One of the boys was in the school wrestling program and wanted to show the moves he learned on the other. I watched closely since it would be bad for a fight to break out in Sunday school. As I made sure it didn’t get out of hand, it reminded me of the Bible story of Jacob and Esau. Voilà! I had my cartoon idea for January!

Cartoon of two adults watching two boys fighting. The dad says, "It's okay. They're just a little rambunctious. Hey, Jacob! Esau! Come meet your new Sunday school Teacher!
Published in the January 2022 CHOGnews

The Jacob and Esau Bible story usually perks the ears of young boys. Since I am the firstborn son in my family, it certainly got my attention. Of course, I had not heard anything until the story of Moses and Passover made me cringe. Hey! Why were things so hard on the firstborn kids? I thought we got all the goods, not a death sentence!

As a child, part of the story made sense because Esau was prone to make rash, unwise decisions. Still, that Jacob was a deceiver. His name in Hebrew suggests that. Later, it made me uncomfortable to learn Esau’s name meant “hairy.” The poor kids didn’t have a chance. How would you like to be introduced as Hairy and Deceiver?

Their father’s name was Isaac. That means “Laughter.” It makes me wonder if he was laughing while his two sons were squabbling. In fact, for this cartoon, I shall hereby name the dad in this cartoon Isaac. It seems appropriate enough.

One of the many lessons of this story is to be careful what you name your kids. It can be a self-fulfilling prophecy!

I drew this cartoon for the November 2022 CHOGNews.

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children's ministry cartoons church cartoons education

David, Goliath, and Flying Objects

Cartoon of two boys with flying toys overhead. One says, "When the preschoolers learn about David and Goliath, look out for flying objects!"

When a lesson makes an impact, we tend to act it out. Whether we realize it or not, kids continually act out something they’ve learned through watching television, peers, or their families.

When a young child finishes watching a TV show, take some time to observe how it affects their play. Does it affect their imagination? Does it affect their actions and speech? Most times it does!

I remember getting into my dad’s pickup truck with my brother. We loved watching Star Trek. Somehow, we were able to convert that old jalopy into the bridge of the US Enterprise. Dad wasn’t too happy when he would get into his truck and discover that our play resulted in the pickup’s engine flooding. How else are you going to go Warp Factor Three without using the gas pedal?

As adults, we like to think we’re beyond that. But after you watch a news story about angry people, do you feel yourself getting a little angry? Does your work culture affect how you act at home? How about an effective sermon that inspires you to make a change or make worship a bigger priority?

We’re all affected by what we learn. Let’s be sure we’re learning the right lessons and not end up throwing things around the house!

It was good revisiting this cartoon. I drew it before but polished it up for this month.

Cartoon of two boys with flying toys overhead. One says, "When the preschoolers learn about David and Goliath, look out for flying objects!"

I drew this cartoon for the November 2022 CHOGNews.

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children's ministry cartoons K! Magazine Kidzmatter Magazine Magazine

The Things We Do For Kids

Injured man on a hover board says, "A hoverboard and a fractured ulna are a small price to pay for connecting with kids."
Published in "K! Kidzmatter Magazine"

Yes, I’ve been on a hoverboard before. But for some reason, I escaped unscathed. Still, it was enough of a harrowing experience to create a cartoon about it.

Parents and teachers do a lot of things to relate to kids. The other day, my sister sent a video of her dancing with her daughter. She was doing what she needed to do to keep her kindergartner entertained. There has been a lot of that activity going on while we have been cooped up in our houses and apartments for the last two weeks with a COVID-19 quarantine.

I’m willing to bet it will be worth it when you share the memories in a few years. It may seem things are dire at the moment, but kids will probably remember this time as a fun break that allowed them to connect with their parents in a way they never would have been able to do otherwise.

So embrace today and find another new way to connect with your son or daughter. Just be careful of those hoverboards. You don’t need a broken ulna right now!

Injured man on a hover board says, "A hoverboard and a fractured ulna are a small price to pay for connecting with kids."
Published in “K! Kidzmatter Magazine”