Happy birthday to you… here at Sparkhouse, we are celebrating our blog’s big first birthday. While it feels as though only 20 minutes has passed (how does that happen?), there has been much work that has gone into this wonderful (yes, we know we’re biased) blog that we have. Featuring dozens of authors and covering hundreds of topics, we’re so thankful you’ve stuck around for the journey! We’ve been honored to have great responses to many of our blogs, so we wanted to take some time to highlight some of your favorites.
Let’s go down memory lane… and celebrate by sharing the 10 blogs YOU loved most over the past year!
#10 – 5 things you didn’t know about teaching faith to others
One of our fan-favorites, Rebecca Ninke, wrote this blog to help alleviate the overwhelming nature that can be “teaching about faith”. Ninke spends time busting the myths that you must know everything and be absolutely perfect in order to lead Sunday school. Get an extra ounce of encouragement today and check that one out here.
#9 – A reason for hope
Most of us don’t want to talk about the church attendance declines in America but being silent about it isn’t an option. Vice President and Publisher of Sparkhouse Carla Barnhill took time to write why we can actually choose hope during this time. How can we be people of hope? What does it look like as the church? Read on here.
#8 – Seeing youth faith as a process
Wow this a tough one! No wonder it was popular. Sometimes it can feel like our youth won’t ever be interested in their faith and we’ll be failures as parents or youth leaders. We’re here to tell you, that is NOT true. Bryan Bliss, a veteran youth worker, wrote this piece to remind us that faith is truly a process. Read on here.
#7 – Youth Ministry Podcast: 5 favorite summer episodes
Oh, summer. We miss you. If you live in a warm place, the Sparkhouse team might be a just a little envious of you, as it feels like we’ll never see 70-degree days ever again.
Anyhow, this blog features some our favorite Youth Ministry Podcast episodes. Check them out here!
#6 – How to handle small group cliques
This blog sparked some awesome discussion amongst people in ministry. Apparently, it’s quite a hot topic. In this blog, we cover the question, “when is it okay for a group to be closed? And when is it not okay?” Join the discussion and take a look here.
#5 – The refugee crisis: How your church can help
The ongoing refugee crisis beckons the church to respond. But how? Naomi Krueger, volunteer for a local refugee resettlement agency and acquisitions editor at Beaming Books, wrote this blog to give practical insights to help churches and people know where to start. Read more here.
#4 – Ideas to help you celebrate Eastertide
Well, isn’t this timely? Carla Barnhill writes about the woes of winter, the beauties of Easter season, and some fantastic ideas on how you can help your kiddos celebrate Eastertide. Get your ideas ruminating for this upcoming Easter. Read on here.
#3 – Spend the summer with Flat Jesus!
It’s no surprise this is one of our most popular posts. The Sparkhouse community really ran with this initiative! We were inspired to do Flat Jesus from a national school project called “Flat Stanley”, based off a book written by Jeff Brown.
Flat Jesus helped churches and their families stay plugged in with one another and the biblical message that Jesus never leaves them. Want to try it this with your church this year? Check out more information here.
#2 – The Frolic Summer Book Club
Another blog about free summer activities for your church! Who wouldn’t want to get in on that? The Frolic Summer Book Club consisted of fun activities that correlated with the adorable Frolic books. Many people participated in this program that helped little ones learn important faith and child development concepts!
Want to try out the Frolic Summer Book Club for your ministry this summer? Check it out here.
#1 – Oh no! What happened to all our Sunday school students?
Our most popular blog post to date might not seem the happiest topic, but it is sure inspiring to us. This blog sparked so many discussions between ministry leaders all over the place. It was and is so encouraging to see people come together to share ideas and pain points surrounding Sunday school attendance. Check out this blog today.
What has been your favorite blog? Write us a comment below! Thanks for being part of the Sparkhouse community!
