Well-Equipped Volunteer: Train & Grow Your Children's Ministry Volunteers

1. Good & Gracious (To Be Like Jesus cd)

This is an upbeat song that focuses on the fact that God is good and gracious. God is good all the time and God is gracious to us. Children may need an explanation of what gracious means. As with many SovereignGraceKids songs, the gospel is highlighted in this song. Because God is good and gracious, He sent Jesus to die for our sins. “Good and gracious; You’re our Creator. Good and gracious to all You’ve made. Good and gracious; You never change. There’s goodness in everything You do.”

2. Make Me Wise (Walking with the Wise cd)

This is a fun song to sing with kids about the need for wisdom when making choices every day. This is something kids understand. They make choices everyday – good and bad. Teaching them that God will help them to make good choices; that God will give them wisdom if they ask for it is important. “Make me wise. Make me wise. Let me see through this world’s lies. There are so many paths to follow and I don’t want to compromise. Make me wise. Make me wise so I’m pleasing in Your sight. Lord, I want to bring You glory, so I’m asking You to make me wise.”

3. I Don’t Have to Hide (Walking with the Wise cd)

This is a good transitional song – to help you move from high energy songs to slower more worshipful songs. ‘I Don’t Have to Hide’ is a song that highlights the mercy of God. We are all sinners. We have all tried to hide the wrong we have done or hide from the consequences of our sin. The wonderful news proclaimed in this song is that because Jesus died, we don’t have to hide anymore. “If I confess my sins, I’ll find mercy. Blessed is the one who fears the Lord and admits his sin. Blessed is the one who trusts the Lord, who alone forgives. Jesus died so I don’t have to hide anymore.” There is little that needs explanation in this song. Make sure you talk with your kids about what blessed means and about what mercy means. This song is based on Proverbs 28:13 “He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.”

4. You Are Always With Me (Awesome God cd)

This song is sung as a prayer and is based on Psalm 139. “You are always with me, Jesus. Where could I go? Where could I hide? You are always with me, Jesus. Where could I go? You never leave my side.” This is a song of hope for kids to remember that as followers of Jesus, they are never alone. Jesus is always with us. This is an upbeat song, but not high energy. It’s a good transition song.

5. A Generous Heart (Walking with the Wise cd)

‘A Generous Heart’ is a transitional song that focuses on our God being the giver of all good things. God is a generous God and loves those who are generous. “God loves a generous heart. Cause that’s a heart like His own heart.” This song reminds us of just a few of the things God has generously given us – reminding us that God gave us Jesus who went to the cross to take the penalty for our sin.

6. Make Me Faithful (To Be Like Jesus cd)

This is a high energy song that I have sung often with kids. It is a lot of fun to sing and full of important truth. The focus of this song is Jesus. Jesus is faithful – He does what He says He will do; He keeps His promises; He follows through. When the Holy Spirit is at work in our lives, we become faithful like Jesus. “I want to be like You are. I want to be faithful. Help me to be like You are. Oh make me faithful.”

7. Who Can Say? (Walking with the Wise cd)

Proverbs 20:9 says, “Who can say, “I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin”?” I love that this song makes the connection to Jesus. Jesus is the only one who is without sin – Jesus lived a sinless life and died on the cross so that we can have new life. It is a song of praise for who Jesus is and what He has done. This is a slow song – “Jesus, Jesus, only You did everything right. Jesus, Jesus, died and rose so we could have new life.”

8. Where it All Begins (Walking with the Wise cd)

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” (Psalm 111:10) The fear of the Lord is an important concept for kids to understand. Kids need to know that God is worthy of our deep respect. I like this song because it doesn’t back away from a potentially difficult subject – instead it sticks to scripture and explains what it means to fear the Lord. It is my prayer that our kids will stand in awe of our great God!

9. Forever God (Awesome God cd)

This is a fun song – there is some repetition, but it serves to highlight the focus of this song – “Forever You remain unchanged. And though all else will fade, You will be the same. You go on and on and on and on and on. On and on and on and on. Forever You are God.” This is an upbeat song that focuses our attention on the eternal, unchanging nature of God. Our God is a forever God!

10. Sovereign One (Awesome God cd)

“When I am alone and afraid I will trust in You for You watch over my ways.” This song immediately grabs attention because feeling alone and afraid is something that every child can relate to. Giving our kids the truth of a big God who is in complete control and who is always with them is so important. I love this song! Using music to teach big truths about God is a great idea. As kids learn this song, they will also be learning what it means that God is sovereign. This is a slow song and because it is sung as a prayer, kids have the opportunity to truly worship as they focus on God. “Sovereign One, You work all things to Your plan. Sovereign One, You hold all things in Your hand.”

I had to stop myself at 20 – SovereignGraceKids have produced excellent cd’s that can be listened to at home and music that can be sung together at a worship service. Finding good music for kids that they can relate to, that is God-centered and gospel-focused is not always easy. I highly recommend SovereignGraceKids – you will find music that kids like, and songs that truly engage our hearts in worship of our great God!