ADVOCATE
Meeting God in Garbage
By: Allison Wehrung One afternoon a few years ago, I was walking down the stairs in my seminary’s main office building, carrying an arm-full of magazines and newspapers. A fellow student saw me and asked, “Oh! Are you working on a new art project?” Honestly, I was...
The Transformative Power of Youth Mission Trips
By: Jann Treadwell All of us want to make a difference in the lives of others. This can occur as we follow Christ’s mandate to serve those in need. That said, youth leaders hope service projects also will make a difference in the faith and lives of our own youth, not...
Modeling and Practicing God’s Love with Children through Mission
By: Miatta Wilson Miss Abney sits hunched over in her wheelchair falling asleep as the fifth grade boys approach her in the circle and begin tossing a balloon and speaking to her. Soon she looks up bright eyed and bats it back with gusto, as the aide explains that...
What is the “Mission” of our Youth Mission Trips?
By: Bill Buchanan After 9 years, we at Youth Mission Co have come to a conclusion. We no longer lead youth mission trips. There have been many critiques about short term mission trips with teenagers. There are stories of young people who travel far away, excited to...
Mission and Christian Education: True Partners
By: Joyce MacKichan Walker Over my forty years of serving churches as a volunteer, Ruling Elder, Certified Christian Educator, and now as a Teaching Elder, I have always known and claimed the importance of educational ministry and mission working hand-in-hand....
Greetings from your Advocate Team!
By: Doodle Harris We are an enthusiastic team of educators, pastors, writers and APCE members from around the US (plus one member abroad!) whose volunteer ministry is to gather and share innovative ideas in educational ministry with members of APCE and the wider...
New Discoveries about Young Children’s Faith Formation
By: Karen-Marie Yust For decades, we have operated with certain developmental beliefs about preschool faith formation. Now, with the advantages of new research methods, it is time to reexamine our assumptions. Yale University’s Paul Bloom and Harvard University’s Paul...
Inside Out: Life in the Teenage Brain
By: Rodger Nishioka In the Disney Pixar film Inside Out released last year, adolescent Riley is sad, angry, and lonely after her family moves from Minnesota to San Francisco. She embarks on a plan to run away and buys a cross country ticket and boards a bus to go...
Why We Should Pay Attention to Brain Research
By: Holly Inglis Why should the church pay attention to brain research? With everything else happening in and around us, why should we attempt to understand and apply scientific research about the brain? What difference would it, could it make? Consider these...
Do Not Let Us Miss It: A New Year’s Prayer for Christian Educators and Pastors
By: Anna George Traynham God of new life, We give you thanks for this day: the first in a new year of life and faith. If we have learned from the lesson of years past, We can guess what this year might hold. There will be joy, and there will be heartbreak....