I've opened up the archive — here's why
A short note about a change I’ve made to this Substack.
Hey friends,
When I first launched The Child In God’s Church Substack, I chose to turn on the setting that puts older posts behind a paywall. The logic, at the time, seemed reasonable enough: if people want access to the back catalogue, a paid subscription is the way to get it.
However, I’ve changed my mind on that.
The full archive of everything I’ve written is now free to read and share.
The reason for the rethink is that this previous decision wasn’t serving anyone well. The writing exists to help people think more carefully about children, theology, formation, and the church. Keeping older posts locked wasn’t helping people find the articles I believe are beneficial to your ministry and the children you lead.
If you’ve been a subscriber for a while, there may be pieces in the archive you haven’t read yet. Well, now you can.
If you want to dig in, here are three of the most-read articles from the archives.
On Rosters and Missing Church: How many weeks a year can I ask a church member to miss church to serve in the children’s ministry?
Cultivating an Intergenerational Heart: Might the presence of children and babies be an advantage to the gathering, rather than a deficit?
Lessons From Lego Masters: Building a Children’s Ministry Teaching Time with technical ability, storytelling and aesthetics.
For those of you who have been paying subscribers — thank you. Your support has made a real difference, and I hope you feel good about what it’s enabled.
If you’re a free subscriber and you find the writing worthwhile, I’d love for you to consider upgrading. Paid subscriptions are a vote of confidence in this project. Children’s ministry research and writing is a pretty niche space, and every paid subscriber makes it more sustainable.
In the end, my biggest hope is that these articles genuinely serve your ministry.
If you have any comments, feedback, or suggestions for future topics, please leave a comment through the link below.
In Christ,
Tim
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