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This Week in Children’s Ministry for 11/18/2009

Tony Kummer — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 04:10:00 +0000

Here is our weekly roundup of interesting or newsworthy links related to children’s ministry. This is just a small sample of the 180+ weekly posts that run through the BIG List of Children’s Ministry Blogs. If you have a news tip for next weeks links, please email me directly Tony@Ministry-to-Children.com

Newsworthy Links

Nearly half of all U.S. children will use food stamps
New Research Explores the Long-Term Effect of Spiritual Activity among Children and Teens
Jelly Telly has gone back to charging for access. Phil Visher explains why on his blog. The good news is that more content is coming.
Google improves parental controls for search
Was My Sponsored Child Affected by That Crisis? – great information from the Compassion International blog
Quest for Compassion is the interactive kids site from Compassion International

Kids Ministry & Parents

Glen Woods shares 3 necessary attitudes for parent coaching
Ryan Franks says a growing percentage of parents are more committed to non church programs.
CM Buzz takes a different angle on Little League Vs. Children’s Ministry

4 Helpful Lists

Three Things I Shared When Meeting My CM Staff For The First Time by James Kennison
5 Questions to evaluate your Sunday morning programs from North Point Kids
Five Things Children’s Ministry Leaders Need by Glen Woods
Four small things that really matter in leading children’s ministry.

Even More Helpful Links

Free Thanksgiving Comic page from Dick Gruber
Don’t settle for low quality Children’s Ministry
Sojourn Kids is posting pictures of their preschool play centers and some tips for making the most of them.

John Piper’s on Giving Kids the Gospel

HT: Doug & Jared & Charlie

This Week in Children’s Ministry for 11/4/2009

Tony Kummer — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:30:11 +0000

Here is my weekly roundup of some interesting and newsworthy links about children’s ministry. Most of these come from the Children’s Ministry blogs that I follow. I’m tweaking the format to make it a little more fun. Enjoy keeping current!

It’s Official
All the cool Kidmin leaders are going to Napkin. They even have Peter Parker in the promo video. Get more info from Justyn Smith or check out their conference website.

“I got the sickness.”
That is what one very ill first grader said right before I sent him to rest in my office. You can avoid some of that hassle if you follow these tips from North Point Kids about communicating your child wellness policy.

Need Some Games?
The Blog of Dan has some great Bible games for kids.

VBS = Evangelism
According to LifeWay Research, VBS is the #1 outreach event in most Southern Baptist Churches.

9 Trends in CM Leadership
Here are the first four from Ryan Frank, editor of K! (the new children’s ministry magazine).

Orange Tweet Recap
Matt consolidates his twitter notes from Orange on one post.

Attendance Downturn?
Kenny asks if anyone took a bigger than normal hit on attendance in October?

Happy Birthday Jesus
Here’s a creative + family friendly kids ministry activity for Christmas. You might also enjoy Brittany’s post about planning an Advent Festival.

Blog Patrol
Wayne’s monthly children’s ministry roundup is massive.

Bad Behavior
Yes – I’m printing this one out.

Family Ministry Week
Everyone was posting about family ministry this week, here are a few of the best offerings.

Is Your Church Hospitable to Families with Children?
Family Ministry Book discussion from Sojourn Kids
Biblical Basis for Parental Responsibility from Glen Woods

Family Ministry Fail
Both Wayne and Todd posted about this funny video about bedtime prayers.

This Week in Children’s Ministry for 10/21/2009

Tony Kummer — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:04:55 +0000

Here is my roundup of the most interesting, helpful, and newsworthy links in kids ministry this week. Enjoy.

Baby Dedication: Jonathan Cliff wraps up his experience with the child dedication class. Also check out Jared Kennedy’s explanation of why his church does baby dedication.

Relating to Kids: Rags Studio offers some great tips for making small-talk with kids.

Calling & Vision: Same Luce asks, “Are you called to children’s ministry?” Also check out his post on having a vision for kids ministry. Speaking of vision, I saw this powerful video on Tony Morgan’s blog.

Money Talks: North Point Kids offers some great reasons why budgets matter in kids ministry. Also check out 10 ways that children’s ministry leaders can save money from Lemon Lime Kids.

Families at Church: Family style seating is a practical idea to help families worship together at church. Also check this post about making worship truly inter-generational.

Leadership: It seems like leadership was the default topic this week. Here are some helpful posts related to leading in the church.

Henry Zonio lists some unusually great books for leadership insights.
Pudge Huckaby shares some great quotes by Walt Disney.
Karl Bastian writes about his church shopping experience and even found the First Church of Atari.
Mark Steiner writes about balancing spiritual growth for kids, and has a nifty graphic too.
Pastors at growing churches give priority to children & family ministry, at least that’s the story in one evangelical denomination.
Jim Wideman wraps up his “Delegate or Die” series.

Something Fun: Enjoy these funny rules for children’s ministry from the Children’s Ministry Monthly blog.

Something Creative: Justyn Smith asked a great question after visiting a children’s museum. What if we created a place where kids could discover and learn about God at their own pace?

Want More? Then check out the Big List of Children’s Ministry Blogs

Same Luce asks, “Are you called to children’s ministry?” Also check out his post on having a vision for kids ministry.

Speaking of vision, I saw this powerful video on Tony Morgan’s blog.

This Week In Children’s Ministry for 10/7/2009

Tony Kummer — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 13:15:42 +0000

Enjoy this roundup of newsworthy events and interesting articles relevant to Children’s Ministry. There are so many great blogs about children’s ministry. This is just a sample of the very best posts from this week.

When Things Don’t Go As Planned
When working with children, you never can be exactly sure what to expect. North Point Kids shares five tips for dealing with those annoying ministry surprises (and train-wrecks).

Jelly Telly’s Bright Future
Phil Visher has worked out a big partnership deal with Focus on the Family to take his new creative studio to the next level. Kids in my Christian Academy computer class rejoiced.

A Daughter’s Poem about “God’s Call”
When I read this I kept thinking back to the two daughters that God has brought into my life. I keep praying that they will hear God’s voice too.

The Parent Sunday
Jonathan Cliff writes about another creative way his church is helping parents experience worship alongside their kids.

Shift Book Tour via Blogs
Henry Zonio lists the schedule of reviews for the new family ministry book by Brian Hyanes . It’s exciting to see this much interest in family ministry, especially because the book is published by Group.

21 Days to a “Freed Up” Children’s Ministry
The Free CM Stuff blog has posted some great free kids ministry resources on the Internet.

I lost a good friend last night
Kenny Conley writes a tribute post about his friend (and former Children’s Ministry volunteer). This is a great example of really sharing life with the people we lead.

Children’s Church: Should it be super fun or super serious?
James Kennison takes the age old question with the help of a vintage circus elephant parade. Maybe this tension is the elephant in the room.

Children’s Ministry Blog Patrol
Wayne Stocks has an over-the-top list of September kids ministry links. Plus he links to our site, which is always appreciated!

How I Was Right and Wrong About Baptizing An Autistic Boy
This one is sure to be controversial and brings out another angle on the special needs ministry. Definitely worth thinking it through.

Why I Respect & Pray For Public School Teachers

Tony Kummer — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 21:54:39 +0000

Here is a funny story that has been making the e-mail rounds. It describes the nearly impossible job that teachers face. I thought I would share it here to remind everyone to pray for teachers in our public schools.

After being interviewed by the school administration, the prospective teacher said:

Let me see if I’ve got this right.

You want me to go into that room with all those kids, correct their disruptive behavior, observe them for signs of abuse, monitor their dress habits, censor their T-shirt messages, and instill in them a love for learning.

You want me to check their backpacks for weapons, wage war on drugs and sexually transmitted diseases, and raise their sense of self esteem and personal pride..

You want me to teach them patriotism and good citizenship, sportsmanship and fair play, and how to register to vote, balance a checkbook, and apply for a job.

You want me to check their heads for lice, recognize signs of antisocial behavior, and make sure that they all pass the final exams.

You also want me to provide them with an equal education regardless of their handicaps, and communicate regularly with their parents in English, Spanish or any other language, by letter, telephone, newsletter, and report card.

You want me to do all this with a piece of chalk, a blackboard, a bulletin board, a few books, a big smile, and a starting salary that qualifies me for food stamps.

You want me to do all this and then you tell me. . . I CAN’T PRAY?

Hat Tip to A Peculiar Blog where I saw this posted.

Best of Ministry-To-Children September 2009

Tony Kummer — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 02:45:19 +0000

Here is one downside to adding all the new writers – our site is completely flooded with great new posts. It can be easy to miss something. So, let me offer a recap of some of our best posts from September 2009. Let me know if this month-in-review is helpful and I might try it again next month. The following star ratings are based on page views per post.

Self Control Lesson for Children’s Church
Trunk or Treat: A Church Halloween Alternative
Bible Trivia Questions for Kids
Day #1 of Creation Lesson Plan

Church Decline: Ministry In a Shrinking Church
Top 10 Children’s Ministry Blogs
Day #2 of Creation Lesson Plan
Jesus Final Instructions & Ascension Lesson Plan

Children’s Bible Lesson: Jesus Turns Water Into Wine
All-in-One Bible Fun: Preschool Sunday School Curriculum
Zacchaeus and Jesus Bible Lesson for Children
Creation Songs For Children’s Church

Some Other Helpful Children’s Ministry Links

Here are a few posts that I found helpful on other Kids Ministry websites this month. If you ever need something fresh, be sure to browse the BIG LIST of Children’s Ministry blogs.

God Watches the Anonymous by Glen Woods
It’s Flu Season! by Inside North Point Kids
Best of the Best – Children’s Ministry Internet Resources by Wayne Stocks
A Christian Parent’s Greatest Moment by Henry Zonio
Core Values and CM by Pudge Huckaby
The Evolution of Baby Dedication by Suzie McCord
Rest Stops on the Highway of Life by Karl Bastian

MOPS International: A Resource for Christian Moms

Kristin Charles — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:28:57 +0000

They say that a parent is a child’s primary teacher.

The hours are stacked up to support that statement. In a post entitled 1/168: Children’s Ministry Hours per Week, Terry Delaney writes that parents have 167 hours to influence their children. We, as individuals serving God in Children’s Ministry, have 1. One short hour.

In one of his recent posts, Ministry to Children contributor Charlie Wallace stated his philosophy as a children’s pastor. In his words, it is, “To partner with parents in ensuring that they are doing their God-ordained job of discipling their children in the home.”

I really love the 1/167 statistic, as well as the quote about parent partnership. As servants in Children’s Ministry, one of our primary responsibilities should be to assist parents in their God-given role.

This partnership will look different for every parent in our midst, but it may include: providing parents with helpful books or DVDS, encouraging them through prayer and intentional relationship building, and/or directing them towards counseling services, financial planning assistance, or child development resources.

For me, one of the most helpful resources as a new parent has been MOPS International. MOPS stands for Mothers of Preschoolers and is an organization that serves to meet the needs of moms from every walk of life. Through community, MOPS groups all around the world exist to, “Encourage, equip, and develop every mother of preschoolers to realize her potential as a woman, mother, and leader in the name of Jesus Christ.”

I cannot tell you how much my MOPS group has meant to me. The women there have supported our family through every season of our lives: the joys of a newborn baby, the challenges of a toddler’s need for independence, the heartache of losing a child, the pride of an achievement reached or a goal attained.

I have learned much about taking care of a home, disciplining our children, loving my husband, and taking time for me. I have developed close friendships with those who are devoted Christ followers and those who are still seeking to find that Savior we call Jesus. I have grown immeasurably in my faith with God. I am a better person because of MOPS International and I am a better mom.

The 167 hours in my week are better utilized now, in part thanks to MOPS. Since I am my children’s primary teacher, I want to be the best teacher that I know how to be. I want to make disciples of all nations, but I want to begin with those who call me Mom.

MOPS International is just one of many parenting resources that you can direct a young mom towards. Many groups are just beginning now, so there is still plenty of time to get moms plugged in. If your church does not currently have a group, find a good local church that does. Encourage the mom to go there. You may even want to consider starting your own group for the following year. It would take an incredible amount of planning, organization, and effort, but the dividends would be well worth the investment made.

What other resources have you found particularly helpful for young parents?

Seeds Family Worship Events

Tony Kummer — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 16:26:26 +0000

Here are two more videos about Seeds Family Worship and their live worship events. I’ve posted some of their YouTube videos here on the blog before. (1 Timothy 4:12 Song | Philippians 4:6-7 Song | Psalm 55:22 Song)

I love their music and their vision for families worshiping together. These videos focus on the live music events at churches. I would imagine having them would be a great family ministry event or even the first step toward building a vision for family ministry at your church. If you have attended one of these concerts, please leave a comment below and share you experience.

Seeds Family Worship Video #1

Seeds Family Worship Video #2

The Watchmaker: Intelligent Design Video For Kids

Jeri Tanner — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 10:25:17 +0000

Have you seen the video called “The Watchmaker,” produced by Kids4Truth? It is a nicely told parable illustrating the folly of believing that the human race sprang into being by random chance. Just as the intricate parts of a watch could not possibly come together by accident to create a sophisticated timepiece, so the even more intricate and detailed workings of the human body and mind could never have come about by chance. Rather, man is the unique creation of the ultimate Creator, God, who like the watchmaker on earth, has carefully and purposefully designed His amazing creation.

Here’s the link to the Watchmaker video.

The Watchmaker is presented in simple but effective dynamation. It can be viewed online at the Kids4Truth website, and can also be purchased there and downloaded to your computer. This makes a great presentation at the beginning or end of a children’s class, or to help reinforce teaching about creation. Kids4Truth offers several other dynamation videos dealing with various topics. They also offer an interesting curriculum idea and philosophy, which I hope to write more about soon.

Children’s Ministry Resource: TruthQuest Curriculum

Terry Delaney — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 10:38:06 +0000

TruthQuest Ministries is a one-stop shop for children’s ministry lessons and lesson plans. They have curriculum for Sunday School, Children’s Church, and Vacation Bible School. Every lesson can be adapted to your needs. You can make a lesson 15 minutes to 2 hours if need be.

Check out their new Fire Fighters VBS theme for 2010.

Their Truthopolis series consists of apologetics issues like absolute truth and science issues like dinosaurs and evolution. They also have curriculums dealing with Easter, Christmas, and Thanksgiving and one dedicated to studying Pilgrim’s Progress. Each module is five weeks long if done weekly or five days long if adapted for a Back Yard Bible Club.

Each lesson contains a shorter Book Smarts lesson, a longer Street Smarts lesson, a memory game idea, a take home sheet and a family study sheet. You can spend a bit more and get the drama module which can be a live skit or a puppet skit or both. The lessons are further broke down into age appropriate lessons ranging from preschool to pre-teen. You can also use one of six translations (ESV, NKJV, KJV, HCSB, NIV, NLT).

What is more, is they also offer resources to equip both the minister and the parents teach children the things of God. They even have a Kid’s Zone page that is full of fun activities for kids. You can check out their doctrinal statement while searching this wonderful children’s ministry resource website.

Finally, you can try 3 of their Vacation Bible School kits for free!

Free Spanish Language Sunday School Lessons – Libre de Escuela Dominical Lecciones En Español

Tony Kummer — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 02:35:11 +0000

Wycliffe Bible Translators is now offering some of their free Kids Sunday school lessons in a Spanish Language edition. These might be a great resource for churches in the US who are doing children’s ministry outreach in Spanish. Other churches might use these for a mission trip to a Spanish speaking country. I have always been impressed with Wycliffe’s ministry and the great lesson plans they have on their website for kids.

Here are the links to the English pages, look for the “en español” to download the PDF of the free Spanish Sunday School curriculum. Español Biblia Lecciones Para niños

Sunday School Rosters = Ministry To Do List

Tony Kummer — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 10:17:06 +0000

Sunday School Revolutionary is a blog hosted by the Kentucky Baptist Convention on the topic {you guessed it} Sunday School.

I just read the latest post and wanted to share it here. It’a full of practical help for turning your Sunday school attendance list into a ministry list. Here’s a great quote:

Revolutionary Sunday School cares for people in class and in the community. Revolutionary Sunday School desires to add more people to the enrollment and care for more people in order to love them to Jesus. What steps can you take in the next month to move your classes toward “ministry list” enrollment? What is the first or most important step? Lead boldly to care for people for whom Jesus died. Be revolutionary!

Here’s the link - Sunday School Enrollment: Attendance List or Ministry List?

The New Kidology: A Great Children’s Ministry Resource Gets Even Better

Tony Kummer — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 04:07:57 +0000

One of my favorite Children’s Ministry websites just got a makeover. The upgraded Kidology website is now live – and Pastor Karl and company have made a great resource even better. If you are new to Kidology, it’s a membership based website that is offers practical training, creative teaching resources, and an outstanding forum. The whole thing was started by Karl Bastian, who has become the go-to guy for best practices in Children’s Ministry. His creative and entertaining personality comes out in every aspect of the site.

How I Discovered Kidology

Back in 2005 during my first weeks as a Children’s pastor, I found Kidology bookmarked all over the church’s kids ministry computer. I had been to Bible College and Seminary, but was clueless about the nuts and bolts of the ministry. The help I found kept me going, and saved me from so many mistakes. Karl (and others) took a personal interest in me, and have been a real blessing in my life.

Become A Kidologist

Now is a great time for you to discover Kidology. They have introduced some even more affordable membership plans (it was an aweseom value before and now it’s even better).

Free Mp3 Audio Bible Stories For Kids

Jeri Tanner — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 13:22:35 +0000

Most kids love hearing a good story. That’s why I’m excited to recommend this free Bible stories resource. These mp3 recordings come from grandmother and Bible teacher Joelee Chamberlain. Her overviews and stories of books of the Bible, originally recorded for her grandchildren, are available free of charge in mp3 format at CCW Online. These are useful for providing children a good foundation in grasping the “big picture” of the Old Testament.

Download These Children’s Bible Stories

The first twelve of these mp3’s provide a chronological overview of the Bible from the Old Testament and Acts, told in Ms. Chamberlain’s warm and grandmotherly style. Seven additional recordings about Bible characters like Elijah and Daniel serve to fill in gaps in the story line.

These overviews and stories, which tend to run around 25-30 minutes each, are geared towards kids from 5-10 years old. Be forewarned, these mp3’s are not slickly produced; they are what they are, a grandmother’s recordings of Bible stories for her family, but Ms. Chamberlain’s knowledge of and love for the Bible, and her gift for telling its story, more than make up for the lack of production.

You can listen to and download the mp3’s here. (Hint: to download, you may need to right-click on the audio file you are interested in, choose “save link as,”and then save the mp3 to your music or iTunes folder.) You can burn these to cd’s (or upload them to an mp3 player) for listening to on those long car rides. They would also be great to use as incentives and teaching tools in your children’s program.

Heard About the National Bible Bee? (Bible Memory Contest)

Jeri Tanner — Fri, 29 May 2009 10:41:01 +0000

The 1st annual National Bible Bee will be held 5-6 November 2009 at the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Washington, D.C. Prior to that, on 12 September 2009, local Bees will take place all across the United States. The Bible Bee is “very similar to a spelling bee, except contestants are required to recite Bible passages and facts rather than spell words”. Amazingly, First Prize in the National Bee is $100,000.00! This is a first-class contest with a noble motive.

I encourage you to visit the Bible Bee website… it’s very nicely done and quite informative. Some of the info you’ll find there includes an interesting Bible Bee overview, a calendar of events, an interactive map showing local contest sites, the Bible Bee e-store, and even a video message from Kirk Cameron. Registration to participate in this year’s Bible Bee events closed April 30th, but it would still be fun to follow the events and perhaps even attend a local Bee in your area. And there will always be next year!

Bible Bee is the brainchild of the Shelby Kennedy Foundation, an organization inspired by the life of Shelby Kennedy, who died from cancer in 2005 at the age of 23.

Do You Know Kids Doing The Bible Bee?

Leave a comment to share what they are doing to get ready. What are their Bible memory strategies? Is your church supporting the effort?

You can also read the Baptist Press story about the Bible Bee.