Aretha Franklin sang about it: RESPECT but it’s not always easy to gain the respect of the people you work with. But that doesn’t stop us from wanting or needing their respect and support. Otherwise, its easy to feel as if you’re like a handy old shoe that people grab when they want to smash a bug–or constantly call upon to fill in for an absent teacher. Nobody wants to feel like a doormat. So how do
Vacation Bible School is an institution in many churches — but what if it’s not an option for your congregation? This post offers some alternative ideas for reaching kids instead of a a traditional VBS program. Three VBS Alternatives What to do instead of Vacation Bible School? Vacation Bible School is a tradition in many churches but it’s not always feasible to present such a program to the community. If you are limited by volunteer staff, finances
Vacation Bible School is the perfect way to immerse visitors into your unique church culture and VBS provides a wide opportunity for volunteers to work in children’s ministry. If you’re not excited yet, just take a look at all the awesome 2020 VBS themes that are coming out for next summer. It’s time to shine for Jesus! Who’s ready to party? 3 Reasons Why Vacation Bible School is Important #1 Hello, Jesus Vacation Bible School is important
Unless you’ve grown up attending Vacation Bible School regularly, you may not understand the purpose. Why host a VBS? Are they really necessary? Why did we start this tradition to begin with? Well, there’s a lot of history Vacation Bible School but just know that Vacation Bible School’s purpose hasn’t really changed. In the beginning, such bible schools were used to introduce children to the gospel of Jesus Christ in an immersive and fun way. Even though
Lately, their has been a buzz on social media about parents to bringing their kids to church. They lead with outrageous titles implying that skipping church will doom your children to become unbelievers. I was shocked to see how many people were sharing (and liking) these negative posts. We 100% agree that church attendance is important and plays a role in kids coming to Christ, but some of these articles cross the line into legalism and parent
Kids—and some adults, expect children’s ministry leaders to offer some type of snack during their ministry time. What used to be an occasional treat or a tasty party extra is now practically a must-have in some children’s ministries. Of course most kids want snacks and treats—just ask them. But what about teachers? For many reasons, some teachers are bucking this “trend” in ministry and I can’t say that I entirely blame them. As a children’s ministry veteran,
A recent post on the Ministry-To-Chilren’s website had quite a few people talking. We’re always glad to hear your feedback and we welcome discussions about the various topics we write about. This particular post asked the question, “Should children be dancing in church?” I’ve been in ministry for over 20 years and I’ve seen questions like these pop up now and then and I’m always surprised at the variety of responses they receive. In my opinion granted,
Once upon a time, a scared ten-year-old girl rode a church bus to attend a Sunday School class at a church she’d never visited all because a stranger knocked on her door and invited her the week before. Her mother didn’t want her to go at first, she was against “organized religion” but the little girl didn’t give up and finally her mother allowed her to visit but just once–as long as she took her little sister.
Okay don’t hate me but Nickelodeon inspires me, or at least it used to. You know the channel I’m talking about, the one where everything is geared to kids and there short attention span, or least it was. Now I know fully that Nickelodeon is about as holy as the MTV channel but nevertheless, kids watch it. I wondered why, so I have (sporadically) done some research on this channel over the years and I have noted
Have extra time in summer camp that you need to fill? This exciting activity is great for small groups of kids. When the kids finish this project, they will also have a fun game to play. Kids come up with a game name, a concept and design. They get to decide what to include on their board game. Give kids popular board game ideas for inspiration like Candyland, Sorry or Parcheesi. You can even have their named
Do your kids walk into the ministry facility looking bored and uninterested? Maybe they look sleepy or if they are new, they might even look scared. All of the above reasons are why you need a good intro segment! As a children’s leader, I love starting service with a heart-pumping activity or ice breaker. Introduce visitors to your regular attendees with these silly but effective ideas. You can set the right tone and raise the expectation level!
Watching a baby chick hatching from an egg is like watching a life transformed by the power of Jesus Christ. And since it’s spring it’s the perfect time to talk about this transformation and of course use cute and cuddly baby chicks to make the point come to life. First of few verses to explain what I’m talking about. You could relate this baby chick object lesson directly to the Easter story or just use the verses
Easter is just around the corner and I am so excited! In celebration of my favorite holiday I have a few object lessons to share with you. It won’t take but a few supplies to teach but the end result should make a powerful impact on your class. In this “golden egg” object lesson, I talk about the power of the cross and how anyone who wants to be saved can be. I recommend using the following
Children can’t get enough of active worship and for some churches, this means teaching kids to worship with flags. With flags, kids will learn to worship God creatively, both individually and as a church. However, any children’s pastor worth his or her salt knows you can’t pass out flags to a bunch of kids with no instruction. Don’t assume kids will understand that flags are for worshiping God, not toys for whacking their friends. Provide instructions first.
Kids speak “kid.” When a new child walks into the children’s church for the first time they rarely feel brave. If he’s greeted by a group of adults giving him directions and talking to him all at once, he can feel nervous–even afraid. However, when you have children working the door, you’ve got a whole different dynamic in play. Since my children’s church has a two-pronged mission statement: teaching kids about God and training them to be
Introduce your class to the wonder of the resurrection using this “He Is Risen” object lesson. This visual aid will help kids “see” that Christ is risen from the grave, alive again just as Acts 3:15 describes: “You have killed the author of life but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of that.” You’ll have to do a little work beforehand but it will be totally worth it. What You’ll Need Two eggs (maybe
“Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.” John 7:24 NIV Is your Easter hollow? That’s the question I asked myself recently and I plan to ask my kids this coming Sunday. Don’t get me wrong, folks. I love Easter decorations and candies and all the activities that come with this time of year. I am not here to condemn anyone for hosting an Easter egg hunt or an egg dyeing party. In fact, if you
Next time you stand in front of your children’s church, take a good look around the room. Instead of seeing future leaders, think the way God does—these are leaders, now! Some people think you need to be a born leader but that’s not true. God has placed unique gifts in all of us but for most it takes some work to get these skills honed. Shine up those “diamonds in the rough” by placing them in places
Kids make great evangelists! They can often go where we can’t. Still, when a child isn’t confident in their relationship with God or how to lead others to Christ, they may be reluctant to share. Still I am committed to discipling children and part of that responsibility is sharing and teaching the gospel with others. Like Jesus showed us through many parables, the principles of the kingdom of God can be likened to many things, even the
Teaching salvation to children is usually a first priority when you begin leading a children’s ministry but over time the desire to lead kids to the cross can get pushed to the back burner. We want to “keep it interesting” and opt for relevant lessons to help children deal with common problems or life situations. (Those are all honorable ideas, by the way. ) At least, this was the case with me. Somehow, teaching salvation to my
“But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.” 1
Whether you love it or hate, or have strong misgivings about it, we can all agree that Pokemon Go is here to stay. At least until the next “Go” game comes out. (Which by all reports will be a Harry Potter rendition but let’s cross that bridge when we come to it.) Here’s my attitude about Pokemon Go. And you don’t have to agree with me. I’m okay with that. I like using current cultural interests to
Don’t you love the phrase “do over?” I do! Especially when it concerns children’s ministry because I’m a bit of perfectionist and I always fall short. A few times in my life I’ve had the pleasure of heading up a reboot for children’s church. On one occasion, we had an abrupt change in pastoral leadership; another time we’d allowed our vision to become too large and unwieldy. (Totally my fault.) During those junctures of change we’ve had
Remember this verse? I do! So many times I’ve felt like the woman described her. Before I encountered Jesus, I was a chronic sinner so I can relate to this. And Jesus’ words here encourage me. “Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven–as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.” Luke 7:47 NIV What a wonderful verse to share with children! All you need to illustrate it is
