Nicole VanderMeulen

Reverse Evangelism: Reaching Families by Serving First

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Are you finalizing your plans for the fall festival, harvest party, trunk or treat, pumpkin carving, or other Halloween related outreach event at your church?  A key component of these type of events is always planning how we will connect with, minister to, evangelize with, and preach the gospel for all those in attendance, especially guests who are not part of our church community.  It’s your big chance to reel them in, right!??! I am going to

Children's Bible Lesson: Water is God's Gift

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This lesson is shared as Ministry-To-Children’s contribution to Blog Action Day 2010.  The goal of the event is to encourage bloggers worldwide to post about the same issue on the same day on their blogs, sparking discussion about a topic of global importance.  Today, we are participating in the discussion about the 2010 theme, Water, through the sharing of this lesson. These lesson ideas would work for Sunday School or Children’s Church. It was written by Nicole VanderMeulen,

Innovative New Curriculum from Spark House

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Do you work with older children and youth?  Could you use a curriculum that’s adult user-friendly, yet has real appeal for your tweens and teens? Well if your answer is yes, you may just want to give re:form a chance. The publishing company, Spark House, a division of Augsburg Fortress, claims, re:form is a fully customizable curriculum that’s rooted in historic Christianity, but speaks to kids on their level. re:form empowers youth to discover for themselves what

A Perfect Father's Day (Children's Bible Lesson) John 3:16

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This lesson would work for a children’s sermon or message, Sunday School or Children’s Church.  Length could be anywhere from 10-60 minutes, depending upon the activities used. You might also like our Father’s Day coloring pages and craft ideas for Father’s Day. By contributing writer, Nicole VanderMeulen, Children’s Ministry Coordinator at St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church in Renton, Washington. Learning Objectives: Children will consider the great sacrifice God made for us, how he loves each of us unconditionally

Church Bulletin Insert: The Faith Focused Family

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Recently a reader wrote to us asking about bullet inserts to encourage families to integrate faith into their home life.  I passed on the idea to Nicole and she created this resource.  It can easily be printed and distributed to all the congregation or just to parents. It has five practical tips for parents who want to develop a faith focused family. Directions: Click on the preview image or click here to download this bulletin insert as a printer friendly PDF

Children's Bible Lesson: The Pentecost Party (Acts 2:1-21)

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Many Christians celebrate Pentecost, the birthday of the church and the coming of the Holy Spirit. The holiday falls 50 days after Easter Sunday. So this lesson may be particularly appropriate at that time, but could also be used any time in exploration of the Bible text found in Acts 2. This lesson would work for Sunday School or Children’s Church.  It was written by contributing writer, Nicole VanderMeulen, Children’s Ministry Coordinator at St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church in Renton,

The Backwards Easter Egg Hunt (with a message!)

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Hopefully, all of your Easter Sunday plans for your children’s ministry are in place and ready to go, but if that’s not the case, here’s a user-friendly way to engage and teach little ones in celebration of the resurrection.  This method is especially nice for dealing with a large crowd, but can work well with any size group. Have your kids participate in a traditional Easter egg hunt, using plastic eggs…here’s the best part…that are EMPTY!  No

Parable of the Lost Coin (Luke 15:8-10) Lesson for Lent

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This lesson is part 5 of 5 in our study called “Walk His Ways” based on the parables of Jesus. They were prepared for the Lenten season, but could be used anytime of year. This lesson explores losing and finding God, connecting with prayer, and reinforces the idea that God NEVER loses us with the story of The Lost Coin. Bible Story: The Parable of the Lost Coin Scripture: Luke 15:8-10 Target Age Group: Age 3 – 12 (U.S.

Parable of Foolish Rich Man (Luke 12:16-21) Lesson for Kids

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This lesson is part 4 of 5 in our study called “Walk His Ways” based on the parables of Jesus. They were prepared for the Lenten season, but could be used anytime of year. This lesson explores needs and wants and helping everyone to have enough with Jesus’ story of the Rich Fool. Bible Story: The Parable of the Foolish Rich ManScripture: Luke 12:16-21Target Age Group: Age 3 – 12 (U.S. preschool – 6th Grade)Time: 45 MinutesLearning Context: Children’s Church

Jesus Visits Martha and Mary (Luke 10:38-42) Sunday School Lesson

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This lesson is the fifth and last lesson in a series of five that explore the theme “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?” through Bible stories that each involve the sharing of a meal.  I apologize that pregnancy and medical concerns have prevented me from posting this last lesson in the series until now.  I appreciate your understanding, prayers, and support. This lesson would work for Sunday School or Children’s Church.  The introduction and baby picture activities may

Parable of the Great Feast (Luke 14:12-24) Lesson for Lent

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This lesson is part 3 of 5 in our study called “Walk His Ways” based on the parables of Jesus. They were prepared for the Lenten season, but could be used anytime of year. This parable is sometimes called the parable of the great banquet. This lesson explores including and inviting others with the story of The Parable of the Great Feast. Bible Story: The Parable of the Great Feast Scripture: Luke 14:12-24 Target Age Group: Age 3 – 12

Good Samaritan Bible (Luke 10:25-37) Lesson for Lent

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This lesson is part 2 of 5  in our study called “Walk His Ways” based on the parables of Jesus. They were prepared for the Lenten season, but could be used anytime of year. This lesson explores neighbors with the story of The Parable of the Good Samaritan. Bible Story: The Parable of the Good Samaritan Scripture: Luke 10:25-37 Target Age Group: Age 3 – 12 (U.S. preschool – 6th Grade) Time: 45 Minutes Learning Context: Children’s

Parable of the Two Sons (Matthew 21:28-32) Lesson for Lent

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This lesson is part 1 of 5 in our study called “Walk His Ways” based on the parables of Jesus. They were prepared for the Lenten season, but could be used anytime of year. Bible Story: The Parable of the Two SonsScripture: Matthew 21:28-32Target Age Group: Age 3 – 12 (U.S. preschool – 6th Grade)Time: 45 MinutesLearning Context: Children’s Church or Sunday School Learning Objectives: Children will experience the Parable of the Two Sons story, discussing the

Jesus Birthday Party – Ideas for Kids Wishing Jesus a Happy Birthday!

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Are you looking for a special activity for your children’s ministry this Christmas? Then consider having a Jesus Birthday Party. This activity includes hearing the story of Jesus’ birth and thinking about what gifts we can give to Jesus, and compares the celebration of Christ’s birth with a traditional birthday party. The download below includes the invitations, directions, planning guide, cupcake decorations, printable games, and more! Birthday Party for Jesus Party Ideas for Kids to Celebrate Christ’s Birth

10 Tips for Finding (and Keeping!) Children's Ministry Volunteers

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Big, small, rich, poor, progressive, conservative, thriving, struggling, traditional, unique, and the list of adjectives could go on and on in an attempt to include the vast array of church characteristics we may be faced with as leaders of children’s ministry.  Each church is so different, with its own strengths and weaknesses, and yet, one challenge we all seem to share is the never ending endeavor to find, and more importantly to sustain, passionate, skilled, dependable church

Children's Bible Lesson: The Passover

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This lesson is the fourth lesson in a series of five that explore the theme “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?” through Bible stories that each involve the sharing of a meal. This lesson would work for Sunday School or Children’s Church.  The introduction activity may be used as a children’s sermon illustration for this Bible story.  Estimated length is 45-60 minutes. By contributing writer, Nicole VanderMeulen, Children’s Ministry Coordinator at St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church in Renton, Washington.

Children's Bible Lesson: Kids' Mission The Environment

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This lesson is shared today as Ministry-To-Children’s contribution to Blog Action Day 2009.  The goal of the event is to encourage bloggers worldwide to post about the same issue on the same day on their blogs, sparking discussion about a topic of global importance.  Today, in an attempt to help create the largest social change event on the web ever, we are participating in the discussion about the 2009 theme, Climate Change, through the sharing of this

Miraculous Catch (John 21:1-14) Lesson for Kids

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This lesson is the third lesson in a series of five that explore the theme “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?” through Bible stories that each involve the sharing of a meal. This lesson would work for Sunday School or Children’s Church.  The introduction and baby picture activities may be used as children’s sermon illustrations for this Bible story.  Estimated length is 45-60 minutes. Learning Objectives: Children will experience the Breakfast on the Beach story and explore how

Children's Bible Lesson: Pets are a Blessing

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asd This lesson reviews the Creation story and focuses on God’s creation of animals and his wish for humans to care for them. It will help children to think about animals from a God-centered perspective. This lesson would work for Children’s Sunday School or Children’s Church.  Estimated lesson length is 45-60 minutes. The use of this material on or near October 4 in honor of World Animal Day and the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi,

Zacchaeus Bible Lesson for Children's Church (Luke 19:2-10)

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This lesson is the second in a series of five that explore the theme “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?” through Bible stories that each involve the sharing of a meal. It is based on the story of Jesus and Zacchaeus from Luke 19:2-10. Kids will learn about the acceptance that Jesus showed to all people and how he can make a difference in their lives. This lesson would work for Sunday School or Children’s Church.  The introduction

Jesus Turns Water Into Wine (John 2:1-11) Sunday School Lesson

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This free Bible lesson for children is from John 2:1-11 where Jesus changes water into wine. This lesson is the first lesson in a series of five that explore the theme “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?” through Bible stories that each involve the sharing of a meal. This lesson would work for Sunday School or Children’s Church. The introduction or story section could each be used alone as a children’s sermon. Estimated length, is 45-60 minutes. We’ve