Most of us in kids ministry get excited about sharing the Gospel with the next generation. In fact, telling about Jesus and his love is the #1 motivation for me. But sometimes in the busyness of church work, our message can become compromised. There are forces in the world at work to marginalize, distort, and replace the biblical good news with … More Children’s Ministry Resources
I just heard about a West Virginia church is facing lawsuits over a poorly run VBS games. According to this report, a 9-year-old boy was seriously injured in their Vacation Bible School program. It sounds like individual church volunteers were named in the lawsuit too! I’m not familiar with the situation, but it’s a good caution to everyone planning VBS … More Children’s Ministry Resources
This is a craft idea we used recently in our children’s ministry. We had the children paint their hand-prints on resume paper alongside their name. Once the paint dried, we helped the kids write encouraging notes for their teachers. You can also watch this teacher appreciation craft on our YouTube channel. Supplies Needed Non-Toxic paint resume paper paper plates paper towels and … More Children’s Ministry Resources
I’ve posted a few videos from Daves Highway before, but this one may be my new favorite. The trio has grown up a little, but their harmony is still amazing. Watch the video below and leave a comment to let me know what you think.
The following video clip was broadcast live on the Internet from the 2011 Orange conference. It featured Amy Fenton Lee talking about the value, challenges, and opportunity of doing ministry with kids who have special needs. I knew it was going to be powerful, so I grabed a screen capture video on my old church PC. The quality of the … More Children’s Ministry Resources
This amazing video is from the people at Second Baptist Church in Houston, Texas. They wanted to show their city the joy of Christ. It looks like they did exactly that! Enjoy this video and then recommend it to your friends on Facebook. From reading the description on YouTube, this was also a service project. Each participant donated a pair … More Children’s Ministry Resources
I wanted to pass along these clips from Doug Wolter posted on his blog. They are series of animated shorts designed for children’s church or Sunday school. They tell the story of Jesus death and resurrection. Despite the subject, the cartoon style animations here present the story in a child appropriate way. These clips were produced by this ministry based … More Children’s Ministry Resources
The Jesus Film Project has released a short animated film titled “My Last Day.” It’s the story of Christ’s crucifixion through the eyes of one of the criminals who died beside him on that day. I wouldn’t show this to younger children. It reminds me of a miniature cartoon “Passion of the Christ.” You might use this to get the … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Show kids that Easter is all about Jesus. This coloring page bundle includes a variety of pictures so you will find something that works for your group. We’ve included complex and simple designs to fit different age groups. Mandy Groce created most of these illustrations over the years. Millions of children have enjoyed them over the years. This new edition … More Children’s Ministry Resources
The Inclusive Church blog has been running a great series of posts in honor of Autism awareness month. Amy is writing about what you should know about mothers of children with autism. It’s a fascinating look inside what is often a private struggle. These articles are so helpful for any of us in children’s ministry because Autism is a very common challenge. Click the … More Children’s Ministry Resources
The circle of blessing is a fun way to illustrate the promise God makes to children in the 5th commandment. Use this for a fun children’s sermon on mother’s day or father’s day (or in any lesson on the 5th commandment. Supplies Needed: Circle of about 3ft diameter. I used a piece of rope attached to the floor with masking … More Children’s Ministry Resources
A few months back I wrote an article for Kidmin360’s group writing project called “The Future of Children’s Ministry.” Greg Baird gathered together some forward thinkers and asked them to imagine what’s coming next in kids ministry. Download: Now that all the articles are finished, you can download this special report as a print friendly PDF file. Here is a … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Have you ever seen those little crosses made using real palm fonds and wonder how they did it? This is a tradition in many churches to distribute these to the congregation on Palm Sunday. It’s also a memorable craft for children’s Sunday School. This is a craft idea we tried once in our children’s church. It took some real patience and was … More Children’s Ministry Resources
The final buzzer has sounded! Congratulations to Jared Massey and his blog Small Town Kidmin. He is our 2011 Blog Madness Champion.He captured 55% of the total vote in the final poll. The second round was a thriller and only four bloggers remain. Below you’ll find the final poll to determine our 2011 champion (and iPad 2 winner). This has … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Kids need to know the story of creation. God made everything in 6 days to show his creative power. Start with our printable coloring pages, complete Sunday School lessons, and video Bible stories. We’ve partnered with the Sunday School Store to update and revise our popular Days of Creation Bible lessons. Scroll down to find the original free versions, or … More Children’s Ministry Resources
OK. Confession time. All smart kids ministry people monitor the mom blogs for ideas. 5 Minutes for Mom is one of the best mommy blog sites out there. So, this year I’m crashing their Ultimate Blog Party. Just click here to browse the guest list. They’ll have thousands of bloggers visiting around and making new friends. Attn Guests: Ministry-To-Children is … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Watch this video to hear an amazing group of children called “Dave’s Highway.” Then leave me a comment or click here to share this on Facebook. For more videos from these kids, visit their official website or Facebook page. It looks like they’re performing every few weeks in churches in the Southern USA. They even have a CD available now. … More Children’s Ministry Resources
It’s been about three weeks since I asked readers to pick the most important hymns we should be teaching to the next generation. There was so many good suggestions from Facebook that I launched a poll here on the website to sort out the best. The results have been steadily coming in and a consensus is growing. Click here if … More Children’s Ministry Resources
This contest has moved on to the final round. Click here to check it out and vote for your favorite kids ministry blogger. Our first round had all the upsets, comebacks, and buzzer beaters you would expect. The competition got a little more intense when several of the bloggers sniffed out the grand prize. Yes, I am really going to … More Children’s Ministry Resources
K-Love Radio may have started something a few years back when they called for Christians to celebrate John 3:16 Day. The basic idea was to use March 16th (3/16) to share the message of Jesus with others. The challenge was simple – Tell someone about God’s love today. I’ve already noticed a jump in people printing out out our John 3:16 … More Children’s Ministry Resources
It’s time for another epic contest to see which kids ministry blogger will become a champion. You may even discover a few new blogs you’d like to follow. We will have three rounds, mirroring the NCAA basketball tournament. This opening round has closed, click here to see round 2. Then go rally support for your friends. This is all just … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Voice of the Martyrs is a well-known ministry that raises awareness about persecuted Christians. Now they have produced a Vacation Bible School program called “Kids of Courage.” It’s built around five different countries where the church is restrained or attacked. I am certainly interested in learning more. Even if this wasn’t a main VBS program it could be helpful material … More Children’s Ministry Resources
In my large group teaching I don’t usually have kids follow the lesson along in their Bible. That’s because we have a broadly graded program that includes many preliterate readers. Usually I’ll just read it aloud or have older kids read the verse for the group. Then any supporting texts I’ll display on PowerPoint or a marker board. So, when … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Last week I posted a question on Facebook about your favorite classic hymns. The idea was to find out which of these songs are most important to pass on to the next generation. It was a spirited conversation and readers named nearly 50 different songs! There were some clear leaders, but I didn’t have enough of a consensus for the … More Children’s Ministry Resources