As I write this, it is Thursday morning, and I am coming off of another exhausting night of running games for the Awana program at our church. I should start by saying that doing that is one of the highlights of my week each week despite the fact that it leaves me thoroughly drained and exhausted. As I walked into the large gymnasium filled with a couple of hundred kids last night waiting for Awana to officially
It is important in teaching God’s kids that we constantly strive to improve. Equally important is networking with like-minded and passionate children’s ministry servant. Fortunately, there are a ton of great conferences out there to accomplish both of these goal. We are striving to pull together one comprehensive resource listing children’s ministry conferences around the globe. With that goal in mind, we have begun to compile a listing of conferences with the following information: Dates of the
Here is a little game I came up with last week to play with a group of around 60 third through sixth graders. I named it “Ultimate Big Balls” in homage to the show Wipeout which is a favorite in our house. This would be fun to mix in with your AWANA games or Vacation Bible School games. The premise of the game is very similar to ultimate frisbee except that it is played with one or more
Normally when I share ideas on here, it’s for things I have already done which worked. Today is a little bit different. Today, I want to share an idea I’ve been kicking around in my head for about a year which I haven’t gotten around to putting into practice yet. That idea is called the Bible Time Machine, and I think it would be a great way to bring the Bible to life for kids. With a
Admit it! I got your attention with that title. Who says that sort of thing when they work in children’s ministry? That answer is – no one says it, but I am willing to venture a guess that most of us have thought it at one point or another. So, here are five simple things you can do to keep most kids in your ministry quiet: 1. Keep them Engaged When kids are engaged they are much
Next to a saving relationship with Jesus Christ, the most important thing we can give the kids who pass through our children’s ministries is an understanding of how to use their Bibles. The Bible is critical to the continued spiritual development of kids. If there was any doubt, just read these verses where the Bible describes itself. In my church, I work with Kindergarteners and First Graders every Sunday. It’s a great age, but it does present some unique
On Sunday mornings, I teach kids about the Gospel of Jesus of Christ. It is the highlight of my week without fail. It combined two things that I am very passionate about – kids and the Gospel. On Wednesday nights, though, my role is a little bit different. On Wednesday nights, I am the “Game Guy” for our Awana program. We have something like 300 kids every Wednesday from age three all the way up through sixth
I love Christmas. I always have. I loved Christmas long before I ever loved the reason for it. Now that He is Lord and Savior of my life, I love Christmas in a whole new way. So, when I came home from work last Friday night and found a brand new children’s Christmas book in my mailbox, I was overjoyed. Now, I have read my share of Christmas books (including kids’ Christmas books). Some are really good,
It’s happened to all of us. We spend hours and hours and hours preparing for Sunday morning (at least I hope you do). We study our Bibles, we outline the lesson, we plan the crafts. During the final days, we put on the finishing touches, get the props together, and plan the transitions and “special effects.” We practice our delivery, tweak what doesn’t work like we want it to, and do the last minute prep. We get
“One of Those Days” Have you ever had one of those days in Kidmin? You know the kind, the day where you can feel yourself losing all semblance of patience. The kind of day where you find yourself praying during your lesson that the Holy Spirit will give you love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control? Today was one of those days for me. The irony of it all is that Uncle Charlie’s “Fruit
At the 2010 Desiring God National Conference, Francis Chan gave a moving talk on humility and loving people. As part of that presentation, he listed seven question that he asks when preparing to teach the Word of God. I think they are the critical questions any children’s minister should also consider as they prepare to teach God’s kids. Those questions (and my notes on how they relate to children’s ministry) are: 1. Am I worried about what
I was working on reviewing some curriculum the other day for Dad in the Middle, and I needed to come up with some sort of framework for evaluating it. I came up with the following and thought it might be useful for other people. Whether you are writing curriculum reviews or just searching for a curriculum for your children’s ministry, no matter whether the curriculum costs thousands of dollars or was free here on Ministry-to-Children.com, I think
At my church, we use Awana for our Wednesday night program. My nine year old son started in Sparks a little over four years ago now, and my seven year old daughter started in Cubbies at the same time when she was three. We have watched them memorize a multitude of verses during that time, and I’ve picked a few up myself helping them to learn. Over the years, my wife and I have both gotten involved
I realized a couple of weekends ago that I had stopped praying each week before kids’ service. It wasn’t a conscience decision, just something that happened in the hustle and bustle of the weekend. I realized that when I stopped praying that coincided with those weeks that I didn’t feel went very well after they were over. That got me thinking about those things which really ought to be routine and done every week before children’s church
Don’t reinvent the wheel – just roll out these classic games kids still love! Use the download links below to keep a printed copy on hand in your teaching space. Some lessons have a related game, which is ideal. Often you just have to improvise your own games. Don’t call it wasted time if the kids are making friends and learning to work together. Remember having a positive experience (aka fun) is one of the things kids
I do not work in the preschool ministry at my church. My time and efforts are geared towards kids kindergarten and above. That said, we do have a great team who does handle the nursery and preschool ages. I know that because my kids have been through the program and I have seen the fruits of these efforts. Last night, my wife and I were laying in bed with our three year old son Nathan. Nathan turned
As someone who has four kids and works in children’s ministry, there is one thing I have found to be true of (most) all kids – they ask questions! Many times they ask lots and lots and lots of questions. Sometimes they ask questions that we don’t know the answer to. In a children’s ministry setting, or as a parent, the worse thing you can do is try to “fake it” when your kids ask you a
In churches across the nation, this year’s Vacation Bible School is quickly becoming a memory. There are many people out there who think that VBS is an outdated program whose time has come and gone. Fresh off of the excitement and exhaustion that is the controlled chaos that is VBS, here is my list of the top ten reasons to still do VBS at your church: Kids love it. If you’re doing it right, VBS is just
I saw a tweet the other day extolling the virtues of summer volunteers because they bring excitement and enough nervousness to rely on Jesus (thanks @mattguevara). That tweet set me thinking about my own approach to children’s ministry. I constantly talk about the need to be prepared, the need to invest the time, the need to memorize your lesson, and the need to try your hardest when it comes to children’s ministry. In the end though, I
This is the time of year when churches all around the country are either wrapping up their VBS for this summer or getting their VBS in before the school year starts again. All the planning was done months ago, volunteers were recruited, supplies were purchased, skits were rehearsed, games were planned, and VBS went off without a hitch. Everyone breathes a collective sigh of relief and wishes one another a hearty, “I can’t wait until we get
If you haven’t heard yet, there is a free e-book called What Matters Now in Children’s Ministry in which 33 members of the children’s ministry community were asked to pick one word which describes what matters now in children’s ministry. That word selection is then explored further in 200-300 words chapters in the book. You can also find much more information on the project and various blog posts related to the project on my What Matters Now in
I am a big fan of music. I do have one criteria when it comes to the music I choose to listen to though – it has to be good. That criteria applies to my kids’ music as well. If they want to listen to bad music when they are by themselves, that’s fine. But, if we’re all going to listen to it together, it has to be good. I love to listen to music of all
I will preface this post by saying that this is not a post with a whole lot of answers (to be properly read….none). Instead, this post focuses on a series of questions that have been bouncing around my head recently when it comes to teaching kids about God. I recently came across the following quote from Richard Baxter, and I was really struck by the truth of the statement: I do verily believe that if parents did
I find that it isn’t all that hard to talk to kids. They like to talk if you can find some common ground and explore something that really interests them. As children’s ministers, and as parents, though, there are things that they need to hear from us. Words are powerful things, and the tongue has the power to build up and to tear apart both by its action and by its inaction. In other words, silence can
