Every Children’s Ministry leader has a child in their class who is a ‘storyteller.’ Also known as the kid who talks too much. Sure, all kid’s like to share, but I’m talking about the kid who feels prompted to tell you his whole life story with the class each time you pause to take a breath. You know the one I’m talking about. Yep, he’s the ‘storyteller’ of your class. We want the ‘storyteller’ to feel valued
There is a big difference between giving a lesson plan and telling an God’s amazing story. This guest post from David Rausch (creator of an awesome children’s church lessons called GO! Curriculum). He shares simple tips to make your Bible teaching more interactive. 10 interactive storytelling ideas for ELEMENTARY kids If you want to make your KidMin lessons more interactive (and you should), the best place to start is with the Biblical storytelling. But here’s the million
One of the most common questions I hear from new teachers (or those considering serving in children’s ministry) is about classroom management and discipline. How do I keep them all under control? What are the rules? What do I do when someone disobeys? What does discipline look like in the classroom? These are all great questions and should all be answered individually, but let me focus on just one of them for a few minutes and that
Sometimes it can be very time consuming to prepare for a lesson. Gathering supplies, making copies, going to the store to buy those harder to gather supplies, all takes time. Having lesson buckets for classrooms makes it easier for teachers to teach. When I was put over the Children’s Ministries, I soon realized that all of the teachers were buying all of their own supplies. It’s difficult to find, and keep teachers, and this was one thing
Let’s face it: sometimes we grow weary of telling the same Bible stories…and if forced to admit it some of our students might even be tired of them as well. When we have a fresh audience it may help, but all too often we go through the same flannel graphs and picture books so many times that we forget how real and exciting the Biblical characters and tales are. We allow miraculous events to somehow become mundane.
Last summer, I took my children to one of our public library’s special events. It was a storyteller. I didn’t think much of it, but thought it might be a fun thing for us to attend together. It turned out so much better than I had expected. He was great! He owned that room of teeny tots through parents. He was so engaging in his stories that you felt as though you were there. Why can’t we
“Read me a story!” This child-driven request can be for adults an invitation to perform, music to the ears, or merely a bedtime stall tactic…but it is natural and wonderful for kids to enjoy listening to tales. In this age of instant satisfaction entertainment and screen-swiping technology, there is something to be said for a return to good “old-fashioned” literature. God loves stories, and instills in us an inclination toward receiving them as a method of communicating
Childlike Maturity… Cultivating an Attitude of Genuine Enthusiasm “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” (Luke 18:16-17) What, exactly, might this mean? Why would Jesus instruct us to act like children? Generally, telling someone they are acting childlike is not a
It’s your turn to teach, you have the lesson, now what? How do you take the lesson printed on paper and present it to a room full of kids? I regularly have new volunteers begin serving in children’s ministry and the top concern I hear from them is something along the lines of… I’m happy to help, but I’m not a teacher. If you have ever thought along those lines, you’re not alone. And, just because you don’t feel
I will never forget the day a relative commented, “Teaching isn’t difficult. You just get in front of people and tell them what you know.” Sure thing (I replied in my head), if you never want to have an impact on your students. There seems to be a misconception that teaching is a skill anyone can just pick up, but my calling from God tells me otherwise. Having earned a teaching degree and spending even more time
As the new year comes, it’s a great time to make sure all of the classrooms are set up. It’s important to have supplies for your teachers so that they feel like they can complete their lessons adequately and not have to spend a lot of money out-of-pocket. Though most teachers that I know buy things for their classes and students, but it would be nice if they didn’t have to buy everything. I like to have
New years is a great way to organize and clean out things. I like to work through the classroom to see what can be cleaned up, thrown away, or organized. That’s where the toys come in. I don’t know about you, but when I teach classes, we are way too busy to play with toys. Don’t get me wrong, I try to make my lessons as hands-on as possible sometimes using toys to help make a point
If teaching children’s church or Sunday School was as easy as showing up and teaching a Bible story, everyone would do it! However, that’s rarely the case. We serve an awesome God but we’re all human–that includes our leaders. A recent email from a discouraged teacher has me thinking about one particular subject–when teaching styles clash. You know what I mean. You’ve got a tried and true method of teaching but someone you work with, like a
If you need to dig out of a rut using the same types of Sunday School lessons and formatting class identically, do something a bit differently and have fun in the process! There is a lot that can be learned from the great outdoors, and the principles of God’s creation are worthwhile even if you cannot access a trailhead or take a class field trip. Of course, if you can devise a way, taking students on a
I realize I may be “preaching to the choir” here but I had to share this list. After twenty years in kids’ ministry, I’m still in shock and awe at how much people really don’t know about what we kids min folks actually do. So for fun, I put together this snapshot of 9 things that might surprise you (or someone you know) about children’s ministry If you know someone who is considering working in children’s ministry
Kids are loving beings who don’t mind getting muddy to help a friend in need. They have big hearts and feel very deeply about things. I love kids! I’ve been serving them for nearly twenty years! However, they can also be selfish and display a sense of entitlement that is nothing short of shocking. You know, kind of like some adults. But that doesn’t mean you have to play along. You can limit the effect of the
Awhile back I was at the mall food court after church, and one of my four year old teachers came running up to me saying he needed to talk. He had taught that morning and honestly I was little worried what might have come up in his class. Then, I saw the smile on his face. He said, ‘you won’t believe it, all of the kids in my class understand the word repentance.’ He was excited that the
In 1 Corinthians 2:2, Paul says “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” (ESV) Let those words sink in for a minute. What does it mean to know nothing except Jesus Christ? Take just a minute to stop and take inventory of your thoughts for the last 60 seconds. If we’re honest, most of what we “know” in this moment is far from Christ. I’ve just had thoughts of wasted
In a previous article, “How to Become More Creative,” I mentioned that you should work your creative muscles daily if you want to improve it. Believe me, I wasn’t born writing object lessons or designing kids’ crusades. It took time and lots of practice but it all began at a children’s ministry conference in my hometown. It was my first and I was new to ministry. At this day long conference, we were tasked with a series
Imagine visiting another country and walking into a church service, already in progress and being conducted in a foreign language. You are unfamiliar with the style of worship and completely at a loss at what the words and songs being spoken might mean. Bewildered, you try to watch the actions of others around you to guess at the best methods to proceed; however, you still feel as though every eye is on you as you attempt to
One thing I hear a lot from new children’s ministry volunteers is, “I’m not that creative.” I used to argue with people who said this. Like a responsible children’s ministry leader, I’d tell them what I believed, that God made us all creative beings, that creativity can be expressed in infinite ways. I even took some by the hand and demonstrated my creative process. That rarely helped. Then one day, I heard the Holy Spirit whisper, “Listen
Do you remember the first day of school? My last first day of school was 19 years ago and I still remember that knot in the pit of my stomach as I was walking into a new class. (It should also be noted that it was a seminary class and I was a grown adult). I had the same thoughts that go through the minds of kids… What will the teacher be like? What will we do
Years ago I had a new volunteer named Hein. He was a young, married man without kids. He had never taught preschoolers, but he was willing to learn. His first week he was scheduled with a veteran teacher. But, that morning I got a call from the teacher. She had a sick kid and wasn’t coming. I grabbed an extra helper from a different age group and gave Hein a 2 minute orientation – here’s the lesson,
Whether a parent or pedagogy professor, anyone who works with teaching and children knows quite well that there are many types of learners. It is important not only to acknowledge this but to create lessons that reach these varied types of individuals and encompass a broad spectrum of activities and teaching methods. The same is true for Sunday school lessons and teachers. A sure-fire way to turn kids OFF faith is to constantly use the same canned
