Helping kids stay focused throughout your lesson or service can prove challenging for the children’s minister. Not only are we responsible for bringing the Word and building the leaders of tomorrow, we have to do it with plenty of pizzazz. With the onslaught of behavioral issues that teachers encounter today like ADD and ADHD, it’s no wonder we stay in constant prayer, right? … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Exciting. Epic. Life changing. That’s the adjectives I want to hear when kids and parents reflect on how I’m telling Bible stories. I’m not a professional storyteller but I do love the Word of God and I love sharing it with my kids and adult helpers. I may share the object lessons, the games and the activities but when it … More Children’s Ministry Resources
When kids show up 30 minutes before service, you need early arrival activities for kids church. I never want to turn kids away but I’m not naive. I know kids need constant monitoring, even the ones that tend to stay out of trouble. Prepare for those early birds with early arrival activities that will excite your children. Working on crafts … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Teaching a large group of children can be intimidating, but it is such an awesome opportunity. When preparing, here are seven things that you should NOT do when trying to engage a large group of kids. Thou shalt not… 1. Hide behind book/paper. If you have a paper or book in between you and the audience, you are setting up … More Children’s Ministry Resources
I feel that it is important for children to study the Bible. Each time a child goes to a Sunday School class or is read a book about the Bible, they are learning about it. But are they studying it? In the Scholastic Children’s Dictionary, the word “study” means “to spend time learning a subject or skill by reading about … More Children’s Ministry Resources
At the first of every year, I began to fervently pray for volunteers. Whether they’ve signed on for a month or for six, most volunteers need and appreciate training. I believe in hands-on training but you’ve got to teach too. Host regular training conferences for volunteers and inspire your team to minister to children effectively. Incorporate a few ideas into a … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Being a reactionary always put you at the losing end, take my word for it. When you spend your time responding to bad behavior, you don’t have the time to recognize good behavior. Chances are your little attention-grabbers need you but sadly, they’ve been trained to have their needs fulfilled in a negative manner. If you’ve got behavior challenges in … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Does the sight of kids nodding off, rolling their eyes or acting up remind you of your recent children’s ministry lesson? If so, chances are you’ve slipped into a rut but no worries! You can easily jazz up your teaching style without enrolling in a refresher course at the local university. Put away the podium. Get the kids out of … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Bad attitudes in children make teaching a class so difficult. As a teacher, I want to understand the reasons for a bad attitude; because I am a mom, I want to fix it. However, when dealing with bad attitudes in kids, even in kids’ church, you must have do two things: teach and train. Teaching about having a good attitude … More Children’s Ministry Resources
The dream of my heart is that my children love God and want to tell others about Him. Preparing my students to share their faith with others easily takes work on my part. Waiting for kids to grow up before allowing them to teach is a mistake. Jesus praised his Father for using the foolish things to confound the wise. … More Children’s Ministry Resources
“Exciting and fun!” Teachers have to smile when he or she hears those words after a class. Teaching can get stale, predictable and boring, not because of the subject matter, of course. We just get stuck in a rut and sometimes it pays to return to these important keys to teaching. Make a personal review of your class, or ask … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Attitudes are important to God. He expects us to be “cheerful givers” and to “obey your parents.” The second part of that requirement, “obey your parents” can be tougher than you think. Parental defiance is a natural part of our human makeup but that level of defiance rises when parents disrespect themselves by participating in random sex, drug use and … More Children’s Ministry Resources
What’s the first thing your child sees when he comes to your classroom? Why the door of course! The front door of your room should excite, welcome and inspire parents and students. So how do you do this? With cool, classroom door decorations. Change your door decor every month or few months to keep the excitement level up. Decorating a … More Children’s Ministry Resources
I love teaching kids about God and His kingdom but I’ll admit, sometimes my teaching feels a bit stale. Like many kids’ ministry teachers, I didn’t undergo any professional teacher training. I’ve stumbled (and sometimes fumbled) along until I’ve found some techniques that seem to make an impact. These ideas focus on teaching Sunday School, but school teachers can also apply … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Throughout the course of our time spent together, she will say any number of words to me from “silly bird” to “milk” to “thank you” and “cold.” She is just 16 months, so her verbal skills aren’t there yet, but her sign language communicates most everything she needs. He was ten years old when he sat behind a desk in … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Teachers need good sources of inspiration to bring the Word of God to life for their kids. Reading a Bible story makes a good starting place but sometimes, it helps to take inspiration from common things that kids can relate to. One of the best ministry conferences I ever attended led the teachers in an exercise that challenged my thinking … More Children’s Ministry Resources
An easy-to-follow, power-packed curriculum helps teachers reach the kids they teach but finding lessons that fulfills a specific criteria challenges many. Every children’s church is different and factors like church doctrine, time and volunteer constraints make selecting a curriculum even more of a task. According to some estimates, up to 18% of churches do write their own kids ministry curriculum. … More Children’s Ministry Resources
If you’re looking for a different teaching approach on a Sunday morning, The K-W-L Chart just may be the way to go. The K-W-L Chart is a traditional teaching strategy that is effective in determining a student’s current knowledge, generating an interest in subject matter, and recalling valuable lessons learned. It can be utilized to teach any type of Biblical … More Children’s Ministry Resources
During my 12 plus years of working in children’s ministry, I have to say this past year was a first! My track records includes teaching small children’s church, the “big” kids’ church, an all-girl praise dance class and Sidewalk Sunday School. When the opportunity arose to be a temporary teacher in a boys’ class, I didn’t hesitate. I’m a fool … More Children’s Ministry Resources
When you think of toddlers what comes to mind? Is it their tantrums? Could it be their innocent mischief – like when they unraveled all of the toilet paper rolls they could find? Is it their fascination with simple joys – big belly giggles, wide opened wonder, and squeals over common life? It would appear that teaching to toddlers would be … More Children’s Ministry Resources
**This is a guest post from Nick Diliberto from PreteenMinistry.net 1. Customize curriculum Give up the idea of a cookie cutter approach to preteen curriculum. Preteens respond best when lessons are customized. Use examples of real life situations where you struggled or had a success with the given topic. Take into consideration your specific community, church and preteens when editing lessons. … More Children’s Ministry Resources
**This is a guest post from Nick Diliberto from PreteenMinistry.net Preteens have a high energy level. If you’ve worked with them for five minutes, you know this to be true. They can’t sit still for very long, get easily distracted like to move around a lot. Especially the boys. The body of a preteen is rapidly changing and the brain is … More Children’s Ministry Resources
One of my favorite quotes of all time is “It is a sin to bore a kid with the Bible“. I don’t know who originally said it, but I saw it long ago used in an ad for curriculum. I completely agree. We have the most exciting story of all time to tell, yet Sunday School does not generally have … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Herding children in and out of classes becomes a bit tedious week after week but cool stations will have kids wanting to stay. Developing special points of interest in the class will help you direct kids into prayer and worship. Stations are also useful for directing volunteer assignments and giving workers a chance to lead in new areas. Use stations … More Children’s Ministry Resources