New Territory!

     Hello Kidmins! It has been a very fun but challenging month for me. Our kidmin team at our church (Lake Gibson Church of the Nazarene) decided to write our own VBS curriculum this year! After a couple months of meetings and brainstorming, we finally buckled down and started putting it all together - decorating, forms, lesson plans - the whole kit and caboodle. All of us at Rock, Paper, Scissors were thrilled to work on this project and expand our creativity and pick up some new skills. Writing curriculum is something that we have never done before. Most of us tweak our curricula to suit our kids or teaching styles, but writing your own from scratch is a much more daunting task. I've learned so much this past month. I'll be praying about it and putting together a series of posts about what I've learned about writing curricula, so if you've ever wondered whether writing your own curriculum is right for you, check back often. If you have any comments or questions, shoot us an e-mail. I look forward to sharing with you all!

Social Saturdays: 5/5

Want to see what we're following for ideas and encouragement? We'll be posting our favorite tweets, articles, and media from the week! I hope they help you, too.

Blog Posts:
- Matt Mckee: Orange Conference 2012: Great Quotes
- Relevant Children's Ministry: Brad and Angelina, Kids and Marriage
- Ministry-to-Children.com: Giveaway: Angry Birds Curriculum from CMD

Tweets:
  
-Dale Hudson ‏ @dalehudsoncm

"It's kind of fun to do the impossible!" - Walt Disney

 

-Crystal Narrow ‏ @CrystalNarrow

Whyyyyyyyyyy wasn't this book out years ago? #kidmin #erictrapcaught myself several times banging it on my head ... aha moments a plenty!

 

-Ryan Frank ‏ @r_frank

#kidmin leadership nugget: Kids are like clocks, they are made to run!

 

-Wisdomalive ‏ @wisdomalive

#Passion is the fuel for action. Habit, although sustaining, can only take you so far before you need to "fill-up."

Friday's Find: Five Fantastic Freebies

     There is no excuse for not taking advantage of free trials and curriculum samples...Unless of course you don't know about them.

     This week I'm filling in the marketing gap to tell you about five sites that are currently offering some awesome downloadable freebies from media and handouts to entire lessons:

• CMD - Children's Ministry Deals: Their "Free Deals" page has some fun media, music, and object lessons.
• Answers in Genesis Store: In promotion of their new Sunday school kits (available June 15), Answers in Genesis is offering a free Teacher Guide and Student Take Home Sheet in every age group. If you like what you find, keep poking around their inventory; you might find a few other freebies.
• Hillsong Kids BIG: Hillsong Kids is offering an entire free lesson on worship for you to test out their new series entitled Supernatural.
• River's Edge Curriculum: River's Edge offers one complete lesson of almost all of their series for free just for you to see if you like it. Free for Elementary  Free for Preschool
• Orange Curriculum: Fill out a quick registration form, and Orange will let you try a few weeks (and  months of some curricula) of their age-appropriate curricula for free. If you're wondering what the all the buzz is about, here is your chance to find out. (You might have to temporarily allow pop-ups to view this site. Don't worry; your browser will prompt you if that is the case.)

Ideas for a Family Movie Night

     Looking for inspiration for a family event? We recently put together a successful, themed Family Movie Night at our church.

     We sent out postcards and flyers to advertise and took orders for pizza for each family that signed up. (We asked that each family that ordered pizza pay $5 to cover the cost, but admission to the movie was free. We also provided a free snack and dessert.)We decided to show the movie Dolphin Tale, so we decorated our eating and viewing areas with island and ocean decorations that we had leftover from some camps and VBSs. We encouraged people to bring their beach chairs and gave prizes to kids who came dressed in tropical or beach themed outfits (not swimsuits). We also found some free activity sheet and parent guide on Focus on the Family's PluggedIn. Here's the link and some photos:

http://www.pluggedin.com/~/media/PIO/PDF/MovieNights/Kids/2011/DolphinTale.pdf

Inspired? Got any questions? Drop us a comment or e-mail. We'd love to have a conversation and share ideas with you.

Friday's Find: Kids of Courage

     I was so excited to find this website! It will be the first place I go next time I need resources for a missions lesson. Kids of Courage is run by the organization The Voice of the Martyrs to teach kids to stand up for their faith and bring awareness to the persecuted church. They have developed thirty activity books to teach kids about the church and peoples of other countries. Each book is available for FREE download (you will be required to register and will be given a password) and contains 50 pages of activity sheets, stories, coloring pages, recipes, and facts about a specific nation or people group where Christians are experiencing some form of restriction or persecution. This includes nations such as China, India, Colombia, Burma, Turkey, Egypt, etc. While your at their website check out their VBS. It's only $45 and comes in several teaching formats. You can also read some inspiring stories on their blog. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Book Review: The Eric Trap

     Eric Newman's children's ministry is suddenly falling apart. What is happening? He thought he was doing everything right. Is this a sign that he needs to throw in the towel and move on?

     Alternating chapters of heartfelt storytelling and real world advice, The Eric Trap is a sneaky little weapon to have in your leadership arsenal. Despite it's slim spine and down-to-earth style, this book is deep in thought and fearless at tackling the heart of the problem. This is a great book for leaders of many ages and season's. Expect it to teach, enlighten, and maybe even heal. Regardless of how many conferences you've been to or how many leadership books you've read, you will fall into one of the five traps that Eric Newman did, and you will need the heartfelt advice in this honest, handy little book.

     The Eric Trap was written by ministry peers who have drawn from their own experience and Biblical knowledge to highlight five things that are sure to trip up every ministry leader. Their advice on overcoming these pitfalls is honest and practical. They encourage us and challenge us to reevaluate the health of our leadership. The importance of overcoming these ministry traps is illustrated by the story of Eric Newman interspersed throughout the book.

     Don't be fooled by the cover - the story of Eric Newman is neither cute nor funny and does not include any furry animals as the whimsical cartoon and use of the word "fable" might suggest. The struggles of the overwhelmed Eric, his floundering ministry, and dissatisfied family are incredibly real, and may, in fact, be too real for many of us. But it is Eric's true-to-life reality that reminds us of the urgency of our calling and the severity of our potential failure.

     Despite parts of Eric's story being a bit depressing, I did enjoy reading and learning from The Eric Trap. Chapter 2: Leadership Under Authority was especially insightful for me, and Mr. Wideman's conclusion was a perfect ending. I deeply appreciated all of the authors' efforts to write about leadership within the context of one's relationship with Christ and the local church (as opposed to a business or management context - you'd be surprised how many ministry-help books leave Christ more or less out of the equation). I highly recommend it to ministry rookies and veterans alike.

A NOTE TO SMALL MINISTRY LEADERS: I understand where you are coming from. Although Eric's ministry is in upheaval, parts of it might still sound like a dream ministry to you - small group leaders, an electronic check-in system, a separate preschool department, an office of his own. Don't be tempted to compare or say that the advice in this book can't help you right now. Eric could not handle his growing ministry because he did not understand the principles outlined in this book. If you try to put these principles into practice now, you will be able to handle your ministry far more effectively than Eric did whenever and however the growth comes. You can still learn from this book.

Friday's Find: D6 Days

     Friday Finds is back, and we're talking about D6 Days. The D6 Conference is all about discipleship and family ministries. Their primary focus is passing on God's truth to the nest generation. From now until May 1st (the conference Early Registration deadline) you can watch videos of past conference sessions for free right on their website. They also have MP3s from five of their breakout labs available for free download. If you want strategies to implement discipleship and family programming into your ministry or just want a little pep talk, check out D6 Days on the D6 Conference website. And check out more info on the upcoming conference while you're there. Remember that these freebies are only available until May 1st. No time to waste!

Due to technical difficulties I have not found a Friday Find for this week. I will have one for you next week.

Hope you all have a nice Good Friday and a wonderful Easter weekend! I'll be praying that all your programs and services go well.

1 Peter 1:3 NLT

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation,

Friday's Find: Something to help you weed through your VBS options...

     Tony Kummer at ministry-to-children.com has written a fantastic article describing most of the 2012 VBS themes. This list is comprehensive and provides dozens of links to publisher information, products, and decorating ideas. If you are persistent and scroll past all the most popular publishers and a long survey, you will find a little section that lists and links to some lesser known and undated VBS programs (a few of which are free!). Of course there are many other VBS options out there that they could not include in this article; but if you're still struggling with choosing a VBS this is a great place to start.

Read the article here: Vacation Bible School 2012 Curriculum Themes

Let me know if this helps!

Friday's Find: Free Curriculum from Bread of Life Ministries

     Bread of Life Ministries takes bus ministry to a whole new level. Twenty years ago they started their mobile soup kitchen called Street Connection and took it to low income areas of their community in Halifax, Nova Scotia. As their ministry has grown they have expanded their routes and now serve over 200 people in four areas, distributing food and clothing. For four years they also ran a mobile Sunday school. Although they no longer have the volunteers to continue that ministry, they have posted all of their self-written curricula on their website, just to share it with kidmins like you and me. These curricula are themed and vary in length. Some are only two or three lessons long and would be great for weeks when your in between curricula or to have on file for substitute teachers. Others such as "Fruit of Spirit" or "Armor of God" are a full 6-8 lessons long. All of them include drama, games, object lessons, and memory verse activity. Check them out. You might be surprised.

Bread of Life Ministries - Children's Ministry

Kony 2012 Video

     As kidmins, I think we should all be concerned and praying for the welfare of children outside our classrooms and around the globe. I'm still reading the literature, but from what I've read and seen so far, I fully support Invisible Children's KONY 2012 campaign. I've watched the video, and I'm going to a IC event on Wednesday. I'll post more about it after that. In the mean time, if you haven't already done so, watch the video. It's PG-13, but it's a story of hope not of despair. Joseph Kony and his rebel group have been committing war crimes, abducting children and forcing them to become his army, for decades. Now people know his name and have demanded that the African and global communities fulfill there promise to capture and try him for his crimes. This is something for your to be aware of as ministers and advocates for God's children. Kony will be stopped in God's timing as He wills it, and I will do my part to raise awareness of IC's mission and support the restoration of those affected by Kony and his rebel leaders.

For more information:

• Invisible Children Homepage
• History of the Conflict
• "Who is the LRA?" - Video about Kony's rebel group
• IC's responses to some important concerns and critiques

Disney Puts "Spring" into Arts and Crafts

     I recently went with a friend to Epcot at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando. While we were there we found out they were having their annual Flower and Garden Festival. Every spring they deck out Epcot in topiaries, outdoor arts and crafts, and gardening technology and demonstrations. As you know Disney is all about creativity, innovation, environment, and detail. Could we expect anything less from their gardens?

     One garden in particular was filled with art and planters made out of cheap reusable items and instructions on how to make them. Of course, they were executed to Disney perfection, but, still, I think you might get some inspiration from them. Let the creative juices flow!

Photos taken by Courtney James:


No brainer - but still fun



They glued chicken wire to the bottom of these concrete blocks and layed landscaping fabric on top of it so that the plants wouldn't fall through.

This eye-catching fence is made from spray painting common items - hula hoops and garden tools.

Could this be done with cups? bowls?
What else could you make with this technique?

These mosaic globes are decorated with seeds, grains, and cinnamon.

  

Stamped and painted birdbath.

These dogs are made from bark, moss, seeds, and the like.

Got any ideas yet?

Friday's Find: Hope 2 Others

     Hope 2 Others is a non-profit organization and community project created by two teenage sisters looking for a way to provide immediate help for those in need down the street. After learning about homelessness and displaced peoples at a missions camp, they started filling lunch sacks with essential items like food, water, socks, and tracts and giving them to the panhandlers and homeless in their community. The idea caught on and now there are H2O ministries all over the country.

     Our own kids love filling H2O bags. They know they are really helping someone. They love knowing that this mission was created by kids for kids. They love that the grow-ups in "big church" want to help them reach others with the gospel when it's usually the other way around. We sometimes adjust what we put in our bags depending on cost, season, area, etc. We also have found it helpful to partner with a local shelter.

     This project can be done at relatively low cost and makes a great ongoing outreach program. Go to their website (http://www.h2obags.com/)to learn more about how it works and what goes in the bags. Once you're ready to start your own H2O ministry, just sign up to gain access to detailed instructions, ideas, and promotional materials.

Friday's Find: Adding Some "Wow" with Illusions

     Every kidmin wants to find that little extra something that will make their special events even more special. I know our ministry is in full swing planning Easter; and if, like us, you're looking for something that will set that day apart, here are a few Gospel "magic" sites that we have found helpful. Even if illusions aren't your thing, you're sure to find something simple that can bring out the "oohs", "aahs", and "WOWs." In fact we like them so much that we put them in our RPS Ultimate Resource Guide.

• The Cross Trick - We have used this trick several times and it never ceases to fascinate our kids. Their immediate response is, "Do it again!" It is a great illustration of salvation and the cleansing of sin.
• Laflin Magic - This site is from the ministry of David and Teesha Laflin. They provide some great products and training videos at reasonable prices. They also have downloadable tricks/lessons for $1.99.
• Magic Dove Shop - This site has a lot of different types of tricks and some training videos. Prices range from just a few dollars to $50+, but the selection is excellent.
• Daytona Magic, INC - This site is similar to Magic Dove Shop. Although the selection is not as good, it still has quite a few brilliant tricks that are very reasonably priced and worth checking out.

     Happy hunting!

Winter Blast! Part 2

    "We'll just have to move everything inside." The super storms that pummeled the Midwest were heading our way. Although they'd be much weaker and unlikely to form tornadoes, they would bring heavy rains and cold gusty winds making it impossible to have inflatables and games outside. So on Saturday our children's director, Kay, canceled the inflatable obstacle course and began planning to do all the games inside. The problem was that we were expecting fifty kids, but only had access to one room for the first hour of the event or until the adult Sunday school classes let out. We ended up picking a couple of games that could be played with little room to start off with and singing some extra worship songs.

Here are some of the pictures...

Judging the snowman making contest

Frozen pancake toss

"Snowshoe" relay

Introducing the Bible point

Learning about how God created light with flash paper

Teams line up to receive their medals

     We used this event to launch in to our next curriculum series about creation. After the games we brought everyone back to the main room. The youth praise band led a few fun songs, and Director Kay presented the Bible story while one of our volunteers performed the science experiment. Over all it was a great day even with having to use our rain contingency plan.

What worked;

• Sending out postcards seemed to work; a lot of people were talking about them.
• The decorating really impressed both the kids and parents.
• The games were a big hit. We found and modified most of our games from this website, except for the Frozen Pancake Toss which came from kidology.

What we learned:

• We need more people at the registration table.
• We need to do better at communicating the bad weather plan.

This event went over really well and me might do it a gain next year. Hope this post gives you guys some great ideas. I would love to hear your comments.

   

Winter Blast! Part 1

     Our church recently decided to have a Sunday school rally day to boost attendance. We saw this as an opportunity to create a great event that kids would be excited to bring their friends to. We decided to call it Winter Blast and "say goodbye to winter" with a winter-themed event (our church is in Florida so this seemed really unique to us - half of our kids have never seen snow.) We surfed the web for some winter "Olympic" games and ordered medals and ribbons from Oriental Trading Co. We booked an inflatable obstacle course and planned some exciting team competitions to be played outside. We made flyers and  postcards to send to kids who hadn't come in a while. Then we went up to the church the day before to decorate and set up...




 Scissors (a.k.a. Caitlin) cut white plastic tablecloths into the shape of icicles and hung them on everything she could reach. Look for them in later pictures.

     Paper snowflakes - a must! Rock (a.k.a. Jessica) was determined to cut out as many as she could. On the right, Director Kay (in the yellow) discusses the prize table with one of our teachers. (They decided we needed more.)

We borrow our unofficial motto from Mythbusters: "If it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing." Believe it or not, you can overdo it with out breaking the bank.

Here is our Winter Blast finished product...

We invited the youth praise band to play, so we decked out the stage with icicles, snowflake streamers, snowflakes hung with fishing line, and poly-fil snow. We were unsure about the balloons on the ceiling at first, but once we got some more up there, it had the effect of wintery clouds. You can't see it in this picture, but we borrowed some cut-outs of winter scenes from our daycare and put them on the walls with some more snowflakes.

We frosted the hallway a bit to keep the theme going. It also brings parents into the world your trying to create for the kids.

We decorated our check-in table and organized it with the expectation of accommodating visiting families.

     It may seem like a lot for a one day event; but this was about outreach and was well worth overdoing. as far as decorating, the helium balloons were our greatest expense. Everything else was paper, poly-fil, and plastic tablecloths. In "Part 2," I'll tell you more about the games, how we tied in the Bible, and what we did when bad weather started threatening event day. Everyone's favorite questioin: Will we have to cancel the blow-up?!?

Friday's Find: Memory Cross

     So about now your probably thinking about Easter and maybe even VBS. Memory Cross has some great products that can add that extra something special these events. I must confess that I had know idea how useful they could be. Memory Crosses are origami style cards that can be used to tell a Bible story or teach a memory verse. Unfolding the various flaps of the card reveals more of the story or verse. They're lots of fun! You'll want to fold it over and over. They've posted videos showing how it works. You can buy finished one's, color-your-own, or blank ones to make your own stories, and they come in large and small sizes. They'll even create custom cards just for your event. Their prices are reasonable. You can sign-up to receive a free sample pack if you want to try them for yourself.
    
     Even if you don't end up buying any Memory Crosses you should visit their website, because they offer so much more. Memory Cross is all about teaching and evangelism. They make tracts, educational resources, holiday resources, Spanish resources, and even products for some of the major VBS kits of 2012, 2011, and 2010. It's well worth checking out.

CPC Live!

     I had a wonderful time last night watching the INCM Children's Pastors Conference with my pals on CMConnect. INCM (International Network of Children's Ministry) has setup a free online community called CMConnect. From there they are live streaming CPC San Diego for free. There will be two more sessions - one tonight and one tomorrow night. You might need to setup an account to start the live stream, but setting one up is easy. (You don't have to fill in all the questions right away.) Once you're signed up, you can connect to other kidmins, read about what is working in their ministry, ask questions, and exchange ideas. There's also a chat feature that allows you to talk to online members in real time. Last night I was able to chat with other kidmins at the conference while streaming it from my home. If you couldn't go to a conference this year (or wish you never came back from one) this is the perfect opportunity for you to learn and network.
   
The next session is tonight at 6:30 Eastern. Hope to see you there!

CPC Live! on CMConnect!

Friday's Find: Godtube and Gospeltube

     Godtube and Gospeltube are the top free Christian video sharing websites available. Despite getting off to a slow start Godtube has flourished and expanded to a sister site called Gospeltube. Both Godtube and Gospeltube are very similar to Youtube in their layout and very user friendly. Videos are organized into categories such as sermons, comedy, music videos, and drama. You can search, watch, comment, and share just like on Youtube. Play funny videos to open your service instead of buying countdowns. Introduce your kids to Christian music artists by playing music videos during drop-off or pick-up times. E-mail inspiring videos to your volunteers during the week. You might even find a video to illustrate your lesson. You can use these videos in so many ways. These sites re definitely worth checking out.

Leadership Tips from Undercover Boss

     Did anyone watch Undercover Boss last Friday night? Enrique "Rick" Silva, CEO of Checkers and Rally's, went undercover at his own company pretending to be a failed pharmacist who wanted to start his own franchise. At his first undercover location he soon realized that the employees were not following the procedures outlined by the company and could not even tell him what they were. The general manager barked orders to the employees, criticized, put down, and even threatened them at one point. Finally, Silva had had enough and called the GM out to the parking lot where he asked him why he was being so disrespectful to others. After a short confrontation, Silva revealed his identity as CEO and demanded that the manager shut down the restaurant. The manager realized that he could not pretend anymore. He confessed to Silva that he had never been trained as a manager; in fact, not a single employee at that location had been properly trained. The general manager position was dumped on him when the previous GM quit. "I'm doing the best I can," he said, but Silva did not agree that this was his best. He had pretended to know what he was doing and had overcompensated for his insecurity by lording his new position over his employees.
     Sometimes unexpected or unwanted responsibilities are forced upon us, and ministry is no exception. When the youth pastor at our church moved away, my parents were the only ones available to keep the youth group running until another pastor came along. It was brand new territory for us, and even with our whole family working together we didn't know how long we could keep it going or if we were making the right choices. Whether it be a single class, event, or entire ministry department, most of us have had responsibilities dumped on us or been thrust into leadership roles that we feel unprepared to handle. If you're in such a position or new to ministry, you may feel inadequate and pressured to meet certain expectations. We all react to this pressure and insecurity in different ways, but tying to act the part and do it all on your own is the worst mistake you can make. Nothing will burn you out quicker.
     If you feel under qualified, connect with another pastor or mentor who is qualified. Don't be intimidated by the term leader; ministry is a team sport. Find yourself some teammates, and don't go it alone. And remember that humility, passion, and wisdom can make up for a lot of training. Ask God for these things and  for help in your ministry. Remember that the true success of any ministry is based on His will and your willingness to follow, not on the strength of your abilities.

Friday's Find: GroupMe

     GroupMe is a website and free app for iPhone, Android, and Blackberry. Our volunteers love it! It allows you to mass message a specific group of people. Once a group is created on GroupMe, it's members can communicate instantly. All members of the group can see all of the messages sent within the group. Another pro is that you don't have to download the app or even have a smart phone to participate. Those who don't have the app will receive all the group's messages as a string of standard text messages and can reply to the group by replying to those same text. If you scroll down, I've explained some more about GroupMe's features.
     This is our volunteers' new favorite communication tool. We share news, ask questions, and post prayer requests. No one has to find out important things after the fact. It helps keep our team connected the entire week, not just on Sun. or Wed.

If you plan to or are using GroupMe, here are some things to remember:

• Face to face is still the most efficient means of communication. GroupMe is a community builder and a communication enhancer, but it can't work alone.
• Be mindful of others. Not everyone has a smart phone or unlimited texting, so check with your team first to see if they are interested in using GroupMe.
• Keep your groups focused. Some people get carried away with chit-chat, and it can be annoying to have your phone ringing or vibrating all day long when no one has anything important to say. Let your team know what the purpose of the group is. Perhaps, instead of forming a group called "Children's Ministry," you form a more specific group such as "Prayer Chain."
• Never let a group become a place where negativity is spread unchecked. Just because the group is private does not mean that is is the appropriate place for complaints or gossip. Keep things positive.

GroupMe's Features:

Here's a screenshot of my GroupMe home screen (on the Android system):

     It's a little rough, I know - but I hope you can see that I belong to three groups: Crossfire Kids, Praise Band, and Family. You probably also noticed that I can "Invite" people to join GroupMe and view my GroupMe contacts via the "Contact" button on the bottom. "Featured" suggests groups I might want to start. "News" alerts me to new things on GroupMe and the activities of my group members. The green button brings up a menu that allows me to start a new group, pose a question to multiple groups, or send a private message to an individual member. The "Search" button in the top right corner opens the search box so I can find a specific group or member.

Here is what a group page looks like:

     It's like a private chat room. Every member can see what all the other members are saying. My replies appear on the right of the screen and are highlighted green. Other member's replies appear on the left and are blue or grey. At the top right corner is the "Settings" button; from the settings page I can change the Group's Options (group name, group image, my nickname in that group) or my Global Settings (my own GroupMe profile and preferences). Also near the top are buttons that allow me to view this group's members or use the map feature. If I press and hold on a single message, a menu appears prompting me to Share, Like, Copy, or Hide that message. I can also send photos to the group from the camera icon in the bottom left corner.

If you have any questions leave a comment or shoot us an e-mail. We would love to hear from you!

Volunteer Training Ideas from Dale Hudson

     Dale Hudson runs a great ministry blog called Relevant Children's Ministry. Over the last few days, he has posted some great articles on building a team of volunteers. Everyone should go check it out! Many of the ideas he has posted (such as the 10 min. huddle, free food, and building a family) have been implemented and seen great success in recent years at my own church. I commented on one Dale's posts, and I hope lots of people do. Training and encouraging volunteers is something that all kidmins seem to struggle with to some degree, and this is a great way to get the conversation rolling and share ideas. So head on over to Dale's and check it out!

Oh! And check back on Friday because I'm going to share with you our ministry's new favorite volunteer building tool for our Friday Find. I think you all are going to love it!

Friday's Find: Guildcraft VBS Blog

     The Guildcraft VBS Blog posts free seasonal and holiday pdf's every Friday.  These printable projects include coloring sheets, puppets, origami, decorating patterns, postcards, and so much more. These are perfect time-stretchers, and I think preschool teachers will especially like using these as easy lesson add-ons. The Bible memory projects such as the Valentine's Day Verse Mix-up Game and the Trinity Shamrocks would be great for connecting the elementary ages to God's Word. So go check out the new Valentine's Day post today!
     If you have a great resource that you would like to share, contact us! We might post it as our Friday Find.

10 Habits of a Good Learner

     If you work with kids, then you know that you can never stop learning. I recently attended a seminar by Jim Wideman (http://www.jimwideman.com/) who listed ten ways to keep the learning happening.

Here are my notes:

10 Habits of a Good Learner

1. Read. This includes blogs, tweets, and online newsletters.
2. Listen to teaching. You can't very well teach what you don't know.
3. Ask questions constantly. Questions show your willingness to learn. Ask away.
4. Develop relationships with those you esteem. Connecting with those you admire gives you a chance to learn from the people who inspire you
5. Visit creative places. Give your imagination something to feed on.
6. Go to conferences. One-stop shopping for ideas, encouragement, and networking buddies.
7. Surround yourself with peers you respect. Be choosy. Remember, iron sharpens iron.
8. Be a fly on the wall and listen, listen, listen. This might be a hard skill to perfect, but it is invaluable. Good learners are good listeners.
9. Study successful people. What worked for them might work for you.
10. Join a coaching group. Everybody helps everybody.

So tell me, what keeps your brain going? How do keep learning?

Training Event

This past weekend I had the chance to go to the Central Florida Nazarene Sunday School Training Day. My mom presented a children’s ministry workshop along with two other kidmin veterans. It was so wonderful to see everyone so attentive and excited about serving kids. I saw people nodding and taking notes and agreeing with the presenters saying, “absolutely” and “Mmhmm.” It was great to know that everyone was on the same page as far as understanding the needs of our kids and what it is going to take to get the Gospel to them. To all you guys who were there, thanks for being so committed to following God’s call to love our kids!

CPC '12 in Orlando

     I love going to the INCM Children’s Pastors Conference! It’s a fantastic time to think and find new ideas and refocus our ministry towards God’s leading. This year at CPC in Orlando was amazing. INCM laid out five key parts of children’s ministry, the “5 Initiatives” as they’re calling them, that they believe are the fundamentals of what we do in the lives of our children. Taking things back to basics, you could say. Each general session covered one of these Initiatives. So, here are the 5 Initiatives and my take-away from the general sessions:

1.       Impart God’s truth to this generation.

Do not underestimate the above sentence. It does not mean “Tell them enough Bible stories.” Are we afraid to tackle tough truths with our kids? Have we watered down or limited the Bible too much in our classrooms?  Kyle Idleman, author of the book “not a fan,” who presented this session said, ”Teaching is not downloading information; kids need to fall in love.” Getting the majority of our kids to remember the days of creation or Ten Commandments or life of David is not our goal. Not that those stories aren’t important, but our kids need more than just stories. They need truth that they can use for offense and defense. They need serious truth that they can use in the challenging times in their life. They need to know that truth is something they should seek after – they should ask the hard questions. Our kids need to fall in love with the Truth.

2.       Provide a safe and relevant environment.

The environment is the first thing that lets kids and parents know how much we care about them and about what we do. It should impress the parents with its organization, assure them of its safety, and still be fun and engaging for the kids. Here are three things all good kidmin environments should have:

a.)    Signs – Good signage is a must. People like to know how to get where they need to go, like the bathroom for instance.

b.)    A means of collecting information – Someone should be collecting information from the parent/guardian: Who will be picking your child up? Does your child have any allergies or health concerns? Where will you be sitting or how can we reach you in an emergency? Etc.

c.)     Emergency plans – All teachers should be aware of the emergency or evacuation plans for power outages, fire, intruder, and medical emergencies plus any disasters that are common in the area such as tornadoes, earthquakes, or tsunamis.

Aside from being safe, we need to make sure that we are giving kids a place where they can have fun and learn and be themselves.

3.       Communicate with families

Parents, guardians, and other family members spend more time with the kids in our ministries and therefore have more influence on those kids than we can ever hope to have. Connecting with families is essential, but don’t stereotype the idea of family ministry. Families don’t need a better picture of what family “should be.” In most cases, the families in our ministries will never be able to become a mom and a dad with 2.4 kids, a dog, and a picket fence. Our families need to know that God is working in and through each family just as it is. Parents need to be encouraged that God has a bigger story to tell in their family, that they will be accepted as a family that God is using, and that they can succeed as the family God made them to be. And, as is true with everything else in our ministries, you, me, we set the example. We must make our own families the most important ministry we will ever be involved in. What does it profit a man to bring many souls to the Kingdom if he loses those he cared about the most?

4.       Network with a community of leaders

Ministry is a marathon not a sprint and most of the time it takes teamwork. We need to look for and ask God to bring into our lives people we can team up with to encourage and inspire and build up each other. In the Information Age networking has become so easy that there really is no excuse for not trying. Join a group on Facebook, get an email pal, find a mentor, and make lunch dates with other kidmins or pastors. Give yourself an outlet and a chance to be a good team member and friend. God never meant for us to go it alone.

5.       Pray for the international children’s ministry community

Prayer is one of the most powerful tools in our arsenal. When we pray, we should not only pray that we can think of a game by Wednesday and that a certain little boy will behave but also for others who are trying to minister just as we are. While we worry about getting a snack for the preschoolers, some churches are worrying about famine. While we worry about having enough volunteers, some are worrying about getting caught attending a secret Bible study. We need to remember the big picture – that the Kingdom is so much bigger than just us. Praying for each other builds connections that reach across continents and into eternity so that their kids become our kids and ours become theirs and God gets the glory for them all.