Effective Children's Ministry

Archive for March, 2010

There is no better way to help kids memorize Scripture than to set it to music. Someone who has this ministry is Scripture Lady, Kathy Vincent.

Not only does she get children excited about the stories and adventures in the Bible, but with singing and actions she helps them fix the truths in their minds and hearts. You can see Kathy in action in a demo video on her site. If you are like us, you will find yourself singing the songs all week! After one viewing of this video Catherine and I were singing: “He came to SEEK!  He came to SAVE!  He came to seek and to save that which was lost!” And it lived with us for days after.

But Kathy isn’t keeping all the tricks-of-the-trade to herself!  She wants   to get us all singing the Bible with our children!

If you would like to learn how you can set Scripture to music visit her blog post. And while you are there, sign up for  Scripture Lady’s free email newsletter. It’s packed full of great ideas to help you get creative in your teaching and reviewing of the Bible.

If you think that making music is not for you, check our our post for the unmusical among us!

Catherine and I both love our allotment garden. We grow veggies, fruit and flowers  there, but the crop can be ruined by weeds and pests.
So we sat up and took note when we spotted  one article highlighted  in the Childrens Ministry magazine newsletter.

ChildrensMinistry.com is a great site, stuffed with useful resources and tips from experienced kid’s workers.

Walter Norvell, a children’s minister in Tennessee, writes  about 10 “weeds” that threaten the growth of your children’s ministry. It’s a great check list to run through from time to time.

10 Things That’ll Ruin Your Children’s Ministry

Is there something that a small church can offer that is much harder to achieve in the megachurch?
Pastor Jared at the Smalltownkidmin Blog thinks so. In one thoughtful and honest post he focuses on the value of building relationships.

If you check it out this post, you’ll also see an ace craft idea for pre-schoolers!

Smalltownkidmin Blog is relatively new, but in a dozen or so posts, the author has established a niche of writing from the perspective of a small church. Pastor Jared’s church has an average attendance of around 50, of which about a third are cared for in the nursery and children’s ministry. In the wider scope of children’s ministry sites and blogs it is refreshing to see the challenges and blessings of the small scale set up written about.

Thanks to Iconshock.com for the free images used in this game. 

Fast food for kids? Yes, and not one calory or ounce of saturated fat!

In the game, correct answers to  your Bible review questions earn the team a chance to choose a lettered rectangle on a PowerPoint grid.

Once clicked, it reveals one of five items the team needs to collect in order to win the game: a burger, a drink, ketchup, fries and an ice cream sundae.

If the team has already collected the item, then it is covered again, ready for the next team – if they need it, are alert and have remembered where it is! There are three of each item so collecting is not difficult – except when a team is waiting for that one final item to clinch the game!  Many an underdog has come from behind to with this exciting review!

Full instructions are included in the Powerpoint presentation, but for your convenience they are also available in a Word document.

It is essential to download BOTH PowerPoint files and save them to the same folder on your computer. This is because the game “hops” from one presentation to the other and back again, using hyperlinked buttons. It sounds complex but it isn’t really.  Don’t let that put you off trying out this exciting game that we have found to be among the kids’ great favourites .

The first presentation contains the “game board”. This is the one containing the items to be collected.
The second “board” is for scoring. Each of the two teams have pictures of the items and can check them off on the score boards as they collect them, before you click on the button to return to the game board.

If you are not used to downloading files over the internet the following steps may be helpful:

1) Make a new folder somewhere on your computer where you will be able to easily find it again. Name it “Burger Bar”.

2) RIGHT-click on one of the links below and when prompted, SAVE it to the folder you have just made.

3) Do the same with the other PowerPoint (.ppt)  file. Remember: You MUST have these files in the same folder for the game to work properly.

4) To view the game, open up first the file (burger_bar1.ppt). Full instructions are on slides 3 and 4. OR, you could open the Word document and read the instructions there.

As always, if you have any problems, feel free to contact us -
contact[at]effectivechildrensministry[dot]org

Download Main Game board PowerPoint

Download Score chart PowerPoint

Download Instructions (Word document)

Do you need a brief children’s Easter talk with a memorable visual aid? Then you might enjoy Don Stott’s post over at Childrensministerblog.com.

Using a sheet of newspaper and niftily tearing some simple shapes, he reveals the heart of the Easter gospel message.

Don has used this in primary (elementary) schools with great success, but people of all ages will be captivated.

Check out Don’s post, where he has full instructions with photos.