Effective Children's Ministry

Archive for March, 2010

In the side bar, low down, is a small image of a map which, if you click on it, opens out into a larger one. It is a world map, speckled with red dots of varying sizes.

This is Clustrmap, a small application which plots each unique visitor to our wee blog.

As Catherine and I view these maps from time to  time we see the speckles increasing in number and size, indicating that our readers are spread right across the globe and that your numbers are growing.

We want you to know that we are praying for every red dot. We thank God for each one of you; thank him that you are giving your time to browse a web site about children’s ministry resources; that you are preparing yourself as best as you can for the ministry you will give the children in your care.

And if you are not yet in kids’ ministry, we thank God that you are interested enough to drop by here.

So whether you are in the United States or Australia, Russia or Brazil (and any point in between!) – we are trusting God to bless you in every area of your life as you live and work for him.

In one sense you may appear to be only a tiny red dot on a big map, but to us you are brothers and sisters, fellow workers in the Lord’s harvest field. And to God you are infinitely precious.

Vacation Bible Schools take a lot of planning, need a lot of prayer and will benefit from you being well-organized ahead of time.

ChristianEdWarehouse have produced a timeline chart that will guide the organizing of your helpers, teachers, materials and everything else that goes to make a great Holiday Club.

If you are among the many who will be  planning a summer club for the first time, or are simply curious to see how others map out their progress, have a look at this helpful PDF.

You can download the timeline organizer here .

It has been said that the greatest weapon the devil has against Christians is discouragement. And those involved in kids’ ministry are not immune from it.

We work hard – investing time, energy and emotion into a project, only to find that numbers are less than we hoped for, or we have few reliable helpers or…any number of things have made us dejected.

James Kennison, a children’s worker full of passion and very up-beat in his ministry, has experienced the lows as well as the highs of children’s ministry.

His thoughtful blog post  at CMMonthly.com will be a great help to any who are feeling a bit low just now.  James and his wife had  distributed 1000 invitations, and hoped for 30 new faces at their Valentine’s Day family outreach. Instead, 5 kids brought 5 visitors.

Read how this affected him, and what God said to him  in this discouraging disappointment.

Scripture Lady (aka Kathy Vincent) has a wonderfully vibrant ministry to children.

Her goal is to get kids excited about the Bible – and judging by the videos on her site, God is helping her to do just that, through Bible memory work, song and activities.

Hers is definitely a site worth visiting. And once you are there, why not sign up for Kathy’s free email newsletter. She sends out tips and ideas that don’t appear on the web site, and every one is a tried and tested winner!

With Kathy’s permission we are sharing one of her email goodies with you today. She has entitled this one…

Sail on Sailor – A Fun Scripture Activity for Your Elementary Kids

Scripture Lady writes:

“There is something thrilling about being on a boat.  Whether in a little canoe out on a quiet lake or on a sailboat out in the middle of the ocean, boating is a beautiful way to enjoy God’s creation. 

The Bible has some interesting ship stories.  Here is a list of 9 Bible passages about boats.  You will use them for the following activity:  Genesis 7:1, Exodus 2:3, Jonah 1:3, Luke 5:3, Matthew 13:2, Matthew 8:24, John 6:21, Acts 27:41 and Matthew 4:21-22.

For this idea, I suggest you obtain a kiddie pool filled with water.  Next, if you can, purchase 12 toy plastic boats (your local dollar store will probably have some) and with a permanent marker, number each one with a number from 1 to 12 and set them afloat in the pool.  Now, you will need to create 2 charts – one for your eyes only and the other for all the children to see.  The first chart should be written out as follows: 

1. Genesis 7:1 
2. Exodus 2:3
3. Ship Sunk!
4. Jonah 1:3
5. Ship Sunk!
6. Luke 5:3
7. Matthew 13:2
8. Matthew 8:24
9. John 6:21
10.  Acts 27:41
11.  Ship Sunk!
12.  Matthew 4:21-22

The second chart that the children can see, should contain these 9 different captions:

Noah’s Ark

Moses’ Basket Boat

Jonah’s Ship

James’ and John’s Boat

Peter’s Boat

Parable of the Sower was Told

Jesus calmed the Sea

Jesus Came Here after Walking on Water

Paul’s Shipwreck. 

I actually wrote my on pictures of boats I found on my computer.

To play the game, divide your children into 2 teams.  Have a child from the first team “fish” a boat out of the pool.  He will look at the number on the boat and tell it to you. 

You will look on the first chart and see whether the child will read a verse or whether his ship has sunk. 

If his ship sunk, the play goes to the next team.  If he is to read a verse, he does so from a Bible and then tries to pick the caption that matches the passage he just read.  If successful, he gets 50 points for his team.  The team with the most points wins!  Happy sailing!”

Thanks for that fun activity idea, Kathy!
If you like this idea, why not go on over to ScriptureLady.com, have a look round for more great ideas and then join her email list.

We’d like to provide our materials in a format which will best suit your needs. Small groups can use printed, laminated visuals very effectively. Individual pieces can be mounted on backgrounds: games look colourful and teaching aids memorable.

Larger groups may struggle to see the visuals at the size we produce them (A4 for most home printers). So PowerPoint may be a better option for you.

We’re trying to provide everything in both formats, as we are able. But what is your preference? Would you please help us by clicking on the survey in the side bar to the right?  The heading says PowerPoint or Print?

If you took a few seconds to click on the link and answer the one question, the information will help us to plan ahead better. Thanks.