Effective Children's Ministry

Archive for May, 2010

Entrepreneur, author and public speaker Seth Godin blogs regularly about business issues. His posts often touch on matters which are relevant to us, as communicators of the gospel. In a recent post, Seth challenged us all to pursue excellence.

In most fields, there’s an awful lot of work put into the last ten percent of quality. Getting your golf score from 77 to 70 is far more difficult than getting it from 120 to 113 or even from 84 to 77….

The last ten percent is the signal we look for, the way we communicate care and expertise and professionalism. If all you’re doing is the standard amount, all you’re going to get is the standard compensation. The hard part is the last ten percent, sure, or even the last one percent, but it’s the hard part because everyone is busy doing the easy part already.

Of course, we are not in the business of monetary compensation. But, need this principle be confined only to the commercial world? Dare we, as those ministering to children, be satisfied with the ordinary, the 90% effort. Dare we stop when the cost starts to bite?

Seth Godin speaks of the last 10%, even the last 1% effort, which sets apart one businessman, marketer or entrepreneur from all the rest. He asks, what message does that last 1% send out? We, too, could ask ourselves that question.

Seth said: “The last ten percent is the signal we look for, the way we communicate care and expertise and professionalism.”

Yes, it costs in time and effort:

• To prepare fresh and attractive visuals that make teaching memorable for the children.
• To dig deep into the Word of God, and into background study in order to present the Bible lesson in historical and cultural context.
• To ponder the Bible truth and, with the help of the Holy Spirit, recognize illustrative stories and personal experiences which will help the children identify with the principles you are sharing.
• To prepare leaflets, letters and other communications with parents which convey the relevance and quality of teaching and attention to detail in your care of the children.
• To read books, study blogs and attend training sessions in order to open ourselves to new insights and encouragement from others in kids’ ministry

Indeed, in every aspect of our work for God we are challenged to press through to produce that final 10% of effort beyond the ordinary. We do it, not because we crave kudos and admiration, but because the cause of Christ deserves it, right to the last most costly 1%, because Christ gave nothing less.

Let’s not be satisfied with the ordinary. Let’s pursue excellence in all we do, for the sake of Christ and for the sake of the children we serve.

A post by Greg Baird recently caught my eye – especially the opening lines:

We all want to quit sometimes.  Discouragement can be daunting.
Hurt.  Disappointment.  Fear.  And a number of other emotions can bring us to our knees.  We want to quit.  Just give up.

For some of us, a year of children’s clubs is drawing to a close. Some kids’ clubs close over the summer.

For others among the kidmin community, summer approaches all to soon, with VBSs (Vacation Bible Schools, or Summer Holiday Clubs) to plan, volunteers to train and next year’s curriculum to organize as well!

Do you ever feel like quitting, and making this your last year as a kids’ club leader or volunteer, or making this your last VBS?

Or maybe the deluge of discouragement you are feeling right now is coming from somewhere else, other than the children’s ministry.

Whatever is getting you down right now,  I hope you’ll surf over to Greg’s blog, read the comfort and challenge that his chosen Scripture give us, and ponder his keys to perseverance.

This free review game is the PowerPoint version of Key to Success or a Mess, which we have made available as a printable game, ideal for small groups, in a previous post.

What is the key to making a success of your life? What is the key to making a mess? By choosing random keys, and reading the scenarios they open up, the kids are encouraged to think about the consequences of their actions.

This game goes really well with any story where the character makes a mess, or is tempted to do something wrong. For example, Joseph showing off ; David not attacking Saul in cave; Abraham getting a son his own way instead of trusting God’s promise, the disciples turning away the children, Peter cutting off the man’s ear, etc.
In schools, the practical and moral message of the scenarios is appreciated very much.

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 .

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 “Keys to Success”.

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 (key_success_part1.ppt). Full instructions are on slides 2-6. 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 Key to Success Instructions (Word document).

Download Key to Success Part 1  PowerPoint file

Download Key to Success Part 2 PowerPoint file

If you would prefer the printable version, go to this post for the download.

Cullen Wood of CullensABCs.com has a Youtube channel loaded with great ideas. Here’s one for the warm weather days. You can make ice cream without a machine if you follow Cullen’s instructions. A yummy treat for you and your child.

Would you like to draw on a big pool of kidmin experience?

Whether you work in a large or small setup; whether your children’s ministry is thriving or struggling; whether you have a healthy budget or nothing in the “kitty” – there will be something for you at the forum of Ministry-to-children.com.

We have learned a huge amount over the 6 months or so that we have been visiting the forum. It is free to join and very easy to sign up. I know you’ll learn a lot, and no doubt you will be able to contribute to the discussion with your own experiences and comments.

Here’s the link to the forum.

Other areas of the site are extremely helpful too, with lesson plans, craft and games  ideas, helpful videos, stimulating discussion and a massive list of kidmin blogs for you to browse.