Effective Children's Ministry

Archive for the ‘Teaching’ Category

Do you have a child in your family or group that has special needs? I have  been very impressed at the regularity and quality of posts on
Our Out of Sync Life.

The author, Momma C. sums up her site like this:

God has blessed us with three beautiful children – one with Sensory Processing Disorder, a very Strong Willed middle child, and a Spirited Little Man. Follow us as we learn to train up our children to love the Lord with all of their heart, soul, and mind.

Even if right now there are no children in your care with special needs, you will still find this blog very uplifting and illuminating. There are heaps of ideas for crafts, and other learning opportunities.

Momma C is a trained educator  and she also runs a companion site , ABC Jesus Loves Me.   This is a pre-school Bible curriculum, free for use in the home. It is especially helpful for children with developmental delays.

I’d encourage you to check out these wonderful sites.

Would you like to see a video of two of the cutest kids on the planet showing what they have learned about the Crucifixion? They use finger gestures to help recall the “5 mighty miracles of the cross”.

Hop over to FreeCMStuff.com .

I defy you not to grin from ear to ear when you watch the girls and then try to remember the gestures so that you can teach your kids!

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

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.

What are the needs of single-parent families?

How does the situation affect the children?

What can we do to minister to these needs?

How can we in children’s ministry avoid problems?

If you would like to know the answers to these and other questions about this type of family, then the article in the link will give you more understanding, ideas and advice.

Go to A House Divided, by Lori Haynes Niles

What do running shoes and a warning bell have in common? They both feature in this free visual presentation.

The download is a PDF containing full instructions and images to print out and laminate. It is what we call an Adaptable Application, because although it was first intended to illustrate practical teaching from the life of Moses, it is adaptable for any Bible lesson where temptation features.

The simple outline gives children and others a four-step strategy, so that they can cope better when they are tempted. Piece by piece, as you open out the teaching and apply it to real life, the visuals help the kids to retain the teaching.

Here is an outline for How to Cope with Temptation.

REMEMBER what you have been told.
Our teachers and the folk who look after us at home tell us right and wrong.

REALIZE the danger.
Every action has a result. We need to think things through; think ahead to what might happen to us, or to others, as a result of our actions.

RUN AWAY from the situation.
It is not cowardly, when you are tempted, to go off do something else. It takes courage to run away from doing wrong!

RELY on God.
Christians believe he has the power to help us do right, and follow God’s plan for life.

…………………………………………………………

Would you prefer this Adaptable Application as a PowerPoint presentation? let us know, by clicking the contact tab and emailing us at the address given. We’ll be happy to try to help you with that.

To download the printable version, Right-Click the link below and save the file to your computer.

Download  the Adaptable Application – How to Cope with Temptation (PDF)

What will keep kids returning to our classes and clubs week after week?
Do we need to add more pzazz to our meetings, more fun, more technology?

Wayne, over at Dad in the Middle says:

No matter how relevant…no matter how exciting…no matter how deep…no matter how much fun your children’s ministry is, the key ingredient in successful children’s ministry is love.   It is more likely to bring kids back to you ministry week after week than virtually anything else you might try. 

Check out what else he has to say  about how this love can be implemented

What if some of the children in your meeting have no family in the church? What if Christian church life is a foreign culture to them? How can you relate Bible principles to their life experience? And how might you engage their parents with the Christian message, so that they feel welcome and comfortable in church?

Reaching beyond the church walls, out into a culture which is not familiar with Christianity, is not easy. But Gary Newton has tackled these issues in a thoughtful and thorough way, over at ChristianMinistry.com.

There is a lot of food for thought in Drop Off or Drop Out? Spare five minutes to check it out. And if you have longer, there’s a wealth of good things elsewhere on the site.

Glasses, water and shredded paper can teach a musical lesson. 

Ken Sapp over at CreativeYouthMinistries has blogged about how to help the kids can make a Do-It-Yourself xylophone and even play tunes. 

Taking it one step further, Ken suggests substituting the water in one glass with shredded paper, and a spiritual lesson can be illustrated – living in harmony, being a blessing to others and the need for God in our lives.

Full details, and tons more great ideas, are over at  Ken’s blog:

Creative Youth Ministries

Catherine and I have always tried to improve our communication skills. One way to open ourselves up to learn more about this topic is to see how professional communicators think and work.

Nora Reed, in a blog post for professional logo designers, asks the question:

Is your logo design capable of making your customers SMILE? 
Simple
Memorable
Inviting
Limited in references
Exciting

What better goal could we have with the kids (or indeed teens or adults) we teach?

• Simple: one or at the most two teaching points clearly explained and repeated in different ways
• Memorable: using illustrations that make the link from what they know to what we hope they will learn; having physical activities and worksheets that reinforce the main teaching point of the lesson;  using music to sing the truths into their memories and hearts; modelling in our own lives the truths we want them to remember
• Inviting: a warm, caring, environment with fun, that draws them back week after week; where discipline is fair and every child has a chance to enjoy the class or meeting without hindrance; where they are known and welcomed by name.
• Limited in references: for the advertiser that meant not copying or echoing too many other products. That could confuse the customer and sully the uniqueness of the branding.
  For us it could simply mean what it says – not bamboozling our kids by referring to too many Bible references in one lesson. It’s okay to paraphrase now and again, in language the children understand. Of course, we always make it plain that the Bible is our source. As points 1 and 2 say, we want to be simple and memorable.
• Exciting: no need to spell out that one. If we are excited and enthusiastic, that will communicate to the kids. If we are fresh, varied and even unpredictable in our programme, that will excite them too.

There are many ways to make our children SMILE.  This is just  my first reaction to seeing  Nora’s tip for good communication. What would you like to add to the list?