Effective Children's Ministry

Archive for the ‘Teaching’ Category

We know that many of our readers have been downloading PowerPoint presentations and leaders’ notes for the What Christians Believe series.
(See here for Part 1, Part 2 and  Part 3)

Originally, we had only three presentations. But  from those to whom we were teaching  Parts 1-3 came questions about the Apocrypha. So we began to create some teaching to place into context these books, which appear in some versions of the Bible and not others.

Then, with the rising popularity of The Da Vinci Code book and film, came questions about what Dan Brown and others believed regarding the life of Jesus and the people surrounding him. So Gnosticism became another topic, and it sat very well with the teaching we were preparing on the Biblical Apocrypha.

This PowerPoint presentation and leaders’ notes is now available for you here. As you will see from another post, the materials found on this site need not be confined to children’s ministry.  Youth and adults will benefit from this, too.

In The Bible Part 4: Apocrypha and Gnosticism you will find material which answers the questions:

• What is the Apocrypha?
• Does it fit in with the rest of the Bible?
• Why are these books not accepted by main-stream evangelicals?
• What are the Gnostic Gospels?
• What do gnostics today believe?
• Are present day gnostics correct in their thinking?

To download the files for this presentation, right-click on the links below and save to your own computer.

The Bible Part 4 – The Biblical Apocrypha and Gnosticism – Powerpoint file

The Bible Part 4 – The Biblical Apocrypha and Gnosticism – Leaders’ notes PDF

Catherine and I recently visited two wonderful museums.

Two museums

One was the site of the remains of a Roman fort in Northern England, near Hadrian’s Wall. Here, at Segedunum, North Shields, we saw outlines of the stony foundations of the soldier’ barracks, the stables, groom’ quarters, a granary and the central praetorium, or commander’s house.

We were guided round the ancient ruins by means of an audio explanation, which seemed to bring it all to life. We were also fortunate to see a reconstructed bath house and a mock up of a stable, so we got a glimpse of what life was like in the barracks for the weary soldiers returning from patrol.
Inside, the museum presented artefacts which the archaeologists had found on the site. Among them we saw pieces of cavalry tack and equipment, and religious items. One very interesting room was given over to medical instruments. We were told what operations they were used for and how various ailments were treated by the doctors. It all made us think of our lives today, and we compared our situation with the Romans of a thousand years ago. Somehow we felt connected with them.

In contrast, some months later we visited another eminent museum. It also housed Roman artefacts and some stunning medieval pieces, including jewellery. But this time, there was only a limited effort made to set the find in context. There was no audio guide and the labels on the cases were not sufficient to satisfy our curiosity about what we were seeing.

Wonderful as the displays were, that second museum seemed to miss what the first one had given us – a sense of connection, the ability to identify with some of the items and the people behind them. The Roman culture was very different from ours, yet we felt affection for these people.

Four questions:

1. How do we relate the gospel of Jesus Christ to the children we teach, and to their families?
2. How do we show that the message of the Bible is relevant for today, for their lives as well as for those of a people who lived over 2000 years ago?
3. Do we engender a sense of reality about the characters we talk about?
4. Do the children feel a connection, an affection even, for them?

We can make the connection between two cultures:

1. If we ensure that our teaching is not only “a Bible story” (good as it is to convey a true narrative) but something more.
2. If we explain the life-principles behind the narrative, not in a dry, legalistic way, but in a way that engages the children’s interest.
3. If we ask God to help us see situations and scenarios that the kids are familiar with, and use them to help the children connect the Bible principles with their own 21st century youth culture.

Apart from covering everything in prayer and trusting God to anoint our ministry with the power of the Holy Spirit, is there anything else you would suggest which would help us to put Scripture into today’s context for kids?

Abraham Lincoln was supposed to have said something like:

If you gave me six hours to cut down a tree I’d spend four hours sharpening the axe.

In other words, he planned to take twice as long preparing for a task than actually doing it. So, what constitutes preparation for a Bible lesson or task in a class or meeting? 

• Gathering together all equipment – visual aids, demonstration items, snacks, whatever you are going to need to fulfil your responsibility. If your memory is as bad as mine make a list and check it off physically as each item is bagged and taken to your transport.
• Becoming thoroughly familiar with what you will be doing – how you will teach the lesson, how the skit will run, or the sketch-board item, how the song visuals and actions will work, etc.
  I find it very helpful to “run a video” through my mind of how the meeting/class will progress. Ever seen the downhill ski competitions? The cameras often pick up an athlete waiting for his or her start, eyes closed, hand in front of them dipping and swooping, bending and stretching, as they replicate in their mind the run they are about to do, with all its turns, dips and leaps.
  By “running the video” of your club meeting ahead of time, you may realize that you have not planned for an important element. You might, for example, imagine yourselve organizing the pre-schoolers hand painting project. Then, as you “fast-forward” to the end of that session, you realize you have not planned a vital ingredient… and you would really regret it if you didn’t take the wet-wipes and paper towels for use after the hand-painting!
• Relying on Christ  – At the end of the day, all your planning, list-making and forward thinking will be of little value if God is not in what you do.
  I realized at one point in my ministry that I was, in reality, relying on my familiarity with the lessons and visuals, human personality and even past spiritual successes. But “without Christ we can do nothing”. Breakthrough in kids’ understanding of spiritual matters can come only as the Holy Spirit does his work. I need to always rely on Christ to anoint me, flow through me and open young eyes and hearts to Bible truth. And that is essential preparation.

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!