Effective Children's Ministry

Posts Tagged ‘article’

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?

Wayne Stocks, over at Dad in the Middle, has blogged about his favourite web resources for childrens ministry workers.

Wayne says:

My struggle in developing this list was not to find adequate sites, but to limit them to just the top three for each category! The list person who dwells inside of me would have given you a list of every site I ever visited ranked by how useful I found them, but I decided to refrain. So, the following is a list of my personal Top 3 sites for various categories related to Children’s Ministry:

So we hope his list of  “Best of the Best – Children’s Ministry Internet Resources” is of benefit to you. Thanks Wayne!

Would you like to have the pick of the kids’ ministry – from all over the web – in one place…everyweek?

If the answer is yes, then you will love the weekly roundup at Ministry-to-Children.com.

With news, comment and practical help sources from the many excellent children’s ministry sites online, there is bound to be something to inspire and help you.

Onca again, here is that link to the This Week in Children’s Ministry for 1/20/2010

How do we tell Bible stories without giving kids the false impression that the stories are as imaginary as other stories they are familiar with? How do we convey to them that the men and women in the Bible are not imaginary super-heroes?

Catherine and I have always taken time to state clearly that we believe the Bible story we are about to tell really did happen.  We also took time in our curriculum/schedule to teach the reason why we know the Bible is true; why we can be sure that it is God’s message to us and not just the thoughts of men. This need not be tedious or dry and it can be done as a “spot” in the class/meeting over a number of weeks.

Here are a few more thoughts.
1. We should always preface the lesson by saying “We know this really happened, because it is in the Bible and the Bible is true” (unless you are teaching a parable and then you can say, “This is a story that Jesus told .”

2. We should use our imagination in recounting a Bible story, to dramatize it and make it relevant to the lives of our children. But we need to preface the “imagined” details with something like: “We can well imagine that ……” or, “We can’t be sure what happened then, but I expect……”.

3. When telling a fictional story we should always say that it is “pretend” or “made-up” or “imagined”. There is no harm in telling such a story to illustrate a Bible truth. But after we have finished, we must be sure to add something like: “Well, that story about X and Y was a pretend one, but there is something in it that is absolutely true!” And then re-emphasise the biblical theme that the story illustrated.

4. We need to make it clear that miracles are not magic, nor are they illusions like entertainers can do. They are the power of God at work – real answers to real problems in real lives.

5. We can use elements of our own personal story, or that of a helper, or someone else the kids know, to illustrate the lesson. Doing that anchors the truth to real-life and shows that what “worked” for the Bible people “works” for us. It shows that we have trusted in the Bible as God’s message and guide for us and proved it to be true.

7. Point out the flaws in the character and actions of the people in the Bible lesson. That is proof that this book is inspired by the God who sees all, and not a make-believe story about super-heroes.

8. If we have a Bible prominently displayed, and if we handle it carefully and reverently, the kids will pick up that this is a very special book, not like any ordinary story book.

9. If we continually live out in our own lives the truths that we are teaching, that adds credibility to what we are teaching from the Bible.

In all these varied ways we will build up an attitude in our children of reverence and trust in God’s Word.

I was prompted to post on this subject because of a forum thread over at Ministry-to-Children.com

It also gave us the impetus to upload some PowerPoint material on this very subject. So watch out for it coming in the next day or two!

Thanks to  julosstock for the image.

This topic is not especially for children’s workers, but it is good for all of us to have considered it.

“The debate about whether or not Christians should celebrate Christmas has been raging for centuries. There are equally sincere and committed Christians on both sides of the issue, each with multiple reasons why or why not Christmas should be celebrated in Christian homes. But what does the Bible say? Does the Bible give clear direction as to whether Christmas is a holiday to be celebrated by Christians?”

A clear and interesting discussion of both sides of the question can be found at  

Children who have been raised in the church, and come to faith early in life, can be the biggest moaners and disrupters in the group you are teaching. They have “seen that”, “done that” all before.

So what is the problem, and how can these kids be stretched and guided into a new level of experience with God?

I came upon an article  from ChildrensMinistry.com, which addresses this and has some helpful and practical suggestions. See what you think.

>> Here it is.

Children’s workers are always busy people ( as are others in the Lord’s service!) This time of year may be very stressful, with our own family Christmas to sort out and, on top of that, our church presentations to organize and events to run. If bereavement has placed an additional stress on you, there is help. I found the following article very helpful and hope you will too.

>‘He is… acquainted with grief…’ (Isaiah 53:3).

Christmas can be a difficult time, especially when you’ve lost a loved one. The sounds and sights that once brought you such joy now remind you of them, and reinforce your sense of loss. There’s no magic formula; grief is a process you must walk through, and it takes time. Here are some personal thoughts that might help:

Try to keep things in perspective: Christmas is only one day out of 365. You can do anything for 24 hours because God promised that  ‘. . .your strength will equal your days’ (Deutronomy 33:25 NIV).

Check and see if there’s a needy family or a lonely neighbour who’d enjoy spending an hour with you. Reaching out is difficult – but it brings healing.

Don’t accept the myth that everybody else is having ‘a perfect Christmas’ while you struggle. The truth is, even for Christians, Jesus’ birth gets eclipsed by unrealistic demands and the pressures of shopping, entertaining and gift-giving. Why do you think we’re so relieved when it’s all over?

Don’t maintain old traditions if they make you feel worse. Create new ones that work for you now – you might even want to keep them.

If you’re struggling with Christmas this year, here’s a prayer for you:
‘Lord, You know how I feel today, because Your Word says You are familiar with grief. Heal my heart and fill its emptiness. Become more real to me than the activity without and the loneliness within. Help me to discover You and, in so doing, make this a Christmas like none I’ve ever known. Amen.’ Reprinted from Word for Today by kind permission of UCB, PO Box 255, Stoke-on-Trent, ST4 8YY, from whom free copies of this daily devotional booklet are available for the UK and the Republic of Ireland.

I once read a lovely story about Christmas:

We often learn the most from our children. Some time ago a friend of mine punished his three 3-year-old daughter for wasting a roll of gold wrapping paper. Money was tight, and he became infuriated when the child tried to decorate a box to put under the tree. Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift to her father the next morning and said, ‘This is for you, Daddy.’

He was embarrassed by his earlier over-reaction, but his anger flared again when he found that the box was empty. He shouted at her, ‘Don’t you know that when you give someone a present, there’s supposed to be something inside it?’ The little girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes and said, ‘Oh Daddy, it’s not empty. I blew kisses into the box – all for you.’

The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little girl, and he begged her forgiveness. My friend told me that he kept that gold box by his bed for years. Whenever he was discouraged, he would take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it there.

In a very real sense, each of us as parents has been given a gold container filled with unconditional love and kisses from our children. There is no more precious possession anyone could hold.
I cringe when I think of the times I have done something similar. Between all the fussing and the disciplining, I sometimes need to stop and remember what a treasure my children are, and how thankful I am to God for blessing me through them. – Anonymous