One sure way to help kids memorize bible verses is to say them out loud. An article on the Psychology Today website confirms what we have probably known all along!

They looked at people’s memory for items like a list of words. They found that if people studied the list by reading half of the words silently and the other half by saying the words out loud, that he words spoken aloud were remembered much better than those that were read silently.

There are lots of games and strategies to make out-loud repetitive learning fun. Speaking out the Word of God is a proven help to remembering.

Kathy Vincent (aka Scripture Lady) has some great ideas from making out-loud learning fun for kids.  Here is a great one. Check it out and see if you would like to use it this week with your class or club

CRAZY STAND UPs  Bible memorization from Scripture Lady

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

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)

Here is another presentation, dealing with such matters as:

• What sort of things are in the Bible?
• What are the Old and New Testaments?
• What is the difference between them?
• How did the books that are in the Bible get there?
• What are “verses” ?

The presentation gives opportunity for you to share your own real-life experience of God helping you through the Bible. Or perhaps you have a helper you would like to involve in this way.

The presentation  finishes with an open-ended challenge, which you can develop to suit your group’s age and development.

We have found that children, teens and adults alike have valued this sort of information.

Full presenter’s notes are included and you are free to adapt and develop them to suit your group. To  download these files, Right-Click on the link and save the file to your hard drive. When you open this file, the presentation will self-run.

The Bible Part 3 : PowerPoint presentation  (10 MB .pps file)

The Bible Part 3 : Presenter’s notes   (PDF)

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.

Posting about these resources is not  an indication that we have read  and approved everything . We simply want you to know about them and use your own judgement concerning their suitability for your work.

After mentioning today a free 3-year curriculum plan from Kidology, we have just seen a blog post from the excellent FreeCMStuff.com site.

There you will find news of a free 13-week course outline for children’s bible lessons. Made available by Children’s Ministries University Online, the course marries principles from the book of Hebrews to lessons from the Gospels.

You can download and review the course here.

Look for “The Book of Hebrews: 13 Weeks of Children’s Church Lessons”

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

Now he has uploaded his Monthly review for January and it’s a real bumper bundle!  To give you  the flavour of what Wayne has gathered this month in his “Children’s Ministry Blog Patrol” here is his table of contents:

• Practical Teaching Tips and Advice
• General Ministry Issues
• Leaders and Leadership
• Orange Week
• Volunteers
• Kids & Theology
• Kids & Christ
• Cultural Trends
• Resources (Music, Conferences, Internet Sites, Books, Games)
• Curriculum and Object Lessons
• Family Ministry
• Parenting and Marriage Issues
• Just For Fun

For those of us with limited time he has even highlighted the “must-reads”. 

It’s well organized and clear, so you can find your way to the items that most interest you. Enjoy the feast of good things!

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?

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