Instead of a Christmas Letter this year (December was just to crazy this year!) I opted for a more electronically savvy method, and created a video to reflect on 2011. Besides, it was too hard to choose which pictures to put into a letter – we started one, and which pictures to choose, was so hard!
This year included a trip to California to see my childhood best friend, Andy, get married, (and a trip to DisneyLand while there) and another trip back later in the year to perform my first wedding for his little sister, Lindsay!
We enjoyed many visits from friends coming to enjoy Colorado and stay with us (when are YOU coming?) and enjoying this beautiful state ourselves as we still discover its vast beauty!
Luke turned 5, and wanted a “real Jeep” for his birthday, so I rented a Jeep for the day! I started “Dad School” a mini-home school to focus on the areas he needed help, and also “Family Pit Stops,” our evening family devotional times as he got old enough for intentional spiritual input from Dad.
Sara is a table leader for MOPS at our church and I continue to write a children’s church curriculum called DiscipleTown in addition to leading Kidology. I wrap up a two year column in Children’s Ministry Magazine after being named one of the Top 20 Leaders in the past 20 years, which was a pretty big surprise and honor. We added three new employees this year, with new VP of Operations starting January 1st, so we are pretty excited about what God has in store for our little ministry.
In addition to my fourth Yosemite Summit, I also got to take Luke and Sara this year – and seeing Luke discover my favorite place on earth, and show him all my “secret places” the tourists walk right past was a real treat, and watching him find his own, “secret places” that he wants to come back to someday. And extra bonus, after speaking at two camps this year, was being invited back to one on short notice (a previously scheduled speaker got called to heaven on short notice) I took my dad with me and we added on a trip to Yosemite, just as father and son – yet another highlight of the year for me personally.
So 2011 was a busy year, but a good year. In 2012, I hope to find a slower pace and perhaps some more margin, but am still eagerly excited to see what God has in store for my family.
Thank you to everyone who calls us family, friends, and who supports us in prayer. If you are not a part of my personal prayer support e-mail list, it’s called the Kidology Champion Prayer Supports List, and you can subscribe here. Just update your Kidology Newsletters to include that list.
I hope you had a Merry Christmas, and we wish you a Happy New Year from our family to yours!
Every organization is limited by its leader. I’m keenly aware of that. I’m a visionary leader. I love vision. I teach it, and hopefully live what I teach. But I also realize that I can limit my own organization by my own limitations. Kidology has seen exciting growth every year since we began in 1994, back when me and Al Gore invented the Internet. (LOL) I’ve chronicled the history of Kidology in other places at other times, so I won’t do that here – but to say that in the past few years we have reached yet another juncture where the strain on me has become intense personally, as I seek to both lead the business side of Kidology and serve as the creative force behind the product development and ministry side of Kidology.
The range of products and services we offer our visitors and members now is breath-taking! And I oversee all of it.
It’s a little schizophrenic at times, and my staff are very gracious as I shift roles constantly, but its rough on me, my family and our organization. I also serve on the board of several other organizations and serve as a consultant to other kidmin ministries in our market helping them to succeed and improve behind the scenes. But it has spread me very thin. I have known for years that I needed a full time “right hand man” but have lacked the combination of the timing, funding and the right person for the job.But the time has come.
So we are taking a step of faith – it seems all three have come together. I have hired today a Vice President of Operations and will be shifting out of my current role of running everything at Kidology, moving into a Chief Creative Officer role, and working with a new full time VP of Operations who will work with me in the oversight and coordination of Kidology. Certainly, it will take some getting used to – but he seems to be the man for the job and it is definitely the time for it.
This is one of the times where we are stepping out in faith!
I would ask for your prayer as we head into 2012 for wisdom, insight, the mind of Christ, discernment and unity as a team as we make the needed changes and adjustments in order to take Kidology to the next level of ministry.
Do you know the IMPACT of Kidology.org?
When we combine all levels of members of Kidology.org, both Basic and Premium, as of right now, it is around 17,000 churches. Let’s be conservative and estimate that each of those churches represent only 100 children.
That would be 1,700,000 kids impacted by Kidology.org each and every week.
I believe it very well could be many more. We are accessed by users in over 70 countries.
God is using our website to make a difference in individuals, in families, in churches – and best of all – in the lives of kids.
OUR MISSION: To Equip and Encourage Those Who Minister to Children.
That’s why I am so thrilled to announce that starting January 1st, 2012 Kidology will have a new Vice President of Kidology. His name is Mark Maestas.
Mark has an Mdiv in Leadership from Denver Seminary. He has served as a Family Pastor, College Pastor, as an interim Children’s Pastor, but most recently also in business leadership at Target Stores here in the Denver area. Sorry, Target, but the Kingdom needs him more.
We look forward the leadership and management experience that Mark will bring to Kidology.org and ask that you pray for him as he prepares to begin in the New Year.
RAISED SO FAR: $405 (Just crossed the half way point! Thanks!)
I’m looking for Children’s Pastors and Volunteers who would be willing to help me give an iPad and some special software to a five year old boy whose family has a real need for this.
It could change his life.
Meet Brook. Brook is a lively little boy who can only say a few words – one of which is “God’s House,” which he prefers to say instead of “church” – but for the most part is unable to speak and therefore communication with his sister and mom is very difficult.
His mom has learned about the difference an iPad and some special apps could make in his life – and have tried out a few on an iPhone, and can see that it would be very helpful – but buying one is an obstacle that is out of reach for their family.
As I learned of this need through a family member, and then met this mom and boy, I thought this could be a wonderful way for my network of kidmin friends to show the love of Jesus to this little boy.
If you would like to see the difference an iPad and these special apps can make in Brook’s life, watch this short video from 60 Minutes recently was broadcast.
I would like to raise about $800 in order to purchase an iPad as well as software for Brook. Here are some samples of the software available, to explain the cost:
If you would like to give, your gift will be tax-deductible by giving via the Kidology Foundation at: www.kidology.org/donate
Even if you can only give $5 to $20 (or certainly more) it will all add up. I’ve already put $100 in the fund myself, but there is much more to raise.
Would you consider helping? Just donate via this link, and put “iPad for Brook” in the comment box when you give. I will post here when we have raised enough. Again, no gift is too small! Please consider helping out.
What an awesome Christmas Gift it would be for Brook if we can do this!
Thanks for joining me in this great opportunity to help a young boy’s world of communication open up in his family! His mom and little sister will be so blessed if enough people will respond to make this happen.
You may remember awhile back, I did a post called Kidmin Toolkit, and it got WAY over 50 comments and a lot of interaction! It was a lot of fun!
Well, it took awhile to compile all the responses and pick a WINNER – but that original post has been UPDATED with both the winner and PDFs and WORD documents with all the submissions in a list, so you can compile your very own Kidmin Toolkit and BE READY for the next time you suddenly get called to go teach or serve and have no time to plan or pack or prepare – just grab your Kidmin Toolkit and GO!
GO THERE NOW – to see WHO WON, and download the TOOLKIT LISTS!
Leave your NEW COMMENTS HERE, rather then there. I’m especially interested in whether anyone actually creates their Kidmin Toolkit. If you do, send me a picture and I will post it here in this thread! E-mail to karl at kidmintalk.com as I will probably end up talking about this on KidminTalk soon!
Writing the Kid’s Church Cookbook was one of the biggest undertakings I’ve ever done. It was bigger than the Order of the Ancient novel, since it required design work and layout involvement that was much more intense, and bigger than the Kidology Handbook since not only is it over 100 pages longer, but it involved me filming seven complete training videos in a custom kitchen studio all while it was closed over a Christmas break… it was an insane time. I won’t even bother typing all that involved, crazy story best saved for telling in person. While it took over two years to get the editing done, the filming was all done in just 3-4 days almost non-stop without sleep!
This post was inspired by some encouraging words I just got from a Kidology member named Martin Maynard, which I thought I’d share, in case you’ve been considering picking it up: (I edited to shorten and leave some stuff out.)
Karl, the reason I am writing is your Kids Church Cookbook is the best training I have ever come across in my years of reading and studying. I appreciate what you are doing through Kidology, what an amazing site. I wish more folks would grab a hold of what you are doing. I sincerely think your material is just awesome and it is just what we need.
I just read your chapter on Object Lessons and how you describe how to take an object and just start describing it slowly, giving time for the connection to be made between the abstract and the concrete. Truly amazing. I truly have read tons of books and there are some great leadership books out there, but none really touch on creativeness. Man you tackle creativeness head on and make it not so intimidating. I just think this material is just that good. I feel so blessed to have stumbled on your site and to have come across the material. I feel God lead me to it. Thanks for your work at raising up youth to be disciples.
- Martin Maynard
The Cookbook took several years to write and to produce the training videos that go along with it – and it is so encouraging when people take the time to send a note of encouragement. I have never seen an exhaustive work on Kids Church, and during this season of life when I’m not in weekly church ministry, I felt God telling me to use this time to write “everything I know about children’s church” from having written and led over 1000 kids church services for over fifteen years of ministry. It was hard work, but oh so fun to do it in such a creative manner. (With the Chef theme that really played out nicely as it unfolded.) I tried to cover a wide spectrum of topics from lesson preparation to recruiting to room decorating to advance planning and so much more. It’s kinda the definitive work on Kid’s Church! Like I said, no one else has ever even tackled the topic on this scope or breath before. And with the addition of seven training videos, it really became a hefty project!
But in the end, I think it’s quite a helpful tool that should serve those who teach kids and lead Kids Church for years to come.
Thanks Martin for your encouragement! I’m glad it is helping your kids church team, and I hope it will help many others to cook up lessons that kids are gonna love and provide the tools to assist in preparing more spiritually nourishing lessons wherever the Cookbook is used!
