In case you haven’t heard, www.ToyBoxTales.com has been completely redesigned and improved!
You can now watch ALL the 101 ToyBox Tales instantly via embedded flash, no more need to download first. And for those who want the downloads for showing at church, they are now all available on one page. Free for Kidology.org members or directly on www.ToyBoxTales.com for a very nominal once-in-a-lifetime fee.
So jump over and check out the ALL NEWwww.ToyBoxTales.com and enjoy some Bible stories like you’ve never seen them before!
Here are some of the most popular videos on the site:
This is the one that started it all. Karl did this at camp in 2001 and the following summer the kids were still talking about it and asking him to do more “action figure Bible stories” - discovering that it was a powerful method for teaching, and since he already owned hundreds of action figures, ToyBox Tales was born!
This is the #1 downloaded/viewed video on the site. It is also the only one where Karl had to pull the video feed at the end because a hampster was stuck in the oven!
This is the #1 requested video Karl is asked to show at conferences when he offers to show a ToyBox Tale before a workshop. And no, the hamster is not trained or remote controlled, he is just a natural.
This is the only tale on the site that was recorded live in front of an audience of all adults at the Kidology University. Seems adults are just big kids after all.
This is Karl’s favorite. It doesn’t mean its the best one - just that if you are a Star Wars fan, you’ll probably enjoy it the most. (There are at least 20 Star Wars themed Tales, depending on how you count them.)
There are several series on the site that are best viewed or shown to kids in order:
This was the first series Karl did and there are high school kids that still quote lines from it! “Fe, Fi, Fo, Fum, Who Stole My Bubble Gum!” This series is a powerful parable explaining the background to the Gospel. Not just what Jesus did, but why He had to die for our salvation.
A classic and the #1 selling ToyBox Tales DVD. Roy, the Boy of Joy and TheLover Man are two that people mention as their all time favorite ToyBox Tale when they meet Karl.
This powerful series covers the book at Acts like no other ever has. Starts with Easter and ends with a missionary message to go into all the world. The Enemy of My Enemy is Karl’s favorite.
These can be shown independantly, but were done three weeks in a row. Each has a unique and important message to kids: Choosing Jesus as your hero, Choosing your words carefully, and your destination (salvation).
While Kermit introduces the vast majority of the ToyBox Tales, this is the only series that was not filmed live in front of children’s church. They are fully edited videos that therefore feature sound fx and other effects not possible in a live presentation. Probably the most difficult was filming live at local McDonald’s with a crowd of people watching the entire time!
DON’T MISS THE FREE REPORT AT THE END OF THIS POST!
TODAY is one of those days I declare Electronic D-Day! It is the day I process all the e-mails I have deferred recently to be done “later” - unfortunately, later may never arrive if you don’t declare an Electronic D-Day!
Why is it D-Day? Because on this day EVERY e-mail that is pending action is either:
Deleted
Deferred
Delegated or
Dealt with
If you struggle with managing e-mail, I have two gifts for you.
#1 Enjoy this video of me destroying a laptop, as I’m sure you’ve wanted to do the same!
NOW FREE! YES, FREE! YOU HAVE NO EXCUSE NOT TO GET YOUR E-MAIL UNDER CONTROL TODAY! Why wait another day?
Perhaps it is time for you to declare an Electronic D-Day! The TEN POWERFUL E-MAIL TIPS FOUND IN THIS REPORT may just change your life. From the feed-back I’ve gotten from family and friends, that isn’t an exaggeration!
The ideas in this report are both simple and amazingly profound. You may never look at e-mail the same. Long Gone can be the day where your e-mail controlled you!
It is time for YOU to slay the E-Mail Monster!
Take it from someone who managed probably ten times the e-mail you do, you NEED THIS REPORT!
First, George Barna confirmed what those of us in children’s ministry have known all along – that the ripest spiritual field is children, and that the most strategic way to stop the disappearance of a biblical world view in our church is to renew our commitment to children.
Next, Larry Fowler established the biblical basis for churches not just value children, but prioritize ministry to children. Others then followed with a renewed call to broaden the scope of children’s ministry to include the entire family, the loudest voice being Reggie Joiner asking us to rethink ministry at the Orange Conference offering their virtue-based family time resources and strategy to incorporate complete families in the Sunday church experience.
Then Awana Clubs, long known for its success at reaching unchurched children and providing kids a solid biblical foundation surprised us by dramatically altering its approach and confessing its past “let us disciple your kids” attitude was insufficient and began to completely re-engineer its programs to better include parents in the process.
Soon many more, like Julia Duin in Quitting Church, began revealing stats showing just how poorly we are doing in translating Bible Quiz-Whiz kids into faithful disciples when they got old enough to choose whether to attend church or not.
While DiscipleLand has long offered a comprehensive home-based/church-supported curriculum strategy for discipling children, other companies all over the map are waking up to the need to engage the home rather than just keep adding to the programs and resources available at church. “Family Ministry” and “Partnering with Parents” are the buzz words appearing everywhere.
Then Larry Fowler was back with a strategy to build a comprehensive birth to high school strategy for preparing the next generation to be spiritually strong and healthy; to be “Modern Day Josephs” in an ever increasingly secular culture. Most recently, D6 (Deuteronomy chapter six) has splashed on the scene offering not only a family-wide church curriculum, but also devotional magazines from preschool through adulthood aiming to get the entire family in sync with what they are learning in the home.
Everywhere you look, from workshops at CPC to the newest children’s ministry leadership books, you are hearing a growing call: The spiritual formation of children must be done by parents, not for parents. The church’s role is shifting from one of serving and supporting parents to one of empowering, equipping and encouraging parents.
If you can’t feel the wave growing, you’ve either let it pass ahead of you – or should see the swell rising behind you. To best “surf” this growing ministry wave, you’ll need to carefully watch the swell growing, letting some of the smaller advance ones pass, position yourself in the best spot, start paddling in the right direction, and get ready to start pushing down at just the right moment. Soon you too can stand up and ride it in!
Perhaps you are convinced already. Children’s Ministry “as usual” isn’t cutting it. You’ve got to better partner with parents if you truly want to see children transformed into spiritual champion and modern day Josephs. But how?
Let me tell you this. The answer isn’t another curriculum, resource or program. That doesn’t mean you might not switch to DiscipleLand, send home FamilyTime CDs, encourage the use of D6 devotional magazines, or establish new programs or plan various family events. But these cannot be your solution. They can only be components of YOUR strategy. The solution for your church begins with you and your pastor.
As I wrote about in my article The New Deal, in the Jan/Feb 09 issue of Children’s Ministry Magazine, and expounded upon and detailed in my Kidology Leadership Lab: Partnering with Parents, the key is to start with a brutally honest and open conversation with parents as to what their needs, desires, frustrations, struggles, and hopes are for their kids and how they see the church helping or hindering their efforts.
Next, I would suggest, you’ve got to step back and ask yourself three key questions about every age level in your ministry:
1. What KNOWLEDGE do I want them to have?
2. What SKILLS do I want them to have?
3. What EXPERIENCES would I like them to have?
KNOWLEDGE: There is obviously a great need for teaching children the Bible and the truth it contains. Most ministries do this fairly well. Few can give you an overview of their strategy to ensure what their student will or should know at the various stages of growing up. A genuine strategy for forming disciples requires that the organizer of the process know what the long term goals are. As the old saying goes, “If you aim at nothing, you are sure to hit it!” Now extend this to families! What knowledge do families need to be successful? Do we run the risk of filling our kids with a whole host of biblical trivia and neglect giving families the knowledge they need in order translate what the children are learning at church into real life? Perhaps it is time to get out paper and pencil and start writing out what you believe your families need to know to succeed, and then start evaluating whether they do, how they can, and how you’ll evaluate if they do?
SKILLS: My experience has been that the vast majority of church, if they focus intentionally on what their children need to know, stop there. But knowledge alone does make a disciple. (James warns that even demons know the truth about God, and shudder!) A disciple is one who lives out the knowledge of God in their daily life, and to do so requires key skills. Bible skills, while often taught to children, are only the beginning. We all learned to drive a car while young, but would all agree there is much more to driving than operating a car. Likewise, being able to navigate a Bible is useless if one doesn’t know how to study, understand and then apply what is discovered to life. Have you listed, by age range, what you want your children, youth and parents to be able to DO as a follower of Christ?
EXPERIENCE: The third aspect touches on one of the weaknesses of church programming. In the creating of programs and planning of events, we are often quick to forget the PURPOSE of programs and events. They are not the end – they are the means to the end. The goal of a church ministry is not to create programs or events, it is to create life experiences that impact the spiritual growth of the individuals enrolled in the program or attending the event. This is an important distinction because not all experiences that a disciple needs on along their spiritual journey can be programmed or created via an event. Programs and events can only create a context for life experiences. So, again, I would challenge you to invest some time in asking and answering the question, what experiences do the children, youth and families of my church need to grow as disciples of Jesus?
One of the best things you could do for your ministry is to mentally set aside all your programs, events and plans and answer the questions above. Then, after having answered them, take a look at your programs, events and plans and consider the following:
1. What is the best thing I could stop doing that doesn’t fit these objectives?
2. Does my curriculum support these objectives? (Beyond just teaching Bible knowledge)
3. How do my standing programs help or hinder these objectives?
4. What events do I need to create in order to provide the needed life experiences?
5. What events do I need to cancel because they may be good, but are no longer on target?
6. What experiences can no program or event create? How can I foster those experiences?
7. How can I help families develop the skills they need to keep growing?
In order to develop a ministry-wide strategy of making disciples, you must start to not only include parents in your considerations, but make them an essential ingredient. This will take effort, creativity, and a willingness to accept; even initiate change. “Ministry as usual” is certainly easier, but if long-term results are what we are truly after, then we must be willing to make adjustments now. If only one degree of change now can have incredible long-term results later, imagine the eternal impact of being more strategic now. Most ministries probably need more than one degree of change, but we’ll have all eternity to enjoy the results if we don’t hesitate. It all starts with asking the right questions. The answers to these questions will be different in every church. But if you don’t ask, you’ll never enjoy the results.
Because Jesus Loves Families,
Karl Bastian
Here are some helpful resources from Kidology.org to help you address this growing need to include parents in children’s minisitry.
I got an e-mail yesterday with a request from a senior pastor who will soon be speaking to a gathering of children’s pastors from around the country. He asked me:
If you were a denominational Christian Education Director who oversaw the children’s ministry for all the churches in a given state or region:
1. What 10 recent books would you read or tell other directors about?
2. What 10 web-sites would you share with other directors?
3. What 10 experiences, conferences or resources would you tell other directors about?
My response, “Sounds like a great blog post!” So here it is:
The Kidologist’s Top Ten Books for CM
Transforming Children Into Spiritual Championsby George Barna This is a must read for senior pastors as well as children’s pastors. Barna finally supports with research what children’s ministry leaders have known for decades.
Rock Solid Kidsby Larry Fowler The best biblical case made for church to prioritize ministry to children and to engage parents in the process rather than trying to do it for them.
Raising a Modern Day Josephby Larry Fowler Just released, this follow up to Rock Solid lays out a very doable strategy for the entire church to intentionally focus on raising up kids who stand strong against the culture.
Parenting is Heart Workby Scott Turansky & JoAnne Miller The parenting book that finally address the heart, not behavior. For too long have books and seminars focused on helping kids behave, rather than shaping hearts. Applicable to the church as much as the home.
Building Faith at Homeby Mark Holmen One of three books by Holman that lay out a strategy for engaging parents to take the lead in raising up children in the Christian faith.
Lead the Way God Made Youby Larry Shallenberger Instead of modeling your life after a leader you admire, Larry will show you how to lead the way you were meant to lead. Larry profiles me in one chapter exposing my weaknesses to the world!
The Fabulous Reinvention of Sunday Schoolby Aaron Reynolds While “reinvention” may be an overstatement, it IS a fresh presentation of creative teaching that will make a difference in kids lives. Challenges thinking and is loaded with tips and examples.
Grow, Minister and Leadby Bill Allison
Everything from Cadre Ministries is concise, on target, and loaded with practical advice and encouragement that builds the leader as much as his leadership.
The Kidology Handbookby Karl Bastian Called by many their manual for ministry, this PDF book is a blueprint for relational ministry, creative teaching and can serve as a teacher training resource as well.
Running on Empty by Fil Anderson While not directly a children’s ministry book, it is one I wish I’d read years sooner and that many other overachieving children’s pastors may find pivotal in how they approach life as well as ministry.
The Kidologist’s Top Ten Websites for CM
Kidology.org Since 1994 the leading children’s ministry website with more features than can be listed in a single sentence. If you could only have one site, this would be it. However, since you can have more:
CMconnect.org
The newest CM site, like Facebook for Children’s Ministery leaders.
BiblicalParenting.org The best place for resources for equipping and supporting parents in the church. Fantastic e-mail newsletter with parenting tips you can pass on in your own communication.
ChildrensMinistry.com - Children’s Ministry Magazine
The standard bearer of children’s ministry with a battalion of resources from its standard magazine, professional edition, books, resources, curriculum and conferences.
KidzMatter.com & K! Magazine Creative media teaching resources and the new K! Magazine provides a fresh perspective from many new voices.
HarvestBooks.orgfor books, curriculum & more
The trusted source for discounted children’s curriculum from all major publishers plus nearly any book you may be looking for. Known for the personal attention they give their customers.
JellyTelly.com& JellyBits.com The latest online video channel from Phil Vischer (Creator of VeggieTales) and a place where you can purchase videos to use in your own ministry.
ToyBoxTales.com Toys Teaching Biblical Truths
Karl never imagined this teaching tool he created for the kids of his own church would gain a cult following and end up having videos being shown in hundreds of churches across America.
HONORABLE MENTION:There has been an explosion in recent years in children’s ministry related blogs, there is simply no way to list them all, or choose just one, to put in a “Top Ten” list. (Visit mine!) Rather than merely being a place for helpful content, the Internet is now interactive as children’s ministry leaders connect and share information peer to peer. Facebook is rapidly growing as is Twitter.com were you can network in real time with others who share your passion for children’s ministry. (I’m on both!)
The Kidologist’s Top Ten Experiences for CM
Sunday Worship (See your church website for details)
There is no substitute for regular weekly worship with your local Body of Christ. You are a Christian before you are a leader. “Do not give up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing…” (O.K., getting off the soap box!)
Children’s Pastors Conference
The #1 children’s ministry conference. Often imitated, never duplicated. CPC is the first major conference any children’s ministr leader should attend. No other conference offers an Exhibit Hall packed with resources like CPC.
Conspire Conference(Willow Creek)
Amazing corporate worship, “big name” speakers, and a wide variety of breakouts. Plus, it’s in Chicago!
Orange Conference
The conference with the most “buzz” due to speaker line-up and a unified message and challenge to creatively adapt ministry to a new era. Strong focus on partnering with parents.
D6 Conference (NEW!)
A brand new conference from D6family.com championing a comprehensive approach to children and family ministry inspired by Deuteronomy chapter six.
How 2 Conference(NEW)
Group’s regional conferencing promising to help children’s ministry leaders get organized and then be prepared to train their own leaders back at their home church.
One Way Street Conferences
Puppet Festivals and creative art conferences around the country and as entertaining as they are practical.
Kidology Coaching
If you can’t travel to a conference, a seasoned personal coach can guide you through helpful materials customized to your ministry at your own pace while responding your current needs and struggles.
Kidology.org Online Training Leadership Development right on your computer that also equips you to turn around and train your own leaders and volunteers. Conferences are great, but when they aren’t possible, focused training is still possible.
Yosemite Summit The UNconference for children’s ministry leaders. No workshops - Just worship; No resources - just relationships; No networking - just God working. Spend four exhilarating days hiking in the spectacular Yosemite Valley with other children’s pastors. It may be that the best thing for your ministry, is to disconnect from ministry, and reconnect with God.
Forgive me for including some of my own resources/events, but hey, it’s my blog and I think they are in the top ten, even if I am a little biased. Of course, anytime you make a list - you can’t include everything - and nothing negative is inferred by the absence of any resource, ministry or event not included. It was difficult to keep it at ten.
However, my list need not be final! PLEASE use the comments to let me know of any books, websites or events/resources not listed above that you would include in YOUR “Top Ten” list!
This was the quietest Thanksgiving I’ve ever experienced, but I liked it! For the first time ever, neither of us had parents nearby and all our other local relatives had special plans so it was just the three of us. At first we were kinda bummed being used to big noisy family gatherings… but it was a nice change. Yesterday we dug out the Christmas stuff and got the tree up and started the always difficult task of figuring out how to arrange the furniture to accommodate Christmas. We have one of those front rooms where no matter what you do, something ends up awkward. I’d had a long nap so when Sara went to bed I was still full of energy. (Also in part due to some medicine that tends to put my metabolism into overdrive!) So I stayed up super late and got the whole front room all set up and decorated as a surprise for the wife, so she could just enjoy preparing the meal without the hassle of the dysfunctional house! Anyway, all that to say, the day started out wonderful as the little boy got to come down and see the tree, the fire place, and the new arrangement of his “car table,” media center and toy box.
I so enjoyed explaining that today was a special day called Thanksgiving. This was the first year we could explain it and know he understood. At breakfast we started by going around the circle several times to say something we were thankful for. Luke surprised and delighted us when the first thing he said was “Jesus.” Which honestly was a surprise! Obviously, Jesus is a part of our life, but we aren’t teaching him parrot answers when it comes to our faith - so for him to answer that way was a positive reflection of our family and life, and perhaps some church influence played in there as well. (we certainly hope!)
This will sound odd, but I spent the bulk of the day cleaning out the garage - with a little helper - and getting all the outdoor decorations ready to set up so that by nap time I would be ready to get it all up in that two plus hour window without little eyes. I was just putting up the final lights when he woke up! Whew!
The Thankful Bastian Family
I had offered Sara the option of us going out to a nice restaurant for Thanksgiving Dinner - maybe Cheesecake Factory or a Steakhouse (or should that be Turkeyhouse?) in order to save on cooking time since she was only feeding two men, but she loves to cook and when I tasted the turkey I was so glad we ate at home. WOW! She rolled the turkey breast in some kind of garlic salt with ground pepper and baked and sha-zam! It was the best turkey I’ve ever had. We used an alphabet puzzle to focus Luke on thinking of things that start with every letter that we are thankful for, and one of Sara’s was the Internet for finding recipes. Me too! The best thing is, there is left overs for tomorrow!
Then came the “surprise” Luke had been promised since waking up - that there was something outside for him after dinner. He was so excited. Even after he said, “A car?” and I had to break it to him that I hadn’t bought him a car. (It’s gonna be a long time until he is sixteen!) FINALLY, we bundled up and headed outside into the dark. Mom and the boy cuddled on the swing and Dad turned on the lights:
Oh if you could have seen his face! He ran around the yard beside himself with excitement! I didn’t bother with the camera then, we just wanted to enjoy the moment, so I took these pictures later after he was in bed. Then we got to introduce him to Joseph and Mary and begin the anticipation of Christmas.
On a humorous note, we got the lawn nativity set from Grandma and Grandpa who moved to California this summer and gave us some of the larger things they didn’t want to haul across America. (including the swing!) When I did my first “test” to see if everything worked, the only light that was out was baby Jesus! I quipped to Sara, “I had to change the light bulb in the Light of the World.” Just another reminder that our world is broken - the very reason He came to BRING Light into this dark world.
I can’t end this post without expressing gratitude for so many blessings from the Lord this year. Last night I asked Sara to help me make a list of things all three of us were thankful for and then I entered them in Wordle and after she went to bed I snuck over to the office and laminated four of them and made them place mats for the beautiful table arrangement she had made for our feast today.
Rather than try to express all my gratitude, here are my Wordles:
Planning for Thanksgiving themed after school club session yesterday, I was reminded of a ToyBox Tale I did in 2004 called “The Dude of Gratitude.” The kids enjoyed it so much I thought I’d remind my readers in case they need something fun for this Thanksgiving holiday.
Got some encouraging feedback on over the years:
“This is your best yet. I showed this episode to my class this past Sunday and they loved it. It had us all laughing. I especially like the ending when Dude flies off and forgets his baby the 1st time and then the 2nd time and finally remembers to take the baby the last time.”
Frank Torres, CA
The kids enjoy you, but we youth workers do too! I almost wish we had a Sunday Night Live telecast for the high school and college groups featuring, of course, Toybox Tales. Thanks for allowing God to use you in such a creative and wonderful way. My favorite is the Dude of Grattitude, with take your baby to work day attached–of course.
Lynne M. Thompson, Modesto, CA
So, enjoy this FLASH BACK: The Dude of Gratitude
If you want to download it to show in children’s church, be sure to visit the original post page. If you use it, let me know, it’s always encouraging!
People often ask how we are able to provide such an excellent conference at such affordable rates. Kidology is known for exceeding expectations because our conference registration fees are always very low considering the quality of the trainers, the exhibitors, meals and performers.
Our Sponsors make it possible to provide a top-notch event at an affordable price. Some contribute financially, some donate their services, all deserve our thanks! And we don’t accept just any sponsor - all our sponsors are by invitation because they are the best at what they do.
We are very grateful for our Kid U 2008 Sponsors!
LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR SPONSORS AND VISIT THEIR WEBSITES!
DiscipleLand
DiscipleLand’s family of resources forms a comprehensive Children’s Discipleship System™ that helps you equip kids to reach their peak potential as Jesus’ disciples. DiscipleLand partners with parents and teachers to lead children to:
Know God intimately.They develop a reservoir of knowledge based on a Biblical worldview.
Love Him passionately.They display Christlike character in every area of life.
Serve Him selflessly.They demonstrate faithful conduct that honors God and helps people.
You can easily customize DiscipleLand Bible curriculum to use anywhere, anytime!
Visit the official DiscipleLand website for more information… DiscipleLand.com
Kidz Blitz!
Kidz Blitz is a ministry focused on conducting shared-experience events for the family and developing a new style of children’s ministry curriculum and a fresh resource to children’s pastors/directors.
Kidz Blitz is synonymous with high-energy children’s ministry and crosses all major denominational lines as it continues to expand its unique approach to family events and children’s ministry curriculum across America.
Visit the official Kidz Blitz! website for more information… KidzBlitz.com
Uncle Charlie and Upward Bound Ministries
“Uncle Charlie” Bancroft is a nationally-known kids worship leader, highly sought after for his praise rallies.
Having served in local church youth ministry for 21 years, in 1997 Charlie created Upward Bound Ministries (Lutz, FL) in 1997 as a way to reach children with high-energy, upbeat music. His aim is to lift up the name of Christ so that men, women, and children will be drawn to Him and experience the joy that Christ brings into our lives!
He is a worship leader at Idlewood Baptist Church in Tampa, FL, where he attends with his wife Tammy, and his two sons, Andrew and Matt.
Visit the official Uncle Charle website for more information… UncleCharlie.com
Scripture Candy’s mission is to fulfill the great commission… by using a simple piece of candy. They desire to “Reach The World One Piece At A Time” by taking the best tasting candies and wrapping them in Scriptures so they can be passed out to everyone.
Visit the official Scripture Candy website for more information… ScriptureCandy.com
Harvest is one of the largest distributors of Sunday school and VBS curriculum in the country. Quantity discounts, free shipping and quick service are just some of the benefits of their curriculum service.
Harvest also carries thousands of books and Bibles in stock and is the publisher of Adventure Club — a reproducible midweek program for kids ages 4 years old through 6th grade.
Visit the official Harvest Publications website for more information… HarvestBooks.org
Timber-lee Christian Center
Since 1972, Timber-lee Christian Center has operated a year-round Christian camp, conference and retreat center operating under the auspices of the Forest Lakes and Great Lakes Districts of the Evangelical Free Church of America.
Timber-lee is located near the southern part of Wisconsin’s Kettle Moraine State Forest. It is 45 minutes southwest of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and 2 hours northwest of Chicago, Illinois. The site encompasses over 600 acres of wooded, rolling scenic land, and contains 65 existing buildings. Its mission is to create engaging communities where each young person encounters Christ through a dynamic camp experience.
Visit the official Timber-lee Christian Center website
for more information… Timber-lee.com
Speed Stacks
Take 12 specially designed plastic cups, stack and unstack them in precise patterns at ridiculously high speeds and you’ve got sport stacking with Speed Stacks ®.
Using the Speed Stacks StackMat ® , stackers time themselves for personal bests in the 3-3-3, 3-6-3 or Cycle stack. Head-to-head relays are also a fun and exciting component of sport stacking.
Speed Stacks, Inc., based in Colorado, is a family-owned business passionate about sport stacking and how it benefits kids of all ages improving hand-eye coordination, reaction time and focus while promoting good sportsmanship and teamwork. Stack Fast!
Visit the official Speed Stacks website for more information… SpeedStacks.com
The mission of God Rocks! is to “Energize Kids With the Good News!” Award-winning DVDs, music, and church curriculum help children ages 4 – 12 grow in God as they “Sing and Learn the Word” with NIV® Scripture songs and cool, rock characters!
Visit the official God Rocks! website for more information… GodRocks.ca
National Center for Biblical Parenting
The National Center for Biblical Parenting is committed to providing parenting resources that help parents touch the hearts of their kids.
They also help churches develop parenting ministries. Live seminars, video curriculum, books, audio CDs, and free email parenting tips are all available for individual use and to use in ministry.
Visit the official National Center for Biblcal Parenting website
for more information… BiblicalParenting.org
Awana
Awana is a ministry resource for churches and parents that offers fully integrated, biblical-focused programs to evangelize and disciple children ages 2 to 18.
Visit the official Awana website for more information… Awana.org
One Way Street
One Way Street provides resources and training for creative ministry, specializing in puppet ministry and other creative arts such as children’s music, clown ministry, gospel magic, ventriloquism, and more.
They are dedicated to helping teachers and ministers spread the Gospel by providing quality Christian resources.
Visit the official One Way Street website for more information… OneWayStreet.com
Timbuktoons
Timbuktoons is a small animation company that provides broadcast quality character animation and motion graphics services.
We also do illustration, graphic design (including logos), car detailing, catering, landscaping, Weddings and Bar Mitzvahs. (Just kidding about the last 5… unless it’s a slow month.)
Timbuktoons has been around since December 2004. We’re developing some properties to pitch for children’s TV series and we have some pretty fun online shorts in the works as well. Our vision is to pursue God, assist ministries with discipleship and influence culture thru creative media. We intend to remain a small to medium sized animation studio with a tight-nit and well-qualified team.
Visit the official Timbuktoons website for more information… Timbuktoons.com
KidMo
KidMo exists to create and produce educational and entertainment properties with a biblical worldview that inspire world changers.
KidMo’s curriculum and entertainment properties are produced through its parent company Orbit Church, the premiere provider of media-driven content to the church.
KidMo released its first DVD series, KidMo with Johnny Rogers, in 2003. It has become the fastest growing elementary age church curriculum product. This year, the company launched Lil’ K, a DVD-driven program for church preschool ministries.
Visit the official KidMo website for more information… KidMo.com
Stars of Christmas
Help the children in your ministry discover the true Star of Christmas is Jesus! The Stars of Christmas curriculum examines a different “Star” each week in a Grammy-style awards show that tells the entire biblical Christmas story in four lessons. This teaching tool was co-created by Kidology Board Member Dan Huffman — Children’s Pastor at The Chapel, an innovative multi-site church in Illinois — and the Willow Creek Association,
Bring a high level of teacher/child interaction and the ease of DVD teaching to your ministry with this unique curriculum. Large Group lesson segments are provided on DVD, making lesson set-up simple. However, the teacher sets up and interacts with kids between each section, while integrated, age-appropriate Small Group segments help kids process the key concepts of the lessons with adult volunteers.
The best way to say “THANK YOU” to our sponsors is to give them your business - I’m sure a few of these sponsors offer just what you are looking for! Check ‘em out!
Christine Yount is a leading voice in children’s ministry and someone you need to keep in your virtual circle of advisors. I’m excited to see her blogging and podcasting now. I’ve been listening to her for as long as I can remember and her longevity in children’s ministry leadership is a true mark of someone who is dedicated to a mission, not to a business or just trying to being heard. When Christine Yount speaks, I listen. (That doesn’t mean I always agree - but it does mean she forces me to think and constantly be evaluating. And I love that!)
Harvest is one of the largest distributors of Sunday school and VBS curriculum in the country. Quantity discounts, free shipping and quick service are just some of the benefits of their curriculum service.
