Of course, like Awana, I’m a huge fan of reaching boys and girls for Jesus.
I’m also a huge fan of my iPad and my iPhone.
So, how excited could I BE when Awana started making Apps for the iPhone and iPad. (and, that other mobile OS too, what it’s called, Robot? AI? Droid?)
First, they had the 100% Free Gospel App, which was fitting, since the Gospel is free, after all. And it adapts for the age of the person you are sharing the Gospel with.
It works for adults, teen or children and has an iPhone and iPad version. Every Christian should have this on their device so they are “Always prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks… the reason for the hope that you have.” (I Peter 3:15)
But now, Awana has released a BRAND NEW app called the Sparky App – and if you listen to my latest Kidmin Talk Webcast, you can even WIN A FREE download!
The Sparky App is a very cute storybook app that young children will adore.
As you open it, you can choose between English and Spanish, and whether you want to read it or have the story read to you.
You follow a fun story about Sparky and learn an important lesson he learns that children can learn as well about Thankfulness.
It is colorful and delightful and kids will enjoy the sounds and interactivity of this high tech story-telling method.
For a limited time, it is only $ .99 so drop by the App Store for your device and pick up the Sparky App, whether you have an Awana Club or not.
If you are interested in learning more about Awana Clubs, and how they are help your church reach more kids for Christ, go here:
As I often say, “There is not only no more effective outreach tool for children’s ministry – but for the entire church, than having an Awana Club in your church.”
Pastor Karl Bastian, the Kidologist
Founder of Kidology.org
This is part of a series called 24 Days of Thankfulness. These posts are in RANDOM order, NOT priority order. Each is something I am thankful for leading up to Thanksgiving.
DAY #17 : Awana and Sunday School
I was just serving at an Awana last night in Colorado Springs. I was reminded as I watched these clubbers of the impact of Awana in my own spiritual journey as I realized how blessed these kids are – and they don’t even realize it yet. For them, it’s just something fun their parents have enrolled them in.
Yet they are having a spiritual foundation laid that is going to serve them for the rest of their life. Some will come to Christ at club, others will memorize hundreds of Bible verses which will become the building blocks of spiritual thought that will form a biblical world view which will become the super structure upon which will be built a life of critical thinking. And I’m not over-stating it. Objective studies by outside researchers have found that most kids trained in Awana continue to faithfully follow Jesus as adults. (source)
Awana is also where I got my beginning as a children’s ministry worker. My first official volunteer position was as a Sparky Game Leader when I was a young boy. Serving in Awana taught me a lot about living for something outside of myself and what it meant to be a part of a Team reaching and teaching chidren… I was in barely into the junior high having just finished the end of what was then Awana Boys Club Pioneers. (Now T and T)
I have had or started an Awana Club in every full time ministry I have led.
Why? Because Awana has been the single most effective outreach ministry of the entire church. Hands down. Did you catch that? I did not say most effective in the children’s ministry – I said of the entire church. Every ministry I’ve been in, I’ve been a team member of the pastoral staff and blessed to serve on a staff that functioned as a team. (I know that is not always the case in children’s ministry, so I am thankful for this.) So I am well aware of the results of all areas of ministry when it comes to new families coming to the church and people (or families) coming to Christ and (most important) assimilating into the body life of the church – and nothing does it like Awana. In fact, no other ministry draws new people like Awana, as many families who are new to the community get online and look for the church in the community that has Awana. We did. And while we ended up not attending that church, we do take our son to a their Awana club since the church we do attend doesn’t have Awana. We want our son in Awana.
After fifty years, the results are in.
Churches that have Awana – see results.
Kids who are in Awana – benefit greatly.
But I also mentioned Sunday School. “What is that?” Some may ask. I know, Sunday School seems to be going the way of VHS and Floppy Discs and soon even DVDs. A thing of the past. Most new churches are not even bothering with it as their ministries are being built on a One Hour Sunday model built around a great worship/preaching experience and their new fancy buildings reflect this with one huge auditorium and a few child care rooms and no adult educational wing or classrooms. This is tragic. With no educational hour for adults, children’s ministry is forced into a “Kids Church Only” model, which severely hinders intentional discipleship. Even when there are two services, it is the same service twice in many churches.
Christian Education, as an intentional ministry of the church is threatened. You can’t do it in Kids Church, all ages combined, and you can’t do it in small groups for adults. You can do many good things in small groups, but not intentional in-depth Christian education, so a dumbing down of the Church is happening and it is showing throughout the culture. On the adult side the evidence is everywhere, and on the kidmin side, which only kids church (which can only do so much) the results are even tougher.
Churches with both an Awana, and Sunday School education hour and a Kids Church worship service will always produce the strongest kids spiritually. This is not to say the whole parent/home element is being left out or ignored – but the Church plays a critical role and so many churches today have forgotten what it means to have a comprehensive disciple-making strategy. Or they have no idea what those words even mean.
I know that I am the result of such a strategy when I was a child. And I am thankful for it. I see the impact on my life, my faith, and who I am today. It doesn’t mean I’ve lived a perfect life, but it means I’ve known the Path, and when I got off, I knew I was off, and knew where it was, and knew the way back. A strong spiritual foundation provides you with that perspective.
I am thankful for Awana and for Sunday School. They worked together so well as part of a right hand, left hand strategy in my spiritual development, and then Kids Church brought it all together with worship and topical teaching in a kid-friendly way. Just as the adult service brings everything together for “Big People.”
This is part of a series called 24 Days of Thankfulness. These posts are in RANDOM order, NOT priority order. Each is something I am thankful for leading up to Thanksgiving.
DAY #2: God’s Word
I have loved God’s Word since childhood. I remember being encouraged to mark up my Bible as a boy with underlines and highlights and I got so carried away with it, even illustrating it with stick figure drawings of the stories that my dad once commented, “Karl, it will be easier if you just highlighted the stuff you didn’t like.”
I am thankful as well to teachers like Helen Reed and Margret Bramble and Charlie Hann and my Aunt Linda (and of course my parents) who made learning fun as well as challenging so that the Word of God was always relevant to my life.
When I turned twelve and became a man (I was never a teenager, but that’s a post for another time) my dad presented me with a Thompson Chain Reference Bible and said now I was ready for a Man’s Bible. I was in awe! 25% of the Bible was study tools, and there were linked chains of references on every imaginable topic you could follow all through Scripture! I followed each and every one, highlighting as I went. Now, writing DiscipleTown is such a toy as I bathe the curriculum in Scripture because I know the Word forward and backward because of the vast hours I spent in the Bible as a young man.
When I got to Bible college I was shocked to discover the Bible was such a strange and mysterious book to many of my fellow students when I had to sit through “intro” classes.
I beg you – don’t let the Bible be just verses in a PowerPoint to your students. Let it be a book your students STUDY and fall in love with, as it has the power to change their lives!
Let me also add, I am thankful for Awana, as it also played a key role in my love for the Word of God as I memorized countless verses to earn awards. For those who are against “rewards’ in children’s ministry, let me gently say – I’ve long since forgotten and lost the temporal rewards, but the REWARD of having memorized all that Scripture is now blessing countless children as I write curriculum for hundreds of churches across America. Rewards work – and ultimately reward children spiritually for all of eternity because kids hide God’s Word in their heart where it will not fade!
My love of God’s Word has never faded, and it began as a child from adults who inspired me with what a wonderful book it was. I’m thankful what God’s Word has meant to me, and for those who introduced me to it!
September 22, 2011 at 9:15 am · Filed under Uncategorized
In these challenging economic times, children’s ministry budgets often get cut… sometimes eliminated. I read often online, even in the Kidology.org forums about ideas for fund raising and saving money.
I’d like to take a different approach on this topic – while I AM sympathetic to leaders facing budget cuts and the challenges of ministering with less money, I’d like to pose a sincere question you are welcome to answer in the comments below - my question is simply,
“What do you need money FOR?”
I think this is an important question. Because I’ve been in a children’s ministry where I had a $30,000 annual budget, a $6000 annual budget and a ZERO annual budget and honestly, my ministry was equally effective in ALL THREE. Honestly. No different.
The more money I had to spend never increased the number of kids I could reach!
My fear, is that in challenging times, leaders will devote more time to fund raising and get distracted from ministry.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m on all for money and creatively investing in ministry! It angers me too when pastors and churches slash kidmin budgets first in tough times. It is WRONG in when they cut the kids first, however – God works through these hard times to refine us and teach us things. And there are thriving ministries on the mission field around the world that have NO money, and they do fine. And the Church existed for years before all the goodies that we enjoy now. I think sometimes that we’ve gotten to a point that we now think we “need” more than we truly do.
I believe much of what we think we need – are not truly “needs” but blessings. IF we can get them, they are GREAT and we SHOULD use them – I’m not against most anything that can be used to reach kids. But there is little that I think we truly need, other than strategic curriculum. (And there are good ones available for free.)
If there is anything on Kidology.org that I’ve written/created that someone needs and truly can’t afford (especially downloadable) I’ll give it for free, just contact me. I never let lack of resources keep my resources away from anyone.
So I honestly ask, what do you need? If you have a need – and there ARE REAL NEEDS – post those needs here in comments, or at your church, and people will meet them. I’ve seen it.
But money is almost never a real need.
I am not speaking out of judgement, but out of experience from running a children’s ministry in the inner city when no one knew who “Karl Bastian” was and I had no website – I just had a children’s ministry to run and I had no budget.
It can be done. It just takes identifying real needs and then making them known and being creative. You must choose to focus on the basics of reaching and teaching kids instead of focusing on the money you lost.
If you list your real basic needs, I think you will find that you don’t need as much money as you think. And what you do actually need is much more attainable than you think.
March 13, 2011 at 7:15 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
O.K. – I usually stay quiet on these things – but since my good buddy Greg Baird isn’t being humble and quietly standing by and watching to see who wins, but using Twitter to drum up votes, and I’m in the same line-up as him – and he’s beating me – (and beat me in my last Karl vs. Greg contest) I figure – this year I’ll go for it and try to at least beat Greg!
What am I talking about? Well, my good buddy Tony Kummer over at www.ministry-to-children.com does a Kidmin Blog March Madness each year to see who will be voted the BEST Kidmin Blog. While everyone hits the Blog and Twitterverse with “vote for me’s” – I’ve usually chosen to stay quiet and just watch and see who wins, (Hey, I’m human – I hope to win!) but I’ve chosen not to try and influence votes or buy votes swing it in any way. Guess I wanted it to be a PURE contest – and, I’m up against friends and GOOD blogs! So I just preferred to wait it out and see who wins. AND I think it’s wrong to vote for yourself anyway, out of principle!
So I’m voting for Greg just to show what a man and sportsman I am – BUT I’m asking YOU to vote for ME ME ME!
January 13, 2011 at 12:41 am · Filed under Uncategorized
At CPC you get to meet lots different kinds of people. My favorite is getting to finally meet ordinary people who use Kidology.org every week and are helped by our ministry and who I’ve perhaps e-mailed for years but finally get to put a name with an e-mail or who come up and introduce themselves and I find out they’ve been blessed by the ministry or somehow we’ve been able to “equip or encourage them” over the years. (Which is, by the way, our Mission!)
Some people like coming to CPC because you get to meet some pretty well known people too who have made an impact in children’s ministry. It’s true; you can, and in general, most are pretty approachable. I find most of those folks seems to handle their “status” with grace and humility, but just like high school, there are always a few who are surprisingly a bit snobby, which is disappointing, this is kidsministry, after all! I remember the first real “Big Name” kidmin person I met at one of my first CPC’s. My first time as a speaker I got to go the the speaker lounge (ooooo) and when I introduced myself to another fellow and said, “Hi, I’m Karl Bastian, who are you?” The answer I got was, “You don’t know who I am?” Well, I’ve never forgotten him since! I still have a hard time receiving his ministry – but I try to figure he was just having a bad prideful day, we all have those, right? Best to keep giant pictures of yourself off tall banners, it can have a bad effect on you! LOL.
But other times, and more often, luckily, folkds are pretty down to earth. And every so often you get to meet someone who has really touched your family’s life and they are completely unaware of it – and even when you thank them, they answer, “You must be confusing me with someone else, I’m not who you think I am.”
Oh, but she is.
I don’t have Karyn Henley on a pedestal at all. I’m sure she’s as human as the rest of us. Though, she’d probably never say, “You don’t know who I am?” Even though she has produced and written many wonderful products from the original Beginners Bible to the series of DVDs that I give a lot of the credit for my young son’s Godly character. I think she is one of those quiet gems that just is contributing to the Kingom without creating a lot of fanfare for herself. She and her husband Ralph have been faithfully ministering at CPC for as long as I have been coming to CPC, and that’s a very long time. They are what I call a rock solid ministry. They have blessed countless churches and families – but more specifically, I credit so much of my son’s character to the influence of Karyn. And she hasn’t even met him! But he has been singing her music for as long as he could sing and humming it since before then.
When so much preschool music is pointless rhyming drivel, we chose to fill our son’s mind with Karyn’s music and visual imagery starting at the youngest age. And while she may be quick to point out how “old” hervideos are, I’d just say, “so is the Bible” but they both still contain timeless and life-changing truths that can transform young lives.
I could not believe the difference her music made in our little boy as he would listen to her music and then we could see the impact it was making in shaping his character. So getting to meet her today, and just say, “Thank you” was such a treat.
Thank You, Karyn. From the Bastians. I’m sure I represent many other families as well.
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I love the coat, I bought two! The iPad bulks a little more than I like, perhaps the coat should be a little thicker to compensate, but I can see it is a challenge to have a sport coat with an iPad pocket. I will hide it by wearing open with my hand in pocket on that side when a picture in being taken, as it looks slightly odd to see the square corners. When the coat is buttoned closed, I take iPad out so it lays nicer. But for practical purposes – men need a place to put that bulky thing, and this is THE solution!! I am a professional magician who performes table to table at corporate events and this coat is the DREAM COAT for keeping all my tricks and illusions within easy grasp; and none of the smaller items (and some larger ones!) cause any bulk or pokes on the outside. This is a fantastic coat, and the craftsmanship is superb!
On the center table of our home is a figurine of Santa kneeling down and worshiping Jesus. It was the one thing I wanted from my childhood. My mom promised it to me as a little boy. To me, it summarizes the role Santa plays in our home. He is a part of Christmas, but he is subservient to Jesus.
My story is a funny one, because in my home, we enjoyed Santa – but not only did I not “believe” in Santa, I didn’t know any kids actually believed in him until my first Christmas as a children’s pastor! I found out in the most horrible way.
Teaching on the “true meaning of Christmas” in kids church I must have mentioned that Santa wasn’t real… (well, he isn’t!) I didn’t intend any harm to children, it wasn’t the point of my lesson, I also said it wasn’t presents or lights or snowmen or trees! I don’t even remember exactly how it came up! Maybe I was asked by a child. But Monday morning I was in the senior pastor’s office (who was a father of six kids) being asked…
Boss: “Did you tell the children in children’s church that Santa isn’t real?”
Me: “Um, I might have.”
Boss: “Why would you do that?”
Me: “Well, um, maybe because, he isn’t?”
Boss: “But why would you do that in church?”
Me: “Well, my lesson was on the true meaning of Christmas?”
Boss: “But what gives you the right to spoil Christmas for kids?”
Me: “How does telling kids the reall meaning of Christmas spoil Christmas?”
Boss: “Because a lot of kids believe Santa is real?”
Me: “They do? Not grade school school kids. Who tells them that?”
Boss: “Their parents.”
Me: “Not CHRISTIAN parents?!?!?”
Boss: “I do.”
Me: “Ooops”
It was a real eye-opener to me! I never knew that anyone, let alone Christian parents would tell their kids that Santa was REAL! I can’t bring myself to “lie” to my son. (I use the word lie very lightly, but it is lying, as its not true.) However, I don’t judge parents who do this, I have good friends and family members who do let their kids “believe” in Santa. But for me, I don’t see the need to believe in something for it to be fun. I didn’t need to believe Star Wars was real for it to bring so much joy to my childhood. (or adulthood for that matter!) – - sorry, if a few of you out there are just now saying, “What!?!? Star Wars isn’t real!?!”
The real clincher for me is that so much of our Christian faith, if we are honest, is hard to believe! Faith is required. (Josh*)
I want everything I tell my son to be TRUE. When I do tell him things that aren’t true – as I often do in a joking manner – if he asks, “Really, Dad?” I answer honestly. I don’t want him to discard Jesus when he discards Santa. But he can always tell when I’m “lying” or having fun making stuff up – be fanciful. So when I say, “This is true” he believes me. So when I say the Sea parted, or the sun stood still, or Jesus walked on water, and my son says, “Come on, REALLY DAD?” I want to be able to say, “YES, Son, REALLY.”
That’s why I don’t lie to my son, ever. And I can’t bring myself to tell him Santa is real. Because so much about our faith IS unbelievable. And yet so true. So why start at this young age telling him something that isn’t real, is?
But that’s not dogmatic or judgemental. That’s just MY decision for MY family. Because I have a responsibility to raise MY son to know the difference between what is real and what is true and to not discard Jesus when he discards Santa, as 85% of all high schoolers do according to research “as a childhood belief.”
The daughter of one of my great hero’s, Ewin Lutzer, has an excellent blog post on the topic, Lori Bourne: Should Parents Tell Their Children the Truth About Santa? It is an excellent and through post with many ecellents comments!
But, in my summary, I think I like BEST how my good friend, Henry Zonio, summed it up in a much shorter blog post:
A lot of people are worried about their kids believing that Santa is real. It’s not the story you tell at Christmas that’s going to determine their belief in Jesus. It’s the story that you tell every other day of the year with your life that makes the difference.
NOTE ON COMMENTS: I have 20+ on Facebook so far and 2 here… keep in mind Facebook comments vanish and are never read again, comments here are archived and become part of the annual discussion (like Lori’s comments on her blog) so be sure to post your thoughts here to last longer!
*Josh, faith doesn’t mean ‘blind faith’ – faith means even with the overwhelming evidence, there still remains an element of trust, a leap to trust & accept. Atheists or evolutionists must do the same, in fact, even more so I would argue!
For those of you who write – let me give you a glimpse into what happens behind the scenes of writing DiscipleTown.
When I write these units, I am given a collection of raw material from Mark Steiner, the creator and author of the DiscipleLand Core Bible Curriculum, since I am creating a children’s church curriculum based on the 24 Disciple Skills that are part of the overall Disciple Making Strategy created by Mark.
As part of the Level Three, Second Quarter Curriculum, Mark provided a collection of character traits for the teacher to cover as part of the Disciple Skill of Building Character. They were:
Positive Character Qualities
Negative Character Qualities
Honest, truthful, fair
dishonest, false, corrupt
Caring, compassionate, merciful
unconcerned, insensitive, judgmental
Loyal, devoted, steadfast
unfaithful, disloyal, uncommitted
Respectful, courteous, polite
rude, impolite, disrespectful
Diligent, hard-working, determined
lazy, procrastinating, undisciplined
Courageous, bold, brave
fearful, timid, cowardly
Holy, pure, set apart
impure, polluted, tainted
Trustworthy, responsible, dependable
unreliable, irresponsible, undependable
Cooperative, teachable, helpful
disruptive, unruly, troublesome
Humble, servant-hearted, unselfish
proud, selfish, arrogant
Generous, gracious, giving
stingy, miserly, tight-fisted
Peaceful
troubled/agitated/worried
All 12 came with matching scripture. (I love the biblical depth of DiscipleLand)
MY CHALLENGE:
Match these 12 traits to the 4 lessons, 3 each! They needed to match, and not be contrived, if possible. It took some work, but I was pretty excited with the way it worked out. They fit quite naturally!
TRUE (When No One Is Looking)
BE HOLY (impure) Deuteronomy 7:6
BE DILIGENT (lazy) 2 Timothy 2:15
BE COURAGEOUS (fearful) 2 Timothy 1:7
OUTER (Toward Others)
BE COOPERATIVE (disruptive) Philippians 1:27
BE GENEROUS (stingy) Proverbs 19:17
BE CARING (unconcerned) Ephesians 4:32
INNER (Ones No One Can See)
BE HUMBLE (proud) Philippians 2:3-4
BE HONEST: (dishonest) Psalm 15:1-3
BE PEACEFUL (worried) John 14:27; John 16:33
REPUTATION (Known For)
BE TRUSTWORTHY (unreliable) Exodus 18:21
BE RESPECTFUL (rude) 1 Peter 2:17
BE LOYAL (unfaithful) Proverbs 17:17
MY FINAL CHALLENGE:
How do I visually communicate these traits in a way that would be FUN and ENTERTAINING, yet really illustrate to kids the differences among TRUE character (who you are when no one is looking), INNER character (those traits no one sees), OUTER character (those traits that impact others), and your REPUTATION (those traits that impact how others view you?)
I ended up deciding I needed to break the mold from my usual Object Talks, and do something entirely NEW!
Here is the first of FOUR YouTube-style videos of a puppet named Luke, video blogging about his week and the lessons he is learning about character. Each explores character very uniquely and covers TRUE, INNER, OUTER and REPUTATION.
Children grow up being told what to do and what not to do, learning behaviors that keep them out of trouble and earn them rewards. In this short-sighted approach, their walk with Christ becomes limited to seeking to please the adults in their lives. Remove those adults, and the kids’ pursuit of Jesus evaporates as well. Teach children to build solid Christian character, however, and you have disciples who can live victoriously, independent of adult supervision yet dependent on God. Isn’t that our ultimate goal? This unit trains children to evaluate and take ownership of their spiritual growth, following the model of Jesus’ growth in the short but powerful verse, Luke 2:52. In this verse we discover a comprehensive formula for Christian character in young people—wisdom, character, integrity, and reputation. Children can intentionally develop in these same areas, if we are willing to guide them!
I remember when I started my previous ministry, our curriculum situation was a mess! Here was what we were facing:
Every teacher used what they liked, over five published curriculums were in use, some taught without any published material.
Repetition and Omission of Bible stories was not only likely, but expected.
No idea what was accomplished in the years spent within the Children’s Ministry.
Lots of good ministry going on, but no way to know what was going to happen, or to evaluate results.
So what did we do? I called for a planning meeting and asked our teachers to determine what we wanted for our children. (without looking at a single curriculum sample!) Here is the list of what these godly and experienced teachers determined we wanted:
Gospel Oriented
A comprehensive overview of the entire Bible
Specific Goals and Objectives for Each Age
Progressive, and not Repetitive
Get children into the Word themselves
Emphasis on Scripture memory
High Quality Materials and Helpful Resources
One year cycle (meaning teachers teach the same thing every year)
Missions Focus
Flexibility for teaching styles and holidays
Tools to help parents engage in the process
THEN we hunted to see if any curriculum met ALL of these criteria.
Only one curriculum offered all the things above that our teachers wanted:
NOW IS THE TIME TO EVALUATE YOUR CURRICULUM. We used DiscipleLand long enough to see kids go entirely through the process and could see the results.
They have since added AMAZING on-line tools for kids and parents to further engage in the learning going on at church. You MUST check out DiscipleZone.com
If you haven’t done so already, NOW is the time to re-evaluate what you are using this fall in your educational ministry. Here is a quote we had posted in the forum discussion on DiscipleLand:
We ended up dividing our kids 6-9 and 10-12 and used DiscipleLand with the younger and it was amazing! The kids loved it, which is totally cool because it didn’t have any “high techy” stuff, but kept their undivided attention. I loved that during our review this past Wed the kids retained most everything! This is 2 thumbs up! Thank you Karl for introducing us to this. I would not hesitate to tell anyone to give this a try. They will be hooked.
For some VERY HELPFUL TOOLS for evaluating your ministry, be sure to see the evaluations available on the DiscipleLand Equipping Center. Every ministry ought to work through these tools WHETHER OR NOT they use DiscipleLand, or DiscipleLand will fit their ministry structure or needs.
Check out DiscipleLand, you’ll be glad you did! There is a reason more and more churches and switching to DiscipeLand!
If you would like some SAMPLES, check out the Discover DiscipleLand Kit and save over 40% and get a good variety of DiscipleLand materials to hold them in your hands and check them out.
First, they had the 100% Free Gospel App, which was fitting, since the Gospel is free, after all. And it adapts for the age of the person you are sharing the Gospel with.
is a very cute storybook app that young children will adore.
