Home Archive by category "Children’s Ministry" (Page 2)

Category: Children’s Ministry

Always Bring Your A-GAME!

Always Bring Your A-Game! One cannot over-emphasize the eternal impact and importance of your weekly investment into the lives of the children God has entrusted to you. It is during these formative years that children make decisions that will shape the direction of the rest of their lives. They need your best! Too often we compare ourselves to others and wish we were better – or get discouraged by what we can’t do. God makes no such comparisons. He asks only that we do our best and be our best. I call it bringing our A-Game each and every week, regardless of ministry size, number of kids, or what challenges we face. God sees that dedication and faithfulness and I believe He honors and rewards it with results in changed lives. Here is a checklist to help you bring your A-Game to your classroom! Appearance. First impressions make an impact! What do kids think when they see you? From our outfit to our smile – we need to be attractive to kids. Fun hats, playful jewelry, costumes, and most of all, a big smile will communicate to kids instantly that they are going to enjoy learning from you. If you…

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Unlock Learning with Intentional Questions

The Quest for Quality Questions! The story goes that a student once asked his wise old mentor, “Why is it that every time I ask you a question, you respond with a question of your own?” to which the teacher responded, “Why do you think I do that?” Obviously, the teacher understood the power of questions. Questions are the key that unlock answers and unravel the mysteries of our world. Children love questions! At the earliest age, “Why?” seems to become one of their favorite words! I remember when my young son would play a verbal game with me by asking “Why” after every answer I would give to see how far I was willing to go before I figured out I was just being played. A popular magazine has as its tag line, “Enquiring minds want to know.” This would be a perfect tag line for children! A wise teacher doesn’t ask questions off the cuff – they intentionally plan them in advance! Here are some Quick Tips on how to use questions to engage children in learning to use questions. Then I’ll go deeper on how to ask questions that truly change lives. Ask questions that are more…

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Tell kids you LIKE them… it means more to them than “I love you.”

Many years ago, I was visiting with family and having fun tussling with one of my nephews who was about seven years old at the time. He was a kid I only got to see a few times a year, but we were pretty close. One of our favorite games was “Pillow Monster.” I would pile pillows on top of him while he was on the couch, and then “attack” the pile of pillows. I would “never notic” that he had escaped from under the pile as I trashed the pillows, jumping up and down on them pretending I was attacking him. He would laugh hysterically completely unaware that I could hear him behind me, knowing he wasn’t under the pile of pillows. Then, he would cover me in pillows and jump on the pillows, but of course, I wouldn’t be able to escape! It always ended in an exhausted heap of hugs to watch TV or something more relaxing. One time as we settled down to catch our breath, I blurted out, “Michael, I love you.” His response surprised me but had a profound impact on me. He said, “Uncle Karl, of course you love me. You’re my uncle.…

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The LOVE Patrol

What is the most important volunteer role in your Children’s Church service? You might think it’s the teacher on stage, but actually it’s the members of the LOVE Patrol! What is the LOVE Patrol? The LOVE Patrol is what I like to call my volunteers that are “out and about” in the room among the children. In my kids service, which we call The Outpost, our official name for our helpers is Trail Guides, but I let them know they are on the “LOVE Patrol” during the service. I borrowed the name “LOVE Patrol” from a church that I visited many many years ago and I think it’s fantastic! It sure is better than “crowd control” – because it communicates that their purpose is not control, but to love on the kids and help them get the most out of the service. Train your volunteer helpers that their role isn’t to just sit in the back, or along the sides of the room, but to constantly be “on patrol” and watching the kids during the service. Contrary to what is often done – they are NOT looking for “bad behavior,” instead they are  actively moving about the room, studying the…

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Teaching Teenagers

While our church is between youth pastors, I’ve been leading our yourh ministry. I’ve been a Kids & Youth Pastor in the past, and done this interim role before – and I always enjoy it. People often ask me how is teaching teenagers different from teaching kids, or preaching to adults for that matter. Honestly, I love it. It’s the best of both worlds! Too many youth pastors, I think, teach them as though they are already adults – as though they are suddenly “too cool” for the “kid stuff.” I beg to differ. Instead, I find you get to enjoy a really fun blend of both styles. Teenagers are not little adults. Don’t let those those big bodies fool you! They may start to interact as peers, but they are FAR from peers. If you want to be effective in ministry with teens, you must respect them as emerging adults, but secretly understand that they are more big kids than little adults. And actually still crave kids stuff more than they will admit. Let’s talk simple brain development. How is the teenage brain different from the chid they were just a few years ago and the adult they will…

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