Drawing Easter!

My mom was a Chalk Artist. If you don’t know what that is, it’s a lost art from a day when people didn’t need everything to be fast and instant. An artist would draw to music while an audience watched. My mom and dad meet in college where she was drawing and he was playing his flute. Chalk that up to romance! One of my favorite drawing she often did was of the Easter Story. I don’t have her talent, but I loved the image she would draw. She would end with dark light revealing a hidden image of Jesus risen! A few years ago, while waiting to build the amazing kids church set I know enjoy, we put up a black board wall that I would decorate for each series. For Easter 2018, I attempted to draw my mom’s drawing myself. Since our culture likes things fast, I don’t expect you to watch the two hours I worked on it, so here it is sped up! ENJOY and Happy Easter!

Continue reading

Connecting with Today’s Digital Kids!

It’s no secret we live in a digital age! Take home papers are no longer the most effective ways to reach kids between Sundays. So how DO you connect with today’s digital kids? Pastor Karl Bastian, founder of Kidology.org talks about his three favorite ways to connect with kids in today’s digital world. Paper take-home handouts are no longer the best tool. You’ll love these modern options! See complete show notes and iTunes link at: Kidology.org/kidmintalk155

Continue reading

When Teaching a Large Age Range

I was reading a discussion over on the Kidology.org forums* about how to teach to a wide age range and there were some comments suggesting different age ranges to aim for. Some were suggesting “aiming for the middle” or “targeting the older kids” so as not to bore them, whereas others thought it better to teach to the younger ones so as not to lose them. I’d like to suggest a different approach after having taught over 1,000 children’s church services to first through sixth graders for over twenty-five years. It’s a rather simple suggestion: AIM FOR EVERYONE! The key in a large group with a large age range is to shift your focus constantly. The secret is to be highly visual and to be physically moving and animated to keep the younger ones tracking with you (don’t stand still and never sit, meaning you the teacher) and use humor constantly to keep a connection with your audience. Think about it: Senior pastors preach to a wide audience range of age and intelligence and education and world view and learning styles and they can do it! They don’t break their audience into groups! How do they do it? It isn’t…

Continue reading

Top Three Kidology Tools for your Kidmin in the New Year

Top Three Kidology Tools for your Kidmin in the New Year Welcome to the 153rd episode of Kidmin Talk, the webcast show hosted by Karl Bastian, the Kidologist. Listen here on Kidology or subscribe via iTunes to listen on-the-go with your iPhone, iPod, iPad, or another mobile device. MENTIONED ON THE SHOW TODAY: The Kidology Way ebook All About Me Sheet for getting to know the kids Facebook Live about All About Me Sheet All About Me Blank Pic Form (for when kids turn it in without a picture) Kidology’s Ultimate Toolbox for Children’s Ministry Toolbox Zone Toolbox eTips for Volunteers WATCH THE PODCAST HERE: CONNECTING w/ KIDMIN TALK: E-mail: karl@kidmintalk.com Twitter: @KidminTalk or @Kidologist

Continue reading

Shepherd or Sheepherder?

Shepherd or Sheepherder? Welcome to the 152nd episode of Kidmin Talk, the webcast show hosted by Karl Bastian, the Kidologist. Listen here, on Kidology or subscribe via iTunes to listen on-the-go with your iPhone, iPod, iPad, or other mobile device. KIDMIN TALK #152: Shepherd of Sheepherder: MENTIONED ON THE SHOW TODAY: Kidology Grants All About Me Sheets SHOW NOTES: FULL ARTICLE THIS PODCAST WAS BASED ON: Shepherd of Sheepherder Questions for Reflection: What do you think it means to be a Shepherd? What aspects of your ministry can be described as Shepherding? When do your children, volunteers or families feel shepherded in your ministry? (or do they?) What are your programs actually successful at? What does success look like and do you measure success? How do you measure success? What consumes your time? How effective is it? What are the tangible results that you can point to that merit the time invested? Is there a better way you could invest your time? What, if you stopped it, would no one notice? What do you do “just because?” If you listed everything you do in order of priority, what would be on the bottom half of the list? What if you…

Continue reading