Home Archive by category "Children’s Ministry" (Page 56)

Category: Children’s Ministry

Kidology Coaching Saves CP from Trash Compactor!

It is always a delight to share with you the thank you notes I get from our Kidology Coaching graduates. (Always reprinted with permission – they desire others to know how the Kidology Coaching has changed there life.) This letter comes from Amy Hardeman, and it is our hope it will encourage those of you who may feel like the sides are closing in on them! Dear Karl, Thank you so much for establishing and investing in the Kidology Coaching program.  For several years I had been a silent snoop on the Kidology website.  A year or so after adopting a newborn from foster care, I will still feeling so overloaded with life and ministry and was having a hard time balancing it all.  Before a baby, I had somehow managed to do it all, relying heavily on myself.  One day when listening to a KidMin Talk podcast I started to consider the coaching program. When I first took the plunge and decided to sign up I was feeling a lot like Princess Leia and her Star Wars in the trash compactor scene. From event to event, ministry crisis to crisis, it always seemed like the walls were about to…

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CPC14 Resource Center Interviews!

One of my favorite things about the Children’s Pastors Conference is the Resource Center. CPC remains the ONLY kidmin conference that provides a level playing field for all resource providers and publishers. While publisher created conferences can be fantastic, I love CPC because there is no agenda other than equipping and encouraging. Enjoy the other conferences, but be sure to come to CPC where you can learn about all that is NEW and exciting in Kidmin. I especially enjoy meeting small ministries/companies that are just starting out and love helping them get the word out about what God has laid on their heart to create and share, often out of their own family or church ministry success. That is what gave birth to Kidology.org – sharing what I’ve learned – so I celebrate a place where I can meet others with that same passion. We enjoyed exhibiting – but we love to share what others are doing as well! Kidology exists to help YOU FIND what you are looking for, even if it’s not on Kidology.org – that’s our Mission! Here is a collection of videos I did with my iPhone on a pole so you could meet these great…

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Making the Most of CPC (Or any Kidmin Conference)

Next week I’ll be attending my 44th consecutive Children’s Pastors Conference. Though I’ve been to more kidmin conferences than can be counted. Sometimes I am privileged to get to do some Equipping and Encouraging as a workshop presenter or speaker – but usually I am just glad to be there to learn, connect, discover new resources and network. Let me share some tips I’ve learned over the years about how to MAKE THE MOST of whatever kidmin conference you are attending – you invest a lot of time and energy and resources to attend a conference, you might as well be sure you get everything you can out of it! #1 – Don’t try to do everything! This sounds contradictory to “getting the most” out of a conference, but conferences, by design are LOADED with opportunities to learn, connect and gather tools. However, if you attempt to DO everything offered, you may actually miss out on some of the best things there, or be moving so fast, you miss the people in the midst of the stuff to do. Keep in the mind: The conference is there to serve you – you are not there to do what the conference…

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Time to UNPLUG and Reconnect

Have you ever wanted to UNPLUG from the hectic busy pace of ministry life? That is the entire point of Yosemite Summit. It is a week where you are unplugged in every sense of the word. No computer, no e-mail, no phone calls, no work, no deadlines, no ’emergencies’, no pressure. Better than a day off spent catching up on personal things – it is a complete break for the sake of complete rest and renewal. I was once told by a very wise mentor, “Karl, you need to stop being a human doing, and learn to become a human being.” That is what Yosemite Summit is all about. It is an annual cessation of activity. Too often we confuse busyness with what God is truly seeking from us. Not that we aren’t busy doing good things! But we get so busy doing these good things, that our relationship with God can grow distant, and soon God is wondering, why or who we are truly busy for? Stopping, completely, once a year is an opportunity to recalibrate. It is a time for reflection and renewal. It is not a time of evaluating ministry goals and seeking a new “ministry vision”…

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STATE of the KIDMIN

So, did you watch the STATE of the UNION address by the President? Regardless of your political opinions, it is a good practice to stop once a year and consider the state of the union. How are we doing? What have we accomplished? What could we do better? Who can we honor? Have you ever considering addressing the STATE of the KIDMIN? Often we get stuck in a rut. We do the same things every year because… well, we did them last year. And the year before. And possibly, the year before that. Maybe you should consider doing your own “STATE of the KIDMIN” for your parents, leaders and volunteers. You could do a luncheon or simply a letter you send out. But similar to the President, share what has gone well, what could be done better, and honor some people who have served well. There is always cause for applause in the children’s ministry. And the good news is, there probably isn’t two parties in your kidmin you have to worry about “crossing the aisle” to appeal to! So what is the STATE of your KIDMIN? Is it time to do some evaluating in what YOUR KIDMIN should do…

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