Home Archive by category "Children’s Ministry" (Page 85)

Category: Children’s Ministry

Is VBS Dead?

“Is VBS Dead? Or just not worth the bother?” writes Keith Tusing over at CMBuzz.com He continues: VBS – The origins of Vacation Bible School can be traced back to Hopedale, Illinois in 1894.  Hey, that means VBS has actually been around longer than me! Many churches have long been committed to an annual VBS as a part of their summer programming for kids.  Now, a large percentage of churches have discontinued or they are considering discontinuing this summer tradition.  One of the questions that is being tossed around: Is VBS still an effective tool for Children’s Ministry?  Let’s take a look at a couple of facts: A shift in children’s ministry since 1997 has been the 12% decline in the percentage of churches offering Vacation Bible School (or VBS) – from 81% to 69%. The number one reason given for not offering VBS was a lack of available volunteers. – The Barna Group, Ltd, 2009 By contrast V.B.S. continues to have the greatest evangelistic impact in the Southern Baptist Convention with 26% of 2006 baptisms in convention churches coming as a direct result of V.B.S. Today over three million children attend Vacation Bible School annually. So what is all the debate about?  It seems that many…

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Get Go Fish VBS Free?

Yup, I’m Gonna REFUND TWO Orders! I am SO excited to have the GO FISH VBS KITS on Kidology.org that I’m gonna give a 100% REFUND to one of the first ten orders of EACH of their VBS Kits! Not only do I LOVE their music, but I love the strong emphasis their VBS materials place on Scripture! You already SAVE $25 just by being a Kidology Member, and now you might just get it free! Whether you go with their first unit Backstage with the Bible or the brand new release, Kickin’ it Old School – or just order both – I’m gonna give a refund to one of the first ten orders of each! After we sell ten of either VBS, we will randomly select from the first ten orders and do a 100% refund and let the winner know who won via e-mail! So order right away! WHAT IF YOU’VE ALREADY ORDERED YOUR VBS? Some of you have already picked and are half-way done planning your VBS programs! (You super admins, you!) Well, then, use these for an Awesome Kids Church unit instead! ORDER YOUR VBS KIT TODAY!

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A Children’s Ministry of One

Tower of Babel “How big is your children’s ministry?” I always hate that question. People always assume because I have a big website I am a children’s pastor from some megachurch. I don’t hate the question because my answer has never been a big number. I’ve always enjoyed answering with a small number and enjoyed the look of surprise I see. I’ve been proud to serve in small to mid-sized churches and be able to relate to the “average” children’s pastor.  I hate the question because it equates the size of your church to your value as a pastor. That is why I never ask children’s pastors the size of their ministry. I ask them to tell me stories about the kids in their church. I ask about their challenges and about what exciting new things they are trying. I ask them about what truly matters. Because, as Yoda said, “Size matters not.” Instead, now that I am a father, when people ask me how many kids are in my children’s ministry, I answer, “Just one.” After I see the puzzled look on their face, I say, “and his name is Luke.” We have class time every evening. I call…

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Hittin’ The Oregon Trail

I’m excited to be heading to OREGON this weekend! If you live up in the Great NorthWest* – I hope you can drop by for some great training! Download FULL SIZE PDF Flyer (2.3MB) I’m in for a BUSY weekend! I’m doing a Family Program on Friday Night – one of my favorite presentations, “Lions, and Bears and Fire, OH MY!” It’s an evening of laughter and comedy and story telling that encourages kids and old folks alike to enjoy whatever age they are – and to realize that they are part of HIS–STORY! It was born out of an invitation once to speak at an author’s assembly for Order of the Ancient and I thought, “How can I just talk about my book for an hour – how boring!” (Even though my book is quite exciting, mind you – I wasn’t going to read it!) And I didn’t want the assembly to be a long commercial for my book. So instead, I did what I knew the kids in my ministry loved most – my story telling, and I wove it around the reasons WHY we love stories in the first place and revealed the SECRET FORMULA of a…

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What Matters Now in Children’s Ministry Announcement!

Last year I got invited to be a part of something really special when I contributed to the FREE online book What Matters Now in Children’s Ministry. Then,  I got to participate in the Video Version when I posted a video version as the clock struck midnight on January 1st, 2011! I love this FOCUS on “What Matters Now” in Children’s Ministry and am excited to see the creativity grow and expand – and so let me tell you about the NEXT BIG THING with this great movement by posting A SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: If you haven’t heard of What Matters Now in Children’s Ministry, where have you been? WMNCM exists to spark conversations among leaders in children’s ministry around the question, “What matters now in children’s ministry?” Over the past year and a half, WMNCM has gathered responses from over 40 leaders with a vested interest in children’s ministry and has offered them in an eBook, a published paperback and as a video conference. On Thursday, March 3, at Noon CST, WMNCM is revealing more about it’s plan for a global edition that will include contributions from at least 100 children’s ministry leaders from all over the world! There will…

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