Home Archive by category "Children’s Ministry" (Page 95)

Category: Children’s Ministry

Happy Mother’s Day, Mom

Happy Mother’s Day! If it wasn’t for all you mother’s out there, not only would none of us be here, but our socks wouldn’t match! Our stomachs and our hearts wouldn’t be full, and our boo-boo’s wouldn’t have been kissed. We might have run to dad when we wanted to horse around and play, but we ran to you when we were hurting… even after we grew up. I miss my Mom. She passed away on Christmas Day, 1996. It look several years for me to stop reaching for the phone after I got a great children’s ministry idea. She was always the first I told it to. Of course, for a long time, I just ran into the kitchen to show it to her. My children ministry career started at age ten when I told my mom I wanted to be a children’s evangelist when I grew up. My mom said, “What’s growing up got to do with anything? You start next Wednesday.” I answered, “But I said, “When I grow up!” Her response was, “If God called you to be a children’s evangelistic, why wait until you grow up?” She coached me through planning my first talk, and…

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Built in Pitstop

Is life crazy busy for you? Have you tried to get it in balance and failed? Have you strived for margin and seen it fill up over and over with church and other stuff and fought to get it out again? Have you wondered, “Can I ever win this battle to get control of my life?!” Me too. But at least something is different now. I have a built in pit stop in my life, called Yosemite Summit. Every May, me and eight other children’s pastors (or ministry leaders) go to Yosemite National Park for a complete break-away from ministry to just fellowship with each other and focus on our relationship with God and our  relationships with our wives and kids. And nothing else. and… We WALK AWAY FROM IT ALL. I’ve had to accept that while I will always be working on it, I will never master getting my daily life or week under control. There is just too much to do all the time. But at least I can look forward to once a year, every year, when I walk away from it all for four glorious days when I just enjoy God’s incredible creation in THE most…

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Are We Too Cool to Care?

I’d like to ask a question for some honest reflection – and ask readers to be reflective, not defensive, because this is an issue that I have seen all over the country and was brought to my attention via an e-mail via facebook today. I have removed all personal information and name of church and some other details to protect both the person who sent it and the church they are talking about: Karl, Overall we really like the children’s ministry at our church. One area of concern, though, is the music played before, during, and after the children’s large group time. Basically, it’s often rock or heavy dance music and it’s played REALLY loud. I’ve talked to the children’s staff a few times and they seem to think it’s fine. This past Sunday I was helping out and a kid in my group was autistic – the music was really overpowering to him and later when I mentioned that to one of the kids’ staff, they said that special needs kids could wait in the hallway during singing if the music bothered them. What?? I was shocked. Why not just turn it down? Anyway, I wondered if you have…

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Hope

Loved this story from the sermon this morning, so had to post it: A man arrives at a little league game late and asks a boy in the dug out what the score is and he says, “Them 18, us zero.” The man says, “You must be discouraged?” The boy answers, “Why would I be discouraged? We ain’t even been up to bat yet.” That’s HOPE! Friends, no matter what you are going through, Jesus ain’t even been up to bat yet!

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Come to Canada! Be a KidBuilder!

I’m excited to be heading to Canada in May for the Kid Builders children’s ministry conference in Ontario. It is looking to be a wonderful gathering of practical trainers bringing a wide variety hands-on skills for leaders and volunteers who are in the trends of ministry to children. If you are one of the many who have e-mailed us asking when the next Kid U is, this will have the feel of a Kidology University in the quality of speakers and desire to provide real help to children’s workers. I’m honored to be a part of this event. (Download Fullsized Poster Here with COMPLETE DETAILS 3mb) Here is how I will be serving: Friday Evening, May 7th – Family event, open to the public! Come experience the humor, comedy and story telling of Karl Bastian live! Lions and Bears and Fire, OH MY! (The Power of Story why TODAY is the Best Day of Your Life!) Saturday Morning, May 8th, General Session – Kidology 101 – Shooting Straws and Other HIgh Tech Ministry Techniques! Saturday Afternoon, General Session – YOU! The Missing Piece in a Children’s Spiritual Puzzle Saturday Eventing (Leaders Only) – Putting the “Pastor” Back into your Job…

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