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Category: Internet

Living on Mission – Discovering my Ministry Manifesto

Why Did God Make YOU? By Pastor Karl Bastian, aka the Kidologist I received my call to ministry when I was ten years old. A children’s evangelist came to our church. I was completely captivated. He used magic tricks, puppets, and storytelling to teach the Bible in a way that made kids laugh, think, and listen. I remember sitting there thinking, That is the greatest job in the world. After the service I told my mom, “That’s what I want to do when I grow up.” Her response surprised me. “You start next Wednesday.” I protested. “Mom, I said when I grow up!” She calmly replied, “If God has called you to children’s ministry, what does growing up have to do with anything?” Then she did something that changed the trajectory of my life. She started telling me about the many young people God used in the Bible—David facing Goliath, Samuel hearing God’s voice as a child, the boy who gave his lunch to Jesus, and others who were young but willing. My mom didn’t just encourage me—she equipped me. She helped me get my first puppet. She coached me on learning simple magic tricks. She gave me opportunities to…

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One of the Coolest Hidden Mac Tricks

I could not live or work without Mac “Hot Corners” – once called Expose’. How do you navigate to your desktop when it is loaded with windows? Minimize them all one at a time? That’s for people with too much time on their hands. Mac has a very handy and cool feature called “Hot Corners” – as I set up a new Mac I was reminded quickly how much I use this! Instructions: Click the  Apple menu (top-left). Go to System Settings. Click Desktop & Dock. Scroll allll the way down (it’s hiding like a shy volunteer). Click Hot Corners… Pick a corner and set it to Mission Control (shows all windows), Desktop, Application Windows, etc. Click Done and enjoy feeling powerful. My Set Up: Move my mouse to lower right it shows ALL windows, upper right just the application you are in, such as Word. Lower left I set to Desktop, and BONUS TIP, you can click and hold on a file, drag to lower left, desktop appears, and then drag to where you want to drop it. OR, go to Desktop, grab a file, and then go to Mission Control – never dropping the file – and…

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The Story of Kidology Continues in 2025!

The Story of Kidology: From Internet Beginnings to a Global Ministry In 1994, the Internet was still a mystery to most people. There was no eBay, PayPal, YouTube, or Google, and Amazon had just barely launched. It was that year during Christmas break while discipling a tech-savvy kid that I was introduced to this new digital frontier. My first website featured a space-themed background of stars with Star Wars images and movie sound bites. Discovering Community Online My second webpage, “Kingdom Karl,” was a quirky idea for connecting people who spelled “Karl” with a “K.” To my surprise, the site attracted nine members, half from Germany! This early project opened my eyes to the internet’s global reach, even in its infancy. It was exciting to connect with others who shared my interests, and I quickly realized the internet’s potential to bring people together. As I marveled at the possibilities, I felt God nudging me to use this tool for my life’s mission: “To reach and teach as many children as possible with the Good News of God’s love and to enlist, equip, and encourage others to do the same.” Introducing: The Object Lesson Zone Inspired by my Life Mission, I…

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ChatGPT Reviews Kidology.org

I asked AI via ChatGPT to list the Top 20 Challenges and Topics of Children’s Ministry Leaders and then to access how well Kidology.org addresses those. This was the result… including this image: (I did no editing and for the most part it’s pretty accurate! I simply added a few links to resources as they were described, but there is MUCH more on the site than even what is listed here! If you are looking for something not listed here, we probably have it after 30 years of building the site, just write and ask!) Certainly! As of my knowledge cutoff in October 2023, Kidology.org is a well-established online resource dedicated to equipping and encouraging children’s ministry leaders. Founded by Karl Bastian, known as the “Kidologist,” the website offers a wealth of resources, training materials, and a supportive community aimed at addressing the various challenges faced in children’s ministry. Here’s how Kidology.org addresses the top 20 issues facing Children’s Ministry Leaders Today: Recruiting and Retaining Volunteers: Kidology provides practical articles and training modules on effective strategies for volunteer recruitment and retention. They offer ideas on building a strong volunteer culture and recognizing volunteer contributions to prevent burnout. Curriculum Selection and…

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New KarlBastian.info Page

I’ve been reviewing my various domains over the past year and letting a bunch of them expire. Back when there was only .com, .org and .net it made sense to snag all three when you bought a domain. Some you bought for fun – like IamtotallyunpreparedforSundaySchool.com which we did for a conference lanyard years ago at CPC that is still live. Now that there are a zillion extensions, it makes less sense to hang on to other extensions as they no longer prevent brand competition as someone can simply snag up .biz, .info, or a host of others. One of the odd extensions I pocked up early on when they started adding new ones was karlbastian.info. I’m lucky enough to have a fairly unique name – not too many imposters out there. I was about to cancel the renewal (it just forwarded to my blog) when I got an idea! Why not make KarlBastian.info literally info about Karl Bastian? I have been accused of being a little confusing with all my various websites for ministry, church, kids, even droning… so what if I had a HUB where you could find them all, IN ONE PAGE? Not a new website –…

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