Home Archive by category "Internet" (Page 2)

Category: Internet

Check-in Without Lines?

Imagine computer check-in without computers! Imagine secure check-in without lines. Sound impossible? Not any more. Thanks to the always innovating geniuses at KidCheck, secure check-in is getting even easier. As you can tell by the related links below, I’ve been an avid supporter and promoter of KidCheck for years. I love how they are always innovating to make child security easier and more effective each year. While other systems provide the basics – KidCheck continues to add features and benefits that not only provide a pick-up label, but improve communication between parents, volunteers, and leaders. AND NOW… (wait for it) … They have introduced Express Check-in. That means parents can check-in on their smart phone in the parking lot or while walking it, come to your check-in area, hit “PRINT” and be on their way to dropping off their kiddos without every standing in line or typing into a computer. Learn all about KidCheck Express Check-in Here. As I mentioned on my podcast today, the safety of kids is of the utmost importance to parents. When you have a secure check-in area, you score points with parents who want to have the peace of mind that their child is not…

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What Words Define You?

Facebook asked me yesterday if I’d like to know what words I use the most when I post to my wall. It seemed like a fun activity. After clicking my approval, some software somewhere read my wall, compiled words, and sorted them by frequency. The result was the word cloud you see here. I was happy to see “kids” front and center and my son’s name as well. It was no surprise to see “church” or “Yosemite” – though my wife teased me that my friend Brett bumped her off the list, which does cast a little doubt on the accuracy, but at least Brent affirmed that I made his list too! Of course, Facebook only provides a glimpse into our lives, and the parts of our lives that we choose to share – but it’s worth some reflection to ask ourselves, What am I about? What drives me? What do I talk about? What do I think about? Life is made up of words and words reflect the heart. (Luke 6:45 and Matthew 15:18 discuss this.) Whether or not you allow Facebook to count your words, consider if God counted our words and made a list of what typically…

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Kidology.org Makes a “TOP 25” List

Group Publishing has honored me and my team yet again. They just published a “Top 25 Children’s Ministry Websites” list, and I was honored to see Kidology.org make the list. Back in 2010 Group named me as one of the top children’s ministry influencers in the past twenty years as they celebrated their own 20th anniversary as a magazine. It was a great honor not only for me, but for my entire team and all the wonderful kidmin leaders who have played a role in Kidology over the decades of ministry we have enjoyed. I posted my own list of influencers so I could pass the honor on. See: The Kidologist’s Top Influencers

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TWO FREE Kidmin Webinars THIS WEEK!

Hello! I wanted to make sure you knew that this week I am doing TWO FREE online seminars as a part of the totally free CMweb Summit, and I wanted to make sure you were aware of it. The first is: Thursday, October 23, 2014, from 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM (MDT) It’s Called: Rebooting Your Kidmin Description: Ten Steps to Rebooting Your Kids Ministry from the Inside Out and Top Down! This workshop is for those brand new to leadership in children’s ministry, or those who may need to ‘start over’ more strategically. Get organized and learn the ‘insider secrets” to keeping sane while leading a kidmin. Leave encouraged and with a practical step by step strategy for building a ministry that can stand the test of time! The second is: Friday, October 24, 2014, from 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM (MDT) It’s going to be fun! It’s a Virtual Tour of Kidology.org Description: Since 1994, before eBay, PayPal, YouTube or even Google (!) Kidology.org has been growing daily with the tools you need to succeed in children’s ministry. The site is massive! Enjoy Karl Bastian, (aka the Kidologist) giving you a virtual tour of all that is available…

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Happy Birthday Kidology.org

Happy 20th Birthday Kidology! It’s incredible to even think about, but before… and even The Internet gave birth to a site dedicated to EQUIPPING and ENCOURAGING Those Who Minister to Children It’s been an incredible 20 years, and while the Internet has exploded with new helps for those who minister to children, Kidology.org has remained the leader in content and services for those who minister to kids. Back in 1994 when very few people knew what the “Internet” was, I got an idea for a website, The KidologyWeb: I was already calling myself “The Kidologist” in my workshops as I sought to equip and encourage children’s workers to approach children’s ministry from the perspective of a child: By 1996 the first “Kidology Handbook” was published: VERY FEW people remember when Kidology.org (before I had that domain!) looked like this: OR when you clicked into it and saw crude pages like this: Only hundreds were lucky enough to BE on the Internet surfin’ kidmin back then! (And only a few bought the “Life Time Membership” I offered back then when I needed to raise some money to buy some much needed Microsoft FrontPage software…and yes, they are still members!) More remember…

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