Home Archive by category "Kidmin" (Page 43)

Category: Kidmin

ENGAGE CHILDREN Conference TOP NOTCH

If you live on the East Coast – you need to bookmark engagechildren.org and plan on attending next fall. (In fact, it is worth a drive or flight in, from anywhere.) This conference is put on by a local network, but it obvious after several years of practice, they know what they are doing. They had nearly 400 attendees there – and a great mix of leaders WITH their volunteer teams. One church I sat with at lunch was a group from a nearby church that brought the whole CM team, and one volunteer wouldn’t even let a five month old baby keep her or her husband away. That tells you something about both their commitment to children’s ministry and the quality of the conference. Another woman shared with me that she was ready to quit – but after attending this conference, she was encouraged to keep on and never give up, no matter how hard ministry was. They brought in top-notch speakers (like Sue Miller from PromiseLand and Orange) but also local practitioners who could relate to your common kidmin leader and volunteer. The fellowship was as great as the training. I was a late addition because I just…

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A Kids Krew Can Shape Life Direction

I recently got a wonderful e-mail from a Kidology member a friend that illustrates not only the incredible power of equipping kids to service on younger children, but it’s potential to impact the direction of a young people’s future! Dear Karl, After our service today a fifth grade girl asked who came up with the idea of KIDS Krew.  I told her about the CPC in San Diego where Pam Dunnevant and I met you, learned about KIDS Krew, then came home and implemented it.  She told me to tell you thanks, then proceeded to tell me how the Krew was shaping her life.  This young girl has started and will be finishing the year as a “special friend.”  We have a down syndrome child and assigned her (along with another) to sit with him.  She kept signing up for that job and has gone above and beyond talking to his parents and finding out his needs.  She now believes that this has made her want to study Special Education.  She wanted you to know this.  She said, “My life has been changed by KIDS Krew.” Just wanted you to be encouraged by the one who came back to say…

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MONSTER KIDMIN!

A few weeks ago, I took my family to the Monster Truck Rally at the Colorado State Fair, and my little boy LOVED IT! (of course) I enjoyed taking pictures with my zoom lens, and finally got around to making a highlight video… ENJOY: (Here is a download in case you’d ever want to use it in ministry! 24.6MB) What IS it about Monster Trucks that makes them so exciting? Is there a lesson for KIDMIN? I think there is. Do you know the history of Monster Trucks? I’ve learned quite a bit about them as a dad with a boy who is in love with them. It all began in the mid-1970s, when Bob Chandler, then a St. Louis, MO. construction contractor, owned an F-250 4×4 pickup truck.  Chandler used his truck on the job and for off-road family fun on the weekends. But he found ways to break even the toughest of trucks, and that led to the discovery that there was no place in the Midwest to get 4×4 parts and service.  Recognizing a potential market, Bob, Marilyn, and Jim Kramer started Midwest Four Wheel Drive & Performance Center. They still used their 4×4 as a work…

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CM Leaders Conference is a Must

The 1st CM Leaders Conference, hosted by INCM, is coming to a close. It was a fantastic time of challenge, inspiration and fellowship for leaders in children’s ministry. I highly recommend it to leaders for their own enrichment – in addition to CPC, and INCM is offering a bundle on registration that makes the cost of this conference close to a meal out with a colleague if you attend both next year, so you have no reason to miss it. I especially enjoyed meeting folks from Kidology that I’ve never crossed paths with before and getting to ‘break bread’ with my ‘kidmin peeps’ at meal times. The conversations were fun but at times intentionally focused on issues we were facing in our ministries. Opportunities to encourage or equip one on one were memorable. The comradore on Twitter via the hashtag #CMLeaders was at times hysterical. I appreciated that there was both speakers who were well known and experienced, but some who may be less known, but equally qualified and with much to share and great challenges and insights, even if conference speaking isn’t a career for them. The blend was well thought through. There were some helpful resource providers, but…

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Checking In with KidCheck

I recently caught up with KidCheck CEO Alex Smith and interviewed him on my podcast, Kidmin Talk. Let me encourage you to invest just a few minutes to give a listen. WHY is this worth your time? If you are in children’s ministry leadership, one of the areas of responsibility you inherited, that you may not have counted on when you got your Call to Ministry – was the safety of the kids you oversee. When I meet children’s pastors/directors and ask them, “So what was it that drew you into kids ministry?” No one has ever said to me, “You know, I just got this divine Calling from God to make sure kids were securely checked in on Sundays and all entered into the church database and that their addresses and parents cell phone numbers were all kept up to date so that we could sent text alerts. Oh, and I felt the Holy Spirit tell me that allergy awareness was just something that I was gifted at and I needed to find a profession where I could make it a major focus.” No. No one has ever said that to me. And yet I have had leaders tell…

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