When Family Trumps Family Ministry

I am sad to report that my 94 year old grammy passed away just weeks before her 95th birthday after going into the hospital on what would have been my grandpa’s 101st birthday. She passed quietly and peacefully while listening to Psalm 23 and the Lord’s Prayer. I was supposed to be traveling to speak at a family ministry conference, but when she got ill, family suddenly was more important than a “family ministry conference” – so I called and asked if I could back out last minute. They were very gracious and understanding. So instead of speaking at this national conference I had been looking forward to for two years, I was at my Grammy’s funeral. In love with Downtown Chicago, last year I had the honor of taking her on a “date” downtown with my wife and four year old for what we knew would probably be her last excursion downtown, as it was getting harder and harder for her to venture out. This was an annual dinner cruise my wife and I did to celebrate our first date as Moody Bible students, and since we were moving to Colorado last October, we knew this 20th occasion would…

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FREE Online Leadership Training!

Everywhere I go I run into Kidology Members who ask me where they can get affordable Leadership Training and I am surprised how often they are unaware that they have access to FREE online video Leadership Training as part of their Kidology Membership. I created Kidology Online Training specifically because I can’t go to every conference I’m invited to and because I know not every leader can go to conferences. Through these FREE streaming online videos every Premium Member of Kidology can learn what I’ve learned in my fifteen plus years of being a leader and children’s pastor. Then, to add to the learning experience, each training session has an optional add-on download kit that provides a RICH 30+ page PDF that goes even deeper into the material, has bonus material, a downloadable version of the video so you can go mobile with it or full screen and even gives you a PowerPoint so you can then, in turn, train YOUR leaders! When you are done and compile all FIVE PDFs the sum result is the Kidology Handbook Leader’s Edition, your companion to the highly popular Kidology Handbook Teacher’s Edition. But remember – while the download kits have a modest…

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DiscipleTown for FREE?

THIS OFFER HAS BEEN DISCONTINUED. Well over 1000 Churches responded to this free offer and are now teaching How to Use the Bible. It is our best selling unit that equips kids to USE their Bibles for life. It’s only $44.95 for 4-5 weeks and is PACKED with creative tools and resources. It is well worth a closer look. (Only $39.95 for members of Kidology.org) Order Today! Yes! I’m excited to let you know that DiscipleLand.com is giving away 100% free full copies of my How to Use the Bible children’s church curriculum this month to subscribers of their free newsletter. THIS IS NOT A SAMPLE! This is the full and complete 4-5 week curriculum that you can use in your children’s church. This is your opportunity to find out why churches all over the world are using DiscipleTown – even if they don’t use DiscipleLand’s Sunday School materials. It is a strong stand alone children’s church curriculum that is highly creative, scripturally rich, incredibly flexible, engages the family and makes you look sharp! AND THIS MONTH ITS FREE! Why would a publisher give one of their BEST SELLING units away? Because they are a mission driven publisher with only…

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Kidology to Go – Where the Rubber Meets the Road!

What happens when God brings two dreams together? A new amazing ministry forms that has the potential to impact hundreds of children’s leaders and volunteers and therefore thousands of children! YES! THIS IS KIDOLOGY’S BIG ANNOUNCEMENT – I’m leaking it a day early on my blog to give you the “back story.” It will “officially” to announced tomorrow in a Kidology Newsletter and at the Children’s Ministry Expo in Lexington, Kentucky – an event I’d love to have been at, but I’m speaking at camp this week! Pastor Marty Martin is a good friend and fellow CP I’ve known for a number of years, in fact, I blogged about my visit to his church a few years ago and and how impressed I was with his ministry there. So when Marty called me recently and shared with me that he felt God calling him to take a break from active children’s ministry and asked me for some advice – I asked him what he wanted to do. He shared with me a “crazy” dream – to travel the country with his wife and five boys in an RV, and yet he still had a desire for some kind of equipping…

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Yosemite Summit Report and Video

[This is a reprint from YosemiteSummit.org since I have more readers here] Don’t miss the Highlight Video at the end of this post! (Remember, click any image to view larger!) This year Yosemite Summit came for me in the midst of a very busy schedule, which is why I haven’t been able to do a report for over a month. In fact, had it not been for Yosemite Summit, I would not have ever slowed down! Which is exactly why Yosemite Summit exists, as I wrote about in Built in Pit Stop. Before Yosemite Summit, there were seasons in my life when I didn’t ever slow down! Yosemite Summit has taught me to slow down, in fact, it has taught me the power of stopping. Actually, Yosemite Summit played a major role in my moving my family to Colorado so I could live a state where the pace is slower and where stopping is easier… though I am still learning to apply it on a monthly basis. If you are a kidmin professional in Colorado, ask me about my Colorado Hiking Club, The Fellowship of the King! This year’s Summit brought together seven guys from around the country. Two returned…

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