Why Minister to Children?

As a pastor, I occasionally have the opportunity (and privilege) to preach in “Big Church,” and I always enjoy it. With a degree in Bible theology and a love for the Word of God, I always enjoy getting to communicate with and challenge adults in ways that I can’t in children’s church. Afterwards, it is customary for the preacher to stand at the back and greet people as they leave, and in the course of doing so, people are kind to express thoughts on the message and often compliments, which is always nice. Who doesn’t enjoy a “good sermon,” or “great job?” – even when the goal isn’t to impress folks with my delivery but to challenge and change lives. But compliments should always be received with a thankful heart and with grace and humility. The compliment that always gets me though, is when people (meaning well) say, “You know, you should consider becoming a real pastor someday…you know, to adults. You’re good.” The intention is an extra big compliment, but the message is still clear. My talents are being wasted down there in the boiler room preachin’ at the kids week in and week out, when I could really…

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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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From 18 to 70+

From 18 to 70+! Just had to save this awesome e-mail I got now that it’s time on the Kidology home page is over: Pastor Karl, Just a quick note to tell you how much we enjoy Kidology and the awesome resources that you provide. We were asked to take over the children’s church about 3 years ago and Kidology was the first place we went to.  Starting out with Toy Box Tales and a lot of prayer our ministry has grown from 18 kids to 70+! The latest curriculum that we are using is the Super Power Academy. We started this past Sunday with a Super Hero Sunday Kick Off Service. All of the kids were encouraged to dress as their favorite super hero. It was a huge hit and they loved the lesson! Here are some pics of our “Super Heros” as we worship the real “Super Power”, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Thank you so much for what you do! We are praying for you! Scott and Shannon Day Children’s Pastors Church House Rock LIVE! Children’s Ministries Jasper First Nazarene

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Princess Leah Now a Disney Princess?

Twitter and Facebook blew up yesterday with the news that George Lucas sold Star Wars and all its rights to Disney. As the YouTube video of George’s explanation spread, fans seemed divided over whether this was a good or bad thing but were hesitantly excited about the simultaneous announcement that there would be new Star Wars movies as a result. One of the most interesting reads was George Lucas Just Saved Star Wars by Firing George Lucas. Others had fun proposing possible names for the new movies to come from a Disney-owned Star Wars franchise: Here are a few: — When You Wish Upon a Death Star. — Finding Greedo. — Song of the Sith. — Snow White and the Seven Droids. — The Princess Leia Diaries. — Emperor Palpatine’s New Groove. — The Wookiee. — Lilo & Sith. — Droid Story. As I trick or treated this year in a Star Wars inspired costume… After getting a taste of the Power of the Force on Endor, where he was first honored as a god, C3-PO secretly decided to begin to study the ways of the Jedi around him until finally in 2012 he would reveal himself as a true…

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Pumpkin Fun! Ministry Fun!

Tonight was the night for our annual family pumpkin carving. Which means, I carve two pumpkins and Sara carves out hers. (I’m not letting Luke handle a sharp knife just yet!) But we did let him design his pumpkin on paper first. It was fun looking at pumpkin designs online first – and boy oh boy are there some amazing pumpkin designs out there! So much potential in a simple pumpkin! You start with this plain ol’ pumpkin, and yet it can become anything you want it to be. It all depends on how creative you are willing to be, how patient you are willing to be, how careful you are willing to cut away at it, how much time you willing to spend on it, and how unique you want it to be. You can settle for something like everyone else – or you can decide to be different and unique. And of course, practice helps you improve over time. My least favorite part is cleaning out the insides – but it is a necessary evil if you want the light inside to shine out! It kind of reminds me of how we build our ministries. There is so…

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