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The Hunt for Odd Ministry Props

As I write in extensive detail about in the Kid’s Church Cookbook, Part 5: Getting Creative, creative teachers are ALWAYS on the look out for unique teaching items. So I thought I’d share one I picked up over Christmas Break: iWipers When I saw these I cracked up! The potential for this prop is fantastic! Teaching on Noah and the flood! Teaching on Jesus calming the storm! Simply wear on a rainy day at camp or VBS Do I know when I will use these? No. But they are now in my collection of creative kidmin props! You can’t wait until you need something to find it – you’ll never have a lesson and say, “Boy, sure wish I had some glasses with windshield wipers on them!” But when you own a pair and are preparing a lesson, one day you’ll say, “HEY! This is when I can use those cool windshield wiper glasses!” And you’ll be so glad you have them. The point of this post isn’t to go and get yourself a pair of iWipers. (Though some of you might!) The point is, always keep your eye out of unique props as they engage kids, create memories and…

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When Your Volcano Fizzles

What do you do when you put a lot of hard work into an event or idea in ministry… and the end result is disappointing? For Christmas Luke got a home made volcano. We  were pretty excited about it and spent several days building it and looking forward to the final moment on the eve of our trip home when we would erupt the volcano. The climax of the project, was, well, let’s just say it’s a good thing we all had a good sense of humor about it. Here is a video of the dramatic eruption! As we laughed about our volcano disaster, it occurred to me that the same thing has happened to me many times in ministry. I got a “great idea” – put a lot of work and energy and time and often resources into bringing the idea into reality, only the have the final result be… well, disappointing. What then? If it hasn’t happened to you yet, it will. You’ll have a great looking volcano that only fizzles. You can laugh about it, but more importantly, you can learn from it. What are some of the lessons we learn in leadership from our flops? Ask,…

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Blogging Tips for 2014

Start your New Year out with some blogging tips! In just a few months, I will have been blogging with this website for ten years. Kinda crazy! But that isn’t when I started blogging. I was blogging before there were blogs. I used to create webpages from scratch before any of the blogging platforms existed and would email friends a link to my post, like when I went to Alaska or flying with my dad. So when I started blogging, the Internet was a bit of a lonely place for blogs… but now there are well over 100 kidmin blogs worthy of reading! Over the years my blog has gone from in the Top 5 to now down in the mid-thirties on the “Top 100” list – and I celebrate this decline! It means that there are many people contributing weekly to what has always been my driving passion – to equip and encourage those in children’s ministry. While much of my kidmin writing ends up on Kidology.org instead of my blog, I have enjoyed seeing the amount of help for kids ministers growing steadily every year, even if that means my blogs “ranking” goes down some. It’s a team effort!…

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Resolute in the New Year

It’s that time again! I think because New Year’s Resolutions often don’t last or are forgotten after several months, some people give up even making them. Others even encourage people not to for this very reason. I disagree. I think they are fantastic! Even if a ‘resolution’ only lasts three months, that’s three months of bettering one’s self. So I say go for it! Evaluation and reflection are always healthy, and new habits start with some effort in a new or corrective direction. I’m not sure I’ve ever had a new years resolution I was still thinking about in November, but I know they have served to keep moving me in the right direction. Having a better year than your last is a great motivator. Resolute means: “admirably purposeful, determined, and unwavering” I agree, it is admirable to be purposeful – to be determined to be better. An unwavering focus is never a bad thing, even if it wavers a bit over time… a ship that corrects its course for awhile, even if a storm or neglect gets it off course later, will still be closer to its destination for the time it worked to stay on course. That’s why…

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Angry Kids and Crime

Responding to the School Shooting Near My Home This past week just a few miles from my home yet another troubled teenager entered his school, armed with weapons and explosives, fired on fellow students, before turning the gun on himself as the police closed in. While the rapid response of law enforcement minimized the potential harm to students, a young classmate now lies in a coma fighting for her life. While her parents and our nation pray for her recovery, there is another set of parents who have lost a son – and a nation asking once again, “Why?” While the radio waves are filled with the predictable arguments over gun control laws – some have brought up the broken home this young man came from and the fact that nearly all school shootings have been committed by children of divorce. While we certainly don’t know the complete reasons for this most recent attack, we do know divorce is an attack a child’s world. On Kidmin Talk this week I invited Wayne Stocks from DivorceMinistry4Kids.com to join me as we discuss what children’s ministers can and should be doing to better meet the needs of these kids to help them…

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