Tag Archive - Children’s Ministry

Group Kidmin Conference

November 23, 2010 in Links, Ministry with 0 Comments

In October of 2011, Group Publishing is hosting a special gathering of Kidmin leaders.  It’s called, believe it or not…the Kidmin Conference. I’m excited about the conference because they are looking to gather the Kidmin leaders that are leading large groups of kids, those leading small groups of kids, those leading in denominations, those leading in traditional churches, those leading kids for decades, and those leading kids for only a few weeks.

It’s gonna be on like Donkey Kong, and you can already register.  Stay tuned to jonathancliff.com for more and more details as we approach October in 2011.

The Future of Children’s Ministry

November 19, 2010 in Ministry with 5 Comments

This week an article I submitted to the Future of Children’s Ministry project was released over at www.kidmin360.com. It was a great opportunity to join a group of Kidmin All-Stars as we write, talk, discuss, and dream about the future of ministry to children!  Take some time over at www.kidmin360.com to read all the entries!

The future of Children’s Ministry can be summed up in one word. Robots. I believe that eventually the technological geniuses around the world will create a Children’s Ministry volunteer that will be totally automated to not complain about diaper changes, always show up on time, offer timely encouragement to their children’s pastor, be willing to stay for multiple services, and will accurately teach from the provided curriculum without adding their own strange theological nuances. But as I sit an ponder this development, I’m worried. If they can develop a Children’s Ministry Volunteer Robot, then couldn’t they just develop a Children’s Pastor Robot? Scratch that, now that we know the robot is a bad idea, let’s look into the future for something a little more realistic. Forget that we ever mentioned this robot idea. Seriously, just move along to the next paragraph!

I believe that the future of children’s ministry will be…

Read the FULL ARTICLE here, then come back and leave a comment.  I’d love to know what you think!

What’s in the Bible?

November 18, 2010 in Ministry with 3 Comments

Howdy, Partners! Chuck Waggin here.

Thought I would trot on by Jonathan’s blog to tell you about an exciting new adventure!  This week the What’s in the Bible? Curriculum launches. Me and my friends all came together to teach kids the Bible. It’s great for churches to use on Sunday morning or during a midweek program.  And you know what, buckaroos, I’ve got a great deal for you.

When you order a 4 week set of curriculum at http://curriculum.whatsinthebible.com, enter my name chuckwaggin, and you’ll receive 10% off.

If that isn’t exciting enough, head over to my own personal bio page and watch and listen to more!

Jelly on, pardner!

Findability

November 11, 2010 in Bible, Ministry with 5 Comments

Jeremiah 29:13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.

Jeremiah 29:13 is one of my favorite verses in all of the bible.  It’s God’s Promise that he will always make himself findable to me.  Being able to find something when I really need it, is important to me.  Knowing that when things are confusing and dark, that God is always findable is of great comfort.  As I work to create environments for kids each weekend it is always a goal to make sure that God is findable to kids.

How do we make God as findable as possible? It starts with making sure that we actually talk about Jesus.  A novel concept, I know.  It’s easy to partake in storytelling, pushing out that “bottom line” teaching, and working through worship songs without ever mentioning the name of Jesus.  When I teach I try to always tie back what we’ve learned to Jesus.  He fits everywhere, trust me.

Second, we cover our areas with prayer.  We actually pray prayers like, “Lord, help these kids today see you in the midst of all that we will be doing.” Don’t underestimate the power of prayer.  Its after these prayer encounters, that I will often begin to see the best ways to bring attention back to God throughout my time with kids.

Third, we always, always, always, always, always remind kids why we are even at church.  Kids can easily get lost in the hurry and rush of Sunday Morning, and it’s my job to make sure that they remember we are here at church to worship, learn, and grow.  When we take a few minutes to welcome kids each morning, I remind them that we are here at church for a reason.  Even if Mom and Dad brought them…they are still here for a reason.

Finally, I always work to make sure that we are as distraction-free as possible.  I’m not sure about you, but I know that for me to see God clearly I need to eliminate distractions.  For me, it’s computers, music, other people, and maybe even a good old-fashioned fast to get my focus on Him.  For kids, it’s about making sure that when somebody is doing our large group storytelling, that they alone command the attention.  When small group leaders are leading, we want to make sure kids are only focused on what they are leading.

So how do you make God as findable as possible in your Kidmin environments?

Dumb Things #4

November 5, 2010 in Ministry, Personal with 4 Comments

This week I’ll be covering some of the more dumb things I’ve ever done as a Children’s Pastor. Be sure to visit www.jonathancliff.com/tags/dumbthings to keep up with all the dumb-ness happening here this week

I’m gonna close down this week’s edition of Dumb Things with one of the most unsafe, dangerous dumb things I’ve ever done in a Kidmin environment. Now, it didn’t include “Pipe-Bomb Sunday” or “Chainsaw Juggling Clowns”, but it when looking back I’m horrified of what I was thinking.

So let me say that back in the day…meaning when I first started my Kidmin journey; I didn’t have a lot of help. It would oftentimes be just me and 100+ kids in a gymnasium for 2 hours. Yes you read that right. I was crazy. I cut my teeth on this psychotic Kidmin method, and over time I brought on some great help. Admit it…many of you have been here. Anyways, I was always looking for activities for kids to do when they came into church each weekend. Coloring sheets, painting stations, Lego tables, and video games on the big screen were easy draws. One week I was talking about the Creation story in Genesis, and thought a little creating craft would be a great opening activity. I was thinking modeling clay, not your normal play-doh stuff. But the modeling clay wasn’t easy to work with, so I added some plastic butter knives to help shape it better. Then the shaped modeling clay wasn’t holding it’s shape well as I attached all the pieces, so I then added toothpicks for the kids to use as a skeleton-like setup.

Are you seeing what we have here? At an unsupervised table I left 100+ kids at a table with hard modeling clay, plastic knives, and sharp toothpicks. After a few minutes, I had sharp death balls soaring through the air. Somehow I avoided catastrophe and nobody died. I have since learned that anything that could be turned into a dangerous object will be turned into a dangerous object.

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