Children's Ministry Monthly

Who would take your place if you got sick Sunday morning?

James — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 18:23:01 +0000

Have you ever gotten sick on Sunday morning?

Yesterday, about 15 minutes before I was supposed to begin our regular Sunday kids service, I started to get waves of nausea. I grabbed the office trashcan in one hand and my cell in the other. I started texting my people and starting delegating. I asked one volunteer to preach my sermon. Another to boot up the media computer. The game lady and worship leader already knew what they were supposed to do, so no need to bother them at all. Within moments I had completely replaced myself. I fell asleep in my office chair waiting for any emergencies. My wife startled me awake a half-hour later and told me to go home. Everything was moving smoothly.

It got me thinking about delegation. There are many children’s ministers who don’t believe they (1) have people to delegate to or (2) need to even bother having someone who could do their job or (3) they feel to bad to ask anyone. But what if you got sick Sunday morning? Some might say that they’d just have to handle it… but that would be dismissing the question. For those of us who struggle with giving away parts of our job… I put that question to you:

Who would do your service if you got sick Sunday morning?

Whoever comes to mind, train those folks. If no one comes to mind… find those folks. Emergencies, illnesses and vacations happen. It just makes sense to be prepared.

This week we’ll be looking at delegation, some reasons we don’t do it, and why we should. Be sure to subscribe to our RSS feed for automatic updates.

Funny or Memorable Things To Say To Kids

James — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 05:00:28 +0000

Funny OR memorable… let me explain before we dive in. I had someone tell me once, “If you can’t be good… be memorable!” A creed all underachievers can live by!

Here are some random things I say to kids to help break the ice when I meet them. Some are funny… others are just memorable. Some are one liners, others take a bit of setup.

When you’re meeting a child or checking them in… after you’ve asked their name and age… find out if they’re married.

When guessing a child’s age… never try to be accurate… guess at least two years higher than what you’re thinking. You’ll impress them because every child wants to be bigger.

Ask groups of siblings who’s got the messiest room… who eats the most… who runs the fastest. Fingers will be flying.

With twins… always ask who’s oldest. Then who’s smartest.

All my kids know that they aren’t allowed to get married till they’re 35.

After service when kids are heading out with their parents, tell them, “Take a nap and clean your room!” You’ll get an amen from Mom.

Tell Mom that we decided that her child was so good in children’s church we decided that he/she could drive home today.

Tell a large group that if they don’t listen… we’re canceling everyone’s birthday! (with a huge smile of course!)

When a child tells me it’s their birthday, I congratulate them, ask them their age… and what did they get ME!

Before and after Christmas, make it clear that if anyone gets any (fill in your favorite stuff here… for me it’s Buzz Lightyear stuff) they can bring it to you rather than return it to the store.

What one-liners and jokes do you use to play with your kids?

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Different Types of Clowns and Children’s Ministers

James — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 05:00:11 +0000

Some people think we’re all just big kids… a bunch of clowns. Okay then…

Bozo – Thinks he has to be a kid in order to reach kids. Acts crazy and just wants to make kids laugh.
Strength: Easily attracts kids.
Weakness: Cannot be serious, cannot hold attention for long, kids don’t take them seriously: can’t confide problems in leader; don’t respond to discipline.

JoJo – Thinks kids need a serious spiritual awakening. May use serious, hard to understand topics. Sometimes they get results, but often end up losing interest of kids and going over their heads. Possibly even scaring them.
Strengths: Order, image of discipline, some kids respond to academic approach.
Weaknesses: boring, won’t keep most kids attention, kids don’t learn practical truths they can apply to their life at their level, begin to hate church or learn to fake it to please leader.

Krusty – Loves kids, but doesn’t take children’s ministry seriously. Thinks that telling bible stories and using the right props and materials is enough. Has no spiritual foundation. Goes through the motions, teaches with curriculum/bible in hand because there was little to no preparation. Reads stories, doesn’t do anything creative or original. Just goes through the motions so he/she can say that they did church. Never challenges what has worked in the past.
Strengths: Kids are being taught something and will learn.
Weaknesses: Tells kids they aren’t important, tells parents their kids aren’t important. Church/God is boring.

Ronald – Has all the tricks, videos, skits, props, flash, glam, music, games and more. Appears to be a world class, cutting edge children’s ministry with money, facilities, and everything. Leader is caught up in the Hype of ministry. The props.
Strengths: Ministry appears to be fully functional and attractive.
Weaknesses: Kids are entertained, but not challenged to grow. Kids go to a show not a church service. There is no personal touch from pastor to child.

Homey – Want the best for kids, but use God as a weapon. They portray him as a bad man with a big stick ready to kill them if they step out of line. He is “good all the time” and “worthy of all praise” but is also hot tempered and quick to judge our mistakes.
Strengths: A few kids will respond, out of fear mostly, but it can keep them out of trouble.
Weaknesses: Most will quit trying to please an unappeasable God.

Red – Loves God and kids, and feels his/her job is to connect the two together. What they lack in talent, skill and know-how they make up for in faithfulness, persistence and genuine love for kids. Kids would come to their services if there were only a bible story and a hug.
Strengths: Kids are learning from lesson and example. Kids know they are important and loved. Kids see a real person who isn’t perfect, someone they can grow to be.
Weaknesses: Ministry and minister may not look like much, inward growth isn’t exciting to look at.

What kind of leader should we be?

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Altar Time Tips

James — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 05:00:42 +0000

If your church is big on doing altar times where people come to the front to pray, worship and be prayed for, then chances are your children’s ministry is too. Even if they’re not a regular occurrence, at Kids Camp usually they are. For some of us knowing what to do, say or pray can be a little unnerving. And even if we’re comfortable in the setting, that doesn’t mean our volunteers or youth helpers are.

As someone who started as a nervous, less than eager, altar time participant myself… here are some things I’ve picked up that may help you, or help those you are training.

Kids will come forward for anything

If you play the right music, dim the lights and say the right words you could have an altar call for kids to ask the Easter Bunny in their hearts and you’d still get a good turn out. I mean, who wouldn’t want the Easter Bunny!! Silly, yes… but important. Important because I truly believe that an altar call is all but useless to those who don’t understand what they’re doing. Some could say it’s good practice… but I disagree. I think that’s most of the troubles we have with our kids and spirituality. It’s rehearsed, practiced. They’ve learned how to look like it’s doing what we want it to do for them… and some of them keep up the act till they turn (if they last that long) 18… then they’re gone. That being said…

Most of the kids who come down have a real purpose

There are a lot of tears at a good altar call. Some kids may come down because they’re doing what is expected… but there are a good bunch who come down because they want something from God. They have a purpose for being there… but it may not be the purpose you made the call for.

It’s important to find out why they’re there

I always ask a kid why they came down. If they don’t know, I pray with them and usually direct them back to their seat. It’s not time for them yet. When they do know, and let me know, it helps me pray for them. Yes, God knows… and it doesn’t matter if I know or not… but I believe that in that situation we’re God’s hands and we can be his Voice. I remember loving it when an adult who knew me and my situation would pray specifically for me. On the other hand I can say that I wasn’t thrilled about being prayed over (and breathed on) by the ‘guy who prays for everyone’ dude. More importantly than me knowing… it’s important for them to know. It helps them focus their mind so they can focus on what they need from God.

Find out why they’re crying

If you’ve got a little girl who’s bawling her eyes out… it can be tough to know if they’re being blessed, if they’re missing momma, or if they’re reliving some horrible tragedy from their past. So when I see that child, I always make a point to go to them and ask a simple question, “Happy cry or Sad cry?” If they say ‘happy’ then I just praise God with them. If they say ‘sad’ then it’s time to help them talk it through. Altar times are great… but they can tear the Band-Aid off a broken heart quicker than anything… and we’ve got to be discerning enough to not walk past a child who is broken and assume they’re being blessed.

Thank God… It’s not about us

It can be a little daunting to be there for a hurting child… knowing what to say or not say. Am I talking to much… not enough? Do I have to have all the answers? Can I mess up in a way that will make this child worse? I’ll say it again… Thank God it’s not about us. I believe this… if our hearts are dead set on pleasing God and helping kids… just pure Godly intentionality… it’s going to be hard to mess up. I’ve found that kids aren’t looking for the perfect answer anyway… they’re looking for someone to talk to. They just want to get it out. They want to hear that God knows… and loves them… and WILL help them. Most of the issues I pray with kids about revolve around family issues. When the situation is bad enough… I just remind them that though they have no control over their current family life… they have every bit of control in the world over they family they choose for their own kids. You can give purpose to their pain if you help them to learn from other’s mistakes instead of repeating them.

Don’t be afraid to reel in a weird-o

You know who I’m talking about. That one guy or gal who just loves to wale and spit and spew and shake your kids till they ‘get the spirit’ or fall over. They have the best intentions (most of the time) but they often can get over zealous and actually do more harm than good. I can’t tell you how many teens I’ve talked to who have left the church because one of these guys got a hold of them. Putting a stop to such things takes guts… and it’s embarrassing for both parties… but it’s the right and responsible thing to do. Better to hurt the feelings of an adult (and in the process, disciple them) than to turn a child off to the things of God forever. I do not believe that spiritual people lose control of their own actions.

The time your children spend with their God is powerful and needs to be protected and shepherded. I hope this article has been a help. If so, or if you have any tips you’ve picked up that will help our readers… post them in the comments.

CMMonthly Has A New Voicemail Number All It’s Own

James — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 22:07:39 +0000

Have you been reading and listening to the stuff coming out of this website… and always dreamed of calling in to our voicemail line… but just wasn’t satisfied with the generic series of numbers enough to give it a shot?

Now your days of lollygagging are over! We’ve got our very own vanity (which is a sin) number. So if you use it… you’re by default guilty of (vanity) as well.

(218) MONTHLY

or (218) 666-8459

I’m thinking that’s going to pretty easy to remember and use. Why not call and say hello, ask a question, give a ministry update, share a resource? We’ll play it on the next Children’s Ministry Monthly Podcast!

Thoughts On Children’s Ministry Effectiveness

James — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 05:00:00 +0000

I used to do a lot of Bus Ministry. Things have changed in the last few years where running busses is not feasible right now… but I still have a little place in my heart ready to pounce when the time is right again.

Bus Ministry is a great place to learn a lot… hard and fast. You make a lot of mistakes… and you ask a lot of internal questions… and it challenges the living crizzle out of your beliefs and makes you wonder if it’s worth it at all.

Once I remember questioning whether pulling a kid out of their situation for only a couple of hours a week was actually doing any good for them at all. I was explaining to God how they’re bombarded with family issues, inner-city pressures, peer-pressure like you’ve never seen… how was my little song-n-dance once a week going to provide any help… especially for those who didn’t half listen?

God told me—I must stop here for a moment and make sure you understand that when I say “God Told Me”, that it works like this: I get a really excellent idea in my mind that I know in a million years would never come from my own jacked up, over functioning brain—flatly”:

“When you’re in a fire… any moment you’re not burning is a great moment.”

I knew exactly what He was telling me. These kids were in the worst of situations… and though I was questioning our effectiveness, God was making it clear that every moment they were free from that situation was a precious, precious time for them. It helped me so much. Suddenly I saw their hyperactivity in a new light. They were excited to just be kids for once. They were getting a chance to play, a chance to connect with adults who truly cared about them as people. I wasn’t allowed to downplay any of the time we spent with them after that.

This concept doesn’t only apply to Bus Ministry… but to any ministry to children. Sure, we only get them a few hours a week… assuming they come every time the doors are open… but that time is precious. Especially from God’s point of view. Even if all we did was play with our kids rather than teach, for some of them it would be the most spiritually refreshing moments in their week. Experiencing God’s unconditional love in a safe, accepting environment should be the foundation of every children’s ministry experience.

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How To Do Children’s Ministry Podcasting

James — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 05:00:20 +0000

Have you ever considered doing your own podcast? Maybe just making audio recordings of your sermons available online? Podcasting is a great hobby and an excellent way to distribute audio and video content to the world.

Below are a collection of articles I’ve written on the subject. I hope you fill find them useful.

If you have further questions, feel free to contact me. I’d love to help you get started.

Using Social Networking Sites Like Facebook

James — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:05:08 +0000

It seems like everyone has a Facebook and a Twitter account these days. These are examples of Social Networking sites. Social Networking is basically a online way to connect with people you know and meet people who share the same interests you have.

For example, I have a Facebook account (http://facebook.com/nlcast). I have a lot of ‘friends’ that I am connected with. While many of these folks are people I know in real life (church, family, old high school friends) there are a lot more who are listeners to one of my podcasts or who I’ve met through kids camps, speaking engagements or other children’s ministry social networks.

So Social Networks are a great way to connect to people you know and folks you’d like to know better. Facebook is a free service. Signing up is simple. It’ll lead you through the entire process including helping you find (real) friends instantly by searching your address book (optional).

How can you use Social Networking for ministry? When used correctly I liken these services to hanging out with other ministers at lunch during a kid’s conference. The kind of lunch where you’re just hanging out, swapping stories and resources… having a laugh. Especially if you use a network specifically designed for children’s ministers.

CMConnect.org is one such network. It is my favorite because it costs absolutely nothing to use because it is ad supported and the staff seems to have a real heart for connecting cm leaders. It’s like a private MySpace where you have a profile that tells a little about you. You can connect with other ministers by becoming ‘friends’ with them. There are forums, groups to join based on interests… it’s an excellent resource. Check it out and friend me at http://www.cmconnect.org/profile/JamesKennison and join the CMMonthly Group at: http://www.cmconnect.org/group/cmmonthly

One trick I have is linking my Twitter account to my Facebook so that when I update Twitter, it posts as an update to Facebook too. (here’s how) Notice I didn’t mention anything about using MySpace. MySpace is a huge mess… stay away!!!

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How To Use Twitter

James — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:29:34 +0000

What is Twitter? Let’s see what Wikipedia says:

“Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that enables its users to send and read each others’ updates, known as tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters, displayed on the author’s profile page and delivered to other users – known as followers – who have subscribed to them. Senders can restrict delivery to those in their circle of friends or, by default, allow open access.”

If you didn’t get all that… Twitter allows you to let people know what’s going on in your world and allows you to ‘follow’ what other people are saying about theirs.

Why Twitter?

Twitter can be really useful for children’s ministers. For example… the other day I was hunting for something I needed for kids camp. I ‘tweeted’:

Does anyone know where I can find those water balloon launchers made from surgical tubing? #kidmin

That update went out to over 1000 people who follow me. Soon I was getting all kinds of answers… and eventually I got the answer I needed. Another children’s pastor in the area had a couple I could borrow. I went by and picked them up from him yesterday.

Notice that I added “#kidmin” to the end of my ‘tweet’. That’s called a hashtag. A hashtag is another name for a keyword. In Twitter you can use hashtags to label the topic of your tweets. There are people using Twitter that follow topics more than individual people so when I added the #kidmin even more people got my tweet than would have otherwise. You can also follow keywords too and see what people are saying about children’s ministry.

How To Twitter?

Go to http://twitter.com and sign-up. Make sure to bookmark the site so you can use it again later. You need to add a profile picture, add your name, website or blog… then you can start updating using the provided form. You’ll also want to find people to follow. Here are some great folks that I suggest who are involved in kids ministry.

I suggest you download a Desktop Client, which is a fancy term for being able to use twitter like you would Instant Messaging right on your computer.

Here are a few great Desktop Clients:

If you have any questions, email me or post them in the comments.

How To Use RSS Feeds To Read Blogs

James — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 13:35:54 +0000

This week our theme is “Using Online Technology in Children’s Ministry”. Today we’re going to look at the best way to read the websites you frequent regularly.

First things first! Some Definitions:

A Blog is a made-up name that comes from a merging of two other word. Web and Log: Weblog – shortened to just blog. Basically it’s another name for a webpage. Someone who writes a blog is called a “blogger”.
RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. You’ll hear most folks refer to it as an RSS Feed or just a Feed. Blog readers (you) can ‘subscribe’ to an RSS Feed using a Feed Reader (such as Google Reader) and whenever a blog is updated, the new article will appear in the feed.
A Feed Reader is a service that collects new articles from RSS Feeds that you subscribe to. It enables you to quickly see new posts from all of your favorite websites without having to visit each one. It’s like your own personal newspaper.
Subscribing to an RSS Feed means that you have added that feed to your reader and will now receive updates from that site automatically. There is no cost or fee involved with subscribing to a feed.

Here’s how to get started:

Visit Google Reader and set up an account if you don’t have one already. Be sure to bookmark Google Reader so you can find it again.
Click the Add a Subscription button and type in the web address (http://whatever.com) of your favorite blog. Google Reader will search the site for it’s RSS Feed and subscribe you. Alternatively, if you go to the blog and see a link labeled RSS Feed or Subscribe you can click on it and add it to your reader or cut and paste the feed URl into Google Reader.
That’s It! You should see the latest 10 posts from your entry listed in your reader. Posts will be shown as ‘unread’ until you scroll past or click on them. You can mark entries with a star or keep them unread. This way you can refer to them quickly later if you wish.

Here are a list of CM Blogs to get you going:

Children’s Ministry Monthly – RSS Feed
SamLuce.com – RSS Feed
Kid Inspiration – RSS Feed
Children’s Minister Blog – RSS Feed
Children’s Ministry & Culture – RSS Feed
The Thursday Blog – RSS Feed
Just Pudge – RSS Feed
Kidologist – RSS Feed
PhilVischer – RSS Feed

Note: It surprises me how many of these sites did not have their RSS Feed linked to at all! Remember, you can usually enter the URl into Google Reader and it will find the feed for you.

What are your favorite CM Blogs? Post yours in the comments and share them with the other readers and myself!

Children’s Ministry Links From Around The Interwebs

James — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 13:03:39 +0000

Here are some Children’s Ministry links collected from around the internets for today.

Extreme Makeover: Kidology Edition
Popular for-pay site Kidology gets a much needed facelift.
Inexpensive Nametags for Kid’s Ministers With No/Low Budget!
A cute picture.
Train Up A Child
”Dog training is a lot like training a child! Especially when it comes to spiritual training.”
Earn Your Position
”You can lead without a position. In fact position can take you away from leadership as responsibility grows.”
Evangelism Without Manipulation
“I’ve run into some fascinating posts over the past week regarding child evangelism.”
Is your Organization On Twitter?
“I’m just curious. Is your church on twitter? How about your ministry?”
Scripture According To A 4th Grader
Another cute picture.
Yet Another Huge Controversy
“Dr. Voddie Baucham, who’ve I mentioned before, makes a strong case about ‘The Top 5 Reasons Not to Send Your Kids Back to Government Schools.’”
Family Ministry – Part 5
“As I look at the lay of the land in Children’s Ministry, there are a lot of churches in America today debating whether or not to start some type of Family Ministry program.”
Dog Suit For Sale
Dog-suit for sale via cmconnect.org

Episode 14 – Why Children’s Ministers Struggle

James — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 05:27:25 +0000

This month we focus on the reasons Children’s Ministers struggle in ministry and ways to avoid burnout. Plus, a very special interview with Fel Bagunu.

Broght to you by DrawYouAPicture.com and High Voltage Kids Resources.

This Week’s Popular Posts

James — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 03:46:38 +0000

In case you missed anything… here are this week’s posts in order of popularity:

Struggles With CM Discipline
I interviewed a few kids from my children’s church last week. I asked them what they thought would be the greatest struggles a children’s minister would have. Without exception every single one thought that they, themselves were the greatest challenge.

Speaking of Struggles – Super Dave’s Home Is Waterlogged
I got this email from my CMMonthly Podcast co-host Dave White last night: Hey man, It’s been a wild week…

Struggling With Parents
This past Easter we did a super simple Candy Hunt in our gym after the main service for our pre-school and elementary students.

Why Do Children’s Ministers Struggle?
Over the years I have noticed something. It seems to me that children’s ministers can be some of the most heavily burdened people in ministry. Why is that I wonder? I have some theories.

Struggles With CM Discipline

James — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 02:55:04 +0000

I interviewed a few kids from my children’s church last week. I asked them what they thought would be the greatest struggles a children’s minister would have. Without exception every single one thought that they, themselves were the greatest challenge.

“Trying to get kids to sit still and listen.”

“Kids talking too much.”

“Making sure we don’t try to leave.”

Though I’m convinced their answers come from a naturally me-centered world due to their level of development, they still have a bit of a point. For many children’s ministers maintaining discipline in children’s ministry is a huge struggle. It doesn’t really matter how much you prepare that illustrated sermon if the kids won’t still still enough to listen to it.

Though I thoroughly cover Proper Discipline for Children’s Ministry in a podcast series, and I encourage you to give them a listen, here are a few basic tips for lowering the ‘badness’ level in your group.

1. Discipline is not a bad thing.

Many of us hate the word discipline because we were mistreated or abused under that banner. Discipline is not punishment. It is helping children into becoming more like Jesus. Proper discipline is discipling.

2. Discipline is based on a relationship of mutual respect.

Children don’t respect people because of position… they respect the folks who they have a proper relationship with. It is only though relationships that we can learn what makes a kid tick. It’s only through relationship that they can see your example. It’s only through relationship that they’ll open their heart to you and allow you to shape them into the person God created them to be.

3. Discipline is not trying to get a child to be good… but to be Godly.

For to long we’ve been trying to get kids to be ‘good’ in church. We succeed… but only in teaching them to put on a face when they come to church. Then we wonder why they turn up pregnant or suicidal in their teens. “They were such a good kid,” we’ll say. Teaching a child to be good only teaches them to not get caught. Teaching a child to be like Jesus goes beyond changing their behavior (so that I can get through my service without drama) and becomes more about changing their motivation. We should be teaching them that it’s okay to be themselves, but that they only become who they truly are when they allow the people God has placed in their lives to guide them.

Feedback? Do you have any? Post in the comments.

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Speaking of Struggles – Super Dave’s Home Is Waterlogged

James — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 19:26:00 +0000

I got this email from my CMMonthly Podcast co-host Dave White last night:

Hey man,

It’s been a wild week. We came home from work last night to find our house flooded. Water was pouring out of the ceiling, and there was 4 inches of water puddled in the kitchen.

One of the kids left their bathroom sink on when we left for the morning, and it stopped up, and it flooded half our house. It’s BAD!

We are going to be staying in a hotel for the next 45 – 60 days. That presents a problem for the podcast. Let me know what you want to do.

Dave

Keep him and his family in your prayers.

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Struggling With Parents

James — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 12:57:24 +0000

This past Easter we did a super simple Candy Hunt in our gym after the main service for our pre-school and elementary students. Parents and families were naturally invited along to watch. We had half of the gym reserved as the field for the hunt and invited the families to spread themselves all the way around the court.

I quickly explained what was going to happen. We were going to have four hunts. One for pre-schoolers, one for 1st-2nd grade, another for 3rd and 4th then a final one for the 5th graders. I was clear that everyone would get a chance and that they needed to wait for their group.

We started the hunt and things went well for a while… but during hunt number three it became apparent we had a lot of older kids… and quite a few younger kids involved. I darted around removing them from the field and noticed that that most of them were returning to parents who had egged them on. In once case in particular I walked up on a parent giving their 18 year old son and 3 year old daughter instructions on how to pick up even more candy.

It was enough to make me want to shut everything down! How could these parents not appreciate our efforts enough to respect a few basic rules? On a greater level, how could I expect my messages on Sunday to get through to children who’s parents morals counteracted and contradicted everything I was teaching.

On the way home, broken and angry, I chose to pray it through. I knew God would give me a different view on things. He first gave me pity for those parents. What kind of life must they live that stealing candy off a gym floor makes things seem more fair and right? He also helped me to realize that rather than canceling future hunts, we just needed to do them during the main service and remove the only discipline problem at the event. The Parents.

I’ve met more than a few children’s ministers who have had experiences like mine and have developed a real distain for parents. This is a real problem. See, we’re here to partner with our parents. We cannot afford to see them as the enemy… even if it seems they’re heck-bent on convincing us they are.

Let’s look at some common reasons CM’s struggle with parents:

They’re inconsistent in attendance.

Yes there are parents who just don’t care… but after a bit of digging I found that most of my parents do come, but their kids are with another parent every other weekend. With the rest of them… accept, pray, get over it, and make every moment you do have count.

They bring children but don’t want to help.

When you’re short on help, it can drive you crazy to see parents dart by the door, pushing their kids in not even looking inside to see how much your struggling with the kids you already have. It’s easy to begin hating on them. It can make you feel like a babysitter and an unappreciated one at that. The truth is that even if that’s all you were, giving those parents a child-free moment to spend receiving from God is one of the best gifts you could give your kid’s family. It really took me having my own children to fully understand and appreciate that.

They don’t understand the spiritual potential of their children.

I’ve heard CM’s say this, and it’s always with an air of superiority. Makes me want to slap them. How can someone with this mentality every hope to partner with parents for the betterment of the family? When did CM’s get to the point where we think we can take responsibility for every child’s spiritual well-being? God gave that job to the parents. Do we know better than God? If they’re not doing it right, it’s up to us to humbly help them.

They struggle against our policies.

I’ll give you this one. Some of them do push hard against anything you expect/need them to do in order to keep a smoothly running program. It’s annoying… but it’s always a minority. We just don’t notice the good parents in these situations. Plus we see them when they’re late for church and late for lunch. Is that really a fair time to make a judgment about someone?

They don’t give us the respect they give other pastors.

Stinks huh. We don’t get the respect because we don’t carry the responsibilities he or she does. We may think we have it so bad and he has it so easy… but trust me… you’re better off being told you’re a kid’s pastor because you’re a big kid yourself than dealing with a church-full of issues.

They don’t support us by disciplining their children properly.

I’ll give you this one too. A properly disciplined child is a rarity in this world we live in. But rather than fight against it, we need to adjust to compensate for it. CM’s can get a lot of pointers from the public school system. They deal with the same things we do… but on a daily basis so many times I find they’ve evolved to it faster. They have things that work without relying on the parents to back them up.

I hope it’s obvious that most of those reasons are actually perceptions of reality, not necessarily reality itself. It my feel that these things are true… and in some cases with some parents they very-well may be, but in general, most parents are doing the best they can and want to do better. We typically judge parents by a series of instances and lump them all in our minds into one huge parent prototype and judge them all by that conception. It’s not fair, not true and not right. It’s a tool that Satan will use to keep you at odds with one of your greatest resources… your kids’ parents.

Tune in tomorrow for insight into ending the mental struggles with our kids’ parents.

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Why Do Children’s Ministers Struggle?

James — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 16:03:40 +0000

Over the years I have noticed something. It seems to me that children’s ministers can be some of the most heavily burdened people in ministry. Why is that I wonder? I have some theories.

It’s one of the most important ministries in the church.

Statistics show that if a child hasn’t made a decision for Christ by age 8 they aren’t likely to at all. But do we really need statistics to know that children are precious to the Kingdom? They are living potential. Our enemy works tirelessly to attract, warp and destroy their lives. We are one of the folks on the front lines defending their souls. It’s not easy.

We wear many hats.

Children’s Ministers do more than preach on Sunday morning. Often times we’re Game Leader, Worship Leader, Puppet Team, Check-in Coordinator, Sound Person, Maintenance, Security and Janitor. Even if you’re blessed enough to have folks who do most of those things for you it is still your responsibility to see that they’re done… and your consequences to suffer if they’re not.

We are responsible for their safety and wellbeing.

No other minister in the church is in precisely the same situation we are when it comes to the safety of our congregation. Where else are the ministers completely responsible for the very lives of the people they minister to? Nowhere. From the moment the kids are dropped off till the minute they’re picked up, they might as well be our own kids. It’s a unique and challenging situation. We must keep them safe from the outside world and one another… all that while trying to keep them spiritually safe as well.

We must discipline and teach.

A minister can never just get up and preach. We’ve got to be entertaining, engaging and great at holding the attention of a crowd. If you’re a children’s minister, you’ve also got to keep them from hitting, throwing, talking, moving, sleeping and whatever else comes into their mind during your well prepared, heart-felt message. They say that preaching a typical sermon is the equivalent of an 8 hour work day…. but add to that the distractions, redirections and normal interruptions… make that a 16 hour day.

We minister to multiple people groups.

I remember when I thought being a Children’s Pastor meant that I would only work with children. Boy, was I wrong. Sure we work with kids… but we’ve also got their parents. We’ve got leadership we answer to as well as trying to be a part of the congregation as a whole. Let’s not forget our own volunteer staff. We’ve got a ton of folks to please… and often with conflicting expectations. It’s like having to juggle 5 balls, but only being able to juggle 3. To juggle them all, we’ve got to take turns… and someone is always being left out.

We’re often separated from the Big Show.

We do service during the big service so automatically we’re removed from the greatest spiritual and physical resource at our church. The spiritual food we so desperately need and the human resources we need almost as badly. This often leads us to believe that we are alone. The only ones who care. That parents are our enemy and that the Pastor is unappreciative. If that won’t wear you down, I don’t know what will.

I find it interesting that it is the circumstances of my own ministry that stand the most chance to ruin my ministry. Circumstances… not Satan… so once again my worst enemy is me. How can I combat these when they are mandatory side-effects of ministry well-done? We do not fight them at all… but rather become aware of each and compensate for them.

It’s an important ministry… but it’s not YOUR ministry.

God put the burden for training up a child on the children’s parents. The trend today is for children’s pastors to consider themselves the end-all-be-all for their kids’ spiritual well-being. The only problem is that we are literally incapable of bearing that responsibility, though many of us try. Not only is this arrogant, it’s dangerous. Our job is to be another voice from God in their lives. We are just another seed planter. We cannot make it grow. The Word does that on it’s own. That’s why we say it’s living and active. Free yourself from the total responsibility. Cast that burden where it belongs, on the shoulders of God Himself. Keep doing what you’re doing, but leave the results in His hands. It’s not your word…. it’s God’s Word.

Delegate anything someone else can do.

They won’t do it like you would. They may not do it as well. But you need to give pieces of your ministry away. We may think we’re being considerate… not wanting to burden others with our work… but we’re actually being prideful. Who are we to decide that they can’t handle a hard job? Are we the only ones who are tough enough? See how prideful that sounds? Your ministry will never grow any larger than you if you don’t give bits of it away. And if you keep doing it alone, your ministry will shrink right along with you as your burn yourself out. For more listen to Episode 9 – Delegating our Responsibilities.

Secure your ministry

If we’re responsible for those little lives… then we’ve got to be responsible with them. That means we’ve got to run background checks on every volunteer. Set-up some sort of secure check-in and out procedure to ensure that kids are going home with the right people. Write up and enforce policy to protect those kids against predators, and your workers against the appearance of evil. This sounds like an overwhelming task, but it will provide a lot of peace when you know you’re providing a safe place for your kids to interact with Jesus. For tips on where to start with policy listen to Episode 13 – Policy & Procedure.

Establish and train a consistent discipline policy.

Kids do a lot better when they know what is expected of them… and understand the consequences of not living up to to those expectations. Our job is not to make a child be good… it’s to help them become more like Jesus Christ. You’ll never change a kids life by putting them in time-out… it’s only God’s Word that can do that. Establishing a discipline policy will help you get over your discipline issues so that you can do real ministry. Need more? Check this out: Proper Discipline in Children’s Ministry.

Be a consistent minister.

You may have a lot of people to serve… but who we’re really serving is God. We can’t please everyone…. but we can live to please Him. The way we do that is through consistent obedience to his Will and his Word. If we focus on that… the rest will take care of itself. We don’t have to wear one face around the kids and another around the parents. Being a God-honoring minister/human being will bring respect from each people group. It will keep you focused on a consistent source of appreciation, love and acceptance.

Stay involved.

Does your church have two morning services? Lucky! If not you’re going to have to work hard to stay connected. Cancel one service a month if you must. Do Sunday mornings and cancel the evening services. Delegate the service prep and performance to someone else and go to big church once in a while. Suggest pre-service Pastor’s Prayer so that you can know what’s going to happen in big church. Ask your Pastor to let you know what you missed during staff meetings. Just knowing can be a great connection. But remember, it’s not anyone’s job to keep you connected… and you have no ministry outside of the service you provide to that body. You’ve got to be a part of it to be effective in the least.

What issues do you struggle with in your ministry to children? What do you do to compensate for the natural consequences of a well-done ministry? Share in the comments.

This Week’s Popular Posts

James — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 03:23:44 +0000

Helping Kids Use Their Powers For Good
Every child has Superpowers. Like mutants in an X-man movie some of them have level 1 powers… some are level 4 or more… but they all have them.

Practical Ways To Redirect A Child’s "Super Powers"
I don’t know if there is going to be a hard-set way to redirect every child’s ‘powers’. Every child is so unique and every situation requires a different approach. We can look at things from one step back though and give some suggestions to help folks come up with their own ways to harness and redirect our kid’s energies.

Postcards Uplift Volunteers And You
If you’re like me, finding the negative in your ministry is a lot easier than seeing the positive. It’s not that we can’t see the good… it’s just the things we’d like to see changed and improved are constantly in our faces where the positives are typically those things the are running smoothly and therefore more easily ignored. Yet another case of the urgent outweighing the important.

Thoughts On Being Creative
Creativity is a funny thing. People think that it’s something you’re born with… and if you’re not… your out of luck. Though I agree some folks have creativity overload, I do not agree that if you’re not naturally creative that you cannot be a creative person with great original ideas. Here are some of my thoughts on creativity.

Children’s Ministry Logos I’ve Done

James — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:43:13 +0000

It’s Friday. Time to let our hair down at CMMonthly and share some of the logos I’ve had the honor of doing for children’s ministers across the country.

I offer high-quality, low-cost art through my site DrawYouAPicture.com. If I can do anything for you, let me know.

Practical Ways To Redirect A Child’s “Super Powers”

James — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 07:00:00 +0000

Before you dive into this post, you should first read Helping Kids Use Their Super Powers For Good, the post this post is a follow-up to.

“Any practical suggestions for redirecting some of the “bad” powers toward Christ-centered purposes? For example, my wife had a child who liked being the center of attention in music time, so she had him hold the poster-board with the lyrics. He got to be up front (which he loved) and learned to serve the other kids at the same time! What do you do with the very active child to redirect his energy while in a group setting?” question submitted by reader Austin.

Austin already has the right idea… or at least his wife does.

I don’t know if there is going to be a hard-set way to redirect every child’s ‘powers’. Every child is so unique and every situation requires a different approach. We can look at things from one step back though and give some suggestions to help folks come up with their own ways to harness and redirect our kid’s energies.

1. Learn That Kid

What makes them who they are? What kind of family-life do they have? How do they act at school? At home? Typically I’ve found that every challenging child has at least one environment that they thrive in. I find that area… study it to see why it’s working, and try to weave that into my program… or at least their part of the program. Is it the leader? The group dynamic? The discipline structure? Something is pulling the best from that child and I’m going to find out what it is and harness it for myself.

2. Imagine Their Potential

God has a plan for every person. A plan to prosper them and not to harm them. Every good and perfect Gift comes from God. God also works everything out for the good of those who love him. Knowing these things means that I must believe God has a plan for my kid. He has a set of gifts and talents that God wants to use. It’s my job to have a vision for each child that is shaped by what I know about how God feels toward his children. Every negative must be seen as a positive. I know that seems to make no sense… but God has a plan right? It may require a lot of prayer… but you must have a clear viision of what God possibly has in store for that child. We’re not talking about knowing exactly to the day what God will have them doing… but more of a view of the kind of person God created them to be.

Once you have that vision, you can then…

3. Provide An Atmosphere That Draws Them To Their Potential

Our goal is not to make them be good… it’s to help them become like Christ. We’re not, no not never going to change a child with time-outs and conferences with parents. God will change a child’s heart when we provide situations where his intentions for their ‘powers’ are presented. When a child is allowed to be the Godly version of themselves, and they are accepted and loved… it will create an appetite for using their energies for more good. It’s a simple concept really. Most things concerning God really are simple… but simple doesn’t mean it’s not difficult.

Practical Ideas On Redirecting Super Powers:

Active Kid – Add lots of music with full body motions to your time. Allow this child to lead on stage. Break your time into clear segments. Perhaps even moving around the room for different activities. Repeat expectations weekly and be consistent in enforcing them.
Talkative Kid – Include talk times in your program. Give this child a chance to tell others about their day. Maybe you start the class by asking kids to rate their week on a scale of 1-10 and then explain why. If you’re telling a bible story, involve this child as a narrator, or an actor to repeat lines you feed them in real-time. Be clear that there are times to be loud, and times to be quiet. Talk times are for talking, quiet times are for listening. Let the class know when it’s one or the other. This way the talkative child knows when they can let the words fly.
Quiet Kid – No one thinks about the quiet kids… but often times they’re disobeying as much as the loud kid… but they’re quiet so we don’t mind if they don’t participate. It’s okay to be an introvert, we’re not going to try to change their personality… but we are going to require a minimum amount of participation. You don’t have to sing, but you do need to stand. You don’t have to pray, but we do need a prayer request. Whatever it is make your expectations high… but your requirements low. That way this child feels more comfortable doing the requirement because they aren’t required to do the expected. Make sense? There are ways this child can contribute that they will be comfortable with. Maybe they draw, write, play, or like to share. Maybe talk to Mom and have their pet visit the class. This will make them the star of the show… but all the scary attention will be on the dog. So it’s all good.
Rambunctious Kid – You know that boy who always ends up fighting because he plays so rough? Yeah, that kid. God gave him toughness and boldness. Help him by giving him some responsibility over some younger kids. You’ll be giving him the chance to feel big… but in a giant teddy bear sort of way. He’ll soon learn that God gave him his powers to protect others rather than damage them.
Joker Kid – The kid who isn’t bad… they just like to make everything funny. This kid needs attention. He does. He’s a performer. Help him, like Austin’s wife did, by providing positive experiences where he can have his 15 min’s of fame, but it’s not all about him. Doing service projects is a great way. Having a reward system in place that offers badges or other rewards that are given in a public setting in front of peers and parents. Some leaders might struggle with the urge to keep this child needy rather than fulfilling because it seems self-centered. If the church doesn’t fill it positively and absolutely, the world will be more than happy to do it for us.

Do you feel unable to handle your own kids? Feeling under talented and over worked. Remember, God has given you your own set of Super Powers… ask him to reveal any secret powers and to enhance the ones you know about. And remember, he called YOU to these kids. Not because they’re easy… or because you’re perfect for the job… but because he needed your particular set of skills and your faithfulness and willingness to get the job done through you.

Postcards Uplift Volunteers And You

James — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 14:22:58 +0000

If you’re like me, finding the negative in your ministry is a lot easier than seeing the positive. It’s not that we can’t see the good… it’s just the things we’d like to see changed and improved are constantly in our faces where the positives are typically those things the are running smoothly and therefore more easily ignored. Yet another case of the urgent outweighing the important.

It’s mandatory for folks like us to compensate for that by finding natural ways to see and glorify the positive. We can do that by finding a simple way to give some praise to the people in our programs who are making that happen.

One of the things I’ve done in the past… and need to start doing again… is committing to write out and actually mail one postcard per week to someone that I noticed was going above and beyond. I had a bunch printed at Preferred Print with our logo… but it’s not the front of the card that matters. I’d write out a brief note on the back mentioning specifically what I caught them doing right during the last service, sign it, and mail that puppy out. The feedback was amazing. Folks would keep the card on their fridge for months and months.

Not only is such a little thing a huge blessing to the person you’re praising, it will help you to look for (and find) the positive things that are happening all around you. Though it is important to walk around and look for things that need improving (thanks Jim Wideman) doing nothing but that can quickly make folks like me feel that there is nothing excellent going on and that everything is less than it should be. Even if that’s reality… even if it is true… there are still folks putting their hearts and souls into your ministry and they’re doing a lot of good along the way to where you all want to be.

Recently I tossed the remainder of the cards because we updated our logos… kinda got out of the habit. Guess it’s time to submit another postcard order. I’m thinking about a design featuring my son…

Helping Kids Use Their Powers For Good

James — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 17:59:26 +0000

Every child has Superpowers. Like mutants in an X-man movie some of them have level 1 powers… some are level 4 or more… but they all have them.

Obviously I’m not talking about mutant healing factor or the power to control metal with your mind. To me, superpowers are God-given abilities that each child posses. And these powers can be used for good… or to get them in a lot of trouble.

Some kids have the power of too much energy. They move to much and talk to much. They are overly excited and are constant interrupting.

Other kids have a more socially acceptable set of powers. They play piano, they sing, they’re funny and can make people laugh or they’re just generally pleasant to be around.

I am convinced that each child has these powers and that they are God-given. If they are God-given then they have a good purpose, even if they’re not currently being used properly. It is part of our job, as children’s ministers, to do our part in shaping those children into becoming the person God intends them to be. That shaping doesn’t involve removing their powers… but rather helping them to use their powers for good instead of evil.

With the overly excitable child, get it in your head that God created him that way. He’s not bad. He’s not a problem, he’s just not using his superpowers properly. Create opportunities in your setting for him (and others) to use their powers in a constructive way. This child has been told his entire life to sit down and shut-up… he’s been told his powers are bad… help him use them for God’s glory.

With the talented child we are so quick to glorify their powers. We’ll put them on stage, give them extra kudos in public… but this child runs the same risk of using their powers for less than honorable means. The church has a way of making a talented child very self-centered. They learn to use their powers to bring attention and glory to themselves. And since they’re children who are still developing it’s more than self-centeredness… it can become the way they value their self-worth. As they grow they will become performance based and chase after public acceptance and possible allow people to take advantage of them just to feel accepted. Why do you think so many secular music artists today had their start in the church? It’s up to us to help these children find a more constructive way to use their powers. God gave them to bring glory to himself… to draw people to him. It’s not an easy task, but it’s what we’re called to do.

I hope this has opened your mind a bit and possibly rewritten your opinion about a few of the kids in your ministry. If we look at them as untapped potential rather than behavior problems we’re already halfway to helping them become what God wants them to be.

If this article has been helpful at all, please leave a note in the comments. Thanks.

Thoughts On Being Creative [Creativity]

James — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 15:19:43 +0000

Creativity is a funny thing. People think that it’s something you’re born with… and if you’re not… your out of luck. Though I agree some folks have creativity overload, I do not agree that if you’re not naturally creative that you cannot be a creative person with great original ideas. Here are some of my thoughts on creativity.

I believe you can pray for creativity. Some folks are born more naturally patient than others… but does that mean the rest of us can’t ask God for patience when we need it? No! God gives us gifts when we need them. Creativity is no different. It’s a gift from a loving God that can be given at a moment’s notice. The key is…

Creativity comes when you put yourself in a situation where you must be creative. Creativity is hard work… even for the naturally creative. It takes time and brain cells. Most folks will settle for less than stellar ideas because it’s easier or because they have other alternatives. It’s easier to look up an object lesson than to create one yourself for instance (not always actually). It’s easier to pay someone to do it rather than risk doing it yourself. When we eliminate all other options… and force ourselves to be creative… that’s when genius comes.

The only difference between a creative person and an uncreative person is how long it takes to create. Have you ever listened to a comedian and really related to what they were saying… but found it hilarious because of the perspective they took on it? It’s one of those moments where you may say to yourself, “That is so true… I just never thought of it that way.” That’s the difference between them and us. They see something… but think it through one or two levels further then we do. It’s almost like we could have come up with that ourselves if we’d sat long enough. Creativity is like that. Naturally creative people come up with ideas pretty fast. Folks who would call themselves uncreative can do the same thing… they will just need to push a little harder and stick with it a little longer. I call it The Third Idea.

It goes like this: The first idea you come up with, you’ve got to assume that it’s the first thing that would come to anyone’s mind. Push yourself to keep thinking. Your second idea is going to be better… but again, anyone who invested just a little time would probably come up with the same thing. The trick is to not fall in love with your ideas an be willing to push yourself through to that third idea. That’s going to be the place where almost no one would go. Truly original and creative ideas start coming through at this point. Try it yourself. You’ll hear folks say, “I would have never thought of that,” and they’re right.

What thoughts and input do you have on this topic? Leave them in the comments!

My Live Character: JoJo The Christian Clown

James — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 04:26:13 +0000

Every week in JAM City, our elementary children’s church) I perform the live character JoJo The Christian Clown. He’s a newly saved overly-excited Christian who is not allowed to work in children’s church… but that’s not going to stop him from trying to prove to everyone he’s got what it takes.

This video was shot as a service intro for our 2009 graduation service. I had to be in the room the entire time… so this video was born. The little girl is my daughter. She’s awesome.

For more JoJo goodness, check out his other video. Note: his voice is different now because I got tired of folks saying he sounded like Adam Sandler!

Home Grown Object Lessons

James — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 01:06:00 +0000

By way of a follow-up to yesterday’s post on Creating Your Own Object Lessons, here are a few illustrations I’ve created using that method:

The dual-purpose of the Christian: To Love God and Love Others – A hammer has two jobs. Hammering nails and pulling them out. You can use hammers for a lot of other things… but they were created for only two things… just like us.

Showing Christ With Our Love – Lightly sketched a Jesus face (from the internet) on a piece of poster board. The kids called out good deeds and ways we show love to others. I wrote them on the paper with a large black marker filling in the areas of the sketch that needed to be black. As we continued the image of Christ become more and more obvious. (They couldn’t see the sketch).

Obeying Parents Protects Us – Put a baseball helmet on a balloon (complete with smiley face) and bumped it against a piece of cardboard with thumbtacks stuck through it. When we obey our parents their rules act like armor that protects us from bad choices and danger. When we disobey we are choosing to not have that protection. (pop)

Including Christ In Everything – Had kids play tug of war against “Jesus” illustrating how many folks think that sports and hobbies are in competition with our spiritual lives. I then had Jesus stand with the child and pull the rope with them to illustrate how when we include Christ in every part of our lives, he helps us do it even better because it’s for his glory.

Illustrating Praise, Glory & Honor – I wanted to show the kids how our praise and worship honors God. We surprised a staff member with an abundance of gifts, played his favorite song, had his family bring the gifts to him. He cried and thanked everyone again and again. It was real, not rehearsed. I then drew parallels between that event and how God must feel when we lift him up.

God Himself Is Our Foundation, Not What He Does or Does Not Do – Kids often lose faith in their Middle School years because they can get the impression that God is like a grandfather or Santa. They may go through a series of unfortunate events and wonder where God was. I use a large Bible (God), Jenga blocks (The things we believe we need from God), and a short stack of blank CD’s (our Faith and Beliefs). I start to pull out Jenga blocks one at a time illustrating the things that can be taken away from us in life. When our faith is based on what God does for us (shake the table) our faith can fall right apart. But when we put our faith in who God is (I restack the configuration where the CD’s are directly on the bible and the Jenga blocks are on the CD’s) things are stable. I re-do the illustration, taking away Jenga blocks… but it doesn’t affect our connection and faith in God.

Standing Strong With God’s Strength and Power – I needed to illustrate how God’s strength could be our strength. Not an easy one. I ended up using a 2×4 (God’), a 8’ length of nylon rope (us), some Staple Nails and scripture references printed on half sheets of paper. I showed how the rope couldn’t stand up on it’s own… just like us. Then I read the scriptures which addressed different parts our lives and hammered them along with the rope up the length of the 2×4. I think it perfectly illustrated how trusting in God’s word gives us the power (God’s strength) to stand.

Do you have an object lesson you created from scratch? Share it in the comments!

Creating Your Own Object Lessons

James — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 22:08:57 +0000

Books are expensive. Especially when you’re in a position where the church copier has a bigger budget than you do (and nobody expects the copier to sell candy bars). There are tons of books full of object lessons out there but even aside from the cost… how much time do we spend pouring through them looking for that one perfect illustration for the point we want to make? A lot!

What I’ve found is that an object lesson that I create myself, though it may not be as fancy and cool, takes less time, money and actually does the job much better… because it fits perfectly. I also believe God blesses such creative endeavors.

Before you convince yourself you could never be creative enough to come up with your own object lessons and quit reading… let me spill out the process I use to help illustrate a bible point or idea.

1. Make a Point

Simplify and distill your idea into a short phrase. Rather than, “God loved you so much that he sent his Son Jesus Christ to die for you on the cross to save you from you sins so you wouldn’t have to pay the price for your own sins and suffer eternal spiritual death” you might distill it down to, “Jesus took your place” and illustrate that.

2. Ask Yourself: What Does The Same Thing In Real Life?

Object lessons use objects to illustrate a point… so our next step after getting our point is to find an object that accomplishes a similar task or fulfills a similar function. Continuing with our “Jesus Took Your Place” point you might use two pieces of paper, damage one and start to throw it away. Then take a second sheet that is flawless and throw it away instead. It’s the same thing… but with objects. It’s not fancy… but it works.

3. Preach The Lesson Not The Object

The biggest mistake I see children’s ministers make with object lessons is they get so focused on the object that they forget about the lesson they’re actually teaching. That’s why I’m not a huge fan of spending a lot of money on pre-made props and illusions… it puts way to much emphasis on the wrong part of the lesson. Jesus used objects like nobody else… even if he didn’t happen to have them on hand… he was the master… but they were normal, obvious, everyday things. The focus was the message, not the story or illustration.

That’s how I do it! I’ll be honest. It’s not easy… but it’s the best investment of time you can make. Give it a shot this week. Ask God to help you… put yourself in a place where he must… and he will.

Questions? Input? Post them in the comments!

Viewing A Child’s Dual Potential

James — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 20:18:38 +0000

Kids, in a nutshell, are potential. An oversimplification yes… but still true. Everything a child does prepares them for their future. Even play is working to that end. My 4 year old daughter works harder at playing than I do at working sometimes.

When I look out at my group every Sunday morning I can’t help but see two future potentials for every child: The one God has planned and the version that Satan would have happen. With some children the God Version is easer to imagine. They seem like they’re going to end up that way almost automatically, though inside I know that is often far from true. Then there are kids who’s current behavior and/or situation make it easier to see the Fallen Version. They seem destined to become the back-row kid in the Youth Group.. mocking the kids who regularly fill the altar area during worship. Or even worse… they become involved in gangs, drugs, alcohol and start having destructive relationships with everyone they meet.

I value both of these views because both have value. One is a goal, the other is something to be avoided. Part of my job is to help one Version to win and the other to fail. If I can see each child through the eyes of my enemy, I can start to minister in a way that will minimize the chances of the Fallen Version to become reality.

If a child deals with anger chances are Satan plans to turn that child into a hateful, spiteful adult with a short fuse. The jails are full of men who were once children with attitudes and issues. But God has a different plan. A plan to help that child work through the anger, heal that heart, and help other people heal after being abused, injured or neglected. No jail time for helping others!

Same goes for kids who are the ‘good’ ones. We children’s workers can get a pretty twisted view of who’s ‘good’ and ‘bad’ because we typically only see them in the context of a large group… for only a couple of hours. We have no idea how they are at home, at school… and how they are inside their thought life where nobody sees them at all. The ‘good’ kids are just as much at risk as anyone. Even the ones who really are good… if you were the enemy of humanity… who would you go after the most? The kids who are already halfway there themselves or the kids who are truly pure in heart? Darn straight… I’d be going for the goodie-goodies. Those kids need you to see both sides of their potential as well.

I could keep going with this all day. Ask God to give you a dual view of your kids. Then ask him to help you minister to them and their families in a way that will draw them toward what He has for them. It’s not our job to do it all… but we can do our part better when we see our kid’s potential. Both potentials.

Episode 13 – Policy & Procedure

James — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 05:11:48 +0000

Think of this show like “Policies and Procedures For Dummies”. We cover the reasons we need policy and the basics of beginning to develop your own.

Resources:

http://locator.thevision2020.com – Free Sex Offender Search
http://freecountdowns.net - Free video countdowns (just don’t buy their products)
http://drawyouapicture.com – Low cost logos.

New Show Recording Tonight

James — Sun, 31 May 2009 12:01:53 +0000

One of the problems with having a show only once a month is that if Real Life gets in the way of your recording night… you’re sunk for a month.

Dave and I will be returning to the mics tonight… expect your new episode Monday morning.

Thanks to everyone for your support!

Mini-cast 8: Proper Discipline – Proper Relationships

James — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 07:37:15 +0000

In this, the last of the mini-series on proper discipline in children’s ministry, we look at different kinds of relationships we try to form with our kids.

Introducing: The Master Feed

James — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 17:19:52 +0000

On a whim I decided to offer you folks a Master Feed — a one stop spot to get everything this Kennison-boy puts out in audio form.

This single feed url contains Nobody’s Listening, Geek Loves Nerd, Children’s Ministry Monthly AND the newly created audio journal, GOK: Gospel of Kennison. Woo-hoo!

Here it is:

Happy Ressurection Day!

James — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 07:00:16 +0000

I hope in between serving your church kids… and finding time to make Easter a blast for your own family… you and I will both get a chance to truly remember how wonderful the event we celebrate on this day truly is.

God is so powerful. If he can defeat death… what can’t he do in our lives… the lives of our family… the lives of our kids?

Mini-cast 7: Proper Disclipline – Key Concepts

James — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 07:36:37 +0000

This week we focus on several key concepts regarding proper discipline in children’s ministry.

Mini-Cast 7 Delayed, Sorry!

James — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 20:26:46 +0000

For some reason (sleep) I forgot to release show 7 of our Discipline mini-casts last night. I apologize and will have it up this evening.

Online Movie Maker Makes Movies

James — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 21:24:13 +0000

I found a great online movie maker called Extra Normal that I know I’ll be using to create skits and illustrations in the near future. It’s in beta… and free for the moment. Check it out!

Click play below for a random movie I found on the website. Not a great example… but you’ll get the gist.

Mini-Cast 6: Proper Discipline – Rewards

James — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 08:23:17 +0000

This week we’re covering the rewards of great behavior in children’s ministry.

Doing Some Site Work

James — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 08:59:58 +0000

Everything is still here! Just working on the look of the website a bit. This theme will go away once I’m done.

Mini-Cast 5: Proper Discipline – Consequences

James — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 00:02:58 +0000

This week it’s all about the consequences for disobeying the rules. Be sure to check back each week for more.

Inspired By A Beer Blaster [Resources]

James — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 15:23:10 +0000

This thing is very cool. It will shoot ANY carbonated beverage (not just beer) up to 10 feet. This is a messy stage game waiting to happen!

The only unfortunate thing is that it’s shaped exactly like a real gun… which may or may not be an issue for your group… but with a little foam or other embellishments it could look just as harmless as a water pistol.

See it in action:

They come in several colors (including pink) and run between $22 and $33 bucks.

[Link]

Mini-Cast 4: Proper Discipline – Enforcement

James — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 20:48:16 +0000

This week it’s all about enforcing our rules… and making rules that are enforceable. Be sure to check back each week for more.

5 Questions to Heed About Church Security

James — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 19:26:47 +0000

I’m sure by now most of you have heard about the tragic shooting of a Baptist minister this past Sunday morning. I was directed to a great article addressing five areas churches need to be sure to address when it comes to security.

I took great pleasure in seeing that Children’s Ministry was at #2 on the list. It only makes sense that after security is beefed up in the “Big Church” that the mentally unstable among us will follow the path of least resistance. Let’s not let it be our Children’s Ministries.

Pastor Shot Dead in the Pulpit: 5 Questions to heed About Church Security [via TheResurgence.com]

I’d like to share my own set of 6 Questions concerning Children’s Ministry issues taken from an email to my own volunteers.

Door Security

Our doors need to be locked, manned or otherwise secured during service. A sign should be posted explaining the need for security and the requirements for admittance.

Secure Check-in System

Every child should be checked in through a security system. They should have an id badge/sticker. Teachers should have a roll sheet of every child in their care.

Restrict Access

No one should be allowed in any of our classrooms unless they are a screened volunteer wearing an easily identifiable lanyard, shirt, vest or badge (your choice) or an authorized parent/guardian who is checking out their child in keeping with procedure. (This unfortunately includes older siblings, worker’s own older children, relatives, family friends, etc).

Secure Pick-Up

At least one leader should be by classroom doors managing the flow of traffic. Children should be seated and away from the door until their name is called. Traffic should only move one direction during pick-up… out!

Volunteer Timeliness

Every volunteer needs to be on time to their post. The more adults we have, the more secure we are. Volunteers should shoot to be 10 to 15 minutes early every week.

Emergency Communication

Our leaders need a fast and effective way to communicate with you, your security team or on site officers in case of an incident or emergency. At minimum, give out your cell number. Install an intercom system or hand out walki-talkie’s of you can. Ask the nursery if they can assign you a pager so volunteers can page if they need you.

What are your security concerns? Post your thoughts, feedback or questions in the comments.

Mini-Cast 3: Proper Discipline – Requirements & Rules

James — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 03:41:54 +0000

The third installment of our new weekly mini-casts on discipline in children’s ministry focuses on the concept of “Minimum Requirements” and Rule Making.

Be sure to check back each week for more.

New “Jump” Pack – Bugs!

James — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 19:11:30 +0000

I just created three new Jumps for High Voltage Kids Curriculum and wanted to share them with you.

Click Bugs – Kids snap their fingers. Leader says “Amen”. Quietest team wins.
Cockroaches – Kids jump up into their chair. First team up wins. (Alternately kids can pull their feet off the floor.)
Grasshoppers – Kids jump up and down. Leader says “Amen”. First team sitting and focused wins.

More info on Jumps, what they are and how to use them in your service.

Download Bugs Jumps Video Clips

Children’s Pastor Interview on The Broken Mug Podcast

James — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 21:38:32 +0000

I was recently interviewed by Josh from The Broken Mug podcast. They asked me a lot of questions about the day-to-day of children’s ministry and I feel it would be a benefit to our listeners.

Check it out!

Mini-Cast 2: Proper Discipline – Why We Don’t

James — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 06:00:57 +0000

This second installment of our new weekly mini-casts on discipline in children’s ministry. This week focuses on the reasons we don’t discipline.

Be sure to check back each week for more.

Episode 12 Followup – Our Service Schedules

James — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 18:37:01 +0000

Dave and I promised that we’d post copies of our typical service schedules on the site. Enjoy!

Service Schedules - Doc (3) Service Schedules - PDF (11)

These files are in zip format. You can download the free 7-zip program to uncompress them.

Episode 12 – How We Do Service

James — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 06:32:42 +0000

This month James and Dave talk through they way they do an average elementary Sunday children’s church service. We share important tips on segments, points, curriculum and more.

Resources mentioned during the show:

Kidsturn Labs (5am Projections)
Google Docs
Kidzonestudio.com (coming soon)
CMConnect.org
Save money on your next domain from GoDaddy.com. Use the code “podname121″ at checkout.

A new look for CMMonthly

James — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 10:33:25 +0000

As you can tell, if you’re reading this from the main site, we’ve got a fresh new website! Gone is the drab, ugly burgandy logo. Here to stay is a bright green, which happens to be my favorite color anyway.

The site’s new layout allows for more of the content to be featured on the main page by category and have the podcasts prominatly featured at the top.

If you run into any html or php weirdness, please let me know. Enjoy!

Remember when…

James — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 08:53:12 +0000

I stumbled across this photo on Digg.com and wanted to share it with all of you.

It instantly took me back to my own childhood (though I was never as ‘cool’ as these guys). One of the greatest gifts God could give a children’s minister would be the ability to remember what childhood felt like.

I pray that God will help you remember yours, so you can minister more effectively to the children God has entrusted to you.

(Click the pic to make it great biggie.)

I was interviewed for The Broken Mug podcast

James — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 23:42:12 +0000

I wanted to share a pretty cool podcast with everyone. It’s called The Broken Mug. It’s an adult son and his Pastor Father discussing the things of God. It’s a twice monthly show. They just interviewed me for the show that will be released on the 1st of March. But don’t wait till then.

Check it out today and let them know you heard about them on CMMonthly.com: