Last weekend I stumbled on a brand new airline. It’s called Skybus. It was everything I look for in an airline. It was fun, roomy, cheap and different. It was a cross between Southwest and Jet Blue. The flight attendants were really young, they were wearing t-shirts and the fares were very reasonable. There are 10 seats on all planes that they put on sell early for only $10 each. (Yes, $10!) To top it off it’s a full size plane. They charge $5 a bag and another $10 to be in the first boarding group. Even with the extras I flew from Greensboro, NC to Columbus, OH non-stop for $89.00. To top it off they did some cool new things that I’ve never seen another airline do. They boarded and loaded from the front and back of the plane at the same time. Cool, huh? Then they sold watches, jewelry, make-up, perfume, cross-pens and other gift items at 20% to 40% off during the flight. If they sold internet access I would have been all over that and I would have checked to see if their prices were really discounted. Over all I was impressed. Their goal was to create a better airline that serves people and makes money. I think they’re on their way. I’ll fly them whenever I can. My question is if you were going to re-think Children’s Ministry and make it better what would you do? You know where it served families and today’s kids needs, how out of the box are you willing to get? Would you just keep doing the same old same old or would it look like skybus?
Archive for the 'Culture' CategoryPage 3 of 4
WE INTERRUPT YOUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAMMING FOR THIS IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT:
Hello, this is Evan Doyle reporting for the Way We See It Blog. This morning in Kids Church while writing this blog post, I caused our media application to crash. We were watching a DVD, and it stopped. It never got started again, because I was tediously fast forwarding at just 2x the regular speed. The moral of this story: Don’t do other stuff on the computer during Kids Church. It’s a bad plan.
WE NOW RETURN YOU TO YOUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAMMING.
The 10/40 window. We always hear about this area between 10 and 40 degrees north of the equator. It is reported to be the part of the world where the fewest people have heard the true Gospel. It is the focus of most missions.
But that’s not the 10/40 window I’m talking about. The one I’m talking about is right here at home. Perhaps right next door. It’s the $10K-$40K a year income bracket. The most, perhaps, unchurched income bracket in the entire United States. How is this, you ask? It’s simply how churches have been and continue to be run.
This morning while preparing my sermon for kid’s church tomorrow, I came across some staggering research. We all know that kids spend a ton of time in front of the TV and are subjected to the media and it’s messages, but did you know how much? Professor Dale Kunkel of the University of California at Santa Barbara discovered that kids watch an average of 40,000 TV commercials every year.
40,000 TV commercials. That’s per year don’t forget. Think about the ramifications of that. It sure makes my every minute of my sermon tomorrow seem more precious. We must preach with purpose the Word of God and challenge kids not to be brainwashed by the world system and the messages they see on TV. What do you think?
I’m in the big apple, that’s right the old guy is in the city that never sleeps. My wife and I went to our favorite place in little Italy, Angelo’s. We walked around Little Italy and Chinatown, we shopped in Soho and hit the Whole Foods Market in Union Square then back to the hotel until tomorrow. But I just noticed something although NY City boasts to be a city that caters to all in the last 7 hours I have not seen a single child. Manhattan is a grown up’s playground but it’s not real child friendly. Our churches could take a lesson from this. There is a difference between an adult place that allows kids and a family place. Think about the steakhouse, I like the steakhouse but they are built for adults with a limited menu for kids. I think there’s a huge difference in places like these and places that are child welcoming and designed just for kids and families. I think if we are serious about reaching kids it’s time we don’t treat ministry to children as an add on or after thought but a destination for families. If we want to see intentional results we must see intentional plans of action. I hope kids are spotted all over your church and it’s more than just a place designed with adults in mind.
I attended a seninar the other day and was asked by the instructor to write my name on a piece of paper. Then she told me to change hands and make my signiture idenical with the oposite hand I write with all the time. (No one in the class was able to do thi by the way.) Then she made a wonderful point. She said “How hard would you work to master this task if I told you I’d give you a million dollars if you could do this?” Everyone saw her point. We work on things that we value and desire? What skills do you need to develop in your ministry. What changes do you need to make in yourself to be more effective. You might say “give me $1,000,000.00 and I’ll change it.” Being obedient to Christ, doing whatever we do unto him, and serving children and families are things that you can’t put a price on because they are priceless. So, what do you need to work on?
Today I was creating a new PowerPoint game for Sunday and needed some difficult words to work with. I came across the book 100 Words Every High School Graduate Should Know. It was created by the people who bring you the American Heritage Dictionary. The cool part is that they went ahead and gave you the 100 words (on their website). You have to buy the book to find out what they mean. But if you are anything like me, you’ve learned how to define words in Google.
As a high school graduate I was kind of disturbed to realize that I couldn’t get my hands around the whole list. I have a master’s degree and was stumped by a good number of words. I am going to give you the list so you can check it out and see how you do. Be sure to read my closing paragraph at the bottom of the list to see what on earth this has to do with children’s ministry.
abjure
abrogate
abstemious
acumen
antebellum
auspicious
belie
bellicose
bowdlerize Continue reading ‘100 words every kid should know.’
Lately I’ve been reading the book Purple Cow by Seth Godin (buy the book on Amazon.com). Ryan Frank is letting me borrow it now that he’s done reading it. In case you missed his book review on it earlier, it’s all about being remarkable.
Several years back, Apple (maker of the iPhone! Evan is accepting donations to purchase his own. ;)) ran an ad campaign called Think Different. The ad follows:
The ad is all about just being crazy enough to change things. Now, normally, reading a business marketing book followed by a heavy dose of Bible reading may not be considered normal, but that’s what I did last night. I was reading 1 Corinthians 3:18-23 for my nightly devotions. Here’s what that passage says (ESV):
I never liked Little League when I was a kid. Coaches Pitch was fun. Little League was dreadful. It wasn’t my coach. It wasn’t my team. It wasn’t even the t-shirt. It was stepping up to bat.
Those of you who know me know that I am not athletic. It’s always been that way. I was always the kid that got put in left field. My problem with Little League was that I was afraid of the ball. That ball seemed to fly 100 MPH and it always seemed to come right at me. Because I was afraid of the ball I would step back from the plate. Because I stepped back from the plate I never hit the ball. That is why I gave up my Little League career in 4th grade.
One thing I have noticed about the kids in the community where I live is that they LOVE Little League. I see it every day during the summer because the baseball fields are adjacent to our church property. People practically idolize it. This is what bugs me about Little League. Red flags are shooting up all over the place and I feel obligated as a shepherd to do something about it.
Each summer when baseball starts it becomes #1 to so many of the families in my church. Parents let their kids miss AWANA, camp, and Vacation Bible School. Why? Because God forbid that Junior miss a practice or a game. Continue reading ‘What bugs me about Little League’
I just started reading “The Millennium Matrix” by Rex Miller. The book is about the digital age that we live in and how the church can respond. When speaking about today’s kids, he says, “The basis of knowing and understanding is shifting to an interactive, global anytime anywhere multimedia experience with countless eras to explore and test. We are moving from a passive television generation to a sensory experience generation”
Think about it. Kids in this digital age need to explore and test. Thus American Idol – you no longer just watch television, you vote on what you see. Thus Deal or No Deal – if you will call in and text your digital message in you might be the winner.
What does this have to do with the church? Everything! The generation that you and I work with is bombarded with messages. If you think kids are just going to sit and listen to life as it always was I am sorry but it just isn’t happening. Continue reading ‘Children’s Ministry in a digital age’
The making of a great ministry team leader revolves around Call and Community. So where do you fit on the Matrix? Are you a Prophet, an Employee, a Clique? Click below to read more about what each box means.
Continue reading ‘The Making of a Great Ministry Team Member’