As you’ll recall, last Friday we launched a contest to see who could come up with the most creative budget-stretching idea.  Last night marked the end of our contest, and we now have a winner.  You probably want to know who the winner is, don’t you?  It’s probably driving you insane in suspense.  All of this endless rambling is just put here to delay the inevitable task of actually telling you who won.  Are you ready?  Then you’re going to have to click on to see the winning idea! Continue reading ‘Wiper Sock Winner!’

I was just reading through my email, and came across a newsletter from Highway Video. If you don’t know Highway Video, they’re a company producing some awesome Christian short films and other video content. They’re getting ready to launch a new website, and they’re having 7 days of free stuff!

All you have to do is go to newhighwayvideo.com and sign up for their newsletter. I’m not sure how much of this stuff will be applicable to children’s ministry, but it’s still going to be great stuff. Check it out!

Today I had to go to Walmart here in Marion, IN.  You must understand, I absolutely disdain going to our Walmart.  There are words I could use to describe it, but those aren’t appropriate for a G rated environment!  I needed two things: toothpaste and eggs.  Not hard, no?  So you would think.  Instead, I spent 20 minutes in the store.  20 minutes for two items.

Our Walmart has serious problems.  People drive carts like crazy people, parking is a nightmare, the security sensor is overzealous, the store is dirty and understocked, and it’s just generally the last place on my list of potential places to shop.  When I can go to another store in town that doesn’t have most of those issues, I will.  That’s an easy decision.

Too many ministries are like our Walmart.  They’re horribly understaffed, parents have to wait forever to check in their child, the environment isn’t clean and welcoming, and it’s not a great place to be.  It doesn’t impart an image of “God’s best”.  It’s imparting more of a message of “we don’t care”.  On the other hand, I’ve seen other ministries with plenty of staff to go around, quick check-in, clean environments, and a welcoming nature.  They’re imparting that they care.  They want to share God’s message in the best way they can.

Look at your ministry through the eyes of a parent who is “church shopping”.  Which church are you going to choose: the busy, dirty one or the clean, organized one?  Yes, there are many other concerns in choosing a church, but these areas are the first impressions.  They form the very important opinion the parents form first.  Work this week on seeing if there’s some way you can speed up check-in.  Try and find some more volunteers, and get more regular commitment from those who are there.  Make sure things are clean.  What are some simple ways you can start becoming less like Walmart this week?

We’re excited that K! Magazine is showing up in all new places.  One of these places is Magazines.com.  It’s the same price you’ll find on KidzMatter, but it’s yet another place we can get the word out.  You can help us too.

If you love K! Magazine, we’d really love it if you’d leave a review on our Magazines.com page and let other people know how much you enjoy the magazine.  We’d appreciate it, and you’ll be helping others to make their decision as well!  Check it out.

You’ve got to check out what Michael Chanley learned at CPC this year. It’s a great list and maybe you can add to it. Click here to see the list for yourself.

What a great week in Nashville at Children’s Pastors’ Conference. It was a great week of networking, speaking, meeting new friends, and hanging out with old friends. If you are still considering a conference for 09, you should think hard about CPC San Diego. It’s right around the corner! Learn more at www.incm.org.

So, I started going to CPC when I was 14.  That’s a little different than most people.  In the course of 4 years, I’ve attended 7 CPC’s.  In 2009, I’m going to both Nashville and San Diego.  I’ve been a Audio/Video Conference Assistant at one location as well.  So trust me, I know CPC like the back of my hand.  I love going to CPC, and always have an amazing time.  So here’s what I love about CPC:

1.   The Resource Center.  Honestly, I think that the Resource Center is one of the best places to find that great new resource to help you out throughout the next year that’s coming.  I’m a very online person, but I still love just being able to browse around and connect with people while I’m shopping for new resources.  You can probe and prod the resource providers about their products more in depth as well.  And of course, CPC’s Resource Center is instantly made better because KidzMatter is there!  But in all seriousness, CPC has one of the best resource centers of any of the conferences I’ve been to personally.

2.  First-Timer’s Orientation.  This seems like a really small thing, yes.  But my first year at CPC, this orientation was invaluable.  Rather than feeling like a fish suddenly taken from a fish bowl into the ocean, I had guidance and help to guide me along my way.

3.  The General Sessions.  For me personally, the General Sessions are the highlight of my CPC days.  You get to come in, enjoy a great meal, network, then be entertained, encouraged, and enlightened.  You will never be able to leave a General Session in just a blah kind of mood.  I personally have enjoyed getting to hear greats such as Max Lucado, John Ortberg, George Barna, and many more during a general session at CPC.

4.  The locations.  Personally, one of my favorite pre/post-conference things to do is to explore what’s around the conference.  In Orlando, there was an amazing theme park staring you down the entire week.  You just had to go!  In San Diego, there is an amazing mall just across the street from the Town and Country Resort.  It has a Wetzel Pretzel.  ’Nuff said.  Nashville is surrounded by the amazing Gaylord Opryland Resort.  You’ve got to schedule some time into your CPC just for some fun! Continue reading ‘7 Children’s Pastor’s Conferences and counting!’

Saturday I presented a KidzMatter seminar in Tampa Florida. I met 2 ladies from LifePoint Church. They told me that they read about doing a Pickle Sunday in K! Magazine and gave it a try. Here’s what Renee had to say:

Pickles, Pickles Everywhere! In a recent issue of K! Magazine Keith Coast dared us to have a Pickle Day. Well, I can never take a dare lying down so the next week our church ordered three 5 gallon buckets of pickles. As soon as they entered the building the whole staff could not get their minds off of Pickles. To promote Pickle Day we made small post cards that had been sitting in an old pickle jar so that when the kids received them they actually smelled like pickles. The post card simply had the date of Pickle Day and explained that every kid who came that day would get a pickle and if they brought friends they would receive an extra pickle for every friend they brought. It also exclaimed, “Why a pickle, Come and find out!” We used the pickle to tell the plan of salvation. Here is what that looked like:
Continue reading ‘Pickle Sunday success story’

This post is part of a 6 part series.  To read the previous posts, click here.

Guideline 4: Does it help or hurt my or others’ spiritual walk?

This is one of the most duh kind of things in the entire list, but often forgotten.  Before we even consider doing something, we have to consider its spiritual implications.  Is what I’m about to do take away from my ability to commune with God on a daily basis (a way that we bring God glory)?

I started this series with one of the “cliché” verses that are repeated over and over in the church today.  Now, we need to think about one of our cliché phrases: What would Jesus do?  Honestly, would Christ be found doing what I am doing right now?  Does it help to lift someone up spiritually?

Not everything in life is obviously spiritual.  We don’t have to spend every waking moment we have doing something inherently spiritual.  But there are some things that can be without seeming terribly obvious.  Spending time growing closer to family and friends is spiritual in that we grow closer in God-ordained relationships.  Sometimes, just getting away is spiritual.  Jesus did it a lot: He went out on a boat to the middle of the lake to get away from the people that constantly crowded Him.

But if it’s not doing anything that matters in the light of eternity, why waste time doing it?  What we do should always drive us to our life calling, and bring us closer to fulfilling it.  Doing something should not draw us or those around us away from God.  If it is, we need to stop.  Like, as in now.  Just do it.  It’ll be transformational.

This post is part of a 6 part series.  To read the previous posts, click here.

Guideline 3: Can someone else handle this task just as capably?

I have a tendency to forget that there are other people that can do things just as well, if not better, than I can.  My personality says that if I want it done right, I need to do it myself.  That leads to me slowly going insane as I try to do everything myself!  That doesn’t work.

So how do I keep myself from going insane AND bring glory to God in what I do?  I just remember that other people can handle it.  I try to think of other people that can do the job.  I have trouble getting past the thought that I’m being lazy or shirking responsibility.  But I’m really not.

In fact, I’m following Jesus’ example.  In Mark 6:7 (NASB), the Bible says: “And He summoned the twelve and began to send them out in pairs…”  Jesus knew He couldn’t reach the entire world by Himself.  So he sent out His twelve disciples to help Him out.

Do the same in your ministry.  Have several people close to you that you trust that you can say, “I need some help” to and they’ll be there to help whenever you need them.  What better example to follow than Christ Himself?   You can do it yourself if you need to or have time to, but otherwise, don’t be afraid to let others help you out!  That’s the way I see it.