This story is nothing new - it’s actually several months old. It’s an awesome story about a boy who learned a great lesson about how much God loves each one of us. It might be a good video for you to download and show your kids if you haven’t already.
To go to youtube and get this video, click here.
Yesterday my pastor started a series which he is calling, “The Hymnal of Hope.” It’s a series on several of his favorite Psalms. Did you know that the book of Psalms was a Hebrew hymn book?
God gave us some beautiful words in those songs. Have you ever wondered why He didn’t give us the notes? After all, he could have. He could have told us how to sing the songs. I have a thought why God gave us the words and not the notes. Perhaps He wants each generation to have a new song.
Don’t get in a rut singing yesterday’s songs today. I believe God has new songs for today. Maybe it’s time to find some new ones to sing this weekend. A new song for every generation - that’s the way I see it.
Have you seen the new Apple Fries at Burger King? I did today. Burger King is making it easier for kids to eat healthy. An apple disguised as french fries - what a genius concept.
Wouldn’t it be nice if getting kids to eat spiritually was so easy? While it’s not always easy, it’s very possible. Consider what you are going to teach this weekend. What could you do to make it like Apple Fries? How can you slice the same apple (the message) a new way?
Sunday night we had the opportunity to have the One Way Street summer ministry team in my church. These seven young people, led by Dale VonSeggan, did a wonderful job. They ministered to a packed house (and it was on a Sunday night - imagine that). The performance included blacklight puppetry, full-body puppets and lots more! The kids and grown-ups alike loved it.
Are puppets still effective in children’s ministry today? Yes! Sesame Street is still growing and captivating the minds of millions of kids. Here’s the secret: you have to do it right! If your puppet presentations are lame, the kids aren’t going to connect.
As a young children’s pastor, I was blessed to have a lady (Ruth) join the church who had experience in puppet ministry. She immediately volunteered to start a puppet team. For the last ten years we have had what I call an “excellent” puppet ministry. What makes it excellent? Do we have expensive puppets? Not really. Are our puppeteers professionals? No - they are kids. Here’s why I think our puppet team is excellent.
1) The puppet director views her ministry as a divine calling. She’s not filling a slot for the children’s pastor or kid’s church teacher.
2) The puppet team members (most of them are teens) take the weekly rehearsal time seriously. They know that practice starts at 5:00 and that means 5:00 sharp.
3) The puppet teams takes time to have fun together. They know how to work but they also know how to have fun.
4) The puppet team makes it a priority to get training. Click here to learn about the best puppet training you can get.
5) The puppet programs are never predictable. The kids never know what to expect. Maybe the puppets will sing a song, maybe they will teach a Bible verse, maybe they will do a blacklight presentation - it always changes.
6) The puppet team uses props. I believe props are just as important as the puppets themselves. Props will take a puppet show from one thumbs-up to two thumbs-up.
7) The puppet family never stops growing. I bought two new puppets for our puppet team Sunday night. You don’t have to have a mammoth budget to pull this off. Commit to buying at least two new puppets every year.
In this media-driven age of children’s ministry, let’s not forget the impact that an excellent puppet ministry can have in the hearts of kids.
I’m writing a quick post to let everyone know that I’ve been quiet for a week and will probably be quiet for another week because I’m on vacation! We’ve been on the beautiful island of Kauai in Hawaii for a week and leave tomorrow to spend a week in Orange County, California. I’m looking forward to In-n-Out, Sprinkles (haven’t been there but Jim Wideman told me not to miss it), taking Beth out to eat at Las Brisas on Laguna Beach, buying my very first iPhone at Mission Viejo (I’m saying goodbye to my Blackberry), and spending more quality time with Beth and Luci.
Have a great week! Remember that you are loved and appreciated. If you need anything - let us know.
I’m writing this post to you from my BlackBerry on my way to teen camp. I was just looking through the photos on my phone, and noticed one that I had taken at IKEA just last Saturday.
The photo was of the entrance to the Children’s IKEA area. On this arch are written the words: “For the most important people in the world.”
IKEA has figured it out. Most people reading this blog have figured it out at some point. Children are the most important people in the world.
So many times, it’s easy to forget this, even as children’s ministers. Children’s ministers spend so much time “doing their jobs” that they forget what’s truly important: building vital relationships with children to transform their lives for God.
You also have to remember to remind your pastors and church members why children are so important, because they don’t see the ministry at work week to week. They’re even harder to remind.
I don’t know about you, but I want to do with my life what is most important. Kids are that thing. So just remember: the world has figured out how important kids are. We need to remember that too. And that’s the way I see it.
This week I had the opportunity to speak at Camp Patmos to a group of two hundred 4th-6th graders. Camp Patmos is located on the beautiful Kelleys Island on Lake Eerie. My schedule doesn’t allow me to do much camp speaking (although I love it) but I accepted this invitation from one of my best childhood friends.
The theme of camp this summer was Pursuit. I decided to speak on Jonah each night (a guy who made one bad choice after another and was pursued by God) and Corrie Ten Boom each morning (a lady who made one good choice after another and pursued God). The story of Jonah is always a hit with kids. I wasn’t sure how Corrie Ten Boom would go but really felt compelled to share her story. These tweens loved Corrie’s story.
Question: How much time do you give to sharing the stories of great Christian heroes of the faith? As children’s pastors, we are the first one to shake our heads at Miley Cyrus and other famous people that kids choose as heroes.
Think about the lives of great people like Corrie Ten Boom, Jim Elliot, Amy Carmichael, Fanny Crosby, Martin Luther, Joni Eareckson Tada, and others. How will the kids in our churches learn about them if we don’t tell them? Are we justified in “preaching” to them about bad role models and heroes if we don’t tell them the stories of the good ones?
I think there needs to be a return to telling some hero stories - intentionally. That’s the way I see it.
Have you seen the new website with free countdown timers? No memberships. No hidden fees. Just free countdown timers.
Check out www.freecountdowns.net.
I’m real excited about the new cmconnect.org. Today I talked to Michael Chanley on the phone for about 30 minutes. He’s the guy who got the idea to start the site. Bravo. He’s an elementary children’s pastor at SouthEast Christian Church. The social networking available on this site is great.
Join Jim Wideman, Roger Fields, and a bunch of other great people on cmconnect.org. Once you’ve joined, be sure to join the K! Magazine and the KidzMatter groups.
I went into Starbucks this morning to get a Grande Iced Coffee. While I was waiting, I was looking at the wall art and noticed a theme: the one thing. It’s repeated over and over all over the walls.
At Starbucks, their one thing is obvious. It’s coffee. Yes, they do pastries, tea, and other things too, but coffee is who they are. It’s what they excel at.
Each of us need to have our one thing. The thing we’re great at, our passion, our way of life. For me, my personal one thing is passionately sharing with children not only what Christians believe, but why we believe it. Our church’s children’s ministry’s one thing is raising kids to be their best physically, mentally, and spiritually. KidzMatter’s one thing is to partner with churches to help them to make an eternal impact in the lives of kids.