Month: October 2014

KidMin Conference – Workshop Notes

Kathie Phillips 3 Comments

For the past week, I have posted information about preparing for Group’s KidMin Conference and my experiences as a result of the conference (search the blog for related posts).  Today, I thought I’d share notes from the two workshops that I took at the conference.

WORKSHOP #1:  “Bringing the Bible to Life” by David Jennings

Workshop Description:  Discover more than 50 practical, NEW ideas you can take home and use right away in your ministry.  You’ll also learn various “smarts” that aim to help kids experience the Bible in a surprising and personally specific way.

Workshop Content:

  • Most of our teaching is “word smart”, meaning the teacher does most of the talking.
  • Usually we teach in the way we learn best.  However, kids learn best when they use their preferred way to learn.
  • Make learning more kid-focused than teacher-focused.

The first activity we did was to complete a “Got Smarts?” quiz to determine our own preferred way of learning.  I scored highest in “Self Smart”, meaning I:  understand myself; am reflective, meditative and self-motivated; desire time alone; am aware of my own feelings and my own strengths and weaknesses.

Then we moved into talking about 8 multiple intelligences that we discussed in detail.

**Download my notes here.

**Download additional resources here.

 

WORKSHOP #2:  “Teach Kids to Pray” by Mary Sims

Workshop Description:  Maximize prayer in fresh and exciting new ways while you teach kids to pray at different ages.  Experience multiple prayer styles, from The Lord’s Prayer to using music and art to pray.  Take home LOTS of creative strategies to your children’s ministry.

Workshop Content:

  • Mary shared personal stories of ways she’s incorporated a variety of prayer methods in her ministry.  I love personal stories!
  • She had a good balance of lecture time and interactive time around the tables.  One activity we did was to pray in color (my second time at the conference).  Another activity included a bowl of ordinary objects (such as bandages, slinkies, plastic rings, etc.) and we told how we would use that object to teach children about prayer.  That was pretty cool – I love really practical stuff!

**Download the workshop notes here.

Keep the conversation going!  How could you implement these ideas into your ministry?  Share below!

 

KidMin Conference – General Session Takeaways

Kathie Phillips 2 Comments

Yesterday I posted a few ideas for next steps following this year’s KidMin Conference (you can read that here).  Today, I thought I’d share some of my general session takeaways.  Be warned…my notes are not lengthy.  (1) It was a little dark in the general session room for me to take many notes and (2) I was really taking everything in and tried to just be present, especially after the phenomenal worship times.

FRIDAY EVENING GENERAL SESSION

I was not familiar with Roddy Chong prior to the conference but boy did his story resonate with me.  He spoke about being chosen by God and the many doors that God opened for him that he never imagined being opened.  He shared about traveling with well-known singers (Shania Twain & Celine Dion).  His story resonated with me because I, too, have seen God open many doors for me that I NEVER thought would happen for me.  It is really humbling to see God work in unimaginable ways.  Roddy also spoke about the need to not be defined by your mistakes.  That’s a good lesson for everyone!

The Skit Guys are a KidMin Conference favorite!  I always enjoy them!  They do a beautiful job of blending comedy and thought-provoking challenges.  One question they tossed out was, What are you afraid of?  They challenged us with this:  God chose you before it all began.  If he did that, He has a plan for you.  You have nothing to be afraid of.

SATURDAY MORNING GENERAL SESSION

Greg Baird spoke on Saturday morning and he did not disappoint.  I follow Greg on social media and also enjoy his blog posts, so I knew I’d enjoy hearing from him.  He referenced Ephesians 6:12, which says:

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

  • We are not superheroes.  We are in a battle.  When we are in ministry, the target on us becomes bolder to the enemy.
  • We cannot surge [SURGE was this year’s theme] ahead if we cannot stay on the battlefield.
  • What keeps us from surging ahead?
    • We simply try to survive (Acts 20:24).  It’s not about me – it’s about Jesus.
    • We get distracted.  Our ministries need to be about Jesus.
    • We focus on the wrong danger (things like numbers vs life transformation, families falling apart, etc.).
    • When we do these things, we do ministry in our power.
  • What do we do to combat these things? (Zech. 4:6)
    • Instead of trying to survive, trust God.
    • Instead of being distracted, immerse yourself in God’s Word.
    • Instead of focusing on the wrong danger, focus on your relationship with God.

Greg closed with a quote from Phil Vischer:  “Impact does not come when we are pursuing impact – impact comes when we are pursuing God.”

SATURDAY EVENING GENERAL SESSION

Jon Acuff spoke on passages from Isaiah 30.

  • Give God our expectations.  God will never be handcuffed by your failures or unleashed by your successes.
  • We need to learn how to be present.  Sometimes our lives are so loud we miss God’s whispers.

I didn’t attend Sunday morning’s session (I was having breakfast with a friend) or Monday morning’s session (I was headed home).  I did attend Sunday evening’s session with DeVon Franklin but I was too busy agreeing with him to write stuff down!  Sorry!

Were you at the conference?  What were some of your takeaways? Let me know by commenting below!