Teaching Familiar Bible Stories

Behind the Scenes: Children’s Ministry Magazine, March/April 2016

CM Magazine - Mar-Apr 2016

Teaching the Bible in fun, exciting and engaging ways is a challenge that every children’s ministry leader faces.  Some weeks come together really well; other weeks not so much.

If you’re like me, you scour the internet (thank you, Pinterest!) for ideas and inspiration to help you knock the story out of the park each week.  Then you pray and ask the Holy Spirit to move in the hearts of those who’ll hear.

One of the dilemmas of a large group leader or teacher is to effectively teach the Bible to children who are familiar with the Bible AND kids who’ve never heard the stories before.  How can you capture the attention of fresh ears while engaging kids who are familiar?

This was the inspiration behind my “Old Messages, New Truths”, my elementary column topic in the March/April 2016 issue of Children’s Ministry Magazine.  In the column, I share 5 tips on how to do this.  (You can find the tips on page 30.)

If you’re looking for even more ideas, check out my kidmin-themed Pinterest boards.  You’ll find hundreds and hundreds of ideas to spur your creativity.

What methods have you found to maneuver this challenge?  Share your ideas below!

A Peek Inside our Luau-Themed Volunteer Training

This past Sunday, we hosted our annual Children’s Ministry volunteer training.  It was the second year that we’ve themed this event.  Last year, our theme was a tailgate.  This year, we chose to do a Hawaiian Luau.  It was so much fun and very well-received by our volunteers.

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This year, we wanted to include not only new and returning volunteers but those considering serving in our ministry as well.  We had a packed room full of adults and students who responded to God’s call to join us in ministry this year.  This was also the first year that we held our training on a Sunday after our morning services rather than a weeknight.  We have found that having folks stay around when they’re already at church (and giving them lunch!) yields a much better turnout.

Guests arrived to a large room at our church that was decorated with Hawaiian flowers, leis, tiki bar backdrop and tropical colors (orange, yellow, lime green, hot pink and purple).  Once inside the room, guests were welcomed, encouraged to pick up necessary paperwork, given a ticket for the chance to win fun prizes and allowed to choose a lei to wear.

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Ministry area handbooks, adult applications (white) and student applications (purple)

Guests were then invited to help themselves to a delicious lunch buffet, which consisted of:

  • Footlong sub sandwiches (turkey, ham and veggie)
  • Potato chips
  • Edible beach balls (cheese balls)
  • Fresh fruit cups
  • Cookies
  • Hawaiian Punch and bottled water

Our tables were set with a simple centerpiece (a glass bowl filled with play sand, seashells and votive candles that we had on hand).  Under each bowl was a sheet of chalkboard paper and pieces of chalk.  At each set, we placed a “Say Yes to the Next Generation” notepad and a personalized pen.

After a little while of fellowship around the tables, we started with the business of the day.  You can download our event outline here.

Here are a few of Pinterest-inspired ideas we used:

For even more ideas, check out my KidMin – Luau Pinterest board.

I wonder what next year’s theme will be…

It’s your turn to share!  What fun volunteer training themes have you done?  I’d also love to see your pictures!  Upload them to our Facebook page.

My Favorite #OC15 Tweets

Orange Conference 2015

I was not able to attend this year’s Orange Conference but I stayed plugged in through their live feed and social media posts.  Here are my favorite tweets from the conference:

Leadership

“You can only lead someone as far as you have gone yourself.”

“Time management hack: Look at your week and ask yourself “What 3 things have to happen for this week to be successful?”

“Saying yes to the wrong things is a momentum killer. Be willing to say no.”

“Language should be: • Relevant • Memorable • Repeatable • Effective.”

The first time you do something should be the worst time. Every other time you should be getting better at it.

“Never fight the battle of the “how to” until you have fought the battle of the value of why.”

“Courage is creating a stop doing list to do something better. Be intentional.”

“There’s an inexorable correlation between leadership and change.”

“You need 2 people in your life: 10 yrs ahead of you to show you potholes. 10 yrs behind to show you where the culture is heading.”

“You can’t fall in love with your method, you have to fall in love with your mission if you’re going to be an effective leader.”

“Change the world by investing in one life.”

“Celebrate what you want repeated.”

“Never apologize for having high standards for your leaders!”

“A healthy team culture, creates healthy church, which creates a healthy community.”

Volunteers

Church: we have the most important mission on the planet. Don’t apologize when asking 4 volunteers.”

“Few things are more demotivating to a volunteer than discovering staff didn’t set them up to succeed. Be organized.”

“Non-financial currencies to pay your volunteers: Gratitude, Attention, Trust, Empowerment, Respect.”

“Remind your volunteers often that even if they can’t always see it – they are making a difference.”

“Do we treat our volunteers well enough that they would recruit others to volunteer in our ministry?”

Taking Care of You

“If your only common ground with your spouse is your kids…they’re going to leave 1 day…then what?”

“Hustle is an act of FOCUS, not FRENZY.”

“Burnout doesn’t happen overnight. Passion fades. Your heart grows hard. Rest isn’t refuelling. Learn self-care, not self-medication.”

Family Ministry

“Parents don’t need something else to do. Give them an activity to do during times they all ready have with their kids.”

“For a blended family, attending church together 26 weeks a year is perfect attendance.”

“Reaching and keeping families at your church demands you plan and create systems so families can take next steps!”

“How to reach & keep families: Visitors will make a decision whether or not they will return within 7 sec of parking.”

“Only 18% of unchurched population fit into “traditional family” category. How does your strategy reach all families?”

“The church should be the BEST place that all parents can go to coached and equipped on becoming better parents.”

“One of the best gifts a church can give a kid or teen is to help parents have a thriving marriage.”

Connecting with Kids

“Kids will forget what you say, they will forget what you did, but kids will never forget how you made them feel.”

Next Gen Ministry

“Teenagers will never believe they are significant until you give them something significant to do.”

“The sooner you get students involved in ministry the more solid their relationship with Jesus becomes.”

You can find more tweets by searching the following hashtags: #OC15, #justaphase, #thinkorange.

Keep the conversation going!  Did you follow the conference online or attend the conference in person?  What were some of your favorite tweets or quotes?

KidMin Volunteer Appreciation Giveaway

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If you lead a kidmin, then you know that volunteers are the backbone and heartbeat of your ministry.  While we prepare behind the scenes, these faithful servants are on the front lines helping children know and love Jesus week in and week out.  Treasuring and appreciating these folks should always be a priority of ours.  My friends at What’s in the Bible? can help you do just that.

Thank your team courtesy of What’s in the Bible? by entering to win a free breakfast for your team.  Find out more details here.  Hurry – the deadline to enter is Sunday, April 12th!

In the meantime, if you’re looking for fun and inexpensive ideas to appreciate your volunteers, check these out:

15 Ways to Thank Your Children’s Ministry Volunteers

Year-Round Volunteer Appreciation Ideas

I’ve pinned 250+ ideas for volunteer appreciation on Pinterest.  Check it out: https://www.pinterest.com/kathierphillips/kidmin-volunteer-appreciation/

Share with our community! How have you appreciated your volunteers lately?