Covers topics such as discipleship, ministry basics, nursery ministry, preschool ministry, elementary ministry, preteen ministry, special needs/trauma-informed ministry, organization, curriculum
If you’re looking for last-minute Valentine’s Day ideas for church or home, be sure to visit my Valentine’s Day board on my Pinterest page. You can access the board here: http://pinterest.com/kathierphillips/kidmin-valentine-s-day/
Leave me a comment and let me know what you have planned to celebrate Valentine’s Day in your church or home!
Today’s guest post is written by Steven Knight. Steven has been serving in children’s ministry for almost 10 years. He loves working with kids & families, both evangelizing and discipling them. He is currently serving as a children’s ministry leader in Chicago while studying at Moody Bible Institute. He is blessed to have a wonderful wife, Katie. Steven blogs regularly at Kidmintools.com, which is a website dedicated to providing Family and Children’s Ministry resources and articles. You can also follow him on Twitter at @StevenKnight09.
Hey everyone! Since the holidays are such a busy time, we all get behind in something. For this Christmas season, I wanted to provide you with three last-minute Christmas lesson ideas to help you, if you are in need of a quick children’s ministry lesson!
Candy Cane Time: For this lesson, you will need to write on small pieces of paper and tape them to the candy canes. On the pieces of paper, write things that you believe are important to children (family, friends, Xbox, toys, dolls, etc.) Hide the candy canes around the room and have the children search for them. After the game is over, have several of the children say which candy canes are most important to them. Using the candy canes as an illustration, link the things written on the paper to a story about what is most important in your life, which is God. You can share how important these things are during the holiday season, but God is way more important than all of them. You can then share the story of the birth of Jesus Christ in Luke 2.
The Ultimate Present:This lesson is based around an object lesson using a Christmas present. You can talk about how excited
you are to give away a gift today. Pretend to give your present to one of your volunteers, but don’t let go of the present when you start to hand it to them. Act surprised and then ask them to pay you $50 for the gift first. After the volunteer has acted surprised at this outrageous demand, give the gift to him for free. Explain to the kids that every present has a cost, but there is no cost to someone when they receive a free gift, because it has been paid for by someone else. Use this analogy to then explain the free gift of salvation, and the purpose for Jesus’ birth.
Nativity Narrative: For this lesson idea, simply read the story of Jesus’ birth in Luke 2. While many children have heard about the story of Jesus’ birth, some children might not have ever heard the Scripture account of His birth, and definitely not an exciting narrative! To make this lesson have more of an impact, simply add emphasis to the story where appropriate. For example, “I cannot even pretend to imagine what it must have been like for the shepherds, who were out in their fields with their sheep at night, when suddenly an angel appeared with the heavenly host, all praising God while His glory shone around them!” If you need extra tips on how to make this re-telling of the Nativity story more impactful, you can check out this recent article on Reteaching a Story.
Have any other last-minute Christmas lesson ideas? Feel free to share them below!
Earlier this week, I posted a guest post that shared ways to celebrate Christmas with children. I thought I’d share a few more ideas I’ve come across online that you could incorporate this Christmas. These ideas can be used at home or in a classroom.
For Kids of All Ages
I’ve shared lots of ideas to get you started on my Advent/Christmas page on Pinterest. There are printables, craft ideas, yummy snack options, and games that kids will love!
Brandon Baker listed many books to help children focus on the real meaning of Christmas on his blog. If you’re using the books at home, you can take time to wind down a busy day with one of the many story books mentioned. If you’re using the books in a classroom setting, you can choose to read a portion of a book each week until you finish. You could also use one of the books to supplement a lesson.
For Kids Ages 2 – Young Elementary
I came across an Advent devotional using the “Jesus Storybook Bible. Preschool families in our church receive this Bible as a gift from our ministry and they LOVE it. What a great way to tie in all of the Bible stories that have been read throughout the year!
For Kids Ages 2 – 12
Jenny Funderburke has a great Family Advent Calendar on her blog. Each day has a different Bible reading (or audio recording); a brief devotional to read and/or watch on video; a prayer activity; and a practical, hands-on activity to do that relates to that day’s topic. A great resource!
These ideas are just a small plethora of Christ-centered ideas for children this Christmas. And don’t worry about it being too late to begin using an Advent devotional. It’s never too late to help your children understand the true meaning of Christmas.
I’d love to hear what ideas you’ve found helpful! Please share them below!
Our VBS (or Summer Bible Camp–SBC) ended yesterday and boy what a week it was! We hosted over 300 children on an adventure to Babylon. It was a great week! As a family tribe leader, I got an up-close peek at how the children related to Daniel’s adventures and what God was doing in their lives.
Now that our week has concluded, it’s time for me to wear my other VBS/SBC hat…as Follow-Up Team Leader. I have never done this job before but it was one that I volunteered to do because I feel that personally connecting with those who attend our church or events should not be overlooked.
As I began to think about how we’d follow-up with our camp attendees and their families, I identified five (5) categories that they would fall into:
Here is how we’ll follow-up with the children and families:
All families will be invited to attend our SBC Celebration Sunday that takes place the Sunday following SBC. The children will attend one of two services and lead the congregation in worship (singing songs they learned during the week). A family and seeker-friendly sermon will be preached and refreshments will be served afterwards.
Participants who attend our church or another church will receive a letter or email, thanking them for coming and providing suggestions on ways that parents can continue the learning at home.
Children who accept Christ during SBC but have no church home were provided an age-appropriate Bible and discipleship materials to get them started on their spiritual journey. They will also receive a personal invitation to our Sunday morning programming. Their parents will receive a letter from our Senior Pastor inviting them to a Sunday service as well as information about various ministries within our church. Families who indicate they have no church home will also receive a letter and information from our Senior Pastor.
Parents of children who accept Christ who attend another church will be encouraged to follow-up with their church staff about their child’s decision. We will also send a note to the Children’s Pastor of their home church to allow them to follow-up.
Our follow-up team will meet this Wednesday morning to pray for the children as well as begin the follow-up efforts.
What have you done to follow up with children who attend your VBS?