Skip to main content

Category: Ministry Programming

Covers topics such as discipleship, ministry basics, nursery ministry, preschool ministry, elementary ministry, preteen ministry, special needs/trauma-informed ministry, organization, curriculum

Our Everest VBS Experience

Kathie Phillips

Everest_Logo_HR

 

It’s hard to believe that our church’s VBS wrapped up a little more than 2 weeks ago.  After months and months of planning and a week of top-notch implementation, it’s a wrap.  After much-need rest and reflection, I am so thankful that we continue to run our VBS each year.  There are a few reasons why I love what we do.

  • Many of our children come to Christ during VBS.  Every year, parents share stories about conversations they’ve had with their child and how THEY led their child to Christ as a result.
  • Children invite their friends, neighbors and family members.  Our children are excited about the week and want everyone they know to be there!
  • It truly is an all-church event.  Our entire church – from staff to the congregation – rally around our VBS efforts.  There are only a handful of events that garner all-church buy-in and participation like our VBS does.

This year, our church chose Group Publishing’s Everest VBS curriculum.  In years past, we have chosen Group’s Holy Land VBS, which we have enjoyed for various reasons.  The format of the Holy Land curriculum became familiar to us, our planning team members found their niche, and not many other local churches offered this style of VBS.  It set us apart, so to speak.

This is the first time we’ve done Group’s ‘easy’ VBS since I’ve been at my church, so leading the charge of change was a challenge I was dreading.  I tried to accentuate the positive (which is my usual tendency) and highlighted elements that were not part of our typical offering.  It worked – we had a great week!

Here’s our VBS by the numbers:

253 children

175 volunteers

18 leadership (planning) teams

26 leadership (planning) team members

1 child led a family member to Christ

7 children received their very first bible

Here are just a few snippets of what I heard during the week:

{From a parent, who served as a crew leader} “…as happens almost every year, listening to the children sing gets to me.  Today I was in tears and had to step out.  The “Faith” song.  The music is always so powerful.  I shared with [name of child] why I stepped out. The next time we sang that song [child] was also touched by the Spirit.  The Spirit was strong today.  One child in our group shared that she had lost her mother to cancer.  Then another child…..shared about a grandmother who had to be in a wheelchair that they had prayed for.  We had lots of prayer requests and loved praying under our blanket.  My [child] enjoyed hearing her friends pray with and for her.  It’s exhausting thinking about trying to top today…..tomorrow.  NOT sure we can.”

{From a parent, who served as a crew leader} “I have a [younger] crew so many of the concepts are hard for them to grasp just starting to sink in. After camp today, the lady who picked up [child in group] came back in on the verge of tears to tell me that she was a friend of [child]’s mom and [child]’s family does not attend church. Today on the way out [child] was explaining to her what the cross was and what it meant. Your hard work and planning is paying off in touching the lives of even the youngest kids.”

{From a station leader} “This year, it seemed like the kids ‘got it’ more.  Awesome!”

As a VBS Director, it’s sometimes hard for me to remember the big picture when I’m in the thick of planning, but I tell ya…these kinds of stories and being part of such an impactful week for campers and volunteers alike makes it all worth it.

To all of our hardworking, creative, innovative, passionate, all-around-awesome leadership team members – THANK YOU!  I couldn’t have done it without you!

To all of our supportive church staff who used your gifts, talents and resources with us – THANK YOU!

To all of our volunteers – crew leaders, crew assistants, station leaders, security team members, prayer warriors, supporters (item donations and/or financial) – THANK YOU!

To all of our Celebration Picnic volunteers – THANK YOU!  Because of you, hundreds of people were served a delicious meal and enjoyed a wonderful evening of fellowship!

To my husband and children who supported me by listening, praying, driving me around, lifting boxes and boxes of stuff, brainstorming, eating take-out, overlooking piles of laundry and unopened mail – THANK YOU!  I love you so much!

To God be the glory!

13 Sanity Savers for VBS Directors

Kathie Phillips

We are busy preparing for our church’s VBS (we call it Summer Bible Camp) next week.  Details – big and small – must be planned out, tweaked, and re-tweaked to welcome a few hundred campers and volunteers to our program each day.  If you are overseeing VBS, you know exactly what I mean!

This summer will mark my third year leading VBS at my church.  Each year has brought different joys, challenges and lessons.  I often give myself pep-talks throughout the weeks and days leading up to kick-off to encourage me when I start feeling overwhelmed.  Can you relate?

When it’s all said and done, I rely on tried and true strategies that keep me sane before, during, and after the madness – I mean planning. 🙂

BEFORE VBS

  • Work ahead.  VBS season falls during my busiest time of year (ministry-wise and personally) so working ahead on projects helps me not to cram at the last-minute.
  • Limit unnecessary meetings and appointments.  Doing this allows me to be available to meet with VBS leaders and help them brainstorm ideas, gather supplies, answer questions, etc.  If I’m diligent about working ahead, I can be available to them and give them my undivided attention.
  • Clearly label borrowed items.  That way, you can return things with ease once camp concludes.

DURING VBS

  • Eat breakfast every day.  Trust me, you’ll need the fuel to start each day off right.
  • Speaking of food, plan simple, easy-to-prepare meals.  I use my slow cooker almost every day during VBS because I’m too exhausted to cook.  I’ve also been known to keep the pizza delivery guy’s number on speed dial during VBS week!
  • Go to bed at a decent hour.  I don’t know about you, but I’m no good if I’m sleep deprived.  Close your computer, put the electronic devices away, turn off the TV and lights, and go to bed!

AFTER VBS

  • Accept offers of help in putting things away.  Many hands make light the load!
  • Take inventory of supplies for future reference.  Not only will this save you time down the road but it can also save you money.
  • Organize as you pack things away.  Clearly label supplies so they can be easily located for future use.
  • Celebrate the wins.  You and your team have worked incredibly hard to plan a wonderful week for the children and volunteers.  Take time to celebrate the stories you hear and the children who received Christ or took next steps in their faith journey.  Celebrate your volunteers, your planning team and all that God did during the week!
  • Debrief and evaluate with your team.  Talk about what worked well and what needs to be changed to make next year’s VBS even better.
  • Rest!  You deserve it for a job well done.

THROUGHOUT VBS

  • Power up with prayer.  As the days become busier and the details are far too many to count, spending time with the Lord in prayer helps you stay focused on what’s most important.  Encourage your team and volunteers to pray throughout also by providing a prayer list for them to pray through together.

Keep the conversation going!  What would you add to this list?  Share your ideas below!

Ministry Basics: Creating Irresistible Environments Kids Will Love!

Kathie Phillips 3 Comments

Today, I’m excited to share excerpts from a conversation I had recently with Ken Neff, Children’s Pastor at Christ Central in Lake City, Florida.  I ‘met’ Ken through a Facebook group for kidmin leaders.  He posted this picture of a set he designed for his kidmin and I wanted to talk to him and see why and how he does this.

Photo Credit: Ken Neff
Photo Credit: Ken Neff

 

Ken has been featured on churchstagedesignideas.com and is highly sought-after to help design sets for kidmin environments. What I found fascinating is that Ken has NO construction background.  Prior to becoming a Children’s Pastor, he was in retail for 12 1/2 years – where he picked up marketing and art skills – and was a deputy sheriff for 10 years.

Kathie Phillips (KP):  Why do you do what you do [take time to design and build sets]?

Ken Neff: (KN):  “To me, it’s more than stage design.  It’s the whole atmosphere.  Not only are kids visually stimulated, but there is usually something else going on.”  For example, Ken’s church ties music into the monthly theme.  When they did a baseball theme, “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” was played.  Costumes are also integrated along with the set design.  For the baseball theme, volunteers wore baseball uniforms and hats.  Ken also mentioned that prayer and God-given ideas inspire his creativity.

KP:  What set design ideas do you have for churches on a budget?

KN:  “I often hear, ‘I want to do something but I don’t have a budget for it.’  However, if you plan ahead, you can do something.  Planning ahead makes preparing a lot easier.  An added benefit of that is you can purchase items for a good price or get them donated for free.  You can’t do that if you wait until the last-minute.”  Ken’s ministry has a different teaching series each month but he plans out the year in advance.  In fact, he’s already working on ideas for 2016!

KP:  I’m curious about what curriculum you use that inspires these great sets.  Do you write your own curriculum?

KN:  “Yes.  We write it all.  It’s God-inspired but even if you use published curriculum, there’s no reason you can’t still build a stage and have props that engage the kids.”

KP:  Are you the only one constructing these fabulous sets?  Do you have any help?

KN:  “I am the primarily one responsible, but there’s a lady in our church who comes in about a week before I change the set to help paint things.  She’s an artist, so that’s helped a great deal.”  Ken mentioned that he has picked up artistic skills from this sweet lady.

KP:  Changing out your set every month must mean that you need a great deal of storage space.  What kind of storage do you have?

KN:  “We have a 30 x 50 ft storage space at our church.”  Ken also recycles and repurposes quite a bit, so this helps to keep clutter to a minimum.

KP:  What storage options would you suggest for those in portable churches?

KN:  “You have to get creative if you’re in a portable church, but it can be done.”  Some suggestions might include renting a storage space, storing items in someone’s garage, or asking your portable church location if you could store things there.

KP:  What advice would you give to churches who share space with another group or ministry?

KN:  “If you can make just three (3) props that go along with your theme, I would make them out of something like styrofoam.  That would help it to be lightweight and make transporting to a storage area manageable.  You could also get with other ministry leaders who share your space to see if they could incorporate the same theme so that props could be left up during the week.”  It should be noted that Ken’s ministry shares space with their church’s weekday preschool, run by his wife, Andrea.  That makes leaving his set in place a lot easier!

Quotables from our conversation:

“It’s a good feeling that we, the church, can have a huge impact on kids like Disney does and not have to spend millions of dollars to do it.”

“We need to make Jesus exciting!”

Here are a few other tips Ken suggested:

  • Build/group things in odd numbers.  It’s easier on the eyes.
  • Look for resources all around you.  Things like paint, wood pieces, and empty carpet tubes can be donated by people in your church.  You can also find inexpensive pieces from flea markets or second-hand stores.

Check out more of Ken’s work here.  If you’d like to contact Ken, you can email him at ken@christcentral.org.

Ken Neff headshotKen & Andrea Neff are the Families & Children’s Pastors at Christ Central located in Lake City,Florida. They minister on a weekly bases to 300 children. Through the creative anointing that God has placed on Ken’s life, he brings the Bible stories alive for the children by creating a monthly stage design that goes with the curriculum that he and Andrea and write. They believe in equipping other leaders and pastors to advance the Kingdom of God.

What About the Tweens?

Kathie Phillips 17 Comments

I am so excited to have my friend, Andrea Hopgood, share about her recent experience at the Children’s Pastors’ Conference.  Andrea and I connected through another national conference a few years ago and I count her as one of my trusted kidmin sisters.  Thank you for sharing your story with us, Andrea!

What about the tweens

A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend the Children’s Pastors’ Conference (CPC15).  The four days of sitting and learning from experts in their field started with a long, daily look into, “What Matters Most in Ministry to Tweens”. Kids are considered a “tween” when they are between 9-12 years old. I will share with you highlights and AHA moments that were both confirming and convicting to me.

According to Daniel Nott with Tween Gospel Alliance, the average:

  • family time is 36 minutes per day
  • church time is 3 hours per week
  • media/digital time is 8-10 hours per day

These statistics show that media is forming and shaping the minds of our tweens. Our teens are buying into these thoughts:

There isn’t any absolute truth. They believe it’s ok to believe what you want.

They’re asking the question, “Is church relevant for me?”

Partying is good and being skinny is the key to happiness.  Anorexia is starting between ages 9-11.

Divorce and living together is okay.

They are being mentored by media.

Having sex is normal because it’s on TV regularly. According to Dannah Gresch, founder of Secret Keeper Girl, kids as young as 11 have been exposed to pornography.

 As parents and Christian leaders, it is our responsibility to nurture the tweens in our lives so they will not build their moral compass on a shaky (worldly) foundation. Instead, we need to guide them in creating a Biblical perspective that will be a firm foundation for their lives.

Moral Development Phases

3 to 6 year olds – This is the “copycat” phase. They want to be like mom or dad. At this age, they have the play kitchen sets and pretend tool boxes and they mimic what they see mom and dad do.

 7 to 12 year olds – This is referred to as the “counseling” phase because they are forming their spiritual beliefs. No longer can we say “Because I said so”, they want to know “why”. This is always a spiritual question. This gives us the opportunity to give an answer from a Biblical perspective. If we aren’t ready to answer their questions, the world is definitely ready.

Spirit

The battle for the mind and hearts of people are largely won or lost by age 13. According to studies conducted by Barna, 80% of tweens say the Bible, Qur’an and Book of Mormon teach the same truth.

1% of tweens have a Biblical world view.

Social Peers

Tweens tend to detach from face to face communication and prefer to engage in social media. This detachment causes a decrease in empathy. To grab their attention in the church setting, we must provide experiences that will grasp their attention and apply the lesson directly to their lives, followed by time for them to verbally process how the lesson (for example) applies to their life. Many tweens are the 4th-5th graders in our ministries. They are bored being with the 1st-3rd graders, but they aren’t ready to be with the older kids. This is a golden opportunity for us to create a transitional ministry.

When they were asked, “Who is the biggest influencer in your life?”, the #1 answer was their parents. This is confirmation that we must provide opportunities for parents to be in the driver’s seat for spiritual encounters and spiritual formation.  How can we do that?

  • Provide a parent/child baptism and/or communion class. This class will allow families to attend together as a ministry leader facilitates conversation. Parents will have an opportunity to share their faith story with their child or begin a conversation letting the child know that they are beginning this journey together.  This will start heart conversations that can continue even after the class is complete.
  • Host date nights for fathers and daughters or mothers and sons.
  • Organize a parent/child purity retreat to guide conversations so parents are teaching their kids the Biblical perspective of modesty and truth about sexuality.

As you ponder what God would like your next steps to be, I pray that you receive the clarity and courage you need in order to walk out the next steps He has for you.

Resources

tweengospelalliance.org

secretkeepergirl.com

Six Ways to Keep the “Little” in Your Girl by Dannah Gresch

Six Ways to Keep the “Good” in Your Boy by Dannah Gresch

Keep the conversation going!  Are you the parent or leader of a tween?  Do you feel equipped to navigate these years?  What resources have you found helpful?  Share a comment here or on our Facebook page!

Andrea has a passion for equipping ministry leaders with tools needed to lead children and families to have a relationship with our Savior.  During her 17 year career, she has served as a Children’s Pastor, a consultant, and a Presenter at various conferences.  Currently, she is the Director of Elementary Ministry at Elmbrook Church.

error: Content is protected !!