LifeWay

Kids Ministry

Dedicated to helping Kids Ministry leaders in their mission of making disciples

Preschool

First Impressions for Preschoolers

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Can you remember the first time you visited your church? Do you recall the way you felt? Were you greeted warmly and guided to a Bible study class or the worship center? Did you leave after that first visit and feel that you had a good experience? 

Now think about the preschoolers coming to your group for the first time. Think about their parents. When you open the door, you greet not only the child, but also his family. How can you make the first impression a positive one for the entire family?

  1. Smile. Your caring smile and cheerful attitude may calm the heart of a hurried or concerned parent. A preschooler is immediately drawn to a smiling face.
  2. Kneel. Stoop down to the child’s eye level. Look directly at him and call him by name. This shows the child and his parents that the preschooler is important to your church and to you.
  3. Reassure the family. Your gentle understanding of their anxiety will help allay their fears. 
  4. Communicate. Tell parents what you will do to provide a loving, secure, and fun experience for their preschooler. Describe a few of the activities and approaches you use to teach the Bible to children in your class.
  5. Pray. Pray for each child and his family and ask God to reveal just the right way to meet needs.

Families with preschoolers will come to your church from a variety of circumstances and experiences. You are privileged to minister to children and families at this time right where they are. Receive preschoolers with joy when they come to your door, and remember, first impressions are often lasting impressions. 

Rachel Coe is content editor for Explore the Bible: Preschoolers resources. She guides preschoolers in Bible explorations every week at her church [in Mt. Juliet, TN].  

Preschool

Preschool Devotions. What???

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Got 5 Minutes? Then you’ve got time for devotions with your preschoolers!

Wouldn’t you love for your preschoolers to love and remember Bible stories as well as they remember their favorite bedtime book? You can make that happen. And it can be as simple as brushing your teeth. It’s all about routines. We all do things every day without questioning whether or not we should, or whether or not we have time. Make your family devotions be one of those “things.”

While you won’t get your kids to sit still for 20 minutes, you can capture their attention for 5. Here are some tips to get you started.

  • Be intentional.  Plan for it, or it won’t happen. Know when and where you’ll do it. Keep your resources in the same place and ready to go. (Even delaying a routine by 20 seconds can make it harder to maintain.)
  • Buddy up. Hold each other (spouses or kids) accountable to do it. (Many times, your kids will help with this!)
  • Break it down. Sometimes it’s easier to break your times and subjects into smaller chunks. Remember that preschoolers have a short attention span and limited understanding.
  • Plan ahead of time. Don’t just open your Bible to a section and decide this is where we’re going to read tonight.
  • Lower your expectations. It’s just not always going to be a “special, deep” moment. But it will get better! Some action is better than nothing!

Make your routine less “routine.” Preschoolers learn best by doing. Incorporate that knowledge into your devotion time. Be creative! 

  • Teach through games (For example: “Follow the Leader” teaches obedience—a good point to make when talking about Noah’s obedience to God).
  • Make a photo album of people to pray for. 
  • Act out the Bible story.
  • Color a picture while someone reads the story. (Kids often learn better when their hands are busy.)

Got 5 minutes? You can do this!

 “Imprint these words of mine on your hearts and minds, bind them as a sign on your hands, and let them be a symbol on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, so that as long as the heavens are above the earth, your days and those of your children may be many in the land the Lord swore to give your fathers.” (Deuteronomy 11:18-21 )

Klista Storts serves as a Content Editor for LifeWay Kids. Before coming to LifeWay, she served as the Weekday and Preschool Specialist at the Tennessee Baptist Convention and as Director of Preschool Ministries at churches in Oklahoma and Tennessee. Klista has a passion for equipping leaders to share the love of Christ and lay foundations for conversion in the lives of kids.

Crafts, Kids Ministry, Preschool, Preschoolers

Preschool Craft Activity: Create a Flower Garden Picture

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Preschool Craft Activity: Create a Flower Garden Picture

Supplies Needed:

  • Bible
  • Strips of green construction paper
  • Large sheets of construction paper
  • Various sizes of muffin cups and mini muffin cups (pastel colors preferred)
  • Large buttons (large enough not to be a choking hazard or pompoms)
  • Glue
  • Washable markers
  • scissors

Prepare:

  1. Cut the green construction paper into strips to resemble flower stems.
  2. Place the materials listed above on a table for preschoolers to use.
  3. Glue a muffin cup to an end of a green strip of paper to use as a Bible marker. Write the Bible phrase, “Jesus is alive” on the strip of paper. Place the Bible marker in the Bible at John 20:1-18.
  4. Place the Bible with Bible marker on a table with other craft materials listed above.

Teach:

  1. Encourage preschoolers to decide how many “flowers” they want to make in their garden picture. Demonstrate how to make a flower by gluing a strip of paper onto the large piece of construction paper. Then, glue a muffin cup on the construction paper at the top of the green strip of paper. If a child chooses, he can glue a button or pom-pom inside the muffin cup.
  2. Allow preschoolers to use markers to draw other things in their gardens.
  3. As the preschoolers make their garden picture, open the Bible to John 20:1-18. Share the Bible story about Mary visiting the tomb and her encounter with Jesus. Emphasize that when Mary left the garden, she was happy because she knew Jesus is alive.
  4. Remind preschoolers that Easter is a happy time and can remind us that Jesus is alive and He loves them.
  5. Discuss with preschoolers how they can know Jesus loves them.

Delanee Williams serves as a Ministry Specialist with LifeWay Kids. She is a graduate of Baylor University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.  Delanee has served in kids ministry for over twenty years and is passionate about developing, equipping and encouraging leaders.

Christmas, Crafts, Encouragement, Encouraging, Family Ministry, Fun, Kids Ministry, Ministry, Preschool, Small Groups, Special Needs, Sunday School, Teacher Appreciation, Teaching Kids, Uncategorized, Volunteers
Easter, Kids Ministry, Leadership, Preschool

Easter Egg Hunt Blues

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The annual Easter egg hunt is over, leaving in its wake empty plastic egg shells covered in dry grass and stained with melted chocolate. When you and your team were stuffing those 14,000 eggs, you thought this day would never come. You fretted over securing enough candy, and your house looked like the chickens had come home to roost. Now, you’re wondering why you feel blue.

After a major event—even one filled with blissful mirth—feeling melancholy is normal. One way to escape the doldrums is to get some physical nourishment and rest. Next, take some time to evaluate the Easter egg hunt. I suggest doing this alone first, and then with your team. Ask yourself (and your team) questions such as these:

    • What was our goal or purpose for the event? (If you held the Easter egg hunt because, “We always have one,” then you may need to redefine your goal before planning the next one.)
    • Did we accomplish that goal or purpose? In what specific ways?
    • Did we plan the event with enough lead time to be successful?
    • Did the entire church participate, or just a select few? How can we involve more people in the next big event?
    • Who came to the egg hunt? Regular attenders of our church? Unchurched people in our community?
    • How did the Easter egg hunt further the mission of our church?
    • What can we do next year during the Easter season to reach families with the gospel?

  We ask ourselves these tough questions to ensure that egg hunts and other events are vehicles that help accomplish the mission of the Church as set forth in Matthew 28:18-20, to “make disciples.” All those mismatched plastic eggs you find under your couch and in the church flower bed six months from now, just might be worth it.

Landry Holmes is the Manager of LifeWay Kids Ministry Publishing, Nashville, TN. A graduate of Howard Payne University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Landry served on church staffs before coming to LifeWay. He is a church leader, writer, workshop facilitator, and publisher.  Landry also teaches children at his church in Middle Tennessee. He and his wife Janetta are the grandparents of two adorable grandbabies.

Games, Kids Ministry, Leadership, Preschool, Preschoolers, Sunday School

Bible Teaching Activity: Bible Teaching Picture Puzzles

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Puzzles are a helpful teaching tool to keep preschoolers engaged in learning. Many children enjoy puzzles, especially reflective, visual, and logical learners. Use the activity below to teach and review any Bible story with preschoolers.

Supplies Needed:

  • Bible
  • 2 Matching Bible Teaching pictures (save teaching pictures from the leader pack each quarter)
  • Scissors
  • Glue or glue stick
  • File folder
  • A piece of Velcro®
  • Plastic zipper bag

Prepare:

  1. Open a file folder horizontally.
  2. Attach one teaching picture to the right side of the file folder with glue or a glue stick.
  3. Then, cut the matching teaching picture into the number of pieces developmentally appropriate for the children in your class.
  4. For storage of the puzzle pieces, attach a plastic storage bag with Velcro® inside the folder and left of the picture.
  5. For durability, consider laminating or covering the teaching picture puzzle.

Teach:

  1. Open a Bible to the Bible story and place the puzzle (folder open showing the Bible picture and the cut puzzle pieces beside it) on a table.
  2. Invite a child to put the puzzle together. Encourage him to place the pieces over the completed picture. (To make the activity more challenging, guide a child to put the puzzle together beside the teaching picture.)
  3. As the child works, share the Bible story.
  4. Review the Bible story with him, asking questions and referring to the picture in the puzzle.
  5.  Help him discover ways he can apply the Bible story to his life.

Delanee Williams serves as a Ministry Specialist with LifeWay Kids. She is a graduate of Baylor University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Delanee has served in kids ministry for over twenty years and is passionate about developing, equipping and encouraging leaders.

Christmas, Kids Ministry, Leadership, Parent Helps, Preschool, Preschoolers

Christmas Bible Learning Activities for Babies

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The Christmas Season is full of opportunities to teach babies about the Birth of Jesus. Use the following activities to teach babies at church and at home.:

Flip Through a Book:

Gather poster board, clear contact plastic, hole punch, ribbon or yarn, Christmas cards with pictures of the angel, Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus and the shepherds.

  • Mount Christmas card pictures on pieces of poster board. Laminate or cover with clear contact plastic. Make holes on the side of each page and bind them together with ribbon or yarn.
  • Show the baby how to turn the pages. As you look at each page, talk about the pictures.
  • Say: “Mary had a special baby named Jesus. He was born in Bethlehem. You are a baby and have a special family.”
  • Alternate Option: Take apart the book and lay the pages on the floor (taped together) to make a manger scene mat. Place the Bible near the manger scene mat. Encourage the baby to crawl to the mat.

Shake and Hear Sounds:

Gather a Bible, large jingle bells, clear plastic bottle, glue

  • Place different colors of large jingle bells in a clear plastic bottle. Use glue to securely seal the cap to the bottle.
  • Shake the bottle allowing the baby to hear the sounds of the bells jingling. Help the baby shake the bottle.
  • Open the Bible to Luke 2:11 and say the Bible phrase,  “Jesus was born.” Continue to notice sounds the baby hears and remind the baby that Mary heard she would be Jesus’ mother.
  • Talk to a baby: “Do you hear the bells? Mary heard from the angel that she would be Jesus’ mother.”

Wrap a Baby Doll:

Gather a Bible, soft doll (no parts that could poke), soft blanket

  • Wrap a doll loosely in a soft blanket. When the baby crawls to you, allow him to see the baby doll, reach to touch and hold the baby doll.
  • Say: “Jesus was born. Mary wrapped Him in soft cloths. She laid Him in a manger.”

During this Christmas season, be intentional to teach babies in your life about the Good News of Jesus’ Birth.

Delanee Williams serves as a Ministry Specialist with LifeWay Kids. She is a graduate of Baylor University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.  Delanee has served in kids ministry for over twenty years and is passionate about developing, equipping and encouraging leaders.

Bibles, Kids Ministry, Leadership, Preschool

Introducing the CSB Read to Me Bible

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I’m beyond excited to get to announce the release of the new CSB Read to Me Bible!  As both a classroom teacher and a parent, I have been a long-time fan of our previous Read to Me Bible. In fact, when we were told it was going out of print, I was disappointed – maybe even a little heart broken!

So, when I found out LifeWay was redesigning this Bible to make it even more helpful for teachers and parents, you might have heard me shout out a little hallelujah!

Below is a list of some of the notable features:

  • All Bible story illustrations by the same artist, Cheri Bladholm (in a classic, realistic, and inviting style)
  • 54 Bible stories with bold print included to provide two levels of reading
  • Easy-to-read, single-column format
  • Designed for birth through age 6
  • Full text of the CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
  • Special helps for parents, including Bible Skills and Biblical Learning Levels
  • List of helpful Bible verses to help a child (and parent) know where to look for answers to some hard questions
  • Highlighted verses within the Bible text
  • Basic Bible vocabulary for children
  • 3 full-color pages with a simple New Testament map and pictures of Bible-times churches and clothing
  • 8 pages with black-and-white illustrations of places and things in the Bible

Whether you are a parent or a teacher of young kids ages 0-6, I know that you’ll find the CSB Read to Me Bible a great addition to your home or classroom. I’m so thankful that this new generation can fall in love with God’s Word and can have this to treasure for a lifetime.

Klista Storts serves as a Content Editor for LifeWay Kids. Before coming to LifeWay, she served as the Weekday and Preschool Specialist at the Tennessee Baptist Convention and as Director of Preschool Ministries at churches in Oklahoma and Tennessee. Klista has a passion for equipping leaders to share the love of Christ and lay foundations for conversion in the lives of kids.

Leadership, Parenting, Preschool, Reaching

Creating a New and Expectant Parent Ministry, Part 2

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Creating a new and expectant parent ministry is an effective way to reach new families in the community and build relationships with parents. In an earlier article, I shared ways to begin building relationships with families prior to the birth of a baby or adoption. Use the steps listed below to continue building relationships with families after the baby arrives.

  • Visit the Family When Baby Arrives. Schedule a time to visit the family. Depending on their schedule and situation, you may visit the hospital or at their home. Take small gifts for the parents such as BabyLife or ParentLife. Possible gifts for the baby include baby care items, a blanket, or small remembrance. Don’t forget to include the siblings. Bubbles or play-doh make show you care about the brothers and sisters, too
  • Celebrate the Baby’s Arrival. Consider ordering reusable yard signs to place in the family’s yard for a couple of weeks after the baby’s birth. Make sure to get permission from the family before placing the sign in the yard.
  • Other Aspects of the Expectant Parent Ministry. Be prepared to minister to families in all situations. Include an encourager on your ministry team to serve families who have babies with special needs. Also, add an encourager who can minister to families who experience a miscarriage or stillbirth.
  • Follow-up with Parents. A few weeks after the birth of the baby, the assigned encourager visits the new parents. She uses this opportunity to check with the parents to learn of any new ways the church can minister to them, pray for them, and answer any questions the parents may have about the preschool ministry.

Other Steps to Remember:

  • Prepare a Calendar for the Year. During the year, plan events such as mom’s brunch, parents’ dinner, or an ice cream sundae party for expectant and new parents (mom and dad) to attend. At these events, include a time of fellowship, relevant information for parents, and information about the church and preschool ministry. Ask teachers from the babies’ classes to share their testimony with the families. Explain what the babies experience in their classes on Sunday morning and how they are taught biblical truths in age appropriate ways.
  • Prepare a budget. When preparing a budget, remember to include gifts for parents, babies, and siblings. In addition, estimate the costs of events and socials.

Creating a new and expectant ministry in your church helps build trust with new and expectant parents. What steps do you need to take to begin this meaningful ministry?

Delanee Williams serves as a Ministry Specialist with LifeWay Kids. She is a graduate of Baylor University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.  Delanee has served in kids ministry for over twenty years and is passionate about developing, equipping and encouraging leaders.

Family, Kids Ministry, Leadership, Parent Helps, Parenting, Preschool

Creating a New and Expectant Parent Ministry, Part 1

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Parents are waiting longer and longer to bring their babies to classes in preschool ministry. They keep their babies with them for a variety of reasons. Leaders can gain parents’ trust by building relationships with them even before the baby is born or adopted. Creating a new and expectant ministry is a way to build relationships with parents.

A new and expectant parent ministry is a connection point. It’s an opportunity for churches to impact new parents in the church and in the community. Follow the steps listed below to begin this impactful ministry in your church.

  • Communicate the need for the ministry to the Pastor and other church leadership. Pray and share the vision of why this ministry is important. Communicate stories of families who are expecting in your church. Give the ministry a name such as Blessed Expectations, First Contact, or Cradle Connection.
  • Enlist a coordinator and ministry team. The coordinator leads the ministry team working hand-in-hand with the preschool/children’s minister. She performs the day-to-day details of the ministry such as making the initial contact with expectant parents and planning events. The coordinator enlists encouragers to serve on the ministry team. These ladies are assigned to an expecting couple ministering to them.
  • Discover names of prospective couples. Create avenues for members to share names of expectant parents in the church (including themselves) and families in the community who may not be connected to a church.
  • Initial contact by coordinator. The coordinator makes an introductory call to gather information such as due date, and learn of ways to pray for the expectant parents. Then, the coordinator assigns an encourager to each set of expectant parents.
  • Encourager contacts during the pregnancy or adoption process. During the months leading up to the baby’s arrival, the encourager builds a relationship with the couple through visits, calls, writing cards, and praying for them.

These steps help build a foundational relationship with the expectant parents before the baby is born. Which do you feel are the most important steps? Are there any others you would include? In part 2, I’ll share how to continue building the relationship with families when the baby arrives.

Delanee Williams serves as a Ministry Specialist with LifeWay Kids. She is a graduate of Baylor University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.  Delanee has served in kids ministry for over twenty years and is passionate about developing, equipping and encouraging leaders.

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