LifeWay

Kids Ministry

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

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Reaching Preschool Moms with Sherry Surratt

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This week’s episode of the LifeWay Kids Podcast, we sit down and have a conversation with Sherry Surratt about moms with preschoolers. What do preschool parents worry about? What do preschool moms think about church? As a children’s pastor, what are some practical things that can be done to reach preschool parents in your community? Sherry is the CEO of MOPS International. She lives in Denver with the love of her life Geoff, and has two kids, a beautiful daughter-in-love, & two gorgeous granddaughters. She’s the author of Just Lead! (Leadership for women), Beautiful Mess (a bible study for moms) and Brave Mom: Facing and Overcoming Your Real Mom Fears.

Kids Ministry, Leadership, Podcasts, Resources, Training, Uncategorized

The Art of Delegation

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In children’s ministry, it is very easy drift into the mindset that you must do everything yourself. This is why the art of delegation is, for many of us, an area of growth in our leadership. Does delegation mean you are working yourself out of a job? How do you know when you need to delegate something? In the newest episode of the LifeWay Kids Podcast, Chuck Peters, LifeWay Kids Director of Operations, sits down with Heidi Hensley, Children’s Pastor at Bayside Church to discuss answers to these questions. Heidi also shares some of her insights and delegation techniques as she leads her team of staff and volunteers at Bayside Church.

Crafts, Encouragement, Encouraging, Kids Ministry, Uncategorized

Spring Teacher Appreciation

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Jeff Land-150x150There’s never really a bad time to show your volunteers that you appreciate them. With all of the new life that comes around during the Spring season, it just seems like a perfect time to tell your volunteers what they mean to you! Here are a few ideas.

UR ReMARKable

Remarkable

Supplies:

  • Multicolored dry-erase markers
  • Colored sheets of felt
  • Glue gun
  • Mason jar (optional)
  • Labels 

Directions:

  • Cut a 12-inch long strip of felt about ¾-inch wide. It doesn’t matter if it is perfectly straight. (In fact, it’s better if it isn’t!)
  • Roll the felt into the shape of a flower, gluing it into place along the way.
  • Glue the flower head to the bottom of the marker.
  • Place several flowers in a mason jar and give a bouquet of markers. The felt acts as an eraser, so this makes a great gift for volunteers to use in their Bible study rooms!

JELLY – Jesus really loves you!

Jelly

Supplies:

  • Jelly beans
  • Cellophane bags (ziplock bags work, as well!)
  • Stapler
  • Labels 

Directions:

  • Fill bags with jelly beans.
  • Fold top of bag over to seal.
  • Attach a label with a stapler. Write a short note on each label and tell each volunteer something you love about her.

“GRAPE”ful

Grapeful

Supplies:

  • Grape flavored Ice Cubes gum
  • Cellophane bags
  • Ribbon
  • Labels

Directions:

  • Place 5-10 pieces of gum in each cellophane bag. I found bags of 100 pieces at Wal-Mart in the candy section.
  • Tie bags with ribbon.
  • Write a note to each volunteer telling him why you are “grape”ful for him on individual labels. Attach labels to the ribbon with a stapler or by punching a hole through the ribbon.

Jeff Land serves as the Publishing Team Leader for Bible Studies for Life: Kids. Jeff holds degrees from Mississippi College and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Jeff has served as a Children’s Minister and teaches kids weekly in his church.

CentriKid, Events, Kids Ministry, kids101, Leadership, Uncategorized

Succeeding at Big Events by Managing the Little Details

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JEIn the scope of Church ministry, events that require planning tend to fall more in the space of children’s ministry than just about any other area. VBS. Camps. Family events. EVERY weekend, right? Fewer staff leaders have to navigate the art of delegation and management more than those in KidMin.

You’ve got to listen to this sit-down with Jeremy Echols (JE), who manages the team that leads most of LifeWay Kids’ events. It’s critical to understand that a successful event involves ideation and planning as well as great communication and delegation. This is the perfect podcast if you are about to launch into the planning for VBS or summer camp. (You’ve started that, right?)

Key points from this insightful podcast:

  • Establishing the “why” or “mission” of your event
  • Going from the idea to the execution
  • Staffing to your weakness
  • Artful delegation and evaluation

Speaking of events, it’s not too late to check out or register for these events. Just check out these links!

CentriKid camps

VBS events

ETCH conference

JE (@coachechols) leads the @centrikid camps and events team for LifeWay Kids. He met his wife Emily working summer camp, they serve in the kids area on Sunday’s at church, and they are blessed with their daughter #BabyMadison who was born in 2011.

Apologetics, Kids Ministry, kids101, Parenting, Podcasts, Uncategorized

Theology and Kids

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DSC_3857Sometimes, in children’s ministry, we “wait” to take kids deeper, assuming that the next leader, say, the student pastor, will handle that. What generally happens is that we have churches full of adults who were never challenged to grow in their knowledge of God, which is, by definition, their theology. They are “a mile wide and an inch deep.”

When kids become young adults and stop going to church, it may not simply be because church is boring to them, though that might be part of the problem. It’s more plausible that they never found that deeper connection as kids that created in them a desire to continually go deeper with God as adults. Beyond salvation, good theology draws in the human soul to the Spirit of God that resides within us.

Join us in this brief conversation with Shannon Scott, a great thought-leader on parenting, kids ministry, and life, in general. We’ll hit these topics…

  • Positive trend in kids ministry towards stronger theology
  • The difference between internal heart-transformation and external behavior modification
  • A tip on how to teach the concept of the Holy Spirit to kids

To get more from Shannon, you can check out her blog here.

To get more inspiration and family ministry insight than you can handle, be sure to register for this year’s conference in Music City! Click here to register for the Etch Conference.

 

Kids Ministry, Leadership, Podcasts, Uncategorized

Building A Team

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Don’t go it alone.

Mark-Casual-cropped-216x300Don’t spread yourself thin.

Surround yourself with good people.

These are all words of advice that are often ignored in the KidMin world. We’re busy, right? Don’t let this wisdom go unheeded. It’s critical that you build a team of leaders that can all carry the load of the ministry you lead. Listen to a brief chat with Mark Jones, a seasoned veteran of KidMin. You can check out his KidMin site here.

You’ll hear us cover the following points with Mark…

  • Building a team based on whether you are a vision or detail-oriented person
  • KidMin is as much about developing relationships with other age groups in the church as it is with leading kids
  • Potential hindrances to building a team

To get more inspiration and family ministry insight than you can handle, be sure to register for this year’s conference in Music City! Click here to register for the Etch Conference.

 

Kids Ministry, kids101, Leadership, Spiritual Disciplines, Uncategorized

New to KidMin – The Basics for Beginners

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MeredithTeasleyAre you new to kids ministry or do you know someone who is? You’ve got to hear this sit-down we had with Meredith Teasley. She lends her expertise to this topic that can help leaders avoid pitfalls in leadership. You might even hear “Peanuts” in the background. OK, you’ll just have to listen to know what we’re talking about on that.

What is the thing that is MOST important in children’s ministry in order to lead well? Listen in to this brief conversation and find out. You can follow Meredith on Twitter @meredithteasley.

You’ll hear us discuss…

  • Establishing Credibility as a leader
  • Going beyond the kids to lead others who might lead them
  • How to avoid a few common pitfalls in leadership

Also…

You won’t believe what’s in store at our conference later this year. Register your entire family ministry team for the ETCH Conference and hear dozens of leaders share their insight. You’ll also be able to connect with like-minded KidMin leaders in music city!

Evangelism, Events, Kids Ministry, Uncategorized, Vacation Bible School

VBS – Produce Your Own or Use a Complete Resource?

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MelitaVBS. It’s making a comeback. Churches are realizing that, when good follow-up is executed, VBS is a powerful outreach tool. It can bring families into the church and is a great platform for sharing the gospel with kids. So, the question is, “Is it worth going through the effort of producing your own or is it better to go with a resource that comes complete with curriculum, music, videos, etc.?”

In this podcast, we’ll sit down with a VBS expert who will take a glance at what is required to put on a VBS as well as the choices that a KidMin leader has. You’ll get a glimpse into…

  • A summary of work that goes into LifeWay’s VBS,
  • What a fully-produced VBS offers
  • The Pros/Cons to producing your own vs. using VBS from a trusted provider

It’s right around the corner. Before you consider what you are doing with your kids this summer, listen to this podcast … and check out our VBS and Zip for Kids while you’re at it.

Melita Thomas serves as a Content Editor for LifeWay’s VBS and Zip for Kids resources. Melita holds a masters degree in Christian Education/Childhood Ministry which accompanies her passion and expertise as a leader in kids ministry—both in her role at LifeWay Kids and in the local church. Melita is a member of First Baptist Nashville, where she enjoys teaching kindergartners and preteens.

 

Uncategorized

Wholeness for Leaders

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BRShould leadership be important in kids ministry? You bet! Do we get so caught up in our systems that we forget to manage our volunteers and leaders? Do we always challenge what we think “works” without considering something new. Does your family ministry team have silos?

We’ll talk through several topics in this brief podcast with someone who knows leadership and ministry. You’ll hear us talk about…

  • Blind spots in leadership
  • Identifying Silos
  • What a KidMin leader can do to help shed light on blind spots
Bruce Raley is the Husband of Donna. Father of Patrick and Sarah. Father-in-law to Stephen. Future father-in-law of Noelle. Fan of Arkansas Razorbacks and Tennessee Titans. Former director of Church Education Ministry for LifeWay Christian Resources. Passionate about the church education ministry…particularly starting new Bible study groups. He’s the executive pastor of First Baptist, Henderson, TN.


Encouragement, Encouraging, Kids Ministry, kids101, Small Groups, Sunday School, Uncategorized

The Top Three Things Kids Need to Hear From Their Small Group Leader

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Having enough glue is important. Planning a great activity makes a small group’s time pop! You WANT rp_Emeott-Web21-150x150.jpgparents to ask their kids, “Did you have fun in church?” You want the answer to be “Yes!” But at the end of their lives…at the end of their time with you, their KidMin leader, what are the REALLY important things that kids need to hear.

In this podcast, you’ll hear us suggest that every church should provide an environment where…

  • Every kid hears (and sees) that they are LOVED
  • Each child (and parent) feels that church is a FUN and SAFE place
  • The GOSPEL is the primary foundation for the ministry

“If you use a kids curriculum and you can’t find the name of Jesus in it… there may be a problem.”-@Bill_Emeott

Since 2003 Bill Emeott has served as a Kids Ministry Specialist for LifeWay. His passions include childhood ministry leadership training and development, leading children’s Bible Study, and being an uncle! Bill has been teaching children at First Baptist Nashville for ten years.

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