Kindergartners: Mentally Physically Spiritually Socially/Emotionally First and Second Graders: Mentally Physically Spiritually Socially/Emotionally 
Luke 2:52 tells us that, “Jesus increased in wisdom, and in stature, and in favor with God and with people.” In other words, Jesus grew according to God’s plan. He grew in wisdom (mentally), and in stature (physically), in favor with God (spiritually), and in favor with people (socially & emotionally). I believe that we can look to this model as we consider growth characteristics for today’s children. Don’t get me wrong, I understand the uniqueness of each child and I appreciate that God has a special plan for every individual, but there are general characteristics that will help us as we seek to understand the kids we teach. Below are some of those general characteristics that leaders can glean from:
Responsible Evangelism with Kids
The most important task that we have as children’s leaders is to share God’s plan of salvation through His Son Jesus with the boys and girls we have the privilege of ministering with. We do that by laying spiritual foundations in their lives that will lead them to conversion and on to become growing disciples for Christ.
Along the way some of you may have the privilege of actually walking with a child as they move toward Christ and accept Him as Savior. These eight video segments explore how one can do just that in a responsible way.
Klista and I had a blast putting these together and we hope that you can use them with your leadership and parents to help equip them to be responsible evangelist with children, too. Maybe you will email these links to those who need to see the videos? Maybe you would use all eight with debriefing in between for a parenting conference or for leadership meetings? We want to equip you to train others to do ministry well. We want to partner with you in leading boys and girls to Christ.
Let me know what you think. Comment on this blog and share if this is something that you can use to help those in your ministry. What you think will help us know better how to plan for future leadership training opportunities.
Responsibile Evangelism with Kids: Point 1 from Lifeway Kids on Vimeo.
In the Beginning…there was a dream
With the summer season – which in my world means "VBS Season" – just a few weeks away, I thought you might enjoy a breif history lesson concerning the early days of what we now know as Vacation Bible School.
Much like the beginning of the Sunday School movement by Robert Raikes in England, VBS began as a God-given vision to meet the needs of children with nothing better to do than roam the streets.
The following is an excerpt from New Horizons in Vacation Bible School, a 1993 publication of Convention Press, compiled by Willie R. Beaty.
"Initially, it was a plan of a compassionate doctor’s wife who sensed a need to get children off the streets of New York during the summertime. Mrs. Walker Aylett Hawes went to New York City from Charlottesville, Virginia, with her husband who was specializing in a medical ministry to children. She noted that many of the children attended to at her husband’s clinic received injuries as they played in the streets. She surmised that they needed something safe and fruitful to occupy their time.
In 1898 and 1899, Mrs. Hawes rented a beer hall in the city’s East Side (near the intersection pictured below) to conduct her Everyday Bible School. Thus, Bible School began with an evanelistic thrust of taking the study to where the people were.
However, her pastor insisted that the school in 1900 move to the church, Epiphany Baptist Church, located about a mile from the East Side beer hall. After two weeks of meeting at the chuch, it became clear to Mrs. Hawes that children from the East Side would not attend at the church. She returned the school to a location near the beer hall for the rest of the summer."
By 1901 others joined the effort and multiple Everyday Bible Schools were conducted throughout New York City’s East Side. During the next 20 years the summer Bible schools spread out from New York and eventually made their way south.
In the 1920s Everyday Bible Schools became known as Vacation Bible Schools and Christian publishers, along with Lifeway, began making curriculum available. Over the years Vacation Bible School sessions have decreased from the entire summer, to four weeks, to two weeks, and now one week, but the purpose and message have not changed.
As many of us prepare for Big Apple Adventure VBS there are several aspects of this great ministry that have not changed since day one.
1. Kids still need God’s Word and need compassionate people willing to invest their time and energy to provide a safe and fun environment.
2. Sharing God’s Word requires leaving the walls of the church building and going to where the kids are.
3. If kids won’t come to the church building we have to be prepared to take VBS to them.
4. VBS is evangelism at its best. Even after 113 years thousands of lives are being changed every year as a result of modern-day Mrs. Hawes who give their time to introduce boys and girls, teenagers, and adults to Jesus Christ.
As you lead VBS this summer you will be carrying on the dream planted by God in the heart of a young Virginia lady who found herself on mission in New York City.
"But how can they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe without hearing about Him? And how can they hear without a preacher? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How welcome are the feet of those who announce the gospel of good things!: (Romans 10:14-15)
Connecting through Family Nights
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I started to title this “Connecting through VBS Family Nights,” but then it hit me. This isn’t just about VBS, it’s about connecting. So as you read through these ideas, don’t limit yourself to one time a year. Like all things electric – to work properly, and to keep working, you need to stay connected. Even if something is battery operated, it still has to be connected to be recharged. So, take time all year – not just the summer to connect with families – those inside your ministry as well as those you’re trying to reach.
All that being said…let’s get down to business. First, a few things to remember to make your life easier.
- Gather a team. You want and need some help! If you don’t put together a team, you’re going to be setting up everything by yourself before the event. Even worse, you’ll find yourself all alone when it comes time to clean up! Believe me…the last thing you want to do on the Friday night after VBS is to finish cleaning up on Saturday morning at 2 AM! This is a great opportunity to enlist some of those members who can’t help during the week of VBS but would be happy to help out with Family Night.
- Budget. On a sad note, it’s already too late to ask for budget money for this year’s VBS. At this point, I would recommend begging and making deals with other staff members…it’s not pretty, but sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do. But, for next year, prevent yourself a headache and save your self esteem by asking for the money when you submit your ministry budget for the new year. As you put together your budget, remember things such as: honorarium for a special guest speaker, refreshments, advertising costs and the like.
- Advertising. Speaking of advertising costs…this doesn’t have to be expensive. Today’s young families are not only tech savvy, they’re really tech dependent. Think outside the box and use things like Facebook©, Twitter©, and e-mail to put the word out about your event.
Here are a few Family Night ideas to get you started thinking. Most of these work really well with Lifeway’s VBS 2011 theme: Big Apple Adventure, but you can adapt them to fit other themes as well.
- Ticker Tape Parade. Encourage children and leaders to wear their VBS t-shirts. Have classes make parade floats or let families put together floats as part of the event.
- VBS Missions Marathon. Invite families to run for the mission project. Encourage them to get pledges (such as school supplies) for the project.
- Give a Broadway Review. Let the children present the VBS music and motions for their parents.
- Hold a “(Your Church Name) loves (Your City)” day. This would be a great way to encourage families to work together on a project that would benefit the community. (Cleaning a park, doing yard work, etc.)
- Tour the Big Apple. Let parents come and experience a typical VBS day on an abbreviated schedule.
- Throw a New Year’s Party to celebrate the beginning of a new Sunday School year. Be sure to invite VBS guests who are not church members.
- Take your party to a park. Play some fun games and serve some good food to draw in curious onlookers.
- End on Sunday morning and have lunch afterward. This will help your guests share in a Sunday experience at your church. They’ll be more comfortable with coming back next week.
- Red Carpet Video Premier. Record the happenings of your VBS week and show the video during Family Night. Make copies to give to guests. Suggestion: include a short gospel presentation on the video so they hear the gospel each time they watch or show it to friends and relatives.
Whew! The list could be endless! I hope this gets your creative juices flowing. If you’ve got a great idea for a Family Night, please share it! We’d love to hear from you!
LifeWay|Preteens Resource Overview
It’s been a great week getting to tell you all about FLYTE and the great work that the Lifeway|Preteens team gets to be a part of. We are excited to help you in any way you need, so please feel free to contact you. I would be remiss if I didn’t tell you about the other wonderful products offered by Lifeway|Preteens, so check the following resources out.
Several years ago, we changed our mainline Bible Teaching for kids offering for preteens to BTX: A Bible Teaching Experience for Preteens. It has more of a preteen look but still follows the same scope and sequence of the rest of Bible Teaching for Kids.
You may consider using BTX as your Sunday morning option and FLYTE as a Wednesday or Sunday night option. That’s actually what I’m going to do at my church.
Bible Express is the preteen devotional magazine published monthly by Lifeway|Preteens. It reinforces what preteens learn in Sunday School and has timely articles and really awesome music interviews of today’s top Christian artists and athletes. It has a unique flipbook design has one side specifically for guys and one side specifically for girls.
VBX is one of the greatest things that has happened to VBS in a long time! I love VBX. Since it’s inception, I’ve taught it every year (except the first one because I was still on church staff). It’s so great. My preteens love it and they definitely respond. We use the stand-alone model which really encourages the preteens and makes them feel more grown up. I highly recommend it.
Experiencing God for Preteens is an excellent discipleship option for your preteens who are at a pivotal point in their lives. Based on Henry Blackaby’s original work, this resource really helps preteens dig deeper into their personal relationships with God.
It’s been a great week and I hope that you can tell the passion that we have for preteens here at Lifeway. I truly believe they are a vital population that we, as the church, must focus more on and reach them, teach them, and keep them. All of the resources you see up here would not be possible without the amazing dedication of the Lifeway|Preteens team (plus, the VBS for VBX!). I am a blessed man because I get to work with such talented folks.
Today is the last day to comment for a chance to win.
Today’s question: What other resources would you like to see from Lifeway|Preteens and what topics are most important?
And the winner is . . .
I know you have all been patiently waiting for us to announce the winner of the VBS giveaway . . .
The wait is over!! Drum roll, please!!!
Here is our random number from random.org
Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:
123
Timestamp: 2011-02-01 23:33:47 UTC
And the winner is: Beth Wampler!!!
As far as I know, we have always used Lifeway’s VBS at our church. We would love free curriculum as our church is really struggling financially this year. I do know that free curriculum or not, God will provide!!!!
Congrats to Beth and her church!!
Ministering to Kids with Special Needs through VBS
Today, we’re blessed to have a guest blogger, Carlton McDaniel. Carlton is a champion for kids with special needs, and he’ s sharing some tips about using VBS with kids of all abilities!
On church mission trips, I have always been assigned to work with the Backyard Bible Club Team-of course we’ve always used Lifeway VBS or Club VBS. I’ve often wondered if I’m chosen in case a child with special needs shows up, or if everyone in the church knows how terrible I really am at construction! Regardless of the reason, I love the wonder and excitement that kids bring to any experience. And to be honest, I’m at my “ministry best” when I have an opportunity to minister to a kid with special needs.
Whether it’s on a mission trip or at the church, VBS
- is about sharing the Gospel with kids in a fun atmosphere with the goal of leading them into a relationship with Christ
- extends an open invitation to any and every kid in the community with the greatest potential for an unexpected visit from a child with special needs
- uses the greatest number of “once a year volunteers” given the responsibility to teach
That’s why it’s so important to train VBS leaders/volunteers to work with kids of all abilities. Every person who volunteers to teach deserves the opportunity to be at their best, just as every child who attends deserves an opportunity to be taught in the way they learn best. And since many kids are first-time visitors, we don’t have much advance knowledge of their learning needs. So the only option we have is to equip leaders/volunteers to be at their best.
To help your leaders/volunteers prepare for every child, Lifeway has the VBS 2011 Special Friends Leader Guide. Inside there are rotation tips, teaching plans, multi-sensory teaching ideas, and a designated area for working with kids and an area for working with older youth/adults with special needs. Also included is a CD-ROM that has over 100 pages of printable activities and teaching helps. The resource follows the main VBS theme so many of the printable activities can be used in a variety of classroom settings. This resource is helpful in both mainstream and self-contained teaching environments.
If you want to know more, visit www.lifeway.com/vbs. And keep watching for a special training video on using Special Friends VBS in your church that will be posted later in February.
You may not have anyone in your church like me who is “terrible at construction”. But you do have people like me who can be equipped to share the Gospel to kids with special needs. And if God uses one event like VBS to send a family with special needs to your church, let’s be prepared to give our best.
VBS 2011 Preview Photos from Ridgecrest
I had such a good time at Ridgecrest during the VBS events last weekend. We have some more events coming up in the next few weeks, but I didn’t want to hold out on you guys! Here are some pictures from the Ridgecrest event!
Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer
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Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer
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Burning Question – Room Decor – Enhancement or Distraction?
I’m here at Ridgecrest Conference Center with the rest of our Vacation Bible School team introducing Lifeway’s 2011 VBS theme, the Big Apple Adventure: Where Faith and Life Connect. It’s already been an absolutely great event, and we’ve just started! This afternoon, I taught an elective breakout session on Preschool Rotations and tomorrow, I’ll be teaching about VBS Family NIghts. I’ve had a great time getting to connect with friends from around the country who come every year to preview the curriculum. Many of these friends serve on teams who will take what they’ve learned here and go back to their state associations and help local churches prepare for this summer’s VBS weeks. It’s an exciting time — and I wish you were here! (Click here to find out where our next preview event is so you can join us!)
I’m sharing a classroom with another session leader, who will be displaying some fun ideas for decorating for Vacation Bible School. I’ve noticed over the years that the breakouts on decorating always have a packed house. People come equipped with cameras, videos, and now cell phones to record as many new ideas as possible to take home in preparation for their VBS. This brings me to my burning question for this month: Classroom Decor – Enhancement or Distraction?
So many of my Childhood Leadership friends have faced this question in their ministry – not just during VBS, but as a general rule. On one hand, some would say that too much on the walls and in the room can be overstimulating to children who are primarily visual learners. On the other hand, some feel that blank walls make the environment seem sterile and uninviting. The argument can be made that decorations are more for the parents than the children. And while opponents might agree with that statement – they may add that parents are the ones making the decision whether or not to bring their child to your church – so we should cater to them.
So – where do you stand on the issue? Are you a Plain Jane or a Fancy Nancy when it comes to decor in your hallways? Now’s your chance to let us know why! Look forward to hearing from you!
Big Apple OMC
Ready to take your church’s Big Apple Adventure to the next level? Now you can combine the fun of CentriKid Camps with the excitement of Big Apple Adventure! Use our brand new Big Apple Adventure edition of the official OMC game at your FAMILY NIGHT, your VBS KICK-OFF, or as part of RECREATION!
OMC stands for Organized Mass Chaos, and it’s the signature game of CentriKid Camps! Everyone works to complete different task cards, but all at the same time. So, it’s organized, but it feels like complete chaos. Just for VBS, we’ve created additional task cards that relate specifically to Big Apple Adventure. Combine these with normal task cards from the official game to make OMC bigger and better than ever!
We’ve included instructions, a supply list, decorating ideas, and 24 new, unique OMC task cards. Just print off several copies of these cards and combine them with your official OMC game cards. Don’t have the OMC game? Order a copy for your church online, at lifeway.com or pick one up at your local Lifeway Christian Store.
Questions? Email centrikid@lifeway.com or post your questions in the comments and we’ll do our best to answer them! We always love to see your OMC pictures, so email them to centrikid@lifeway.com or post them on our facebook page. Come experience the real OMC at camp this summer – check us out at lifeway.com/centrikid.
AND – don’t forget to enter our giveaway to win free VBS for your church!! Details here.