Dedicated to helping Kids Ministry leaders in their mission of making disciples
There’s a message hidden between the lines of this Sudoku.
Print out the puzzle, crunch the numbers until you have filled in all the blanks, and then start solving the mystery of Lifeway’s 2020 VBS theme.
The next clue is coming soon! Keep watch for the next clue here on the blog and save the date for our official theme reveal on June 5 at 1:00 p.m. CT.
RSVP here!
Last time we looked at the first of our 5 Ps for productive planning, Pray about the Upcoming Session. If you haven’t read part 1, be sure to catch up on that first phase. Let’s jump in with phase two:
Prepare (Your Heart) for the Session
As noted before, the Holy Spirit stands ready to help us understand God’s Word and apply it to our lives. Before you begin thinking through the logistics of planning your session, begin with a personal reflection on the passage of Scripture you will be teaching. Read the Bible Story. Read it early. If you are preparing for a Sunday session, I would encourage you to consider to start this phase of preparation at the beginning of the week, maybe Monday morning during your personal devotional time. Note that this is not the time to start considering “how to teach.” Here, all we want to do is let God’s Word speak to our hearts.
Beginning reading the Bible, not with the mindset of teaching but for personal edification. Spend time preparing our own heart for what God is saying in the focus passage, allowing the Spirit of God to move in you first. This will also give you context for the other parts of preparation as you move into the leader guide.
After you’ve spent time with God and allowed Him to speak into your heart and you have context for what you’ll be teaching during the session, start working through the leader guide, familiarize yourself with the main points of your upcoming session. (Note: this is still not the time for planning specific activities or logistics. Let the key ideas resonate in your heart first.)
Many curricula begin with a summary section containing the big ideas to be covered during that session. Familiarize yourself with these big ideas to help you know where you’ll be going throughout the session. Then skim through activity choices, noting which ones stand out to you, but don’t get bogged down in the details yet. I like to put a star by any activity I want to come back to and explore further.
Some ministry trainers/advisors recommend memorizing the Bible story, transitions, and activity instructions word-for-word. While it can be helpful, word-for-word memorization is not necessary, as long as you are familiar enough with the session content that you are not constantly worrying about what you’ll say next and how you will say it. This level of familiarity reduces stress and allows you to focus on other things happening in the room, such as a child’s understanding of the gospel and movement of the Holy Spirit. It’s hard to recognize those things when you’re not comfortable with the content, timings, and transitions. However, If you are going to work on memorizing part of the teaching session, this is the stage in which memorization should begin.
Remember: this phase is mostly about preparing your own heart and letting God teach you first. By allowing the Word of God to speak first to your heart first, you will have a much deeper understanding of the biblical truths of the session and will be able to teach from the overflow of what God has already taught you.
Come back tomorrow for the next “P” for productive planning.
Jeremy Carroll is the team leader for Lifeway Kids Discipleship Resources. Before coming to Lifeway, he has been active in local church ministry for nearly 20 years in TN, TX, and AL. Jeremy earned a Master of Arts in Christian Education from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. A Middle Tennessee native, he and his family live in Murfreesboro, TN.
Does putting together a Sunday School or small/large group lesson seem intimidating? Does it ever feel like your leader guide just isn’t exactly what you need, but you don’t know how to modify it? How can you break down this overwhelming task to manageable bite-size chunks?
If we met for a soda one day and I asked you “what is the most important part of your ministry role?” our conversation would likely end up somewhere around the opportunity to teach kids. Many of us are in KidMin roles because we love to teach kids the gospel and biblical truth. But if you are like me, and I really pray you are not, preparation time for my teaching sessions can be the first and easiest thing on which to compromise.
I have found that just because I say the time I am teaching kids is important, doesn’t mean that core belief always translates to my active priorities. Below are the first two of “5 Ps” for breaking down your planning strategy into easy-to-handle phases.
Pray about the Upcoming Session
Paul says “pray constantly.” (1 Thess 5:17) We need to remind ourselves that prayer must not be neglected. Doing so may undercut the spiritual impact of our teaching.
In James 1:5, we are instructed to ask for wisdom if we lack it. I can’t speak for you, but there are many times, and often while I’m preparing to teach, I find that I am lacking the wisdom I need. And therefore, I need to pray and ask God for wisdom. He has promised to give it generously.
One of my favorite recorded prayers in Scripture is found in Psalm 25:4-5. David asks God: “Make your ways known to me, Lord; teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me.” I find that praying this prayer when I am preparing to teach leads me to a posture of humility and strategically positioning me to hear from God’s Word.
Part of the Holy Spirit’s role in our lives is to help us understand God’s Word (John 16:12-14). We must not take this for granted. We are doing spiritual work, and we must make spiritual preparation. Prayer is not limited to just before planning. No, prayer should permeate each of your preparation phases. It should be the current that carries us along as the Holy Spirit uses us to help kids fall in love with Jesus and His Word.
Here are a few specific prayers I have found helpful to pray as I begin to prepare for a session:
Jeremy Carroll is the team leader for Lifeway Kids Discipleship Resources. Before coming to Lifeway, he has been active in local church ministry for nearly 20 years in TN, TX, and AL. Jeremy earned a Master of Arts in Christian Education from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. A Middle Tennessee native, he and his family live in Murfreesboro, TN.
In the past year or so, my wife has started calling me the “crazy plant man” because our little apartment is full of plants of all shapes and sizes. She would also be the first to point out that I’m not exactly good at keeping all of these plants alive. I haven’t figured out the right balance of light, soil, water, and words of affirmation quite yet. I need to help my plants go beyond barely surviving, and learn how to make them thrive.
As a ministry leader, you might sometimes feel like my houseplants. In ministry, you are constantly pouring out: giving your attention to kids, families, volunteers, and your ongoing to-do list. You might even feel like a plant that has been left in the scorching sun or one that has been deprived of water and nutrients. You might feel burned or you might feel wilted. How can you go beyond barely surviving and learn to thrive in ministry?
That’s our goal for the ETCH Family Ministry Conference 2019: we want to help you THRIVE.
ETCH stands for “Equipping the Church and Home,” and it’s designed to excite and inspire your whole family ministry team. ETCH 2019 will feature inspiring main sessions, practical breakouts, times of connection with other ministry leaders, and fun in order to help you focus on the things that can help you thrive in ministry, and in turn, help others thrive as well.
Make plans now for your entire ministry team (preschool, kids, preteen, middle school, high school, and even leadership) to join us October 7-9, 2019 in downtown Nashville. Check out the incredible line-up for the main session below.
As ministry leaders, we can truly THRIVE when our ministry teams THRIVE, when families THRIVE, and ultimately when the kids & students in our ministries THRIVE.
Find out more at ETCHConference.com. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us at etchconference@lifeway.com.
Micheal Walley serves as the Lifeway Kids Event Producer. He is a graduate of Mississippi College and now lives in Nashville, Tennessee. Micheal has been serving in Kids Ministry from the moment he was “promoted” out of kids ministry himself. He loves coffee, leadership, all things creative, and his wife, Anne Marie.
If you can figure out what’s pictured in the image above, you will be one step closer to unveiling Lifeway’s 2020 VBS.
Could it be…
The inside of an elephant’s ear?
A swatch from Abraham Lincoln’s favorite tie?
A vat of tie-dyed cake batter left out on the counter for three weeks?
Keep your eyes peeled for more clues here on the blog and make sure to mark your calendar for the official VBS 2020 theme reveal on June 5 at 1:00 p.m. CT.
RSVP here!
When people ask me what I do for a living, I tell them that I help produce Bible study curriculum. But, of course it is so much more than the way I feed my family—it is a passion and a privilege, one I seek to steward well. With that deep care for curriculum in mind, I want to share six things that I wish every kids leader knew about curriculum. Knowing these things, I believe, can transform a ministry, which more importantly, can transform lives.
So far we have covered:
Next up …
Since I already stepped on some toes in the last post, I may as well go ahead and stomp on some more in this one. Here goes. The worst teaching we can do is lecturing. That’s not my opinion; it’s supported by research. Kids learn the least by just hearing. So the best teaching actually occurs as we, as leaders, talk less, not more. That doesn’t mean we should say nothing of course. We have an important role to play and we have to talk to explain God’s Word and lead discussion. But our goal needs to be to keep that to a minimum.
This is why a good curriculum will feature a variety of interactive learning techniques, no matter what age it is designed for—babies through adults. Those discussion questions aren’t filler; they are essential. Those activities are not merely ways to pass the time to fill an hour; they are designed to help kids learn.
As teachers, we need to be sure to guard time for interaction and guard against pride. Pride is what often drives us to want to lecture—we believe people need to hear what we have to say. And again to a degree, that is true—if you have taken the time to work at what you are teaching and being led by the Holy Spirit. But our kids don’t need to hear just from us. They need to hear from one another and they need to share themselves as well. They need to hear, see, write, and do. The more learning styles you can include, the better.
One final word of note deserves mentioning here. No matter what age group you lead, be sure to build in time for rabbit chasing. It’s ok to go “off script” at times. Sometimes those moments are the most important ones your group will experience. They can be divine appointments. Now, we always need to be careful about venturing down frivolous rabbit trails but don’t barricade the good ones too. A sincere question often deserves a sincere response. And one kid’s question is often not unique.
Brian Dembowczyk is the managing editor for The Gospel Project. He served in local church ministry for over 16 years before coming to Lifeway. Brian earned an M.Div. from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and a D.Min. from the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He and his family live in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
I have had a great opportunity to work in a variety of churches. Some churches were small, some churches were large, but no matter the size of the church, I love small group teaching. I love the cozy environment of a small group. I love the almost individualized training that can happen when sometimes you are one-on-one. What happens though when only one or two kids show up? What are you to do when your small group is a SMALL group? Here are a few ways to adapt when making your plans.
No matter what your situation, you can think through these suggestions beforehand and prepare for the eventual SMALL group of kids. The key, obviously, is to prepare. Be ready when you arrive to meet the needs of whatever group you have. Also, remember that you do count too. Kids love learning alongside adults and when you participate in an activity it engages parts of their brains that might not have been engaged with purely peer engagement. Never forget that God placed you where you are so you can guide boys and girls to know Him. You can do that no matter the size of the group you are teaching.
Tim Pollard is passionate about helping kids dig deep into Scripture, which he pursues through his daily work as leader of the Explore the Bible: Kids team. Tim lives with his wife and daughters in Mount Juliet, TN.
The World Bean Game is an activity designed to provide kids an experience that makes the challenges of global hunger and the need for missions more tangible. Download the free PDF with game background, setup instructions, and rules for the kids.
This game was used at CentriKid Camps in 2007 during an evening “party” activity—but we still get requests for the instructions and content from church leaders, and it was over a decade ago since we used the game at camp.
QUICK DESCRIPTION:
Players must purchase supplies for their basic needs. By distributing different numbers of beans to players from different groups, you’ll create a situation where some players have plenty and many who don’t have nearly enough.
GOALS / OUTCOMES
After the game, plan for time to discuss the experience. You’ll see some kids who are competitive and frustrated by the experience, but hopefully, all kids realize the physical needs that exist around the world and opportunities missionaries have to help meet physical needs and share the gospel.
Ask questions like:
SUPPLIES NEEDED
Supplies are pretty simple, but setup takes a little bit of preparation. You’ll need lots of beans, baggies for each player to hold their beans, and some cards and signs for gameplay. Everything you need for the game from background explanations, setup instructions, supplies, and rules for the kids can be found in the free PDF download of World Bean Game.
Surprisingly the clean-up after the game is not too crazy because kids are working hard to collect beans as currency, they tend to drop very few of them.
Jeremy Echols leads the camps area for Lifeway Kids. He, his wife Emily, and their precious daughter love their church, their neighborhood, and spending time together. Jeremy enjoys reading, watching sports, and all of his daughter’s after-school activities.
Supplies Needed:
Prepare:
Teach:
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.
Recently I was asked to teach a breakout session titled “Understanding and Teaching Gen Z.” Gen Z represents college kids (born after 1995) to older preschoolers (born before 2015ish). I use “ish” because there seems to be a debate regarding the exact years.
That’s a new topic for me, so I began to do the research on this youngest identified generation with hopes of educating myself and finding ways to share with others how to be successful with this new generation. I searched for, ordered, and read several books by authors I trust. Then I searched the internet and read many, many articles and blogs (some I trust and some I’m not so sure about). What I found was a lot of information about trends, practices, and characteristics of the older side of Gen Z but not so much on the younger kids; the ones we teach. The implications were there but I was looking for some practical tips.
Tim Elmore has always caught my attention. He not only shares statistics about the youngest generations, he genuinely loves and desires to help them be successful. His books and lectures offer hope and encouragement for those of us who lead and teach. Tim will soon release a new book (yet to be titled) on Gen Z but his last book, “Marching off the Map: Inspire Students to Navigate a Brand New World” was very helpful as I learned and prepared.
In chapter 3, “Who are Today’s New Natives?” Dr. Elmore shares tips for connecting with and leading Gen Z. I want to share six of his tips and expand on the implications for teaching in the older preschool and elementary classroom. The seventh tip wasn’t listed in this chapter but certainly is implied (and stated) throughout the book.
So, there you go. The first of what I’m sure will be many conversations in this blog on this subject. As we learn more, we’ll share more. I’d love to know your thoughts, your experiences, and your discoveries on teaching the youngest members of Gen Z.
Bill Emeott serves as Lead Ministry Specialist for Lifeway Kids. He is a graduate of Mercer University and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Bill has served in Kids Ministry for almost 30 years and currently teaches 3rd Grade Bible study at his home church in Nashville, TN.
