LifeWay

Kids Ministry

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

Bible Study, Kids Ministry, Resources, Small Groups

It’s Our Life

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Jeff Land-150x150I’m so excited to be able to write this blog post to introduce you to both my family and my work family. Each day here at LifeWay, our writers, editors, and designers put forth great effort to deliver you quality teaching materials that are rooted in Scripture.

Today, we would like for you to see some of the effort that we put forth so that you can help lead kids to Jesus. Our production team spent time with the Bible Studies For Life: Kids team to help show you that what we do here at LifeWay is really an extension of our lives. We don’t just create Bible Studies For Life, we live it. It’s our life and we love sharing it with you.

Jeff Land loves life! That’s pretty great, because his job here at LifeWay is the Team Leader for Bible Studies for Life: Kids. Jeff loves his life which is so blessed by his amazing wife, Abbey, and their four sons, Reed, Nash, Will, and Tuck. A natural encourager and fun-lover, look for Jeff’s posts about teacher appreciation and game ideas. When not serving at work, Jeff serves 2nd graders at his church, First Baptist Church, Joelton, TN.

Encouragement, Networking

In Memory: Jill Jacobs Goldner

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Sunday, September 11 was a day that many people in America were thinking about the tragic events of the terrorists attacks ten years ago. For the LifeWay Kids family, however, we were also mourning the loss of a beloved writer and friend.

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Jill Goldner wrote for LifeWay Kids for many, many years. You probably recognize her name. Jill wrote for the following publications:

That’s not all, Jill was also an active writer for other publishers like the Women’s Missionary Union. Jill loved missions and she loved sharing the love of Christ.

In my own family, Jill will be sorely missed. Jill and my wife Abbey wrote together for several LifeWay publications. Abbey grew to love Jill as a mentor writer and as a friend. When Jill learned of our impending adoption, Jill an adoptive mother herself, sent us a huge package of gifts and told us it was full of things that we could do while we wait for our baby to come home.

Jill loved her family. Most who knew her could tell you her husband’s name and children’s names because she talked about them so much. They are Steve, Ryan, and Carolyn by the way.

Jill also loved to laugh. She made laughter a priority. One time at a writers conference, Jill and several other writers were walking down a flight of steps. During the walk down, Jill decided (unwillingly) that it would be more fun to fall. Jill tumbled down the steps, laughing and protecting her beloved glass of tea the entire way. Jill was shaken, but she didn’t lose a drop of tea.

More than anything else I can say about Jill was that she loved her Lord and she wanted kids to know him as well. Look at her portfolio of writing and you will find lessons on strength, courage, faith, obedience, and so forth. Jill believed in the lifechanging power of God’s word and she passed that on to kids through her writing. I imagine, on Sunday while we mourned her loss, Jill was welcomed into heaven by people who had been touched by her writing, her life, and her smile.

And then she came face to face with her Savior, the One whom she’d served so long. He looked at Jill, spread out His arms, and said "Well done, Jill, well done. You were faithful in all I gave you. Look around, this is your reward."

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LifeWay Kids will miss Jill, we will pray for her family, will thank God for her ministry and service, but most of all we will rejoice that Jill is experience a fullness and healing in Christ that only He can bring.

Vacation Bible School

The Great Reveal – VBS 2012

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  In case you have not already joined the fever-pitched scramble to uncover the mystery of LifeWay’s VBS 2012 here is your first clue:

 

Clue #16 Great Trip from LifeWay Kids on Vimeo.

In case this short video is not enough check out LifeWay’s VBS Blog at lifewayvbs.wordpress.com

In addition to this clue and those found on LifeWay’s VBS Blog we have hidden little bites of information throughout LifeWay’s presence on the World Wide Web. Take some time to surf – you’ll have a great trip! You will also discover information about our VBS 2012 Sampler Sweepstakes!

Once you have collected all your clues join us for The Great Reveal which takes place live at 1:00 p.m. (CST) Monday, June 6. You don’t want to miss it! We’ll provide you with the solution to each clue, introduce the VBS 2012 theme and theme song, and disclose a one-day only promotional offer for our VBS 2012 Preview Events in January and February.

I didn’t mean to let it slip but you read it correctly – a Preview in February! And wait til you hear the location — SUNNY FLORIDA!! For those of you looking for a way to escape winter’s cold you will want to book your flight today (actually you might want to wait until after June 6 when we reveal the dates and exact location).

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Don’t forget – Monday, June 6, 1:00 p.m. (CST). Keep your eyes peeled to LifeWay’s VBS Blog for more information.

Encouragement, Leadership, Preteen, Training

Children’s Ministry Past and Present

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I really love today’s topic. Remembering kids whose lives passed through the ministries in which God entrusted me. Other than the fact that thinking about all of the kids really does prove that my gray hairs are earned and not really premature as I would like to think, taking time to stop and really think about all that God has blessed me with through ministry really does impact my motivation to continue.

Today, I want to introduce you to a very special person. Chris Hendricks is a guy, I mean man, who wasn’t actually a part of the children’s ministry when I served at First Baptist Church of Cedar Hill, Texas, he was already a youth. He was, however, an asset to the ministry. He was very engaging to the kids and he was very helpful as a youth chaperone. Normally, I’m pretty wary of youth help, but Chris was the real deal. Chris was close to two of the ministers on staff at the church, Todd von Helms and Wes Gristy, so I got to see Chris a good bit.

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Chris is an amazing artist and he went to preteen camp with me as a youth chaperone. While I taught the Bible Study, Chris would draw as God inspired him. The photo of the picture to the left (albeit sideways) is the result of that collaboration.

The picture hangs in my office and is frequently a topic of conversation when guests come by. I love to tell them about Chris and everything that he has accomplished.

I moved on to Tennessee to serve as children’s minister at First Baptist Church of Joelton while Chris finished up school and headed to Dallas Baptist University. I loved keeping up with Chris through facebook to see what he was doing. Each time I checked his page, it was apparent that his devotion to God had not waivered.

I was not surprised at all to find out a few years ago that Chris was moving to North Carolina to start work on an Master of Divinity at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. I was also not surprised to learn that Chris became the Preteen Coordinator at Crossroads Fellowship.

Chris’ ministry accomplishments include teaching 5th and 10th grade small groups, mentoring a 6th grader at a local middle school, starting a 5th and 6th grade worship team, and teaching 5th and 6th graders on Wednesday nights. Chris’ goal is to teach sound Doctrine and make the Bible exciting so that preteens will invest their lives in it. (That reminds me, I need to send him a sample of FLYTE: faith. life. together. for preteens. Let me know if you want one!)

Chris isn’t sure where God is leading him next, so for now he is finishing up his degree and serving at Crossroads. He thinks he might be led into bi-vocational ministry as a minister and college professor. Whatever it is, I’m sure that Chris will allow God to use him in amazing ways.

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I want to know who you are investing in that is showing an interest in ministry? Have you gotten so overwhelmed by the demands of ministry that you have neglected a child or youth who might be sensing God’s call? Imagine how the body of Christ can grow through your response to His call to mentor! Who is your Chris?

 

Fun, Preteen, Resources, Sunday School, Training

Super Slimy Bible Study for Kids: Fish Guts

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Today I get to blog about one of my favorite things, gross Bible stories. I love the fact that while God was inspiring His holy word, He didn’t leave out the slimy stuff! I’ve always been attracted to things of the "grosser" nature. It’s possible that it is because my dad is a mortician or my mom is one of those super creative types that sees learning experiences in slime, mud, and everything in between.

For today’s Bible story tip, I’m going to teach you how to make "Fish Guts."

You’ll need:

1 jar with lid (fill to about 1/4 with water)

1 can of tomato soup (Ketchup will also work)

1 can of oysters

1 can of anchovies

1 can of baby shrimp

Macaroni Noodles (or Ramen)

Leaves or grass (for seaweed)

 

Introduction

1. Introduce the lesson to the kids. Tell them that they will have the opportunity to make fish guts.

2. Call for volunteers to come to the table and place the different ingredients in the jar. I like to start with the soup/ketchup.

3. Allow the last volunteer to place the lid on the jar. Shake vigorously.

4. Let kids pass the jar around and ask them to think about what it might be like to be floating in the gross mixture.

5. Explain that Jonah perhaps felt like a person floating in fish guts when he was swallowed by a big fish.

 

Untitled from Jeff Land on Vimeo.

 

Tell the Bible Story

Review

1. Place two bowls or cups on a table along with a can of oysters or baby shrimp.

2. Form two teams of kids.

3. Tell teams they will try to get the most baby shrimp in their cups.

4. Ask questions from the Bible story allowing a team member from the correctly answering team to place a baby shrimp or oyster in his team’s jar.

Completing the Session

There are really all kinds of different things that you can do with these products to create fun games like a "oyster relay" or "macaroni toss".

You can also find some great ideas for activites in the book Super Duper Fun & Exciting Absolutely Thought-Igniting Bible Activities for Kids (1st through 6th Grade Edition). The activities that go along with the story of Jonah are found on pages 13,46, 50, and 99.

Enjoy and keep reading. I’ll bring more ideas next month! Don’t forget even Jesus spit!

 

Fun, Media, Preteen, Sunday School

And the Winner Is …

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  landBWSmall.jpgWell, it’s time to reveal the winner of the LifeWay|Preteens contest. I loved reading all of your entries and seeing what you thought about those preteens in your life. It really is exciting to be able to minister to preteens. I tell people all the time that they are at a great age—old enough to grasp big concepts, but still young enough to be moldable—it’s the best.

 

 Anyway, I used my phone (and you thought I didn’t know that cameras had phones didn’t you?) to video myself drawing the winner of the contest’s name. I know that you are just dying to find out the winner, so why don’t you click the link below.

 

 

 The winner is Lori Jones from Arizona. I bet it is warmer where she is than it is here in Nashville today. Anyway, just make sure that you keep reading the blog. I’m competing with Courtney to "give away the farm." (Happy Cliche Day!) Be sure to read my post on Friday for another contest!

 

 

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