A Ministry Fundraiser that Works
Being in ministry usually means you’re going to have to fundraise for something. After all, a church is technically a non-profit and generosity is a core tenet of our faith.
Over the years, I’ve heard countless ideas for fundraisers for various reasons, but there’s one I’ve done year after year with great success.
3 Midweek Service Alternatives
I was stuck. We were finally coming back from COVID and starting Wednesday night services back up. We decided to rebrand the night for adults and focus on groups instead of the traditional Wednesday night service.
This was great for adults, but what about kids? Will I have the same kids every week? How long will the groups meet? What should I do on First Wednesday, when I’ll have more kids?
5 Steps to a Successful Parent Meeting
It was the summer of 2014, and I’m trying to get as many kids as possible to go to camp. I advertised, secured scholarships, made phone calls and much more, but I’d hit a ceiling. Many kids couldn’t go because their parents had already scheduled something that week or they had already committed to attending one of other paid events throughout the summer and couldn’t afford it.
Sound familiar?
3 Questions to Ask Before Picking a VBS
It's January and that means it's time to start working on VBS. I know it’s 6-7 months out, but there are a few high-level decisions you need to make now to set you up for success in the coming months.
One of the first questions that is asked is, "What VBS curriculum should my church use?
The truth is there are a lot of great curriculums out there, and while I have my preferences, I won’t advocate for any of them in this post.
5 Christmas Movie Recommendations for your KidMin Service
Come Christmas time a question I see asked over and over is, “What is a good Christmas movie to show at my church?”
Whether it’s for simple service for the Sunday after Christmas, a part of your midweek service, or a family movie night outreach, trying to find the right movie for your audience can be tough.
6 Steps to a Great Family Service
Family services. Love them or hate them, they have their place. I'm an advocate for family services because I believe children’s ministry needs to be more than a ministry held in another room never to be seen or heard from. These services can be a great tool for emphasizing ministry to the next generation, highlight the great things that are happening, and give your volunteers a much needed week off.
4 Ways to NOT Do Registration at Your Fall Festival (and one good one)
It’s Fall, and that means it’s time for your fall festival, trunk or treat, Holy Ghost Weeny Roast or whatever you call the event you do this time of year.
This is a unique event because a lot of people who may not come to your church may come to your campus for the very first time.
Unlike events like VBS or Egg Hunt, fall festivals offer a specific registration challenge.
How to Have a Kids Lead Team
Maybe you’ve seen this. You have a fifth or sixth grader completely checked out. They may have been engaged a few years before, but it’s getting close to their time to move on, and they have senioritis all of sudden.
You thought it was only for 12th graders, but now you see it in 12-year-olds.
But what do you do?
5 Steps to a Better Worship Set
I’m not a worship leader, but somehow, I’ve led worship in front of kids and now youth for over 14 years. I can carry a tune, but my rhythm needs help. I can move fairly well, but dancing was never my forte.
When leading in kidmin most of that doesn’t matter, because they’re learning too. Don’t get me wrong, the musical part of your service needs to be done with excellence, but sometimes passion and energy outweighs talent.
4 Questions to Find Your Perfect Curriculum
One of the biggest questions I see in the Kidmin world is what curriculum do we use? Which one is better? 252Kids? High Voltage? Bible Engagement? Open Church? Write your own?
The curriculum options out there are endless, and you can spend a lot of time, energy, and money trying to find the right one for your ministry.
Why You Should have a Baptism Class
Baptism in water is an essential part of a Christian’s faith, and one of my favorite things to do. Working in Kidmin though, there are a lot of questions about kids being baptized.
Planning Your Worship Set
Working in Kidmin, I’ve had the unique opportunity to plan not just what we’re teaching, but what we’re singing as well. I’m a church kid, so I’ve heard a lot of church music and my children’s ministry was pretty progressive, so we were singing worship choruses long before other churches were.
4 Pools to Recruit Volunteers
Recently, I found myself with only one volunteer on a particular Wednesday night with less than two days to find new volunteers. Closing the ministry for the night was not an option, but it was looking like it may happen. It’s not a fun place to be. As I thought about who I can recruit, I found that there are four pools of people I can ask to serve.
A Social Media Strategy for Kidmin
I’ve been posting and leading the social media for the churches I’ve worked for almost as long as I’ve been a kid’s pastor. For the past 13 years, I’ve moved with the changes to Facebook and Instagram. Established Twitter accounts and even explored Snap Chat and Marco Polo.
Creating daily or even weekly content for all of these platforms can be exhausting and many of these platforms change everything seemingly on a whim. It can be tough to keep up.
A Discipline Plan That Works
When I first became a children’s pastor on my first Sunday, I sat and observed how the volunteers were managing their service. These were college students with little to no training, just a heart for kids and doing the best they could.
Their stories and games were good. Their energy was excellent during worship, but they had one glaring problem.
Discipline.
The 3 Groups Every Next Gen Leader Leads
Recently, I was having a conversation with a new pastor and he was excitedly talking about all things he was planning to do with his kids. I asked him how he was planning to let parents know, and he said he was trusting the kids.
Rookie mistake.
3 Things that are Working Since COVID
When the pandemic started, like many of you, I panicked. I had 3 days to figure out how to take my children’s ministry completely online with no equipment, no training, and very little help.
That first service was a train wreck that started 10 minutes late with low quality and a replica of what we’d been doing in person for years.
4 Things I learned from Relaunching Children's Ministry
Churches all over are trying to figure out how to reopen and relaunch their services and specifically their children’s ministry. I’m no different. I’m eternally grateful to the leaders I’ve talked to over the last few months who have successfully (whatever that means these days) opened their children’s ministries.
5 Things I learned from doing VBS Online and In-Person
I haven’t written in a while. This pandemic has done a number on me. My family and I have been healthy, but if you’re in ministry, you know the crunch we’ve been in for the last few months. Every new month feels like the next level of Jumanji. (What happened to the murder hornets?!)
A big part of most kidmin’s summer is VBS. I’ve led 12 of these as a kid’s pastor and been a part of one for as long as I can remember. However, it goes without saying, this year is different.
Building Your Ministry for When You're Gone (Workshop Notes)
One thing I was taught early in my ministry career is that you are always replaceable. You are not going to be where you are forever. Most likely there was someone before and there will be someone after you. You are just the steward of the ministry and it is up to you as to what condition it’s going to be in when you leave.
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