That Wasn't Exactly How the Story Went . . .

You've studied and prepared for the Bible lesson you are going to teach this week to your class, then you share the lesson with the children. Of course they will remember it the way you taught it . . . don't be so sure! Just because you have "taught" a lesson, it does not mean the children "heard" and will "remember" the lesson. Consider the following examples . . . 

• Brienna's favorite Bible story - Adam and Eve (share this clip with your volunteers when you have your next training) . . .
• a number of years ago I was teaching a class of four years olds about the time when Moses went up on the mountain and God gave him the ten commandments. Upon Moses' return to the people, he told them to clean their tents, wash their clothes and take baths because in three days God was going to come and talk to them. I "taught" the Bible lesson, we did our activities, had our snack - very important in a preschool class :^) and then the parents returned to get their children and everyone went home. This particular morning we had a visitor to our class. The next morning I received a call from her mom. The mother told me her daughter was insisting they had to clean their house every day for three days. They had to wash all their clothes every day for three days and they had to take baths every day for three days. The reason for all this cleanliness? Because in three days God was coming to their house to talk to them! The girl's mother wanted to know why her daughter was so sure of these things . . . I explained the lesson . . . this family did keep coming to our church, but I learned a very important lesson . . . just because I taught a lesson, it did not mean the children heard/learned the lesson!

Summer Ministry . . . Let's Begin with Sunday School!

I've been talking about Summer ministry and have given several ideas of ministry you could involve children and families in all Summer long. I'm all for providing opportunities for the children and families in your church and community, but deciding what to do and then how and when to do it can be almost overwhelming. I mean, we all are busy . . . in many cases, too busy. Planning Summer ministry can, and likely will, add another thing to our "plate", so we need to consider some important questions before we move forward with our Summer ministry.

Where Are the Pieces and Do They Fit Together???

Have you ever felt like the pieces of your life just don't "fit" together? Have you ever felt like there was a "piece" missing? Have you ever wanted God to "put the pieces of your life back together"? Well, if you have - or even if you haven't, this passage from Psalm 86:10b-17 (The Message) is sure to brighten your day!

"God, you're the one, there's no one but you! Train me, to walk straight; then I'll follow your true path. Put me together, one heart and mind; then, undivided, I'll worship in joyful fear. From the bottom of my heart I thank you, dear Lord; I've never kept secret what you're up to. You've always been great toward me, what love! You snatched me from the brink of disaster! You, O God, are both tender and kind, not easily angered, immense in love, and you never, never quit. So look me in the eye and show kindness, give your servant the strength to go on save your dear, dear child! Make a show of how much you love me, As you, God, gently and powerfully put me back on my feet."


Don't keep secret what God is doing in your life. He is both tender and kind, not easily angered, immense in His love for you and He never, never quits! He will give you the strength to go on, show you His amazing love and put you back on your feet! Aren't you so glad?!!! :^) 

Put Feet to Their Faith - Summer Lunches

According to Feeding America, "Research has shown food insecurity and hunger are serious threats to children's health, growth and development. The nation's economic growth depends on the well-being of our children. As such, the existence of childhood hunger in the United States threatens future American Prosperity." Do you have hungry children in your community? Chances are you do. As I posted last week, 20 million children are able to receive a meal each school day through the National School Lunch Program, but during the summer when most children are not in school, where will these children turn to receive a meal?  


You can make a difference in the lives of hungry children in your community by getting involved in a summer food program in your community. Check with Feeding America or your local school to see if they have a program in place in your community which you could involve the children in your ministry with to put feet to their faith. 


We all have hungry children in our communities - and in our churches as well. Helping to provide meals for these children in the summer is one way we can show them the love of Jesus and put feet to our children's faith!

Please Check My New Post on CM Buzz about Prayer . . .

On CM Buzz I’ve been writing about prayer – the wide and narrow road approaches. I said, “When it comes to our children’s ministries, we all know we need to pray, but there is a ‘wide road approach’ which leads to a shallow walk and a ‘narrow road approach’ which leads us to a deeper walk with God.” In my most recent post I shared a few ways you can help the kids in your ministry develop a narrow road type of prayer - please check my post and see how we can "have the kind of prayers which result in a deeper walk with God – and so can the kids in our ministries!"

Summer Ministry Possibilities - "Summer Super Servers"!

I'm really "big" on "Putting Feet to Their Faith" and intentionally engaging our kids in opportunities to live what they believe! If we really want our kids to be serious about their faith and grow in their walk with Jesus, then we have to both model to and involve them in living their faith by serving others. The Summer is the perfect time to do this with older elementary age children . . . and with teams of families!

Consider some of the following opportunities for these kids to be "Summer Super Servers" . . . 

What Inspired You to Become Involved in Children's Ministry? What Inspires You to Continue in Children's Ministry? (re-run)

On CM Connect I saw a question posted by a man named David  - he said he was being given the opportunity in an upcoming service to speak on behalf of the children's ministry. He asked fellow kidmins to "inspire" him. This got me to thinking about what inspired me to be involved in childrens' ministry in the first place and what inspires me to continue to do so.

More than 30 years ago when I was in high school I was involved in my church's bus ministry. My senior year in high school I was the captain of one of our bus routes - my senior year I also worked as a teacher's aide in a 1st grade class. One of the boys from my class rode my bus with his five brothers - they never missed a Sunday! His name was Juan. When he smiled his eyes twinkled! On our bus I told Bible stories on the way to church and on the way home. We sang songs, learned verses and had fun contests! The Sunday School Bus was "THE" place to be! The last Sunday of my senior year I was thinking about graduation later in the afternoon and wasn't going to tell a Bible story on the way home, but God really laid it on my heart to do so. After the story Juan prayed and asked Jesus into his heart!

Planning a Ministry of Volunteer Support and Encouragement - Begin with Prayer!

This month we will spend some time looking at how to develop a ministry of support and encouragement for your volunteers. As I said,  your church and my church have each been gifted with volunteers who faithfully serve in the various areas of our ministries. While these people certainly do not serve for our thanks, it absolutely is appropriate to take the time to thank them! I have always enjoyed the ministry of appreciation - what could possibly be more fun than taking the time to thank and encourage those who serve as volunteers in our churches? There are many ways to thank your volunteers by supporting and encouraging them, let's take a look at the essential things to keep in mind . . . 

Book Review - Rescue Me! - I'm Giving One Away!

I recently had the opportunity to review the book, Rescue Me! and am happy to let you know in addition to reviewing it, I will be having a drawing on May 11th to give one away!


Rescue Me!
Author - Bryce Morgan
Illustrator - Mitch Martin
Ages - 9-13


Favorite Features -

• each chapter is followed by a lesson page with discussion questions, Scripture verses and text to help connect the story to God's Word
• additional questions to think about at the end of the book
• strong focus in chapter discussion pages to introduce children to Jesus and challenge them to choose to be "heroes" by living for Jesus!

Summer Ministry Possibilities - "The Center of Community Life"!

Churches used to be the center of community life - families went to church on Sunday, children went to church for school all week and the community used the church for gatherings and special events. In far too many cases, today our churches are viewed as places for "church people", not places for the community. Let's think about how we can "throw open the doors of our churches" this summer, welcome our community in and see if we can re-establish them as the place where everyone goes and finds as the center of their community life!

Consider some of the following "door-opening" ideas and see if any of them would "fit" your church and community!

Absolutely More Fun Than a Barrel of Monkeys . . . Encouraging & Supporting Our Volunteers!

All this month I'll be talking about Summer Ministry to children and families in your church and community, but in addition to this I'm also talking about encouraging and supporting your volunteers! Volunteer encouragement and support are two of my favorite parts of children's ministry! Your church and my church have each been gifted with volunteers who faithfully serve in the various areas of our ministries. While these people certainly do not serve for our thanks, it absolutely is appropriate to take the time to thank them! I have always enjoyed the ministry of appreciation - what could possibly be more fun than taking the time to thank and encourage those who serve as volunteers in our churches? There are many ways to thank and encourage your volunteers so throughout this month we will look at how to plan an entire year of volunteer support and encouragement!

Book Review - MOMumental

I've had the opportunity - and it has been a delight - to review a new book, MOMumental. I would have benefited from this book in so many ways if I had been able to read it 30 years ago before I became a mom . . . but, sadly for me, it had not yet been written. It is however; available now and I can not recommend it strongly enough for all moms, moms-to-be and moms-who-hope-one-day-to be. It absolutely should be not only on your "must-read" list, but also on your, "I-absolutely-will-read" list! This book would make a perfect baby shower gift!!!!

Summer Ministry Possibilities - "Family Service Squads"!

Summer is the perfect time to minister to children and families, but don't forget . . . it is also the perfect time to involve children and families in serving others as well! As you plan your summer ministry opportunities, be sure to include some opportunities for serving others . . . you may find they will be the best part of your entire summer!

Focus your Summer Serving on just one area, or select several opportunities for children and families to serve throughout the summer. Plan a "Serving Others Kick-Off" and meet with those who want to be part of your Family Service Squads to go over the service opportunities and schedule when, where and what they will do. Think about some of the following service opportunities -