I Have a Winner In My Second-Chance Noodle Your IQ Puzzle Give-away!

I'm delighted to announce Keith Tusing is the winner in my Noodle Your IQ Puzzle give-away! (You will find my review of Noodle Your IQ at this link) These bent metal puzzles are great fun for families to work on and solve together as well as provide a unique "tool" for use as a conversation starter in small groups at church! Thank you Keith for reading About the Children's Department and thank you Discovery Bay Games for sending Noodle Your IQ for my review and for making another one available for me to give away!

Think About This Once Again . . . Water . . . An Everyday Convenience or a Scarce Necessity?

When we are thirsty, and who of us is not thirsty in the summer, all we have to do is walk to our kitchen sink, turn the faucet to cold and get a glass, of clean, safe drinking water. In many places - far too many places, around the world this is not the case. Consider the following information about water from water.org . . . 

• Do you have a cell phone? More people in the world own cell phones than have access to a toilet.
• The water and sanitation crisis claims more lives through disease than any war claims through guns.
• A bathtub holds 151L of water - someone living in a slum may have 30L of water to use for their needs all day long.
• Diarrhea remains the second leading cause of death among children under five globally. Nearly one in five child deaths – about 1.5 million each year – is due to diarrhea. It kills more young children than AIDS, malaria and measles combined. 
• Every 20 seconds, a child dies from a water-related disease.
• In just one day, more than 200 million hours of women’s time is consumed for the most basic of human needs — collecting water for domestic use. This lost productivity is greater than the combined number of hours worked in a week by employees at Wal*Mart, United Parcel Service, McDonald’s, IBM, Target, and Kroger.
• At any given time, half of the world’s hospital beds are occupied by patients suffering from diseases associated with lack of access to safe drinking water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene. 
• As of December 5th more than 2000 people died in Hatti due to cholera.

I Have a Winner in My FLYTE Give-away!

I'm delighted to say Teresa Graves Norman is the winner in my FLYTE give-away! You will find my review of FLYTE here. Thank you Teresa for reading About the Children's Department and thank you LifeWay for sending FLYTE for me to give away!


Please share About the Children's Department with the people you know and keep watching next Friday as I announce my next give-away!

Great Music With a Point - Go Fish Guys - I Love to Tell the Story/Sweet Sweet Song of Salvation!

There is no shortage of excellent music available for you to use in your children's ministry, but one group which is, in my opinion, an absolute "must-have" is Go Fish Guys. Check out their song, I Love to Tell the Story/Sweet Sweet Song of Salvation and you will see what I mean! 


This song has a solid message and spunk - the perfect combination! Kids, and adults, will be singing this song - it is sure to be a favorite!


Check it out and consider adding it to your children's ministry!

We Have a Winner in Our Second Chance "I'm All In" CD Give-away!

I'm happy to announce Virginia Graves is the winner of our second-chance drawing for Robert Pierre's new CD, I'm All In! You will find my review of the CD here - thank you Robert for sending a cd for review and for making another available for give-away and thank you Virginia for reading About the Children's Department!

A Few Water Facts to Think About . . .

As you go through your day today, how many times do you use water . . . without even really thinking about it? Consider these water facts from WaterAid America -

• 884 million people in the world do not have access to safe water. This is roughly one in eight of the world's population. (WHO/UNICEF)
• 1.4 million children die every year as a result of diseases caused by unclean water and poor sanitation. This amounts to around 4,000 deaths a day or one every 20 seconds. (WHO)
• Hand-washing with soap at critical times can reduce the incidence of diarrhea by up to 47%. (UN Water)
• The weight of water that women in Africa and Asia carry on their heads is commonly 40 pounds, the same as an airport luggage allowance.
• 97.5% of the earth's water is saltwater. If the world's water fitted into a bucket, only one teaspoonful would be drinkable.
• At any one time, half of the developing world’s hospital beds are occupied by patients suffering from diarrhea. (UNDP)
• Children in poor environments often carry 1,000 parasitic worms in their bodies at a time. (UNICEF)
• The average North American uses 400 liters of water every day.
• The average person in the developing world uses 10 liters of water every day for their drinking, washing and cooking. (Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC))
• An old lavatory uses at least nine liters of water a flush; a low-flush model uses as little as three liters. 
• Every year, around 60 million children in the developing world are born into households without access to sanitation. (UN Water)
• Children living in households with no toilet are twice as likelyto get diarrhea as those with a toilet. (WEDC)
• 11% more girls attend school when sanitation is available. (UK Government Department for International Development)

So . . . what can you do to help make a real difference in the very important area of helping people around the world be able to access clean, safe water? Consider involving the children in your ministry in a clean water project through World Vision. We - and the children in our ministries - can make a real difference in the lives of children and families around the world! What will you do to help your kids help others?

What is Your Real Focus - Resting in God Alone?

Yesterday I posted about focusing on spiritual growth for your children's ministry - so today I'm going to give you another year of focus . . . this time with an emphasis on resting in God alone!

• I will rest in God alone because I know my salvation comes from Him!
• I will rest in knowing God alone is my rock and salvation!
• I will rest in knowing God alone is my stronghold!
• I will rest in knowing with God with me, I will not be shaken!
• I will rest in God alone because my hope comes from Him!
• I will rest in knowing God alone provides my salvation!
• I will rest in knowing my salvation depends on God alone!
• I will rest in trusting in god at all times!
• I will rest in knowing I can pour out my heart before God!
• I will rest in knowing God is my refuge!
• I find rest in knowing strength belongs to God!
• I will rest in knowing faithful love belongs to God!

So, how does it change the way to face your ministry if you do so knowing you can rest in God alone? Consider making this your focus for the coming year of ministry and share it with your volunteers - a new specific focus for each month in the coming year of ministry!

Psalm 62 . . . ¹I am at rest in God alone; my salvation comes from Him. ² He alone is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I will never be shaken.  ³ How long will you threaten a man? Will all of you attack as if he were a leaning wall or a tottering stone fence?  ⁴ They only plan to bring him down from his high position. They take pleasure in lying; they bless with their mouths, but they curse inwardly.   Selah

 ⁵ Rest in God alone, my soul, for my hope comes from Him. ⁶ He alone is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I will not be shaken. ⁷ My salvation and glory depend on God; my strong rock, my refuge, is in God.  ⁸ Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts before Him. God is our refuge.  Selah

 ⁹ Men are only a vapor; exalted men, an illusion. On a balance scale, they go up; together they [weigh] less than a vapor.  ¹⁰ Place no trust in oppression, or false hope in robbery. If wealth increases, pay no attention to it.  ¹¹ God has spoken once; I have heard this twice: strength belongs to God,  ¹² and faithful love belongs to You, LORD. For You repay each according to his works. (HCSB)

I'm Giving Away One FLYTE from LifeWay!

Back in April I reviewed FLYTE preteen curriculum from LifeWay - you will find the
review here - and I'm happy to say LifeWay has given me one FLYTE Leader Kit - 
Volume 1 on Heaven, Change and Family to give away! This kit includes a DVD with
videos for each session, a CD ROM with teacher helps, activity items, planning 
guides and parent letters, a leader guide which gives you all the info you need to 
teach each session and a FLYTE learner magazine for preteens. This kit has twelve complete lessons plus a bonus session and a fellowship idea - everything you need for one quarter.


If you have "liked" About the Children's Department using the tab in the "find us on facebook" box ON THE BLOG, then you are entered in my drawing - which will be on August 26th. If you have not "liked" this blog yet, please take a moment to do so and you will be entered in the drawing - it is this simple! Please share About the Children's Department with the people you know so they can join in the conversations and get in on my give-aways!

Water . . . Rerun!

This morning when I woke up I brushed my teeth, showered, made coffee, washed dishes . . . in all honesty, without much thought about where my water came from, if it was clean and what I had to do to get that water. Around the world things are significantly different when it comes to water as one billion people do not have access to clean, safe water. My Put Feet to Their Faith ministry focus for August is World Vision and their clean water projects which are actively involved in helping to provide clean, safe water for people around the world. You can "Put Feet to Your Children's Faith" and involve them in service projects with this ministry!

Bibles for Children - The Berenstain Bears Holy Bible!

When your children become old enough for a "real" Bible, if they are "fans" of the Berenstain Bears, this Bible may be the perfect choice for you!

The Berenstain Bears Holy Bible 
Publisher - Zonderkidz
Ages 4-7


Favorite Features -

• NIrV for ease of understanding
• book introductions with the main theme and outline of the book
• dictionary with key Bible words
• eighteen full-color pages featuring the Berenstain Bears with key words such as love, joy, forgiveness, etc
• larger print makes it easier for new readers
• reading plan for 150 familiar stories in the Bible

As Zonderkidz says, "This Bible will teach (your children) more about God and how He wants you to live a life of virtue practicing things like respect and courage . . . it is designed to help early readers discover the Bible for themselves."

I'm delighted to say I'm giving away one copy of the Berenstain Bears Holy Bible on my other blog - grandma's cookie jar! Visit grandma's cookie jar for the details about how you could win this Bible!

I Have a Winner in My VeggieTales Princess & the PopStar DVD Give-Away!

I'm happy to announce Susan Shepard-miller is the winner in my drawing for the VeggieTales Princess and the PopStar DVD give-away! Thank you Sue for reading About the Children's Department and thank you VeggieTales for sending a DVD for my review and another for give-away on my blog! Veggies really outdid themselves with this story - it is one with so many important lessons we will be able to talk about with our children and the children in our ministries! Check my full review and consider adding this to your movie collection!

Do You Really Know Why Community Children Are Not Part Of Your Ministry?

Pretty much everyone in children's ministry knows who Thom Schultz is - the founder of Group Publishing. One of his current project is a blog called Holy Soup with Thom Schultz where he, "challenges the status quo for how churches communicate, lead, learn, and connect with innovative approaches to ministry." This morning he posted about "Church Fugitives" - people who won't set food inside a church this Sunday. He went out, on a Sunday morning, and interviewed people, asking why they didn't go to church. he posted a link to a video of the responses he got. Take a moment to watch it and then think about your children's ministry. What type of response would you get if you were to interview children in your community and their parents on a Sunday morning? How might it affect your children's ministry if you knew, really knew, the reasons community children and parents did not attend your church?


If we are serious about reaching the children and parents in our communities, don't we first need to begin with really knowing why they are not attending our church? Thank you Thom for asking questions which can get us thinking and which can help spur change and improvement.

I Have A Winner In My CUPONK Second Chance Give-Away!

I'm happy to announce Tina Hendrickson is the winner in my CUPONK second chance give-away! Thank you Tina for reading About the Children's Department and thank you Hasbro Games for sending a CUPONK for my review and another for give-away!

Back-to-Sunday-School-Prayer-Event! Re-Post

As your new school year begins and you think about ways to hold your volunteers up before your church and support and encourage your volunteers consider planning and presenting a "Back-to-Sunday-School-Prayer-Event"! The idea behind this is to provide an opportunity for parents and volunteers to meet and talk together before the new Sunday school year begins and to involve your entire church in praying for your children's ministry. Select a Friday or Saturday evening in August for your event and invite your entire church to attend. Make bookmarks on cardstock with student names and teachers names for each class - consider using a digital camera to print a photo of the teachers as well. Print flyers with the scope and sequence each class will be learning and place these in the classes along with sheets of paper, crayons and markers. Fasten a large sheet of butcher paper to the outside of the classroom door and place crayons or makers nearby. If you have a class where you are still looking for a teacher, print the same information, but place a large question mark in the place where the teacher information would be. Plan for light refreshments - you could ask each family to bring a dozen of their favorite cookies or tie the event in with an all-church picnic on a Sunday after the morning service. Ask your youth group to serve as "class hosts" and place one or two in each class . . . they will introduce the teachers as people visit the classes, hand out prayer book marks and encourage everyone to make a poster for the class and leave a "note" on the classroom door.

Begin your event in your church auditorium and ask your Senior Pastor to say just a few words about the importance of children's ministry. Then have your volunteers and class hosts go to their rooms and encourage everyone else to visit each class, but particularly those where their children/grandchildren attend class. As people arrive have your class host introduce the teacher and encourage everyone - adults included - to trace their hands on the sheet of butcher paper and then write a note to the teachers. The class hosts will be sure everyone receives a flyer with the scope and a prayer bookmark and ask them to make a poster to decorate the classroom.

If you have a class where you still need volunteers, be sure to let parents and others who visit know and ask them to pray about becoming involved. When everyone has had an opportunity to visit each class, talk with the teachers and participate in the activities, gather everyone back in your auditorium and lead in a few songs the kids usually sing. Then close in prayer and invite everyone to join you for cookies.

"Back-to-Sunday-School-Prayer-Event" is a great way to begin your new school year by involving your entire church in supporting and encouraging your volunteers! When you hold up your children's ministry and emphasize how it matters you show your volunteers they are appreciated! 

Look What We Will Be Talking About This Week on About the Children's Department!

This week I'll be talking about planing opportunities to "notice" children, families and volunteers in our ministries as the new school year begins! In addition, I'll continue with my Bible reviews and on Friday I'll have a drawing for a VeggieTales Princess and the PopStar DVD! Please join in the conversations!

Put Feet to Their Faith With a Project Through World Vision to Provide Safe, Clean Drinking Water!

We all know water is essential to life, but in many places around the world the lack of clean water is the starting place of a thousand miseries. World Vision helps people around the world with many projects, but none is more essential than the work they do to help people have clean, safe water because water changes lives and transforms communities. Water equals life . . . and water changes everything.  

Stop and think about it for just a moment. How far did you walk this morning to find the water you needed for brushing your teeth, showering and making coffee? A few steps? In many parts of the world people have to walk as many as 12 miles each way to fetch water for themselves and their families. We "use more water in a single toilet flush than the average person in Africa uses in an entire day."

First Friday Freebies - Free SmileBook Photo Book!

The "First Friday" of each month, I post a "freebie" - something you may have for free to use in your ministry and/or with the families in your ministry! Today's freebie is something you could share with the families in your ministry! Photo Books have become very popular . . . for very good reason! They provide a way for us to make a beautiful book of our photos - and make incredible gifts as well! There are quite a few companies out there making photo books, but one, SmileBook, allows people to make one photo book for free! To get your free 8" x 8" 26 page soft cover mini SmileBooks photo book follow this link and then follow the simple directions to make your own personalized photo book! You will have to pay shipping, but the book has a value of $26.95! Have fun making your photo book and share the site with the families in your ministry!

I'm Giving Away a VeggieTales Princess and the PopStar DVD - Family Pick!

I had the opportunity to review the new VeggieTales story, "Princess and the Pop Star" which releases on DVD August 13, 2011. I have to say right up, VeggieTales has outdone themselves with this one! This story is a "Lesson in Being Yourself" and "understanding one's unique God-given gifts" and is based on Jeremiah 1:5 "Before I formed you in your mother's body, I chose you. Before you were born, I set you apart to serve me." 

The story shows "Princess Poppyseed's life on her family's farm is far from the glamorous, but lonely, world of her favorite pop singer, Vanna Banana. On a chance meeting at a playground, Vanna and Princess cross paths and realize they look almost exactly alike - which leads to the crazy secret plan where they decide to switch lives! As each girl realizes the life they longed for doesn't fulfill all their dreams, they learn the life God gave them is the one for which they were uniquely and lovingly designed."

My favorite part in the story is when Princess' mom says, "You know, the Bible says you are so special to God that if you tried to count every time He ever thought about you, it would be like trying to count every single grain of sand in the whole wide world! God thinks about you all the time, Princess! And do you know what He thinks? He thinks you're really, really great! And so do I!" This is a powerful and true message every child needs to hear . . . and every adult as well! When you watch this dvd with the children in your ministry, be sure to talk with them about how God thinks about them all the time, too! Encourage them with the truth God thinks they are really, really great! Take advantage of the opportunity to share your love with the children in your ministry, too!

I Have a Winner in My The Story, NIV Give-Away!

I'm happy to announce Angila Summitt is the winner in my give-away of The Story, NIV! Thank you Angila for reading About the Children's Department and thank You Zondervan for sending a copy for my review and for making another available for give-away! The Story, NIV provides the opportunity for you to see God's big "Story" as it takes you on a journey chronologically through the Bible and allows you to see the Bible as never before! The Story, NIV is a great resource for your volunteers to read and for you to recommend for families to read together! 

Bibles for Children - Read With Me Bible

Since one of our goals for children's ministry should be to help our children develop a true love for God's Word, it is a great idea to expose our children to excellent Bibles - beginning when they are young children. I love the "Read with Me Bible" from Zonderkidz! The art work is from my favorite illustrator for children - Dennis Jones - and is certain to capture the attention and imagination of little ones! I particularly appreciate how Dennis illustrates angels as big, strong, non-scary men rather than "frilly" girls! 

Read with Me Bible
Author - Doris Wynbeek Rikkers and Jean Syswerda
Illustrator - Dennis Jones
Publisher - Zonderkidz
Ages - 4-7


The "Read with Me Bible" was edited by Doris Wynbeek Rikkers and Jean Syswerda and includes 58 Old Testament Bible Lessons and 47 New Testament Lessons and each one includes Scripture reference as to where you will find the lesson in a Bible. This Bible story book is for children ages four to seven and has longer stories once again with the enjoyable illustrations from Dennis Jones. The "Read with Me Bible" is based on the New International Readers Version (NIrV) which uses simpler words and shorter sentences making it easier for children to read and understand. This is the ideal Bible for young families to use for their family devotions. As you read the Bible lessons be sure to talk with your children about the important truths God wants them to know from each lesson!

Bibles for Children - Read with Me Bible for Toddlers!

If you are looking for a first Bible storybook for little ones, then this is one most certainly worth taking a look at! It is a "must-have" for my grandchildren! The Bible lessons are written by Doris Wynbeek Rikkersfor the "Read with Me Bible for toddlers" and are simple, short and cover the basic points of 10 Old Testament lessons and 14 New Testament lessons for children ages two to five. As your toddlers become familiar with these Bible lessons, they will be able to "read" them with you by telling what is happening in the pictures! I read this Bible to a young boy I know and as soon as he caught on that he knew these stories, he began to "read" them himself! He was so thrilled - he didn't want to stop and went on to "read" all 24 stories! We want our children to be "thrilled" to spend time in God's Word and this Bible is an excellent tool for use in our children's ministries and at home to see this happen!

Read with Me Bible for Toddlers Author - Doris Wynbeek Rikkers Illustrator - Dennis Jones Publisher - Zonderkidz Ages 2-5

• Favorite Features -
  • love the colorful, fun and engaging illustrations!
  • I'm a huge fan of Dennis Jones' illustrations - particularly the way he illustrates "angels" - big, strong men with kind faces!
  • 24 Old and New Testament Bible stories with simple, words and short text - perfect for little ones

I love this toddler's Bible . . . be sure to give it to all the toddlers in your life! Excellent first Bible with colorful illustrations to capture little one's attention and the core Bible stories to build a basis for a life of faith! 

Get The Word Out! Have a Family Event!

One great way to generate some enthusiasm and draw attention to your fall children's ministries is by having a special event for families! There are so many options for fun family events . . . ranging from a picnic in the park or movie on the side of the church building to holding your own Minute-to-win-it game night! Check this link for lots of ideas for family events you could hold, but whatever you decide to do, be sure to plan for the following . . . 

• have plenty of your children's ministry info fliers available to hand out to new families so they are able to find out about all your ministry opportunities, your policies and your vision for your children's ministry. Info on your staff wouldn't hurt either!
• be ready to pre-register children for your mid-week and even your Sunday opportunities
• be sure your staff - volunteer and paid - is on hand so they are able to meet/greet the children who will be in their classes and get acquainted with the parents
• have information on opportunities your church offers for teens and adults as well!

What type of family event do you hold to help launch your fall ministries?

Put Feet to Their Faith With a Project Through World Vision to Provide Safe, Clean Drinking Water!

When we are thirsty, and who of us is not thirsty in the summer, all we have to do is walk to our kitchen sink, turn the faucet to cold and get a glass, of clean, safe drinking water. In many places - far too many places, around the world this is not the case. Consider the following information about water from water.org . . . 

• Do you have a cell phone? More people in the world own cell phones than have access to a toilet.
• The water and sanitation crisis claims more lives through disease than any war claims through guns.
• A bathtub holds 151L of water - someone living in a slum may have 30L of water to use for their needs all day long.
• Diarrhea remains the second leading cause of death among children under five globally. Nearly one in five child deaths – about 1.5 million each year – is due to diarrhea. It kills more young children than AIDS, malaria and measles combined. 
• Every 20 seconds, a child dies from a water-related disease.
• In just one day, more than 200 million hours of women’s time is consumed for the most basic of human needs — collecting water for domestic use. This lost productivity is greater than the combined number of hours worked in a week by employees at Wal*Mart, United Parcel Service, McDonald’s, IBM, Target, and Kroger.
• At any given time, half of the world’s hospital beds are occupied by patients suffering from diseases associated with lack of access to safe drinking water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene. 
• As of December 5th more than 2000 people died in Hatti due to cholera.