American Girl Doll Give-Aways! I'm Giving Two Away . . . How Can You Win One???

As you know, if you've been reading my other blog - grandma's cookie jar, I'm giving away two American Girl Dolls! I'm giving away a Marie-Grace doll and a Kanani doll, so . . . what do you have to do to enter these drawings??? There seems to be a little confusion on the specifics for getting entries in my drawings, so let's see if I can do a better job at explaining this time!


First, if you "like" grandma's cookie jar using the tab in the "find us on facebook" box ON THE BLOG, you'll receive one entry in each drawing. You only need to do this one time. The "like  "box" looks like this . . . 


The second thing you can do to get entries is to "share" my posts. There are two ways to do this and you are welcome to "share" each post I write between now and the drawing dates - November 20th for the Kanani doll and December 1st for the Marie-Grace doll - and each time you share, you will receive an additional entry in the drawings. The "share" tabs look like this - on facebook . . .  ·  · Share · 20 hours ago and on the blog . . . 

(use the one with the "facebook" "f") And, for the Kanani doll, please tell me who you will give the doll to if you win - do you know a little girl who otherwise would not be able to have an American Girl doll?

I hope this helps! :^)

What Would Your Life Be Like Without God's Word?

For the past month I've been encouraging you to involve the children in your ministry in a project to help bring God's Word to the Mwinika people in Mozambique. Today I'd like to ask you to stop and think for a moment, what would your life be like if you didn't have a Bible? How would you know Who God Is? How would you find out how to know and walk with Him? Where would you turn for help, encouragement and answers? How would you find truth? What would your life be like without God's Word?


If you haven't already planned a project to Put Feet to Their Faith and involve the children in your ministry in raising money for the Mwinika Bible translation project with New Tribes Mission, take some time this week to decide how you will do so!

CM Buzz . . . Bullying . . . Our Words & Attitudes Matter!

When you have a moment, please check an article I wrote for CM Buzz . . . Bullying . . . Our Words & Attitudes Matter and be sure to pay attention to your children's ministry - make sure the children know it is never acceptable for them to be unkind to others!

"Blessings in Disguise" and "Dehumanizing People" and the Children's Ministry

I have shared links to STRAIGHT4ward with Loretta Baughan in past posts and want to share two more with you today and ask a few questions for you to consider . . . 


First, in her post, Blessings in Disguise, Loretta powerfully wrote about what happens when a parent learns their "precious child or other family member is afflicted with a health problem can turn everyone’s life upside down. A parent’s natural reaction is to move heaven and earth in an effort to do whatever it takes to solve the problem… to make things better. But that’s not always possible." She goes on to share her own experience as a mother with children who are "special blessings from God". A true must-read for all of us.


Secondly, in her post, Dehumanizing People, Loretta writes about how, "In schools across the country, districts using GLENCOE Education in Sexualitytextbooks, are subverting some students’ Christian, Pro-Life values by introducing a grey area concept in what is, and should be, a black and white issue. In teacher-led discussion, the class analyzes three different viewpoints on abortion… yes, three: against, in favor, and what they call “A Third View”. Loretta clearly explains what this "third view" is and shows how dangerous it is. Again, another must-read for all of us.


Take a few minutes and read both of these posts and then consider the following . . . 

Check Out Kidmin1124 . . . I Wrote About - Trust . . . Takes Seconds to Break, Forever to Repair

For the past couple weeks I've been posting about Trust on Kidmin 1124 . . . please take a moment to read my post, Trust . . . Takes Seconds to Break, Forever to Repair. Please take a moment to follow the link and read some ideas on how to begin the long road to repairing trust.

Brittany Hargest, Love All the Way . . . I'm Giving One CD Away!

There are many great music options available for Christian families to enjoy and sing together, but as children get older, they may want to look for music with less of a "child focus" and sound, so what music can you recommend to these families in your ministry? I'm happy to share with you a new release from Brittany Hargest . . . Love All the Way!  Brittany originally was part of the group, Jump5, and this is her debut album which, "combines club beats with lyrics that communicate the hope, love and acceptance which are found in knowing Christ."


The ten songs on this album will have children and families singing and dancing, and most importantly, provide opportunities for families to talk about the important messages in the songs. Such as in the song, Love All the Way, - look at these lyrics, "God's love can't be tamed - He says He will never change the way love stays the same - God loves all the way!" This song alone will give families weeks of important conversations!


My personal favorite song on the album is "Miracle" - look at some of the lyrics, "Hard to breathe, life's suffocating me, grounded with broken wings, I'm on my knees today . . . but You see a miracle You see something beautiful when You look at me, see what I could be You call me one of Yours . . . so help me be everything that You see even when I just don't believe". Powerful!


And the song, You Met Me . .  . "You met me in spite of my shame You called my name You met me!" All of us want our children to know God met us in spite of our sin and He calls our names!  You can listen to a clip of each song by checking this link.


I'm delighted to say, not only was this album made available for me to review, but an additional copy is available for me to give away! 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 the drawing for this cd which will be on November 4th. 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! Thank you for reading About the Children's Department - please share this blog with the people you know!

I Have a Winner In My Second-Chance VeggieTales Bob Lends a Helping Hand DVD Give-away!

I'm happy to announce Jana Zachman is the winner in my second chance VeggieTales Bob Lends a helping Hand DVD give-away! (You will find my review at this link) Thank you Jana for reading About the Children's Department (please message me by November 24th so I can send this dvd to you) and thank you VeggieTales for sending one for my review and another for me to give-away!

Put Feet to Their Faith With a Project to Bring God's Word to the Mwinika People in Mozambique!

For the past month I've been sharing a project you could involve the children in your ministry in to help bring God's Word to the Mwinika people in Mozambique. "More than 200,000 Mwinika people live in Mozambique. A team of NTM missionaries has begun teaching evangelistic Bible lessons and church-planting but lacks necessary funds to move forward with Scripture translation. The missionary team has prepared the groundwork for translating the Scriptures into the Mwinika language. The translation project will extend over the next 15 years including printing of the Old and New Testaments and continuing translation and literacy preparation work. You can be a part of reaching the Mwinika people with the Gospel of grace. Helping to fund the translation project will ensure that further generations of Mwinika people will be able to read the Scriptures and grow in the knowledge of God through your provision."


You can involve your kids in this project by helping them raise money to send to New Tribes Mission for this project. Consider the following ideas for raising money . . . 

• have children make bookmarks with their favorite Bible verses and then sell them and give the money to this project - you could print the verse in a different language, such as Russian - ¹⁶Ибо так возлюбил Бог мир, что отдал Сына Своего Единородного, дабы всякий верующий в Него, не погиб, но имел жизнь вечную. - and then have the kids write it in English.
• have the children make pictures showing people learning God's Word, make your own "art gallery" and then have a "showing" where people can "bid" on the art work. Donate the money raised to this project.
• involve the children in learning verses and Bible praise songs and put together a "show". Sell tickets and donate the money raised to this project.

These are just a few ideas . . . what can you think of to help your kids raise money for this project and "Put Feet to Their Faith"?

Who Would You Give An American Girl Doll To?

As you know, on my other blog, grandma's cookie jar, I'm giving away an American Girl Doll, Marie-Grace - on December 1st. (You can find the specifics for how to enter at this link.)

I wanted to let you know I have another American Girl doll to give away . . .the Girl of the Year, Kanani! This is a very beautiful doll, with all the quality you would expect from American Girl. Kanani is a cheerful Hawaiian girl who loves to help others and share the "Aloha spirit" of Hawaii! 

So in the spirit of helping and sharing with others, I'd like to give this doll to someone who will in turn give this doll to a girl they know who might otherwise not be able to have an American Girl doll of her own. I'm sure we all know a girl whose family just does not have the budget for an American Girl doll, so this Christmas, let's brighten the day for a special girl! Entering this drawing is very simple . . . just check this link for the specifics. You can get additional entries if you will "share" this post and tell me who you will give the doll to - you don't have to use the girl's name, you could say you'll give it to a neighbor, friend's child, child from your class at church, school, the friend of your child, etc. I have one doll to give away and the drawing for this doll will be on November 20th! 

As we enter the time of year where we particularly focus on being thankful and giving to others, let's give this doll to a little girl who might otherwise not have an American Girl doll of her own!

I Have Two Winners in My Yahtzee Muppets Game and Jeremy Riddle Furious CD Give-aways!

I'm happy to say Shelley O'Berry Wheeler is the winner in my Yahtzee Muppets Game give-away (you'll find the review at this link) and Debbie King Johnson is the winner in my Jeremy Riddle Furious CD give-away (you'll find the review at this link) Thank you Shelley and Debbie for reading About the Children's Department and thank you USAopoly and Debbie for reading About the Children's Department! (Shelly and Debbie, please message me your address so I can have these sent to you)

Please Check Out CMBuzz for a Post on Showing Love So It Is Felt!

I'm honored for the opportunity to join the CM Buzz writing team . . . please check my post on "How Do We Spell Love in Our Children's Ministries?" and pick at least one or two things you will do so the children, volunteers and parents in your ministry will "feel" it!

Ed's Story, It's Our Story . . .

When I was in college, more than a few years ago :^), Dr. Ed Dobson was the Dean of Students. One of the best things about college was being able to listen to him preach on Sunday nights! Because there were so many students, we were told if our last names began with the letter A - L we were able to go to the regular evening church service. If however, our name began with M - Z we "had" to go to the old auditorium and listen to the Dean preach. The following week it switched off so every other week we "got" to go to the regular service. The Dean was preaching on the Book of Philippians . . . we all wanted to hear him, so we would get there hours before the service began so we could stay to hear him. It became who "got" to hear the Dean and who "had" to go to the regular service!


I'm from West Michigan, and eventually Dr. Dobson became the Sr. Pastor of Calvary Church . . . I loved to watch him on TV! He could teach God's Word in a way which was so understandable and so applicable and so real! Eleven years ago he was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) He was given 2 to 5 years to live. He is still alive today, and is releasing a video series we all need to see! Take a few minutes to watch the first video, It Ain't Over - be sure to view the reflection guide, too. Think about what he has to say as it applies to your own life. Think about it as it applies to families and volunteers in your ministry. What can you do, what can you say when they have difficult times in their lives?


Too often we end up with the same, tired, "pat" answers. Dr. Dobson is real. Take time to consider and know how you would respond in these kinds of situations so when they happen . . . and they will happen . . . you are ready. As they say at "Ed's Story" . . . Ed's story, it's our story.

American Girl Doll Give-Away on my Other blog - grandma's cookie jar!

Okay, this post is not about children's ministry, but do you have a daughter, granddaughter, niece or  grandniece who would love an American Girl doll? Do you know a daughter or granddaughter of a friend who would also love an American Girl doll? What about a neighbor girl? Do you know a family with a girl who would love an American Girl doll, but these dolls are just not in her family's budget? It is most likely you know at least one girl who would love an American Girl doll and I'm giving one away! I'm giving away the new American Girl doll, Marie-Grace on my other blog, grandma's cookie jar! 


So, how can you get in the drawing for this doll? It is very simple. For your first entry, just "like" grandma's cookie jar using the tab in the "find us on facebook" box ON THE BLOG. Just look to the right column on the blog and you'll see a box with little photos of some of the people who have "liked" grandma's cookie jar - "like" the tab in this box and you have your first entry! (If you have already done this, you already have your first entry!)


This drawing will be on December 1st so between now and then you can get at least one additional entry each day if you "share" my daily posts on grandma's cookie jar . . . I post a new article at least once each day - usually twice - and if you "share" these posts using the "share" tab on the facebook post, you'll receive another entry each time you share a post! I'm keeping careful track and on December 1st I'll have a drawing using the random draw program, The Hat.


American Girl sent me the Marie-Grace doll for review and give-away. This doll is lovely, as you would expect an American Girl doll to be! She is "from" New Orleans just before the Civil War and the story which comes along with her will give little girls from today a glimpse into life from this era.

Please Check Out Kidmin1124 - My New Post is About Trust . . .

I'm so honored for the opportunity to be part of the Kidmin1124 writing team. If you have not yet checked out Kidmin1124, please take a moment to do so. You'll find a wealth of resources from a variety of writers all geared towards helping, "those who freely give of their time to God's kids!"


My new post is on trust . . . "Trust . . . Takes Years to Build . . . " When you have a moment, please check it out!

Put Feet to Their Faith and Involve Your Kids in a Project to Bring God's Word to the Mwinika People!

My Put Feet to Their Faith ministry focus and project for the month of October is the New Tribes Mission work to translate the Bible into the language of the Mwinika people in Mozambique. Look at some of the reports about how this work is progressing . . . 

The Mwinika people are coming to understand their hearts must change. One man spoke of this - “Loudly he proclaimed: ‘What is on the inside counts more than what is on the outside. God looks at our hearts, not at how many times I go to my [religious gathering place]. What does it help if I go often to pray, but while I am there I am thinking bad thoughts? God knows my thoughts! My heart must change and follow God’s ways.’”

"Because attendance at the literacy classes has sharply declined, the missionary, Francois, took the opportunity to help the Mwinikas understand how important it is to be able to read their heart language. He opened the Old Testament written in Hebrew and told the group, 'This is the Word of God and it was written in its original language.' He explained this in terms used by the traditional religion most of the Mwinika people follow and everyone was very interested. They gathered around to see if they could read Hebrew. But no one could. Then Francois held a copy of Genesis 5:3-5 in Arabic. The local leader took the text and was able to recite it in a singsong voice, but no one understood the words, not even the one who recited them because he had no idea what they meant. Everyone agreed: they did not understand the Hebrew or Arabic language.

Then one of the Mwinikas, Salimo, picked up the Scriptures in Mwinika and began reading Genesis 5:3-5. Big smiles broke out among the crowd. 'Yes, we understand this!' People began to understand God wanted to speak to them in their own language and the missionaries had come to bring them God's message."

What can you do to involve the children in your ministry in raising money for the translation of the Bible into the Mwinika language so they are able to hear and understand God's message?

I'm Giving Away a Yahtzee: the Muppet's Collector's Edition Game!

I love games - they can be great resources to get kids and families talking - and I especially love the game, Yahtzee. When you combine Yahtzee with the Muppets . . . you have a very fun game!


Yahtzee: the Muppets Collector's Edition   
Made by - USAopoly
Ages - 8+
For 1+ players


Favorite Features -

• Muppet custom dice are so much fun!  Features Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, Gonzo and the Swedish Chef!
• A custom Kermit dice shaker - who wouldn't love playing this game with a Kermit shaker!!!
• includes custom score pad and a pencil
• simple, easy to play and fun for everyone

If you are a Muppets fan, you will love this game. If you are not a Muppet's fan, you will still love this game! Add this game to you game selection and bring it out at your next Family Game Night, during a "down" time on Sundays or Mid-week or during small group as a different way to get kids talking.


I'm happy to say USAopoly sent me a Yahtzee: Muppets Edition for me to review and are making another available for me to give-away! 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! If you have not "liked" this blog yet, please take a moment to do so and you'll be entered in the give-away which will be on October 21st. It is this simple! Thank you for reading About the Children's Department - please share it with the people you know!

I Have a Winner in My Pick Punch Give-away!

I'm delighted to say Nate Wagner is the winner in my Pick Punch give-away! (You will find my review of the Pick Punch at this link) Thank you Nate for reading About the Children's Department and thank you Pick Punch for sending one for my review and another for me to give away!

A Fun and Simple Fall Craft!

It is Fall and if you live where there are trees such as I do - in West Michigan - the outdoors is ablaze with color! I used to think Dr. Seuss had an amazing imagination . . . which of course he did . . . but he often pictured very colorful trees in his books. However, if you look around Michigan in the Spring and Fall, you most certainly will see an abundance of very colorful trees all around! Maybe Dr. Seuss lived in West Michigan!


Fall is a wonderful time to talk with the children in your ministries about the amazing and beautiful world God created! On your next sunny Sunday, take the children for a walk to enjoy the amazing colors of Fall! (Be sure you have parent permission and increase your volunteer/child ratio - keep careful track of each child) Talk with them about how God created the trees and spend time thanking and praising Him for giving us trees. As you walk, talk about which trees they think are the most beautiful and collect a few leaves. Be on the look out for Pine trees and look for some "open" pine cones - collect these as well!


When you get back to your class room, set out the "treasures" you found and add a few simple supplies to make pine cone birdfeeders . . . 

• open pine cones
• shortening and peanutbutter - crunchy is best
• oats, bird seed, dried fruit, nuts, sunflower seeds  
• string
• zippy bags or plastic wrap

Directions -

• tie a couple feet of string to your pinecone - wrap it around and bring the string out on top to make a hanger
• mix shortening and peanutbutter then spread on the pine cone - be generous and get it in the "tines" of the pine cone
• spread the oats, seeds, dried fruit and nuts on waxed paper and roll the pine cone so it is well coated in these items
• place in a zippy bag - or plastic wrap - and send home so the children may hang their birdfeeders on a tree outside their home

Talk with the children about the birds God made and if you can, find a bird book and look up which birds live in your area and identify which birds the children are likely to see on their feeders. Lead children in thanking God for His amazing creation! (This is also an excellent craft for families to work on together if you have a Fall Family event)

Where Does Your Church List Children's Ministry In It's List of Top Priorities?

Do you know where children's ministry "rates" on your church's list of top priorities? If you were to ask the leaders of your church, where would the rate children's ministry? Where would parents rate children's ministry? Do you know where grandparents rate children's ministry on your church's list of top priorities? Take a moment to watch this video . . . 

Check Out Kidmin1124 . . . Loving God and Others is an Essential Part of Real Worship!

I'm honored and delighted to be able to be part of the Kidmin1124 writing team and have finished my posts on real worship. I've been writing about this for the past three weeks - today you'll find my post - Loving God and Others is an Essential Part of Real Worship. Please check it out and be sure to check all the great resources on Kidmin1124!

Children's Ministry Matters Today!

I saw this video clip on 2fish5bread's website and on CM Connect and wanted to share it with all of you. Take a few minutes to watch and then share it with the leaders, parents, grandparents, church leaders and other interested people in your church.

Involve Your Kids in Bringing God's Word to the Mwinika People - Put Feet to Their Faith!

There are people around the world who do not have Bibles in their language . . . this fact may be difficult for the children in your ministry to understand since they likely have more than one Bible in their home. Consider the following activity - 

• gather your children together and collect all their Bibles - place the Bibles in a box and set it aside.
• give the children pages you printed with John 3:16 in other languages - follow these links for Chinese, Swahili, Albanian and Arabic)
• ask your children if they can read the Bible verse on their pages, then talk with them about how they would feel if the only Bibles they could ever see were in these languages. Ask them how they think they'd be able to learn about God and His love and grace if their only Bibles were in these languages.

Other than having someone tell us about God, we can not have any way to learn to know and walk with God without having a Bible in our own language. This is the case with the Mwinika people in Mozambique. Check this link for a report about translating the Bible into Mwinkia from New Tribes Missionary Phil Henderson and share this account with the children in your ministry. Talk with them about what they can do to raise money to help fund the Mwinika Bible and spend time praying for the translators so they will have wisdom and clarity in translating the Bible and the Mwinika people so they will be able to learn of God and His love and grace!

I'm Giving Away a Pick Punch!

If  you are a musical guitar-playing person or a crafty person who likes to find ways to use unique things in your children's ministry the the Pick Punch is the perfect, and unique, item for you! With a Pick Punch and any plastic card - credit card, gift card, hotel key card - or even plastic lids, you can make your own guitar picks!  


In addition, if you use your imagination and a little creativity, you could make picks and then use them to make jewelry, mosaic pictures, picture frames . . . whatever you can think of! You could also design your own unique picks by taking photos, using your children's ministry logo, artwork, - whatever you like - and gluing them between thin, clear pieces of plastic and then punch them out to make your own personalized picks! Pick Punch is a fun and unique items - there is no telling what you could end up making with them! 


I'm delighted to say Pick Punch sent me a punch for review and another for give-away! 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 October 14th! If you have not "liked" this blog yet, please take a moment to do so and you'll be entered in my give-away! It is this simple! Thank you for reading About the Children's Department - please share this blog with the people you know!

I Have a Winner in My Shake Up Game Give-Away!

I'm happy to announce Ashley Osborn is the winner in my Shake Up game give-away! (You will find the review for this game at this link) Thank you Ashley for reading About the Children's Department and thank you Jax for sending a game for my review and another for me to give away!

Kidmin1124 Radio Show - How Do I Form a Cohesive Vision?

Please mark your calenders and plan to tune in to the Kidmin1124 Radio Show Thursday, October 6th from 9pm to 10pm (Eastern) for a discussion on forming a cohesive vision. I've been invited to be part of the panel and look forward to interacting with you through the CM Connect Chat Room on this important topic! We'll be talking about the following questions -

• What does a cohesive vision for children's ministry look like?  
• How does it interact with student ministry and young adult ministry?  
• What is the principal role of the church in the spiritual nurturing of kids?  
• How do I figure out what my vision is?  
• Is my vision biblical?  
• How do I get others excited about my vision?

"The word vision is thrown around all the time in children's ministry cirlces these days, join the team from Kidmin1124 as we talk in practical terms about what a children's ministry vision is and how it should look."

Kidmin1124 Radio Show & Some Questions to Consider - How Do I Determine My Vision/Purpose for the Children's Ministry?

Tomorrow evening at 9pm (Eastern) the Kidmin1124 Radio Show will be focusing on Forming a Cohesive Vision - what it is, how do we develop a vision and how do we implement it. Please plan to join us on the CM Connect Chat Room for this discussion - I've been invited to be a panelist and I'd love to have the opportunity to interact with you during this radio show!

I posted this article on vision back on June 27th and decided to share it with you again . . . I believe it is essential for us to have a specific, written vision for our children's ministries if they are going to be effective . . . so what do you do if you do not have such a vision? Consider the following . . . 

Check Out Kidmin1124 . . . I Wrote About Teaching Kids the True Meaning of Worship - Real Worship Requires Giving Our Whole Selves to God!

Check this link to a post I wrote for Kidmin1124 about teaching kids the true meaning of worship - real worship requires giving of your whole self to God! Find out about Caleb and Josiah and how they were real serious about being real worshippers of God . . . you'll also find a few ideas for how to help your children learn how to  make daily giving their all to God part of their worship of Him!

Put Feet to Their Faith With a Project Through New Tribes Mission to Get the Bible in Mwinika!

If the children in your church are like the average person in America, they have Bibles in their homes. Consider the following statistics about American use of the Bible according to Gallup . . .

• Most Americans own a Bible. In fact, 92% of households in America own at least one copy. 
• Of those households that own a Bible, the average number of Bibles is three. This includes not only the homes of practicing Christians but hundreds of thousands of atheists as well. 
• Although most Americans own a Bible, use of the Bible varies significantly. In a poll taken by the Gallup Organization in October, 2000, 59% of Americans reported that they read the Bible at least occasionally. This is down from 73% in the 1980s. 
• The percentage of Americans who read the Bible at least once a week is 37%. This is down slightly from 40% in 1990.  
• According to the Barna Research Group, those who read the Bible regularly spend about 52 minutes a week in the scriptures. Barna, "The Bible," data is from 1997.
• Women (42%) are more likely than men (32%) to have read the Bible in the past week. 
• When it comes to going beyond merely reading the Bible to actual study of the Bible, the numbers decline sharply. Only one in seven Americans report an involvement that goes beyond just reading the Bible. 
• According to Gallup, "Despite the impressive statistics concerning Bible reading and study, it is apparent that ignorance about its contents is widespread." 
• Only half of adults interviewed nationwide could name any of the four Gospels of the New Testament. Just 37% of those interviewed could name all four Gospels.

Top Ten Reasons for Involving Your Children in Christmas for an Orphan - rerun!

The beginning of this month I posted about WorldHelp's Christmas for an Orphan and encouraged you to "Put Feet to Their Faith" by involving the children in your ministry in this project to share Jesus' love with children around the world. Today I'm going to post the top ten reasons for involving your children in Christmas for an Orphan -

• it gives them the opportunity to share Jesus' love with others
• it motivates children to pray diligently for other children
• it gives them the opportunity to grow and become more "Christ-like"
• it allows children to think about and focus on others at a time of year when they tend to think about and focus on themselves
• it gives children something tangible and "do-able" they can do to help children in need
• it challenges children to live what they learn
• it gives children an opportunity to follow Jesus' example and do something real to care for others
• it motivates children to learn about other children in need
• it gives them an opportunity to earn something they can give to others
• it gives them the opportunity to work with others to accomplish an important goal

There are many more reasons for you to involve the children in your ministry in Christmas for an Orphan, but whatever reason you choose, please make the commitment to involve your kids in earning money to buy gifts for their boxes, gathering items for their boxes and most importantly, in praying for these children so they will not only have a box of gifts, but will choose to accept the best Gift they could ever receive, Jesus! Make this part of every Christmas . . . it could become the favorite part of Christmas for the children in your ministry!