14 Ways to "Blow" Your Children's Ministry - Manipulate People

Of course we all are quick to agree manipulating others is wrong, but how often do we actually manipulate others? Far more often than we might want to admit, but whenever we manipulate others we are absolutely "blowing" our children's ministry. So, how and when might we manipulate others? Consider the following . . .

Walk Through Paper - When We Trust God, Amazing Things Happen!

I love to use science projects, origami projects and activities which capture the attention of children; especially when I'm teaching a very familiar lesson. This Sunday the Bible lesson is about David and Goliath . . . even my first graders are familiar with this lesson, so I'm going to have an object lesson which should get their attention and - according to my grandson - "amaze" them!

Cherish Your Volunteers!

In just a few weeks our Fall ministries will be starting . . . while there are a number of things which are crucial to the success of your Fall ministries, none are more essential than your volunteer staff . . . it would be very difficult to accomplish the things you want to do this year without them. So, as your new year of ministry begins, make the commitment to truly cherish your volunteers! Consider the following ways to help them feel like the most cherished people on earth -

14 Ways to "Blow" Your Children's Ministry - Stop Having Fun

I completely believe if our children's ministries are going to accurately reflect Jesus,  hey have to be places which are fun . . . fun places to be, fun things to do and filled  with "fun" people. I believe this because I absolutely believe Jesus was a "fun" person. He certainly wasn't boring, stuffy or cranky. How do I know this? Because children wanted to be with him and children do not tend to want to be around boring, stuffy or cranky adults. Boring, stuffy and cranky adults tried to send children away from Jesus, but He would have none of that! Jesus stopped what He was doing with adults to make time for children! They are precious to Him! If we are accurately reflecting Jesus to children, then our ministries need to attract children and they should be fun! If our ministries are not "fun", then we are "blowing" our children's ministry. Consider the following ways we can reflect "fun" in our ministries . . . 

14 Ways to "Blow" Your Children's Ministry - Stop Showing Love

If we are in children's ministry, we love others; right? After all, we wouldn't be in ministry if we didn't, right? Well . . . while we likely do actually love others, and may be quite proficient at "saying" we love others, do we actually show our "love" for others? There is a significant and very real difference between "saying" we love others and actually "showing" we love them and if you are actually only talking about love, you are "blowing" your children's ministry. Consider the following . . . 

My Prayer for Your Children's Ministry

Your Fall ministries will be "kicking off" in just a touch over a month . . . you are working so diligently to get ready for this new school year of ministry, so I thought I'd share my prayer for you and your ministry . . . 

14 Ways to "Blow" Your Children's Ministry - Encourage Each Other to Skip the Hard Things

Okay, you may not out-and-out "encourage" each other to "skip" the hard things, but you also may not encourage each other to do the hard things either. If you do either of these two things, you will be "blowing" your children's ministry. So, what does it look like for you to "encourage" each other to "skip" the hard things? Consider the following . . . 

14 Ways to "Blow" Your Children's Ministry - Argue . . . or at Least Have Lack of Unity

Arguing. It is easy to do . . . sometimes we often argue without even realizing it. How often do you argue in your children's ministry?  Arguing with anyone in your children's ministry is a way you can be sure of "blowing" your children's ministry. Think about the following . . . 

Free Books for You!!!

I participate in several programs from publishers where I receive books for free which I then review on my blog. One of these is from Tyndale House, and they have a special program where you - yes YOU - can get books for FREE, too!

Go Fish Worship Resource Kit - Christmas - I'm Giving One Away!

Yes, this review is for a Christmas resource . . . in July! Christmas will be here before you know it, so now is a great time to take a look at a new resource which you could use in your children's ministry this year from Go Fish which they sent me for free to review - and give-away!

14 Ways to "Blow" Your Children's Ministry - Be "Stingy"

It is so, so very easy to say one thing and do another. We tell children to share, be kind, if they do not have something nice to say, don't say anything and on and on we tell them what to do. But, as adults we do not necessarily share, we are not always the nicest people and gossip among church adults runs at epic proportions. Basically it all boils down to being "stingy" . . . stingy not just with our money, but with our time, our kind words and our love. When we are "stingy" we absolutely will "blow" our children's ministry. Consider the following . . .

14 Ways to "Blow" Your Children's Ministry - Label People

When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was, He said, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the greatest and most important command. 39 The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself." (Matthew 22:37-39 HCSB) Of course we all want to believe this is what we do; love our neighbors as ourselves. But do we really? If we do not, then we are absolutely, "blowing" our children's ministries.

In the article I've been "tweeking" from an article about marriage to one about children's ministry, the author said if we call our spouse names, we are "blowing" our marriage. He is right. The same is true in children's ministry. If we call names . . . or "label" people, we are "blowing" our children's ministry. So, how and when might you "label" people? Consider the following . . . 

VBS Follow-Up Made Easy!

I want to take a moment to let you know about a new resource from Kidology which will help you follow through on your VBS follow-up . . . Kidology's VBS Follow-Up Kit!

Volunteer Training . . . How Do I Get My Volunteers to Show Up?

Over the years I've led hundreds of trainings for volunteers . . . some churches did a wonderful job getting their volunteers to show up and others . . . well,  far too many times when I arrived there were only two or three people there. These churches always told me they could never get people to attend their trainings. 

So, what can you do to get your volunteers to attend? Consider the following -

14 Ways to "Blow" Your Children's Ministry . . . Be Lazy

As we think about another way to "blow" our children's ministries today, lets think for a minute about how being lazy will damage, or "blow", our children's ministry.

In the article on marriage, the author said to stop "yelling". He said this wasn't the type of yelling which is angry or abusive, but the yelling when you "yell" from one room to another because you are too lazy to get up and go get or find out something for yourself. So, how are we "lazy" in our children's ministries? Consider these ways . . .

Volunteer Training . . . Make Your Volunteer Training Something Special!

Last week I talked about the things to cover in your volunteer training times. Today I want to look at the "atmosphere" of your training. In my many years of providing training for churches (when I worked for Kregel Bookstores I provided free volunteer training for churches who ordered their curriculum through the bookstore and when I worked for Group and Gospel Light I provided training for churches using their curriculum) I saw churches where they had great volunteer participation and others where only one or two people showed up for the training. What was the difference? Consider the following suggestions -

14 Ways to "Blow" Your Children's Ministry - Stop Doing the Little Things

As we continue to think about things we do - or do not do - which result in us "blowing" our ministry, this one is a big thing . . . even though it is about the little things.

Mid-Week Curriculum Review - AWANA!

AWANA has been around for a long time and is quite popular in many churches. AWANA has been used to reach children for Jesus and to help them memorize Bible verses. 

When my children were young they were in AWANA - I thought it was great because they were able to memorize verses easily and so they earned many patches/pins. This was not the case for all children and one evening I saw a Cubbie who had trouble memorizing leave in tears because he did not receive an award. The ways children excel in AWANA are through memorization and by being on the winning team in games, so if a child struggles to memorize and isn't good at games there are a lot of opportunities for that child to be "left out". I am concerned about this. Having said this, AWANA has been used effectively by many churches, so if you use AWANA, please be aware of this area of concern. 

As AWANA says, it is a, "weekly club which appeals to churched and non-churched kids, leads them to trust Christ for salvation and grow them in enduring faith and service to God." Allow me to share with you some information about AWANA - 

• Publisher - AWANA
• Website - http://awana.org
• Price - prices for books, uniforms and awards vary depending on the age level
• Scope - Topical with a focus on the Bible and Who Jesus Is
• Available for Toddlers - Elementary 

14 Ways to "Blow" Your Children's Ministry - Be Negative

As we continue to look at ways "we can keep from 'blowing' our children's ministry" today let's think about, "Being Negative".

14 Ways to "Blow" Your Children's Ministry . . . Stop Making Your Ministry "Attractive"

As I said yesterday, there are ways "we can keep from 'blowing' our children's ministry, so for the next  14 days, I'll share the ones which apply to children's ministry . . ." today let's think about, "Stop Making Your Ministry 'Attractive'".