God is the LORD Almighty and He has Good Plans for You!

When I look at the world around me, it is easy for me to feel apprehensive and even long

for a time when life was simpler; and the world was bigger. But, God not only knows what is happening in the world; He is in control! Plus, He put me here, in this time and in this place! Look at this passage in Jeremiah -

Please Pray

Please keep the Guy Burkhead family in your prayers. Guy is the son of a friend - he and his wife and their two young children are missionaries with New Tribes in Dakar, Senegal, Africa and Ebola has been diagnosed in Dakar. Please pray as they decide what to do and for my friend, Brad and his wife and family. It has to be frightening on many levels, even when you trust God for your son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren, when they are in a city where they have discovered Ebola. Thank you for your prayers.

Take a Moment to Give Thanks . . .

I've been talking this week about pausing, reflecting and evaluating in our children's ministries; yesterday I wrote; "Evaluating is all about measuring, judging the worth of something, and like I said yesterday, 'if we do not evaluate the things we do, how will we know if we are, "on taget" or just throwing everything at the wall hoping something "sticks"?' Ministry to children and families matters too much to not take the time to regularly evaluate; to regularly measure what we are doing and if it is 'hitting the mark' or not." Take time this week to reflect, pause and evaluate, but while you are doing these things, don't forget to take time to give thanks! I looked on-line and found the following definition for giving thanks . . . "Express gratitude or show appreciation to." So, with this in mind, let's think about taking a moment to, "give thanks" . . . 

Take a Moment to Evaluate . . .

Yesterday I wrote, "Reflecting is all about evaluating and if we do not evaluate the things we do, how will we know if we are 'on target' or just throwing everything at the wall and hoping something 'sticks'? Take time this week to reflect, chew over, think over, ponder and contemplate . . . and be sure to take notes!" and Monday I said, "The Summer is over and Fall ministries are beginning so now is the perfect time to take a moment to pause, reflect, evaluate and give Thanks!" and then took time to consider pausing. 

Today I want to take a moment to consider what it means to "evaluate" and why we should do so, but first, let's think about what "evaluate" means. I looked on-line and found the following definition . . . "Place a value on; judge the worth of something". So, with this in mind, let's think about taking a moment to "evaluate" . . . 

Take a Moment to - Reflect!

Yesterday I wrote, "The Summer is over and Fall ministries are beginning, so now is the perfect time to take a moment to pause, reflect, evaluate, and give Thanks!", and then took time to consider pausing.

Today I want to take a moment to consider what it means to "reflect" and why we should do so, but first; let's think about what "reflect" means. I looked on-line and found the following synonyms for "reflect" . . . "chew over; think over; meditate; mull; mull over; muse; ponder; ruminate; reflect; speculate; contemplate". So, with these in mind, let's think about taking a moment to "reflect" . . . 

Take a Moment to Pause, Reflect, Evaluate and Give Thanks!

Well . . . Labor Day is just a few days away and then school begins . . . at least here where I live in Michigan. The Summer is over and Fall ministries are beginning so now is the perfect time to take a moment to pause, reflect, evaluate and give Thanks! First, today, lets consider taking a moment to pause . . . 

How to Stop Fear in Your Children's Ministry!

Yesterday I wrote about how fear can "stifle" your children's ministry. I said; "Children's

Ministry can be one of the most joy-filled places to serve in a church; after all, what can possibly be more joy-full than listening to children sing praises to God, or hear children pray, or hear children talk about how much God loves them and they love Him?! But, it can also be an area where we serve with 'fear'. While we may not say we are serving with 'fear', we may actually be doing so." I went on to give some ideas of how this looks in our children's ministries - you'll find the full post at this link.

Today I want to consider a couple ways we can take definite steps to be sure we do not let "fear" rule in our children's ministries. Consider the following . . .

How Fear Can "Stifle" Your Children's Ministry

Children's Ministry can be one of the most joy-filled places to serve in a church; after all,

what can possibly be more joy-full than listening to children sing praises to God, or hear children pray, or hear children talk about how much God loves them and they love Him?! 

But, it can also be an area where we serve with "fear". While we may not say we are serving with "fear", we may actually be doing so. Let's take a closer look at what, "serving with fear", looks like and what we might do to no longer do this . . . 

• When do not do something because someone else might get upset; we are serving with fear.
• When we do not recruit with enthusiasm because people are tired of hearing how we need volunteers; we are serving with fear.
• When we allow things to continue as they are so we do not, "rock the boat"; we are serving with fear,.

These are just a few ways "fear" can show up in our ministries and when it does, it stifles our ministries. So, what does God have to say about serving with "fear"? Look at this verse . . . 

I Want to Say, "Thank You!"

I have had a tremendously busy Summer. Busier than I anticipated. My daughter-in-law spent time in the hospital, so I spent time taking care of my three young grandsons - ages one, three and almost six. And, I've been busy designing, consulting, coordinating, writing and editing a new curriculum for my church. And, my MS has been flaring.

I should be on my back in bed, but I'm not! I have an energy I never expected to have and I've been able to do everything I need to do! I take this as a gift from God, so today I just want to say, "Thank You" to God and praise Him for His amazing goodness which He has shown to me all Summer long! God is so Good!

Three Attitudes Which Kill Your Children's Ministry . . . It's Too Hard to Get Volunteers

Yesterday I looked at the attitude of, "we tried that before" which can mean the 

"death" of our children's ministries and said; "There may be solid reasons we should not try something we tried before, but there may also be solid reasons for us to give it a try again. Don't 'kill' your children's ministry by making, 'we tried it before' an easy way to dismiss something God may want you to try once again." Today I want to look at another attitude which can kill our children's ministries; the attitude of, "it's too hard to get volunteers".

This attitude is about not wanting to put the time and work into engaging more people so they catch the vision of your children's ministry and join in serving. Yes, it can be difficult to find people who are willing to serve, but if God wants you to do something, He will provide the people you need to do it.

Now, don't get me wrong, if people are not stepping up to get involved as volunteers, it may be wise not to try adding something where you need more volunteers. However; we need to consider a few things before we just "cop out" and just dismiss it because it is too hard to get volunteers; it may be possible God does want you to do this new thing.

So what do we need to do to be on guard for this attitude and what should we think about before saying it is too hard to get volunteers? Consider the following . . .

Three Attitudes Which Kill Your Children's Ministry . . . We Tried That Before

Yesterday I looked at the attitude of, "we've never done that before" which can mean the

"death" of our children's ministries and said; "There may be solid reasons you have not, 'done something a particular way before', but there may also be solid reasons for you to change how you do things or to try something new. Don't 'kill' your children's ministry by making, 'we've never done it before' your 'go-to' answer to anything new or different for your children's ministry." Today I want to look at another attitude which can kill our children's ministries; the attitude of, "we tried that before".

This attitude is not often phrased differently - it usually shows up clearly, and what it boils down to once again is basically, "We do not want to do it."

Now, don't get me wrong, if something has not worked before, it may be wise not to try it again, but we need to consider a few things before we just "cop out" and just dismiss things we do not want to do by saying we tried it before, because it is possible God does want us to try it again.

So what do we need to do to be on guard for this attitude and what should we think about before saying we tried something before? Consider the following . . .

Three Attitudes Which Kill Your Children's Ministry . . . We've Never Done It Before

While there may be, and likely are, a whole list of things which can mean the "death" of your children's ministry, there are three which are sure to kill it or at least greatly reduce its effectiveness; so today I want to look at one of these . . . the attitude of, "We've never done it before".

This attitude can show up in a few different variations: "We've never done it that way before" or "That may work somewhere else, but it won't work at our church" or even, "That's not how we do things at our church." While it may be phrased in different ways, what it boils down to is basically, "We do not want to do it."

Now, don't get me wrong, just because you have not tried something or done something a certain way, it does not mean you should, but it also does not mean you should easily dismiss different and/or new possibilities either. It can become a very easy "cop out" for us to just dismiss things we do not want to do by saying we have never done it before, because it is possible God does want you to do something or change the way you do things.

So what can we do to be on guard for this attitude? Consider the following . . .

Don't Give the Devil a Foothold by Being Afraid

Serving in children's ministry can be one of the most exciting and joy-filled things we will

ever do; it can also be one of the most difficult and frustrating. It can be exciting and joy-filled because we are introducing children to Jesus and helping them learn how they can know and walk with Him for the rest of their lives . . . what isn't exciting and joy-filled about this! It can be difficult and frustrating because far too often negativity and power-plays leave a atmosphere of distrust, disunity and cause hurt to those serving.

Clearly negativity and hurt are not from God; they are from the devil. When we do not face these things in a spirit of Christian love, we are allowing the devil to have a "foot-hold" because they will spread like a cancer and limit, side-track, and derail our ministry.

Too often when negativity and power-plays threaten our ministry we choose to say nothing, "walk on egg-shells", and do not press forward with what it is God wants us to do in an effort to, "get along". These things just allow Satan to limit, side-track, and derail our ministry because we are not moving forward with what it is God wants us to do.

So, what should we do? I believe we need to keep our focus. We need to keep in front of us what it is God has called us to do and continue to move forward. This requires us to follow Ephesians 4 . . . 

Thoughts About Keeping Track of It All . . . Notice Your Volunteers!

I've been posting about noticing the children who are, and who are not, in your ministry on a Sunday or Wednesday. Today I want to take a moment to encourage you to commit this new school year to notice your volunteers as well. Consider the following ideas for noticing your volunteers -

Sneak Peek VBS 2015 - Builder's Quest from NextGen4Christ!

While you have likely finished your VBS 2014, I'm happy for the opportunity today to let you know about NextGen4Christ's VBS for 2015 - Builder's Quest! With the renewed interest in building blocks, children are likely to be interested in this VBS!

Thoughts About Keeping Track of It All . . . Notice the Children Who Are Not There!

Yesterday I posted about being sure to notice which children are at your church by taking attendance each and every Sunday. Just as it is important to notice who is at your church, it is also important to notice who is not at your church. Consider the following ideas -

Thoughts About Keeping Track of It All . . . Notice the Children Who Are There!

There are so many things to keep your attention and notice on a Sunday morning, yet one of the most important is being sure to take the time to notice people . . . notice the children who are there, notice children who are not there, notice visitors and notice your volunteers. Like I said, there are so many things to keep your attention and notice on a Sunday! Today I'll give you a few things to think about when it comes to noticing the children who are at your church on a Sunday morning. 

I Have a Winner!

I'm happy to say Amber Imhoff is the winner of a digital download for Game On! (You'll find the review at this link) Thank you Amber for reading About the Children's Department (please email me at lyndafreemanatcd@gmail.com by August 22 so I can have it sent to you) and thank you NextGen4Christ for making this available for me to give away!

Jesus Came to Heal and Offer Mercy . . . Let's Be Like Jesus!

With the news of late it is a good time to stop and remember what Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Matthew 9)

Our world is broken and there are people - including ourselves - who are hurt, wounded and who need to be healed. Let's be intentional about being people who offer this mercy and healing to all who we come in contact with - children, families, volunteers, neighbors; everyone.

Free Training Resource - Stop the Negativity!

When we train our volunteers we focus on things like, engaging children, leading children

to Jesus, how to tell a Bible Adventure and the list goes on. All of these are topics which we should train our volunteers - but while we teach these things, we should also take time to challenge and encourage our volunteers to make the choice to turn away from negativity and choose to be positive! 

I'm teaching a workshop at my church on engaging children and along with engaging the volunteers, I'm planning to challenge them to make this year one where we will be positive and not give the devil a foothold with negative attitudes. As I wrote about a few days ago, about spiritual warfare in children's ministry and said, "While children's ministry should be a place of excitement and joy, it is often a place where power-plays and negative attitudes poison and limit ministry." Yes, we need to train our volunteers on the basics of serving with children, but we also need to quip and challenge them to not let negativity seep in and damage ministry to children.

So, I'm planning to wrap up my training with an activity to help do exactly this. I'm happy to share it with you today! You will need to make cards which say the following statements - one statement to a card. Ask for seven volunteers and hand each one a statement - in the order you see them. Have them hold their signs so nobody can see what their card says until you ask them to read it to the group . . .

Children's Ministry Matters Because We Need God!

Do you remember a few years back when the nightly news asked, "Since chimps show compassion to one another is morality in our genes? If it is, why do we need religion?" It seems there has been a lot of attention given by the media to "knowledgeable" people who say we no longer need religion or God. As a parent, grandparent and someone who serves in children's ministry I find this disturbing.

I have noticed there is a strong move in education and the media towards eastern religions and the belief we all can choose any god we want because they are all the same. Schools teach extreme environmentalism with the idea of  "Mother Earth" and seem to be intent on convincing children there are no absolutes. Our children are bombarded from the time they get up in the morning to the time they go to bed with these ideas in both subtle and very overt messages. They are told they do not need God and yet the truth is we all need God . . . more so now than ever. In spite of the messaging our children hear every day, we do need God and most wonderfully . . . we can know, love and serve Him because He loves us!

Thank Your Volunteers - Holiday Open House

As you have noticed, I am a strong supporter of making volunteer support and encouragement a big part of your children's ministry. Volunteers give of themselves and their time to serve in our children's ministries . . . they could choose to do something else with their time, yet there they are . . . week after week . . . serving in our children's ministries. We could not do what we do without them, so it is entirely appropriate and right to take time to show our appreciation to them!

In the past I wrote about planning a Volunteer Holiday Open House, so today I want to talk a little more about this. If you decide to put on an Open House, you will likely find it is one of the biggest things you could do to show appreciation to your volunteers! It is not difficult to do, but it does take some time and planning to pull it off. I'll outline the basic plan and encourage you to get a team together now to start working on your volunteer holiday open house!

How to Respond to Negativity

It has been my experience in children's ministry, while it is the best, most exciting and

most joy-filled area of the church in which to serve, it is also the area where negativity tends to show up the most. I think this is because everyone has their own idea of what children's ministry should look like and when it does not look like they want it to, some people become very negative.

While it can be easy to respond in kind, there are definitely a few things to keep in mind and responding right is always the best response. Consider the following . . . 

Spiritual Warfare in Children's Ministry

What does, "spiritual warfare" look like in children's ministry? It definitely, "shows up" in

children's ministry, because children's ministry has the potential to literally change the world. In the book I reviewed yesterday; The Hope Quotient, it says; "Whoever changes today's kids, changes tomorrow's future. Whoever wins the kids, wins the culture. Whoever wins the kids, wins the nation. Whoever wins the kids, ultimately wins. Our best focus is on children."

All of this is true and it is because of all of this, when it comes to spiritual warfare showing up in a church, it will most likely - in my experience - show up in the children's ministry. While children's ministry should be a place of excitement and joy, it is often a place where power-plays and negative attitudes poison and limit ministry. These things also tend to cause pain and leave people with deep wounds. Satan does not want our children's ministries to, "win", so it is no surprise spiritual warfare shows up in our children's ministries.

So, what can we do to put a, "halt" on spiritual warfare? Consider the following . . . 

The Hope Quotient - I'm Giving One Away!

I was recently invited to review a book by Ray Johnston - The Hope Quotient and I have to say, if you only read on book this year, definitely make it this one! While it is filled with "quotes" which stand out, which grabbed my attention, which I want to remember, the following is one which applies to children's ministry today like never before (and to every aspect of our lives as well) . . . "Do you know what's wrong with the church these days? Nobody believes miracles can happen anymore. We need to get back to the days where we actually think it's possible that miracles can happen. The church is going to be dead a lifeless until we start believing that impossible things are possible." (Glen Cole)

Heartbreaking News - Please Pray & Pay Attention

This morning my heart breaks. Last night the local news told about a twelve year old boy who stabbed and killed a nine year old boy he did not even know at their neighborhood playground. The twelve year old boy called the police after he stabbed the other boy and said nobody loved him and he wanted to die.

Today please pray for the family of the nine year old boy; their loved son was just playing at their neighborhood playground. Please pray for them as they deal with this horrible loss; my heart breaks for them.

Please pray for the twelve year old; he took an overdose of pills before he stabbed the nine year old. For a twelve year old boy to be at a place where he does not want to live because he is convinced no one loves him also breaks my heart.

Please pay attention to the children in your church and who God brings you into contact with. While, thankfully, most children who feel unloved will not go out and stab other children on the playground, there are children around us who do not feel loved. Pay attention. Share God's love and your love with children; and pray for this family and this boy.

Thank Your Volunteers at Christmas - Cookies!

Christmas and Cookies go together, so a fun . . . and tasty way to say, "Thank You" to your volunteers is one which could also involve your entire church! Ask people who do not teach to donate a dozen or two of their best, family-favorite Christmas cookies. Take all the cookies and package nicely for your volunteers. Add a card and you have a great, "Thank You" which is actually from your church! What could possibly be better!!!!

The "Antidote" for Stress!

The other day I wrote about not falling for Satan's old tricks - and wrote about how stress is one of Satan's old tricks which we are tricked by. I said, "We know God wants us to do something in our children's ministry. We are excited and start working on it, but then we feel stressed and end up at the least being distracted and at the worst, we stop doing what it was we knew God wanted us to do. God is big enough to help us do whatever it is He wants us to do. This is the truth. Don't let Satan's old trick of stress side-track or derail what you know God wants you to do!"

Today I want to share an "antidote" for stress . . . at least for myself I've found focusing on the truth keeps me from being side-tracked or derailed by stress. The truth is, God is big enough to help us do whatever it is He wants us to do! When I keep my mind and focus on God, He gives me perfect peace and joy! This joy is at the core of children's ministry because what could possibly be better than working to help children trust and follow Jesus for the rest of their lives?!!!

Thank Your Volunteers on Christmas - Melted Snowman Ornament

For the past couple days I've been writing about thanking your volunteers and have shared a couple ways you might do so. If you do not have the people or resources to thank your volunteers often throughout the year, definitely plan to thank them at Christmas! There are so many great ideas of ways to thank your volunteers at Christmas, so I'll share a few over the coming days, starting with an ornament I had my grandsons make for their Wednesday night teachers this past year. The teachers absolutely LOVED the melted snowman ornament . . . it is a lot of fun and is one which you might even have some of the children help you make for the teachers - making it an even more special ornament!

All you need are . . . 

Thank Your Volunteers on Thanksgiving

A couple days ago I wrote about starting the new school year "write" by thanking your

volunteers. Today I want to, "move along" through the year and stop at Thanksgiving . . . which gives us another perfect opportunity to thank those who give of themselves and their time to serve in our children's ministries. 

I found a link for a free printable which would be perfect on any item you chose to give your volunteers - this tag says, "Thanks for Giving" . . . what could be better?! (You'll find the tag at this link.)

You could put this tag on pretty much anything -

Do Not Fall For Satan's Old Tricks!

One thing about serving in children's ministry which is pretty sad is how easy it is for us to

be tricked by Satan. Yes, I said it is easy. The thing about Satan is, he is not very creative. He uses the same old tricks, but we often continue to fall for them. Consider the following . . .