Relevant Community Outreach

by admin on April 19, 2011

I love VBS. I don’t know how one would become a children’s minister and not live for the time of the year that we help children to walk into the Bible story and become living participants of the only story that gives life. For many churches, VBS virtually defines their ministry to children, their ability to engage culture and transcend the lines of traditional church to a disney-like “wow” factor.

However, I had to start asking some questions about VBS and other such similar events a few years ago. I have a thing about doing things as big as possible when it comes to outreach and I wanted to make sure we were getting the response for the time and money invested.  I suggest that each church leader ask the following questions as they are planning their community outreach calendar.

1) Is this event effective in reaching the most children, or families, possible for the time and energy invested?

2) Does my church “buy into” the vision of this outreach model and see it as a front porch opportunity for the ministry to children and their families?

3) What is the ultimate goal of the outreach into the community? Is it discipleship? Is it to form relationships? Is it name recognition for the church? Is it service to the community?

4) Does the outreach program fit the churches vision for ministry?

5) Perhaps the question most of us hate to ask, for the amount of time and money invested does the rewards match the expectation? Rewards might come in the form of attendance, viable contacts, community “buzz”, or even the feeling of doing good within the congregation.

Think about these questions. In my next article, I will discuss the need to assess the culture of the church and community in determining outreach programs that will be met with a degree of success.

 

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Classroom Management 101

by Shannon on April 5, 2011

Sunday morning, my husband and I were teaching Worship 411, our elementary children’s worship. My husband is also one of the volunteer worship leaders for our church and for some reasons he kept ducking out to check in on some things in the auditorium, leaving me alone with the children.

The subject for Sunday: Anger. Anger is an emotion God created.  God’s Word does tell us not to sin by loosing control of our anger. You know what they say, “Don’t ever pray for patience”.  I’ll add, “Don’t ever teach on anger”. I think some of kids saw it as a perfect opportunity to be used by God … to give an impromptu, object lesson on the sin of anger.

My husband left the room for a moment. At that very moment, three boys started jumping on each other in the front row and a couple of others decided that wandering around the room talking would be a great idea. My daughter had a playdate arranged for the afternoon and several burning questions in her mind just couldn’t wait until class was over. I couldn’t get through a sentence without calling out a child’s name. It was half-way through a children’s sermon on anger that I realized the classroom was OUT OF CONTROL!

And then it happened. I stopped. I felt one of those deep, end of yoga class, cleansing breath rising up in me and coming out slowly. They all looked at me with that “what in the world is she about to do” look. I said, “it’s a sin to loose control of my anger, we just talked about that. Did you hear me take a deep breath and let it out? I am keeping my anger under control. Ok then, I need you guys to remember our class rules. Whose turn is it when the countdown clock goes off? Yes, mine”.  We talked some more about respect and classroom expectations, then finished our lesson.

I didn’t raise my voice. The point was made. I’d love to say the classroom was back in control, but, Shannon versus 20 kids, well, I lost that one and changed plans for the day. However, God gave me an opportunity to practice what I preach, and, thankfully, I got it right that time. Here are some tips for the times that your classroom is suddenly out of control:

Classroom Management Tip #1

Never loose control, even when the classroom is out of control. Have a plan to keep your personal feelings in check. It might be a deep breath, or, sitting down and waiting. It might be a sudden outburst of prayer, but, have a plan.

Classroom Management Tip #2

Have some kind of cue that helps the kids remember that the teacher deserves respect. For Worship 411, we do a 5 minute count-down clock. At the end of the 5-minutes, it’s my turn. No exceptions.

Classroom Management Tip #3

Be flexible! In our classroom Sunday, we had several issues going on and one change wasn’t going to make it better. So, I changed up our last minute plans and went with something different. The change of pace and scenery brought things down a notch until it was time for parents to arrive.

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Preschool Bible Class

April 4, 2011

I was visiting with one of my coordinators this morning about the preschool Bible classes.  They were telling me how hard it was to find people willing to teach and help in those classes.  When asked what response people typically gave her when asking them to serve, she said that the main reason revolves around [...]

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Resource Review: High Voltage Kids Ministry

March 31, 2011

Recently I began looking for a children’s worship curriculum that was 1) media driven, 2) engaging, 3) fun, 4) taught life application through solid Scripture and 5) was easy to teach.   Several Children’s Ministers recommended High Voltage Kid’s Ministry’s children’s worship curriculum. I bought Curriculum Pack 6: Deal With It and began preparing to implement [...]

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Transitioning (part 2)

March 25, 2011

**If you haven’t had a chance to read the first post in this series, click HERE. Relationships are an important part of ministry.  Children’s Ministers form relationships with the kids, their parents, church leadership and staff, among a host of others, and when the congregation hears the news that you are leaving, each person makes [...]

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Be Careful Little Mouth What You Say

March 24, 2011
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Just a word Part of our goal with our blog is to give helpful advice to those considering a career in children’s ministry. These simple tidbits of advice are intended for college students and new ministers and as encouragement to the rest of us. Be Careful Little Mouth What You Say Last week, a friend [...]

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Philosophy of Ministry (Part 1)

March 16, 2011

I wish there was a formula. When I cook, I have a recipe, a set of instructions that says do this, add that, and let it simmer. Do it the same way, every time, the sauce will be perfect. As I went through ACU, and, professional development conferences, I was pretty sure that my philosophy [...]

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Philosophy of Ministry (Part 2)

March 16, 2011

I have a lot of hobbies. Scrapbooking is my favorite. When I scrapbook, I do it to preserve memories for my children and their children. Someday, they can look back on that scrapbook and what they will read is a story of their lives. They will see faith in action. They will remember major decisions [...]

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Transitioning (Part 1)

March 16, 2011

Transitioning from one full time children’s ministry job to another can be overwhelming to say the least.  Aside from the usual stress that accompanies taking a new job, moving to a new location, and the general upheaval of your life, there are inherent issues that creep into the “ministry mix” as you prepare to turn [...]

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