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Game Book Relays

Game – BOOK RELAYS

Divide players into two teams, with the same number of players in each team.  The first player from each team puts a book on his or her head and makes his way around an obstacle course and back to team member #2.

Every time a book is dropped, 10 seconds are added to that teams score. Touching the book with your hands gains 5 seconds to the teams score.  Have an umpire/time keeper assigned for each team.   Team at the end who completes the course in the shortest time is the winning team.  Have the kids recite the memory verse several times before and between rounds.

Click here for Children’s Ministry Resources

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William Booth

William Booth – The Power of Saving Child

 

I just read a short biography of William Booth.  Did you know he received the Lord at 14?  I didn’t.

Here is a clip from the article.

When he was criticized for using secular tunes to attract crowds, he replied, “Secular music, do you say, belongs to the devil? Does it? Well, if it did I would plunder him for it, for he has no right to a single note of the whole seven.”

I really like this guy.  Interesting how Christians are still talking about secular music.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/history/people/activists/william-booth.html

Click here for CHILDREN’S MINISTRY RESOURCES

 

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Millennials Abandoning the Church as it is today

Millennials Abandoning Faith

Below are a couple of quotes from an article from Focus on the Family.  I think this article is SO very relevant today – a must read for churches.

“Millennials are more likely to ask what the church is doing for the poor than whether there is a specific Bible study available on Thursday nights. There is a growing desire to be part of a cause rather than to simply attend a church with convenient meeting times, facilities or location. A Millennial is likely to pass five megachurches to attend a new startup with 20 friends who really care about his or her life.”

“Many Millennials have distaste for how rigid church has become. They do prefer a church with structure, but not one so rigidly traditional that they don’t have a say. Much of the feedback we have gotten from Millennials about growing up in church was that it didn’t feel natural to them. They were told it was a place to be free and open, but generally Millennials never fully engaged. They kept to themselves.”

http://www.focusonthefamily.com/socialissues/citizen-magazine/abandoning-the-faith

This sound like a negative message, but I believe it is a wake-up call for the church to start caring about every generation.  Worship needs to be such that every generation engages.

Click here for CHILDREN’S MINISTRY RESOURCES

 

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Let Kids Use Their Talents | Children’s Ministry

Let Kids Use Their Talents in Children’s Ministry

I attach to a link to a blog article detailing all the children who have won and done very well in the America’s Got Talent competition.

Kids Dominate America

In my years leading children’s ministry I have found that developing the kids talents always paid off.  I have made children’s music bands as soon as I could.  I encourage parents to enroll their children in music lesson and let them perform their songs as soon as they are willing.   The best puppet plays have been when kids do parts.  (Usually it is helpful to have an adult behind the puppet stage to guide them.)  If you write your own Christmas plays, recruit kids to co-write with you.  You will be amazed at the good ideas that come out.

Click here for CHILDREN’S MINISTRY RESOURCES

 

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Understanding Personalities

Understanding Personalities

Below is a link to an article posted by Focus on the Family.  As a Children’s Minister you might want to forward it on to the families in your church.

How I found this related to me in the Children’s Church setting, was in understanding my daughter.  Although she was and is my greatest helper, because of the familiarity, she could try to “take charge”.  Fortunately I recognized early on, that the reason she is like that is because she is a natural born leader.  Understanding her personality helped me to avoid a lot of conflict.

https://www.focusonthefamily.ca/content/understanding-your-child-s-personality-and-yours-too

Click here for CHILDREN’S MINISTRY RESOURCES

 

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Children’s Church Games

Children’s Church Games

Here is a link to some Children’s Church Games that are faith related.  Perhaps one of them will suit your topic this week.

http://childrensministry.com/articles/active-indoor-games-faith

Click here for Children’s Ministry Resources

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Children’s Worship Song: A Gift To You

Children’s Worship Song:  A Gift to You

Here is a beautiful children’s worship song, easy for the children to learn.  It is important for kids to be able to worship God with songs that are uncomplicated, easy to sing from the heart.

Click here for Children’s Ministry Resources

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Turning Points Part Two (From Insight for Living Blog)

God never wastes times of testing. The pain and struggles you face only SEEM futile.

— Charles R. Swindoll

 

TURNING POINTS PART TWO

Below is the link to the rest of the blog article from Insight for Living.

This life has times of suffering.  No one is exempt, not even children.  I myself lost my father to cancer when I was 9 years old.  ONLY Jesus makes life make sense.    Children who have a living relationship with Jesus always have hope.  The strength of child hood, I believe, is that we really do seek to know Jesus, just for the sake of knowing him.  As adults sometimes our pursuit of him gets more complicated especially when we have life and ministry responsibilities.

May we all seek to know Jesus more, just to know him.

https://www.insight.org/resources/daily-devotional/individual/the-turning-point-part-two

 

Click here for Children’s Ministry Resources

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TURNING POINTS

Turning Points

As a parent and children’s minister I am always praying that God will get a strong hold of the children’s hearts.  I pray that the Word of God will take strong root and that if any of them head down the wrong path, they will have a turning point back to God.  In so many ways I have found God unresistable.  His love and presence and the joy his words bring, keep me unsatisfied with the “pleasures” of this world’s system.

Here is the first half of a good article by Chuck Swindoll.

https://www.insight.org/resources/daily-devotional/individual/the-turning-point-part-one

Click here for Children’s Ministry Resources

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Children’s Games

Children’s Games for Kids Church

 

Hi friends I am always on the hunt for games that I can do in kids church.  I like to start out the service with review games especially if I can cover the bible story from the previous week.

Attached is a link for some really good children’s games.  I especially like the one called “Chatter Bee” .  I think I will try it this Sunday.

Have Fun!

http://www.umcom.org/learn/icebreakers-and-fun-games-for-kids-and-youth

Click here for Children’s Church Curriculum

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Highly Sensitive Kids

Attached is an article from Focus on the Family.  I hope you will read it to the end.  It is actually written for parents but I think there is some good advice in there for children’s ministry workers too.  This is what I took away from the article.

  1. Having a set routine in your services HELPS highly sensitive kids.  All kids but especially the sensitive ones like the predictability of a set routine.
  2. Keep good order in the class.  Don’t let the kids get “rowdy”.  Make sure there is some consequence for disruption and follow through, even if it means from time to time a child has to go and sit with their parents.
  3. Make sure the worship time engages the kids.  This is why we come to church – to engage with God.  Ask the kids what they perceived God was saying to them.  You may be surprised what they tell you.

https://www.focusonthefamily.ca/content/understanding-highly-sensitive-children

Click here for Children’s Church Resources