I'm not sure if I've mentioned it before, but I love to find easy ways to do everything. I love life hacks. A blog post that offers easy solutions to problems will grab my attention instantly, and I've subscribed to countless 'easy home maintenance solutions', 'simple storage solutions' and 'easy planning tools' blogs, to name just a few. 

So when I needed to create a special clip, following our recent Friend Sunday to recap and highlight the event, I knew an easy way to do it. And you can do it, too. But before I go any further, perhaps I should show you some of the clip I created. Of course,  I'm always careful that any clip I produce for public viewing does not include images of the kids unless parents have signed a release form. But plenty of other photos can be taken and included in these types of clips, though: activity tables, snacks or food, table decorations, the hands of kids holding or doing something, feet during an activity and so forth... see example.

Step 1: 
First, you'll need to download the Smilebox program. 

Step 2:
Choose a design, add your photos and music.. the slideshow maker does the rest.
Step 3:
Email, post to Facebook, burn to dvd or save the file... easy.

What can you use these videos for?
I think the potential is only as limited as your imagination. Here are just a few ways that I've used this slideshow maker:
1. A event review for the church family. The sample included was created for our church family following a special event. This type of presentation is very popular. It doesn't take a huge amount of time to show during the service and it can also be posted on your church Facebook page.
2. An engaging promotional clip. This type of presentation works just as well to promote an upcoming event or program. You can include graphics from your program as well as photos to highlight the event/program.
3. Introduction to your weekly kidmin program. Kids love to see themselves up onscreen. Try taking photos of your Sunday activities- kids singing, games, snacks or crafts. Load them into your Smilebox presentation and show the clip the following week as a 'What happened last week' introduction to your program. Our kids enjoy it so much, they'll come up during our program to ask if I'll take a photo of their craft, or ask if I managed to get a photo of their team winning the point.
4. Create a introduction to the main Bible lesson. Take photos of items or situations that relate to your story eg. sand, buildings, Bible, storms, water, people walking. Add some cryptic clues or the Bible verse or Bible point.
 5. Use to tell the Bible lesson. Organise kids the week before to act out scenes that you can photograph and use to create the story for the following week. It might be a great activity that a teenage volunteer could do with kids who arrive early or use this as one of your activity rotations.

When life is filled with children's ministry activities and programs, meetings, planning, organisation, training, and so much more, it's easy to merely focus on the tasks at hand. But it's also important to encourage children and families to reach out to others. Friend Sunday is a special service that celebrates friendships. Help children learn to be a true friend and invite someone to join them for this special 'I Noah Friend' event.

Here are some resources and ideas that might help.

START WITH THESE DOWNLOADABLE RESOURCES TO PROMOTE YOUR EVENT
A Friend Sunday event encourages your church to get excited about inviting friends, neighbours and co-workers to come to a special service. Many churches use the resources available from Outreach.com.

But, like us, you may also be wanting to promote Friend Sunday with your kidmin. You're more than welcome to use any of the materials that I've produced for this event. 
* Download the Friend Day powerpoint. You can find the file below.
You can also find the Invitation powerpoint slide below. Download it, replace the content with your details and then print the slide, 2 to a page.
(Alternately, you can easily create your own using Smilebox. :) )

Downloadable resources

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Are you ready for the new year?

Along with the rest of my family, I've been enjoying some downtime- relaxing over coffee at a beachside cafe, taking in a movie with my grandkids, strolling along the beach early morning. 

But my son relaxes in a different fashion- taking his young family to the hinterland and rainforest region via a rough 4 wheel drive track. My little granddaughter shook her head from side to side as she related the experience: 'Berrrry bumpy, Nannie!' But the mountain views were glorious. As I flicked through his photos, I was reminded of children's ministry.

A new year is an exciting new adventure. But it's easy to keep your eyes on the track in front of you, the daily and weekly tasks, and forget about the view- where you really are headed.You need to map out a plan for the months ahead before you find yourself caught up in the details of ministry.

I've designed a simple, yet effective ministry planner to help you organise the ministry year ahead. I really hope it will assist you as you think, pray and work through the goals you set for this year- 2015. 

2015 Calendar
First, though, I've created a kidmin 2015 calendar that you might like to print and hand out to your church and kidmin families. You can print the calendar as is, but you might like to include additional information that you'd like families to keep handy: contact information, listing of your programs and the dates and times or general church family information. I've included contact information for my own kidmin calendars with a reminder to connect with us via social media. You can find the image file below to download and use.

Ministry Planner
I'm sure you will soon be meeting with other kidmin and church ministry leaders to discuss and plan the important events and programs of 2015. 

The Ministry Planner Kit will provide you with helpful information for you planning plus pages to plan and organise aspects of your ministry year. Once these pages have been set up, you can refer to this information regularly to keep on-track with your goals and plans.

The Ministry Planner includes an overview of the year with seasonal events such as Easter, Mother's Day, Valentine's Day, and the dates that these fall in 2015. You'll also find focus and interest ideas for each month: Talk like a Pirate Day, National Tree Day, Remembrance Day and much more. Note the relevant information on your planning pages.

A Ministry Planner overview of the entire year is organised as 2 pages with space to highlight holidays, events and programs for the year. It's helpful to set these out and ensure that there are not too many activities occurring in any one month but rather, spaced out over the year.

Individual Monthly Review pages enable you to list the focus for the month, your month's goals, prayer needs, tasks and notes. You can quickly review this information and include in your weekly and daily organiser. (See here)
 
Month of days pages allow you to list any important information for each or any days of the month. Print off one of these for each month of the year. You'll find it helpful for noting your programs commencement dates, days that volunteers will be unavailable, training sessions, meetings and other important information.

Check out some of the sample pages below. You'll find information below about how you can access this Ministry Planner yourself to start your new year in ministry well.

Just buy- download- print- use immediately!

Purchase as a printed and bound book... price includes postage.

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Christmas- the ideal opportunity to thank your kidmin leaders and volunteers for their enthusiasm, involvement and dedication throughout the year. These talented helpers are the backbone of our kidmin programs.

So....how can you adequately express your thanks and appreciation in a sincere and heart-felt manner?

Some ideas
There are plenty of fun ideas and gifts that you might like to create. And you can find plenty of examples here and on my Pinterest board.

But this year, I've designed a gift that highlights the value of a volunteer and reminds them of the focus and goal of our kidmin programs.

Our local Big W store advertised a special promotion: $5 design-a-mug. I've seen since that VistaPrint have the same deal. 

And it's simple. Upload the photo or design you want, and they will print it onto a white ceramic mug.

So.. I created this design to use on the mugs.

Now... if you don't want to go to all that trouble, you could create a simple gift of a mug and thank you note. See here...

But if you'd like to use my mug design, you'll find the file below.

Instructions
Visit Big W, Vistaprint online, or whatever printer will give you the best deal for this printable product.
Upload the design and complete all your order and purchasing details and requirements.

The product will be printed onto a white ceramic mug and should be ready in about 10 days to collect from your designated printing store. (I imagine Vistaprint will deliver them to your address.)

I'll probably pop a couple of coffee or hot chocolate sachets into the mug before wrapping it in clear cellophane adding a ribbon bow.

Dress it up a bit with a Christmas gift tag and you're done

Then, it just needs a seasonal gift tag and a note of thanks for each mug and volunteer. 

You can find some free printable tags from YellowBlissRoad here.

I hope your volunteers love them!

It's amazing how dependent we have become on our mobile devices. A study (Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers) found the average user checks their phone close to 150 times per day. During peak times, this equates to about once every 6 or 7 seconds. Incredible!

Until recently, I haven't been too concerned about the image always on my iPhone screen. Sure, it's quite appealing but I really didn't think about it. But I happened to notice my daughter's mobile and the regularly updated designs appearing on her screens.. most often with a inspiring quote or a Scripture verse.

What images do you use on your mobile?

When I read the above statistics regarding the number of times we're all looking at our smartphones, I decided I'd better spend a bit of time uploading an inspirational image and changing it regularly.


After all, if I'm checking my phone often, I could be memorizing a Bible verse as I do so.

 No only that, but you may find that others will notice the design on your device screen and you can share your Bible verse with others.
 I've had a bit of a look for wonderful designs to add to your phone or tablet and have come up with these. You can find them below with a download link. (Clicking on the image will also provide you with this link.)

This first one, a clean, crisp design, comes from Ashlee Proffitt and her beautiful design site. She makes the note with these wallpapers:

 'I pray these wallpapers brighten your November days and spur your heart towards gratitude.'

You'll find designs for both iPhone and iPad wallpapers ready to download and install. I must admit, I have them on my devices now and have received a number of positive comments regarding them.

The second design I've included is not strictly a holiday design, but during this often stressful season filled with activities, events, special programs and important dates to remember, its encouraging verse should help you maintain the right attitude and focus.

You'll find it with Stacie Means from LifeWayhere...

There is an iPhone wallpaper plus an image for your Facebook page. 

Finally, I've tried to create an iPad/iPhone wallpaper, myself, for the upcoming festive season. 

 It's probably a bit too busy but then, so it this time of year. And I really love the image. And I wanted to have more of a family focus with my design.

Hopefully, my designs will improve but I'd like to create a new one every month, so look out for the new one at the beginning of each month.

You can download both the iPad version (see left) or the iPhone version. You'll find both files below.

You may also be interested in these...

Every year, Christmas seems to start a little earlier. Decorations suddenly appear, big and bold, in the shopping centres and piped Christmas music wafts out of each store.

Supermarket catalogues are filled with Christmas gift suggestions and toy sales and kids begin clamouring for the newest and greatest toy attraction.

And every year, our goal as children's ministry leaders of making Christmas 'real' to kids, seems to get just a bit harder.

How can you help kids find Jesus, this Christmas?

Yes... we do have a wonderful and meaningful Christmas program that we've prepared to present to the kids. And our church calendar will be filled with family Christmas events and presentations.

But sometimes the message of Christmas gets lost amongst all the activity... and I was looking for a simple, effective way of emphasizing the importance of Jesus, this Christmas.

And  then, I watched one of the Skit Guys clips. You've probably seen it but I've included it below anyway. Eddie  tells of setting out the nativity scene... but hiding Jesus. Naturally, the kids are very concerned to find Him.

It's a great clip and would be good to show to families.And then I thought... yes, this simple activity would be really effective. Of course, it would be great for families to do at home- but it could be something you could include in your Sunday program in the weeks leading up to Christmas. You could give the kids the clue for the week.. and afterwards, read the Christmas story from a picture storybook or a chapter from a longer book. (There are recognised benefits of reading to kids but many families are too busy to find time to include this activity.)

Check out the list of Christmas story books listed below that could be used after the 'Search for Baby Jesus' treasure hunt activity.

If you can't see the media clip, click here to view ....

Suggestions for reading to the children...
*If you're missing Baby Jesus: a true story that embraces the spirit of Christmas.
* Jed and Roy McCoy, A Christmas Story. You can buy this story as a powerpoint presentation or over-sized book, too.
* Keeping Holiday., a charming, insightful way to help children grasp the meaning of Christmas
* He's here.. from the Jesus Storybook Bible

So, whether you present this clip and the idea to your church families or include it in your Christmas program to highlight the real message of the season, I hope these resources and ideas will be of assistance, this Christmas.

If you're anything like me, you've downloaded the free file of Unfrozen- Do you want to meet a Saviour Christmas program (If you haven't checked it out yet,you canfind it here.) 

You love the program
You've read it through. You love the script. You know that the kids and the families will relate to the .presentation. You've even worked out who best will fit the parts needed for the presentation. You're bursting with excitement and enthusiasm because this is a Christmas program idea that looks great, won't take too many hours to practise and requires a small level of involvement from kids and volunteers.

You present the idea to others
You've spoken with your church leadership and decided whether it's better to present the whole presentation in its entirety or if it's better to present one scene each week leading up to Christmas. You've spoken with your volunteers and your team.

Everyone's getting excited!

Now, you need to start planning and promoting the program.
You check the calendar and realise that you need to print copies of the program for those involved in the presentation.  You need to start the program presentation prep and rehearsals, but more than that, you also need to begin promoting this special event to your church family and the wider community. 

Don't panic! You can do it in 5 easy steps
1. Create an Unfrozen image to use in your promotional materials. 
You'll need one that looks pretty similar to the Frozen movie but of course you can't use any of Disney's Frozen graphics. That's ok... I've created one for you already. You'll find it below.

One graphic.. tick that one off your list.

2. Create an online Unfrozen promotion.
This is really helpful to provide more information, and even a registration facility, for your church family, but also for the community. Once you've set this up, you can add the link to your flyers, your website, your bulletin, your kidmin or church social media and any community promotion of the event.

You could just create it on your website but it can be done quickly and easily with SplashThat. It will probably take under an hour to set it all up. And yes, it's free. You can check out the one I created for our own Unfrozen event here.

3. Create an Unfrozen announcement slide.
You'll also want your church family to know about this special  event and add it to their family calendars. This time of year is filled with end-of-year events for school, community, work, and family so provide everyone with plenty of opportunity to note the date, remember it and share the information with others.

So.. I've created a simple slide that you can edit and use. You could also save it as an image and use as your flyer. Print 2 or 4 to a page and add extra information on the reverse.

You'll find the powerpoint slide below.

4. Create Unfrozen tickets.
Instead of, or perhaps as well as, flyers to promote your Unfrozen event, you might like to consider printing program tickets. 
Jenn Rook has created these wonderful Frozen tickets for a kid's party, (see below) so I adapted and changed them a little for our needs.

If you'd like some yourself, it's easy to do. Download the powerpoint slide below labelled 'Unfrozen tickets'. Alter the wording on the tickets. Choose 'select all' and then save as an image. Open a page in Word or Publisher and insert the image twice so that you have 4 tickets per page. Print on light weight card and cut to size.

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Simple, mostly free, resources that will make your life easier
I'm pretty sure that your kidmin leader job description doesn't list 'Skills and expertise in graphic design' as one of your key requirements. But I'm also sure that, unless you've found a rare and wonderful graphic design volunteer (or have the funds to pay for one) you're creating a lot of your own flyers, brochures, powerpoint slides and presentations, and social media images. 

Time consuming, is't it? Yet communication today places a high emphasis on visual content. Paul Lester(“Syntactic Theory of Visual Communication”) comments:
“Something is happening. We are 
becoming a visually mediated society. For 
many, understanding of the world is being 
accomplished, not through words, but by 
reading images.” 

In other words, the images, the graphic design we prepare for our kidmin content and communication does more than look pretty.. it enables kids and families understand what we're talking about.

That really raises the level of importance we place  on graphic design in our teaching and communication. 

But don't despair... there are tools, many of them free.. that can help you create quality, appealing images that will grab attention and help you present a clear and memorable message. 

I've listed the main tools I use and presented them (visually) in a slideshow. You'll find extra information below with examples of the result created. Click on the slideshow images for a link to the programs/websites. And please, note any others that you have found to be particularly helpful in the comments below.

1. CANVA
I've started with Canva because this is my default tool- the graphic design program that I go to without even thinking. It's both an online program and a downloadableiPad app, which makes it great for on-the-go.

It's also free! Canva provides ready-made templates for many formats: social media, presentation, poster, blog image, Facebook or Twitter post, card, document, Pinterest, flyer, collage... Choose a template, upload your photos, alter the wording and you're ready to download the finished graphic. There are plenty of ways to personalise your design, too, with filters, different colours, blurs, transparency and more. I create most of my blog images with Canva. Check out the 'how-to' video below.

2. PICMONKEY
This free, and subscription-based, online program allows you to edit photos, add words and create collages. There are so many options. You'll find plenty of filters, fonts, stamps, borders, stencils, colours, overlays, exposures, textures and list goes on. 

As you can see, I love using PicMonkey's stencils and stamps. I applied a sepia filter for this image to create a retro look. Some of PicMonkey's effects are grouped under a theme which makes it easier to edit and achieve a certain look. Try creating a collage, too.. it's addictive.

A particularly helpful feature is the resize option. You can also download your finished graphic in a choice of resolution quality. It's helpful to be able to differentiate between a quick-loading blog image or a higher quality graphic for printing.

3. SMILEBOX
I've highlighted Smilebox before. If you haven't had a chance to investigate this program, then now is your opportunity. Yes, it's great for creating digital cards, invitations, scrapbooks, movie clips and slideshows with your photos and images. (You can print them, too.) But the images made with this program can be saved and used in powerpoint slides or other uses. This program needs to be downloaded to use (free) though I think it's worth the small fee for the full version.

For example, I created this image in Smilebox, saved it and used it as a powerpoint slide to promote an upcoming kidmin program. Instructions for creating a movie clip with Smilebox can be found here...

4. PUBLISHER PRO
This program is not free, sorry. But... it's relatively inexpensive. For years, I've used Publisher (Microsoft) for my document creation and yes, it's wonderful. But, and it's a big 'but'..it's expensive. Not only that, you need to regularly upgrade which equals more money. 

So now I use Publisher Pro. It's as good if not better. It comes with wonderful, professional-quality templates, (I love templates) and even allows me to easily include the 'bleeds' needed to send my work for professional printing.. And yes, you can save your document as a pdf if you require.

I created this flyer for a special Father-Son event using a template with Publisher Pro. But you can create brochures, newsletters, calendars, cards, business cards, invoices, posters and office stationery. 

And.. upgrades are free.

5. POWERPOINT
Microsoft Powerpoint is one little program that is really under-appreciated. You probably already have a version installed on your computer. Well, I'd recommend that you open it up and start using it. It's great! The things you can do with the image editing of Powerpoint is astonishing. Did you know you can turn a white (or other colour) background transparent with one click with Powerpoint? (Don't forget to save the image in png format or you'll lose the transparency.) Did you realise you can remove any or some of an image's background with Powerpoint?You can create icons and creative word images. You can create infographics. 
This image, for example, was created with Powerpoint. Try Powerpoint and see!

Quick reminder: please add details of other graphic tools that you enjoy using. Thanks!

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What are you doing for Grandparents' Day?
Are you organising something special for Grandparents' Day? It seems to be celebrated on different dates throughout Australia and the world. But one thing remains constant- the need to highlight and emphasize the important role of grandparents in lives of our families.

Searching for some ways to highlight grandparents?
So, maybe you're just including an appreciation slide in your service. Perhaps you're adding a clip about grandparents... and maybe, like our church, you're going all out with a special service focus with lunch and fun events to follow.

Download these inspirational quotes and use on cards, slides or posters on grandparents day.

Download this powerpoint slide file and use on grandparent's day.

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The year passed quickly and, as Kirsten finalised the last student report, she decided she would revisit the initial class list and information. She wanted to see how the students had progressed and the difference she had made in the educational and social development of her class.

As her eyes slid down the list she could see that, yes, to a large extent the kids had achieved the results she would have expected of them. One or two had surprised her. But, generally, this year's class grades reflected the results one would have expected of those with their particular IQ scores. She was pleased with the year and her work with the kids.

A big mistake
Unfortunately, the was a big flaw in Kirsten's evaluation. The class list issued to Kirsten at the commencement of the school year included plenty of information. But the information that Kirsten had thought to be IQ scores was, in fact, the children's locker numbers. Kirsten's expectations, for each child, were flawed. But the children had lived up to those preconceived expectations. How different might the student results have been if she had expected the best results for all of them!

Bring it home
Don't make the same mistake with the children you teach in your kidmin programs. Yes, you may know their parents and their family background. Yes, you may have been told about them by other leaders. But your expectations of these kids will have a tremendous impact on their attitudes and behaviour. 

Pray for each child. It should be our first priority not a last resort. On a practical level, look for ways to encourage kids. Don't groan inwardly when a notoriously difficult child walks through the doors. It's easy to recognise and comment on negatives. Take note of those times when children are being helpful, listening well or showing consideration. Actively seek their contribution and involvement. Keep a supply of Post-it notes handy. Make a note when you see something positive and pop the encouraging note on the child's hand or their Bible. You'll be surprised how these little encouragements can have a tremendous impact on these young lives and their behaviour.

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