I really wish I had an amazing formula to generate continuous energy and enthusiasm for the challenging work of children's ministry. Let's face it- the work is constant, demanding and endless. Special events and programs are rewarding but exhausting, and preparations for regular mid-week and Sunday programs still continue. So..what happens when your motivation wanes and enthusiasm dips? Make sure that you are maintaining your time with God and His Word and your prayertime. Ensure you are allowing yourself some downtime, some time for yourself. Don't fill every waking moment with activity. As a leader, you must ensure that you are spiritually, emotionally, mentally and physically replenished. You need to fill your own tank before you can effectively give to others! KidsKount produce some bite-sized (2 minute) video segments to help you do just that... Lead yourself! It's worth checking out.. But it's also helpful to keep in mind that energy and enthusiasm is not required before you start working. In fact, hard work comes before the feeling of enthusiasm. Motivation is largely a myth.. it's activity that inspires us. Don't waste time waiting for enthusiasm to return; work harder even it you don't feel like it. You'll find your motivation returns as you accomplish those tasks you've set yourself. Stay faithful to the work God has given to you to do. And, praise Him as soon as your motivation catches up. I don't sing because I'm happy. I'm happy because I sing. | We overestimate what we can do in the next year... and underestimate what we can do in the next 15 minutes. But, on a practical note, there are some things you can do that will help you complete your tasks: 1. Exercise. 15 minutes a day exercise will help you have more energy and be more productive. 2. Many find it helpful, sometimes, to work away from the usual working environment. Go to the library.. spend the morning at a coffee shop. 3. Play some background music. 4. Make use of the many task management programs and apps to keep focused. I've listed some of the popular ones below: * Wunderlist: simple to-do lists, works on all platforms, tasks can be shared, create tasks from email * Toodledo: powerful task and note-taker app, add reminders, repeats, alarms, add to folders, filter, tag and tweet your completed tasks * Astrid: cloud sync, voice recognition, share tasks, email intergration, add to calendar * Remember the milk. Simple list creation, available across platforms * Priorities. Create tasks and sub-tasks, lists, calendar integration, templates, repeating tasks, |
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Easter is less than a month away and I'm sure the preparations for your children's ministry Easter events are well underway. You may be thinking about some early promotion of these events and so I've created a simple Easter slide that you may like to use. The wording may be altered to suit your own needs. I created the design using Smilebox. I've mentioned this great little program before but in case you missed it, use the link below to find out more. I've also include a little promotional movie clip, also created with Smilebox, for our Kids Club program so that you can see how it can be used. Smilebox makes it easy to share invitations, slideshows or clips via Facebook, twitter or your website/blog. It probably took about 15 minutes to create the clip. Find out more about Smilebox here...
David C Cook produce quality curriculum for all age-groups, books, ministry resources and more. They also produce a great supplementary download called 'Real-life Downloaded' and include material for Upper Elementary, Middle School, High School and Adults. These free resources are posted every Thursday and include related YouTube clips, music videos and news clip segments as discussion starters and lead-ins for the rest of the lesson. I've found them to be particularly useful for our midweek group of upper primary/high school kids, most of whom are from non-church families. The kids relate well to the clips and are happy to discuss the related questions and interact with the following activities. Then we conclude with a related themed scavenger hunt, games program, mini-Olympics, active skills tasks or other activity and a meal. The following downloadable file for a mustard seek bookmark pattern can be used with the recent lesson on faith.. see here Bookmarks can be coloured, cut out and laminated. Punch a hole for a ribbon tie and glue on a mustard seed accent. The Real-life Downloaded lesson provides directions but they are simple (but fiddly). Cut a slit in the back of a goggle-eye and use tweezers to remove the black pupil circle. Slip in a couple of mustard seeds. Don't try it with small google-eyes. I used medium sized ones and had them ready for the kids to glue to their bookmarks.
Questioning is an important element of almost every lesson and activity in kids' church and midweek programs. It's not just a time-filler activity but rather, has an important role in the learning process. Questions..
Your questions don't have to be too complex but it's a good idea to begin with some questions relating to simple facts and progress to higher level questioning requiring thinking and applying to real-life situations. Make it exciting. Use visuals in your question and review time as much as any other part of your lesson. Include action whenever possible; complete some activity or compete in some skill, game or relay event to earn the next question. I've included a very simple Spot-the-Difference activity that may be used to review the Daniel and the lions story. The concept is simple: ask a question relating to the story to earn points for the team. A correct answer also gives them the opportunity to earn extra points by spotting a difference on the powerpoint slide. Clicking on a correct part of the image results in the points awarded flashing up on-screen. The Spot the Difference powerpoint is available to download below.
Are you using social media as tools for your ministry? Are you uncertain how to begin? Would you like someone to guide you through the process? Then this may be just for you. Nils Smith is a web pastor, author and blogger and will be presenting an online training event for ministry leaders based on the core principles of his soon-to-be-released book- The Social Media Guide for Ministry. The five days of training start March 4th (3 sessions daily), with sessions lasting 45 minutes and will include include training from Nils Smith, interviews with ministry leaders and social media experts, and live chat Q & A. The daily topics include: Social Media Basics, Facebook Foundations, Twitter & YouTube Techniques, Blogging, Pinterest and other Networks and Online Church. For more information, download a flyer or register for this event, visit the site here... Children's Ministry coordinators, directors and leaders often bemoan the mountain of admin that accompanies children's ministry, and it's true, especially if there are multiple age-groups and midweek programs involved. It's so easy to feel overwhelmed by the seemingly endless and mundane tasks. But if you take just a couple of these tasks each day you'll find that you can regain your balance and focus. To assist with this, I've included a weekly ministry planner with weekly tasks and monthly/term tasks to help you sort out your workload.( Simply download and print the copies you need- one for each week.) The download also includes some added details and ideas for some of the listed tasks and suggestions for the month's focus. Hopefully, this will be part of a planning collection filled with helpful forms and planning templates designed specifically for the admin needs of children's ministry leaders. Coming soon...
Earlier this week, we were flooded in. The aftermath of ex-cyclone Oswald caused wide-spread flooding to a large part of south-east Queensland and although our home was high and dry, we were certainly affected. Roads were impassable, electricity was cut, phone and internet coverage was down. I had no way of contacting my family and no way of determining their safety, circumstances or needs. I was totally isolated. If you work in children's ministry you can not function in isolation.You need to connect with others- your church families and the community, your team and a wider ministry network. You need to develop 'Relationships', the second element of our F.R.E.S.H. approach to children's ministry. Building relationships is an integral part of a thriving ministry. So.. how do you go about it? Check out these 3 areas and click through to the practical suggestions and ideas.
The start of a new year brings its own excitement and challenges: the anticipation of seeing anew God working in the lives of children, families and volunteers, with new ideas and exciting programs to launch and new opportunities to glimpse the wonder of little ones learning about our great and loving God. But, there are also the difficulties of working in a ministry area that is time and labour intensive, the ever-present admin tasks, the danger of becoming over-stressed, exhausted, of feeling over-whelmed and left gasping for air. This year, start with a F.R.E.S.H. approach to your children's ministry. Over the next few posts, I'll highlight five aspects of your ministry and provide you with some practical strategies. Establishing some simple but sustaining tools will equip you to handle the pressures and demands of ministry. Finally, in conclusion to this series of posts, I hope to complete and provide you with some practical worksheets to assist in your planning and organisation. But first..... 1. FOCUS. Make sure that you begin this year with a clear and concrete understanding of both your role and your vision. Many children's ministry directors or coordinators find themselves in a role that has developed apace with their growing ministry. Now, while this is understandable, there are clearly some concerns here. A children's ministry director may discover that there are unspoken expectations of them that are beyond their capabilities in both time and resources. A job description is a necessity. If you don't have one, ask for one and if you have one, read it carefully and ask for clarification if you're at all uncertain about any aspects of your role. A job description ensures that both you and the church leadership are clear about your role and your responsibilities. It also means that you can sensibly plan and structure your time and commitments in alignment with your role. Your job description will probably begin with a definition similar to the following: 'The Children's Ministry director/coordinator is responsible for overseeing all aspects of a growing children’s ministry and to ensure a smooth operating, safe and effective program. The director will recruit and train leaders and teachers who will touch children’s lives with God’s love and teach them God’s Word while laying a spiritual foundation for their relationship with Christ and teaching them to serve within the church. The director will also be a spiritual leader to those working in this ministry and provide training and encouragement to parents, equipping them to be the primary spiritual leader of their children.' It can seem a little daunting, but don't panic. Following this, you should find a list of practical expectations. Read it all carefully as this will provide you with helpful assistance in your planning and preparation. It provides you with the information you need to determine your specific areas of responsibility for children, families, volunteers and wider church family. But you also need to focus on your ministry vision. Do you have one? Is it clear to everyone? Is it included in all your ministry materials? Your ministry vision provides a yardstick for current and future ministry programs and outreach? Are these in alignment with our vision and focus? Then, they can be grow and developed. If not, it may be something that other ministry leaders would like to pursue. Do your leaders and volunteers know and share the ministry vision? Do your volunteers and leaders have a strong sense of purpose and direction? Not sure? Take this quiz from Children's Ministry to find out. Here... Then, take some time to read further: * Children's Ministry that Works! The basics and beyond. Group Overflowing with expert insights from ministry leaders. * Piece by Piece- Unlocking the puzzle for an effective ministry to today's children. Tammy Tolman Includes study questions and action steps * Making your Children's Ministry the Best Hour of Every Week. Sue Miller with David Staal Insights that can reshape your whole approach to children's ministry and cast a new vision for everyone involved. |
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