#11- Rewards

You may have noticed there is a lot of questioning over the concept of rewards in children’s ministry. Some say yes because God rewards us, and some say no because it doesn’t create an impact on the heart just on the habits.

I think Rewards do have a place, but they need to have a purpose. I do not consistently reward for things I expect of a student such as listening to the listen, being nice to others, or participating in worship. We do reward for things that are “extra” based on their age. For example, Preschoolers get a sticker or small toy for brining their bible, but once they are in kindergarten, they are expected to bring their bible and they get no prize for this.

Another thing I reward for is memorization. We have a memory verse for Sunday morning and then we also do memory work on Wednesday nights. We have a prize bucket with little knick-knacks from oriental trading company. They are little things that will probably get lost or broken before the next Sunday comes. Part of this is so I know they will need to keep working on the memory work to have a prize.

On Wednesday night though we have flair. I give students a list of 25 verse that go with our series and for ever 5 verses they get a small button. Kids go crazy over collecting, and this is no different. All the kids work to get them all and some actually get them all. We also have a bonus flair that they can earn by memorizing a large chunk of scripture I give them (this semester is the Ephesians 6:10-18) and then they also get a piece of flair for perfect prepared attendance (they have to bring their folder and bible when they come). Not only are my kids getting into this but my leaders all as well. It a race to see who can collect the most, and as such our kids are getting learning to hide God’s word in their heart.

The important thing, I think with rewards is to make sure that you don’t reward for everything, and don’t reward to prevent bad behavior but to enforce spiritual practices and remind the kids that this is something God wants them to do, not just to gain a prize, but to gain a treasure that will live forever.

Free Materials

Part of my hope with this blog is to share materials. So today I want to share the basic of our curriculum.

I write our curriculum in house and right now I am working on a 4 year rotating curriculum that will be for K-3^rd grade. The following is the breakdowns of what I have so far:

Year 1- Beginning to David

Year 2- Jesus’ Life

Year 3- the two kingdoms to rebuilding of Jerusalem

Year 4- The beginning of the church

Eventually there will be a 4^th and 5^th grade curriculum and then Wednesday night materials that correlate to what they learn on Sunday. It’s a lot to take on, and will take time, but when it’s done it will hopefully be something any church can use and make sure the kids get through all the main stories of the bible.

As of right now I have Year one complete and am working on an easy way to share with anyone that is interested. If you have any questions or requests, let me know.

Preschool isn’t my forte, so I don’t know that I’ll ever write material for that age, but we use Elevate Jr. and after next year will have enough material to start rotating it through.

Hopefully this is the first of much help to come, and if there is something specifically that would help you let me know and I’ll pass on what I can.

#9- Go Fish and Denver and the Mile High Orchestra

So, you may not know this about me, but I’m a huge Go Fish fan. I’ve liked them since infection, one of their adult CDs, and I’ve successfully hooked most of my families on their kid’s music. That’s why as soon as I saw they were producing a cd with Denver and the Mile High Orchestra, I knew I had to check it out.

The cd came in the mail this week, and I’ve been jamming to it. I was very happy to see that one of my favorite songs from childhood is on there “I am a promise” and I might even try to get that one into our worship rotation. It has a nice Big Band sound, which also pulls childhood memories as we were big Glen Miller listeners. I think it’s a nice change that kids don’t hear a lot of, and I’m going to sample it next Sunday with the kids to see what they think.

All I can say, is if you haven’t checked out what Go Fish is doing, stop everything to do so, because they have God pushing them to places that haven’t been explored. And that’s what’s great about the whole process; they really just want to spread the Gospel in a fun way. Check out the site www.gofishguys.com to catch up on everything that’s Go Fish.

Worry Free Worship

When was the last time you attended worship? Not when was the last time you were with people worshiping, but when was the last time you were worshiping. I know that as a children's minister I have the tendency to let the ministry control my mind on Sundays. Because of this, I am not always worshiping even though I give that appearance. And before we started an 8:00 service, I didn't attend at all.

Tonight I attended the David Crowder concert. And the nicest thing about it was that I got to worship without a radio bud in my ear, or one eye on the paging system, or the worry that someone was texting to let me know they wouldn't be there to teach. I got to go to worry free worship.

Now I know that isn't available consistently, even at our 8:00 service there is a nursery I have in the back of my mind during church, but it is important to have these moments of uninhibited worship. Even if it means taking a mini vacation once a quarter to a church with Saturday night service or going to a conference that just never seemed to be a priority, worry free worship is an important part of our spiritual health as a person, and as a minister.

So when is your next worship session?

#8- Planning Center

I don’t know if you've heard of planning center, or if you’ve ever used it, but I don’t know if I could get through a week without it. It is the perfect way to organize a service. I currently use it for Preschool and Elementary. I have three guest log-ons that all my leaders have so they can get on to get an materials they may need or just see what the order of service is. We print this out as well and it has all the introductions my hosts need for games, teach times, sword drills or any other information they may need. It really is one of the best way we spend money to keep everyone informed. And they have different prices- even a free level. We currently have the Basic plan, more out of storage space than anything else. We don’t use the site to the full extent we could- such as music and video uploads, and even emailing people to schedule them. But for now, we use what we can. I highly recommend checking it out and seeing if it will help you organize a service. I've put what a service looks like for us below, and how it prints.

Elementary
Jesus Changes Everything	September 18, 2011	Growing Up Lesson 3

09/18 9:30a	09/18 11:00a	Length in mins		Notes
Pre-Service
9:15a	10:45a	15:00	Hangout time
Service
9:30a	11:00a	10:00	LG Activity/ Small Groups Steal It either do two lines facing each other, or do four lines if necessarily that form a box facing in. Go down each line giving each kid a number so that each line has the same numbers. When you call a number, such as 2, the first "2" to run and and trade one of their shoes for the shoe in the middle wins that race, first team to switch out all of their shoes wins the game.
9:40a	11:10a	1:00	Enter Large Groups
9:41a	11:11a	5:00	Welcome/Offering Announcements Trunk or Treat is coming up. We're doing this instead of pumpkin patch bash. But there will still be candy, and hayrides, and popcorn, and bouncy houses. So when you leave today, grab two postcards- one for your fridge and one for a Friend. We want you to bring as many friends as you can so this can be the best event ever! Offering Alright, Who can tell me what the difference is between an offering and a tithe? (allow response) I know it’s a tricky little thing right? Well in the bible other Christians give us the example of giving 10% of what we earn to God as a way to say thank you. And Offering is giving even more than that like 20 or 30 percent of what you have because God has blessed you so much. So think about this as you put your tithe or offering in the bucket.
9:46a	11:16a	10:00	Marble Count Point for every bible Point and prize for knowing memory verse And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:17 Point for being a new person or visitor Point for a family member serving Point and Prize for a signed backseat breakdown
9:56a	11:26a	1:30	Have Student Pray for Teach Time
9:57:30a	11:27:30a	10:00	Teach Time
10:07:30a	11:37:30a	4:00	Worship Song 1 Stories This song is a great one that teaches us about two people in the bible- Zacchaeus and David. This song reminds us that there are awesome stories in the bible, which is the book that God gave us. So think about that while we sing.
10:11:30a	11:41:30a	4:00	Worship Song 2 10 commandment boogie Hey Guys This song called the 10 commandment boogie, and we’re learning the 10 commandments. The 10 commandments were the rules that God gave his people to live a long and happy life. He knew that if they followed these rules that life would be a lot better for them, and that’s what God wants for each of us. So think about that while we sing.
10:15:30a	11:45:30a	4:00	Worship Song 3/Communion you gave your life away This is our slow song today, and the title says exactly why we’re here right now, because Jesus gave his life away. He didn’t have to because he never did anything wrong, he was perfect. But he loved us so much that he decided to die in our place, so that we could live forever in heaven with him. All we have to do is admit that we sin and decide that we want to stop living life our way and let Jesus be in charge of our life. So if you’ve made this decision and been baptized to show everyone that you’ve made this decision, you can take communion in the back of the room when the song starts. Everyone else can sit quietly and follow along with the motions, or you can pray or read your bible, but remember that you’re completely focusing on God so move away from anyone that may distract you.
10:19:30a	11:49:30a	5:00	Sword Drills Point and prize for winning sword drill Romans 12:2 2 cor 3:18 philp 3:21 2 cor 5:17
10:24:30a	11:54:30a	3:00	Count Marbles
10:27:30a	11:57:30a	1:00	Exit To Small Groups
10:28:30a	11:58:30a	15:00	LG Activity/ Small groups Work on putting motions to memory verse.
Post-Service
10:43:30a	12:13:30p	73:30

5yo and Kindergarten- where do they belong

Age breakdowns can be a headache. At my last church you had to calculate when a child would go to kindergarten to know what class they would be in, which I never quite understood and always had to have help from an Admin. Kindergarten can be one of the most difficult ages in the breakdown of a children’s ministry because they can’t read so they don’t quite fit with elementary, but they are also too old for preschool. So where do you put them?

In my current ministry the 5 year olds and kindergarten are fully apart of the elementary ministry. I’ve had them as part of Preschool, and I’ve also had 5 year olds as part of preschool with kindergarten as a transition year in their own room. But the way we currently have them has been my favorite.

The biggest reason is because you don’t have to transition an entire class at once. Instead of having 10 kids to teach how everything runs in the elementary service (something that can take up to 3 months), you have one student at a time learning what is expected and how to operate in the Elementary service and they learn classroom structure from the kindergarteners that are already in there. It goes much smoother. This also allows you time to talk with Mom and Dad when their birthday comes up as to what will change. Such as our students have a take home sheet that they can get a prize for if they bring it back completed once they get to the elementary service. The other small reason I like it is that no calendar math is required. I never have to figure out when a child enters kindergarten, because they are already in the class.

Age groupings can be tricky, and some of it depends on your school system and your kids. But think outside the box and figure out what is truly the best option for your kids, rather than you’ve always done it this way. You never know if there’s a better way until you try.

Knowing when to give up

If you’re anything like me, I like to plan. I like to know what is going on, and to be prepared, at least with the big picture, a month or more in advance. Right now, I've almost got the scope and sequence for my next year in place (September to August). But one thing I've finally learned over my 4 years of full time ministry is that sometime you have to give up.

For example, I love to write. Most of the curriculum I use is stuff I've written. But two weeks ago we moved our entire children’s ministry into a brand new facility, which required a lot of prep work. So for the past month, if it wasn't already written, we did a video from LiveChurch.tv. Their bottom lines weren't exactly what I wanted to teach with the bible stories we were covering, but the only other option was losing my mind, and most likely developing an ulcer. So I gave up my idea of perfect for what was perfect enough. And no one knew the difference.

Something that is important to realize in any ministry, and maybe more-so in children’s ministry is that sometimes less than perfect, is perfect. My kids never knew the difference that the bottom line wasn't what I had planned a year ago. And actually a couple parents commented on the changed topic in positive light. Not only this, giving up my planned perfect gave me the chance to minister to more people and interact with more of my leaders than I would have had time for if I had still tried to write all of my own lessons.

Sometimes you have to give up. Have you ever given up?

Why Bibles?

I've noticed a trend in Children's ministry that I think is a problem. Providing bibles for you children. Every year I go to visit churches to see how they do ministry and many of them have stacks of bibles in every room for children to use when they come. Some churches never even have their child open a bible during service.

And there's a problem with this.

Yes, if you provide bibles they will use them at church, but how do you know that is going on at home. I don't have bibles laying out anywhere in any of my rooms. All of our students are requried to bring their own bibles, for a couple of large reasons.

1. I want to know they have a bible of their own at home that they can read and underline in. If I am always providing a bible for the students, we never have the opportunity to know if a student needs one at home. We have a large supply of bibles in a drawer that if a student doesn't have one and mom and dad can't afford to get them one, then we will provide one for them.

2. I want them to get used to using their own bible. If the church has NIrV's for them to use at church, but their bible at home is an NIV, there's is enough of a difference to confuse the kids when they sit down to use their bibles at home, possible enough that they give up using it. I want students to have a bible they are comfortable with so they can look up answers on their own.

3. We use our bibles. In our preschool area, Students are given a sticker if they bring whatever they consider their bible to church. And hopefully, by they time they are in elementary, it's a habit and they continue to bring it. All of our lessons for Elementary students are in a Large group format. And during this teach time we always have the students use their bibles to look up a scripture, whether it's the story or the memory verse. We also have sword drills, which are races to see who can look up different scriptures for this.

For all these reasons, I believe it's a detriment to Children's ministry to provide bibles for you children. But what about you, what do you think?

Why We?

Here is one you may never had thought about before. In fact I didn't think about it really until a couple months ago. Do you use I or We when referring to the ministry. I always call it OUR ministry, what WE'RE doing in the ministry. This is because two things start to creep into everyone's mind: 1) Leaders know that their needed 2) I don't do everything my self, and I know it. When you continually use the inclusive language, people know they are included. Even when I talk to people outside the church, I use "us," "we," "our." Letting people know that the success of the ministry depends on others goes further in your endeavors. When the congregation hears what our ministry is doing they here that It is not just you that is working, it's all the other leaders in your ministry as well. Then when you tell people you need more leaders, it doesn't come as a surprise that you don't do everything and need additional workers. The inclusive language also gives credit where credit is due. Every time you say we, you're leaders will hear, "look what we've done."

The other benefit to this is when you need to convey authority, "I" stands out more when used sparingly. When I need to emphasis boundaries, talk to parents, or give praise or thanks, I is the language. No matter how much you lay the ground work for the "we" language, you have the final authority on all things concerning the ministry, and it's your name that first comes up in a crisis mode. Not to mention the sign of a great leader is accept responsibility and sharing the praise.

Although, I might be overlooking a type of language. What Kind of languages do you use in your ministry?

Why Facebook?

Oh pages of people, what shall we do with you. Facebook can be a tool wielded or ignored by a children's minister, but it largely depends on your church dynamics as to whether it is worth your time. My church members stalk Facebook, and therefore make Facebook a wonderful communication tool for me. Here are some ways that I utilize Facebook that seem to work best:

1. Event Advertising- Just put all your information on an event, and invite you people. I have a lot of parents respond to these, which at least gives me an idea how many to expect.

2. Building Community- People comment back and forth on status updates and various other things on the site. I hope people are connecting off-line as well.

3. Picture Sharing- I when children check in for the first time in our area, we have the parents tell us what arena's we can use their child's photo. We have the option of Facebook open (which let's anyone that's our friend view) and Facebook closed (which is only by select people such as parents and volunteers.)

I've thought about using Facebook to send out newsletter or other types of information, but haven't ventured into that so far. And for those of you wondering, we have a site and a page, but use the site mostly. I like the site better because it has more ways to interact with people.

I'm sure there are much more Facebook posts to come, but Why do you use Facebook?

Why children's ministry?

Have you ever really sat down and thought about why children's ministry exists? There is no scripture that talks about children's ministry specifically. And it's only really been a focus in the past 20 years or so, so why is it important? Why are you in? Is it a job that pays the bills, or do you just like hanging around with kids? For me it's because I know that more than any age in the existence, Kids get it. They trust God without a second guess, they understand that God loves them, and they want that most of all. They just get it. That's why Jesus told us to be like a child. Maybe that's enough of a reason to have children's ministry be the flag ship of the church, but is there more to it than that?

If you haven't read "Transforming Children into Spiritual champions" by Barna, stop everything your doing to go read that book. It validates everything we do, both scientifically and biblically. But warning: it might scare you a little. The power that we can wield in the world through a child can be terrifying when you understand the fullness of the impact we have. And part of our job is to help others realize it to. The other part of our job, and I think this is more important than anything else we could ever teach them, is that they are Loved by God, and the church loves them too. If they graduate from the ministry with no other understanding than that I have done my job, because from the Love of God, a lifetime of understanding can follow.

And that's why I do I do Children's Ministry, Why do you?

Why?

I don't know about you, but sometimes God just kicks you in the butt and says do this; that's what this blog is. Right now I feel very much like a Timothy, trying to give advice on something I'm still very green at, but never the less, here I am, letting you know what I think and feel about everything in the world of Children's ministry.

That's what the title is about as well. WhyCM (children's ministry). Preschooler's ask why all the time. They want to get at the root of everything, see how the world works, and that's the same thing here. I want you to question WHY to everything you do. Because when you question it, not only do you have an answer when someone else asks, but you also will always be looking for a better way of doing things.

So Why are you doing children's ministry?