Children’s Camp for Atheists?
Just when I thought I had seen it all, I stumble upon this atheist camp for children. With about ten locations in America, and a few abroad, Camp Quest is designed to promote skepticism, free-thinking and atheism to kids 8-17. To be fair, it not only seeks to dismantle belief in God, but also anything [...]
What’s so Hot About Abraham?
Why did God choose Abraham to launch the nation that would give birth to Jesus? Why Abraham (originally called “Abram”)? Why not his next door neighbor? Or the town mayor? Why him? Abraham was known for his faith but that came later. No place does it say God choose Abraham because he was a great [...]
Suddenly
There are a lot of “suddenly”s in the Bible. God touched someone’s life, spoke to someone or reveled Himself and everything changed…instantly. It doesn’t take 3000 hours to impact a life. It doesn’t even take 40 hours. It takes God an instant. God’s love and grace can penetrate someone’s life/heart in lightning speed when the [...]
What’s a Crowd Show?
A “Crowd Show” is a show that involves the crowd in ways they don’t normally get involved. It is a show in the sense that you do watch something happen on the stage, but it is more. Crowd Shows turn spectators into participants.
How Take Home Papers Comprise Saturn’s Rings
I have often stated that Saturn’s Rings are comprised mainly of discarded take home papers from children’s ministry. This little known fact is increasingly capturing the imagination of kidmin people. Many have asked me how kidmin papers make their way to Saturn. So I thought it might be good to offer an explanation of this [...]
Top 5 Things I Like About CMX
Children’s Ministry Expo OK, I know I’m not an impartial bystander for CMX. Kidz Blitz sponsors this event. So I am biased. But I do love it. Here are some reasons why. I like… 1. Seeing a lot of new resources I didn’t know much about. Some of them I didn’t even know existed until [...]
7 Things That Will Conspire to Crush Your Heart
Do you know the 7 things that will conspire to crush your heart for Children’s Ministry? Here they are in no particular order. Unsupportive Pastor Disinterested Congregation Low/No Budget Lame Facility Unpaid Position Rowdy Kids Undependable Workers So what? Most of us have experienced at least half of these heart crushers. Laugh at their feeble [...]
Involving Teenagers
Big City Studio Bible Curriculum is designed to foster participation from kids and workers. Many churches have used it successfully to involve teenagers. Here are some ideas to help your teenagers serve in children’s ministry during weekend services. 1. Use teenagers to play the characters in the skits. Joe Nitro, the Christian stuntman, is well [...]
Black Hole
KidMin: Black Hole of the Church Some people in your church view children’s ministry as a black hole. They don’t know exactly what it is, but they fear if they get too close it will suck them in never to be seen again. Make sure people know that your children’s ministry has a back door. [...]
New Smoke Ring Cannon
Take a look at the new Smoke Ring Cannon from Kidz Blitz. We use this in the pre-service show before Kidz Blitz Live and FX Live. It’s great for warming up the crowd before the event. Thanks to the boys in KB Lab B for this new innovation! For more info about Kidz Blitz Live [...]
8 Reasons Why KidMin is Superior to Other Ministries
This is part fun and part serious. See what you think… 1. Jesus had a KidMin. Jesus didn’t seem to target specific groups like seniors, teens, singles (except maybe the Woman at the Well). He did specifically target kids. Numerous times Jesus called kids to Himself (Mt. 18:2, Mk. 10:14, Lk. 18:16) 2. Only ministry [...]
Hot KidMin Wednesdays
Let’s start a nationwide movement of KidMin people eating together every Wednesday at a local Mexican restaurant. All it takes is one person per city/town to get the word out. Copy this pic on your Facebook status page and tag the local kidmin people you know. RULES: Pick one Mexican restaurant and stick with it [...]
Uprising
Join me at Uprising! The Uprising Conference is a super-cool event put on by my home church, Quest Community Church. Pete Hise and Erwin McManus are both amazing leaders who will enlarge your vision for what the church can be. It is a one-day conference with some pre-conference stuff the day before. Kidz Blitz will [...]
Meet Edwin Schlossberg
Leonard Sweet called Edwin Schlossberg’s book Interactive Excellence a game-changer. Why? First, who is Edwin Schlossberg. Most know him as husband to Caroline Kennedy, John F. Kennedy’s daughter. With a Ph.D. from Columbia University Edwin Schlossberg changed museum design forever (as in never-to-be-the-same-again-forever). If there is any job more boring than church design it might [...]
Team Players Need Not Apply
I look for renegades, not team players. I don’t need a bunch of people who think like me. I already think like me. Why do I need more people like me? I want people who think differently from me. Give me people off the beaten path. You can keep your bland/typical churchgoer types who have [...]
Why I am Not a Fan of Multi-Media
I love techy stuff: Twitter, Macs, Facebook, WordPress, etc. but I am not a fan of depending on multi-media—videos, Power Point, etc.–for children’s church. Multi-media is cool for praise/worship, but not my preferred teaching style. Being MMD (Multi-Media Dependent) is not…well…healthy. Here is why. 1. I like stuff that works ALL the time. When I [...]
KidMin Unafraid
Timidity is the cancer of modern ministry. Ministers are allowing fear to guide their dialog and actions. Understandably, churches/ministries are hesitant to do, or say, anything outside of what has become culturally acceptable. The climate that is becoming increasingly hostile toward Christianity and we all feel that. We can talk about love, acceptance, diversity, social [...]
Top 10 KidMin Secrets
1. The way you carry yourself makes a difference. Remember you are a minister, not a big kid. If you conduct yourself like a big kid don’t be surprised when no one respects your ministry. Act like you believe in what you are doing. 2. Team building happens best by direct recruiting. General announcements in [...]
The Behavior Modification Myth
The greatest myth in Christianity: changing your behavior means you are in right relationship with God. You used to be a drug addict, now you are clean. You must be saved. You used to be promiscuous, now you are faithful. You must know God. You used to be mean, now you are tolerable. You must [...]
How to Peel a Bible Story
Way-Back Wednesday Pulled an old article of the shelves today. Dusted it off and here it is. Wrote it back in 2003-ish. It’s been on my mind lately. What do you think? Your Bible story is like an orange. You can hand it off to a kid and expect him to tear into it and [...]
The Calling
We just produced a new printable version of “The Calling” you can download for free. Just click the link at the bottom of the page and look for the link. I am a minister. I minister to the largest mission field in the world. I minister to children. My calling is sure. My challenge is [...]
That was Then. This is Now.
Most things just aren’t the same anymore. The message is the same but that’s about all. I thought this little comparison might help stir some thoughts. What do ya think? What are some other comparisons?
Little Bland Tips or Big Cool Truths
Little tips on upright living do little to inspire and nothing to empower. Kids need more. The world is brutal. Life’s challenges are overwhelming. People can be ruthless. Tinkering on the fringes of life are not enough. Kids need a deep-rooted conviction that God is wildly committed to their future. They need a longing to [...]
