This past weekend, I took some of our Early Childhood staff to visit three churches in the Dallas area. I enjoy going to conferences for ideas and inspiration, but I also get just as much out of visiting churches that are getting the job done and making an impact in their community. We picked up some great ideas from these three great churches. Today's post is about the third church we visited.
Fellowship Church in Dallas has one of the most amazing children's ministries on the planet. They are the creators of Elevate curriculum. My friend Mike Johnson and his team have raised the bar high when it comes to excellence in children's ministry.
We got so many ideas that I won't be able to fit them in one blog post. So, for the next week or so I'm going to post one or two, maybe three ideas a day until I get them all covered.
I'll start with one today. They had several of these in their early childhood area. When the babies or preschoolers get upset (sound decibels increasing quickly), they bring them to one of these and let the child watch. It has a calming effect on the child. If you're like me, you're always looking for ways to bring the crying decibels down.
Now if you can't afford, don't have room, or just don't want to maintain a fish tank, here is another great option. Digital aquariums on DVD.
When I got home and shared the idea, someone told me about a man in our church who produces these. Since we live right by the beach, he dives and shoots the footage himself.
So starting this weekend, when the decibels start going up...we're going to pop one of these in the DVD player and see what happens. I'm pretty sure it's going to work wonderfully and have a very calming effect. You can purchase these DVD's at www.oceanrelaxation.com.
