You'll discover how to...
- Equip volunteers to love serving and stay for the long haul
- Develop a dynamic ministry area that kids love and bring their friends to
- Rev up your vision and get your team excited
- And much, much more!
100 Best Ideas for Children's Ministry
You'll discover how to...
10 Things Kids Are Asking From You at Church
It shows me you're glad I came and you're happy to see me.
"Notice me."
It helps me know you care about me.
"Love me."
It shows I'm important to you and not just a number.
"Believe in me."
Tell me God has a plan for me and wants to use my life for His glory. Help me discover my talents and gifts.
"Trust me."
Give me room to make mistakes so I can learn from them.
"Hear me."
Listen to me. Encourage me to share my feelings. Let me know my opinion matters.
"Inspire me."
Tell me that I can make a difference. Use your words to light a fire inside me.
"Help me."
Give me guidance and support. Instead of telling me how, show me how.
"Empower me."
Give me a chance to make a difference. Give me opportunities to shine.
"Honor me."
Treat me with dignity and respect. Show me that even though I'm little...I matter.
The Real Reason Kid's Lunchables Are So Popular
After sifting through a host of failures, the model they fell back
on was the American TV dinner — and after some brainstorming about names
(Lunch Kits? Go-Packs? Fun Mealz?), Lunchables were born.
The trays flew off the grocery-store shelves. Sales hit a phenomenal
$218 million in the first 12 months. Annual sales kept climbing, past $500 million, past $800 million; at
last count, including sales in Britain, they were approaching the $1
billion mark.
The early Lunchables campaign targeted mothers. They might be too
distracted by work to make a lunch, but they loved their kids enough to
offer them this prepackaged gift.
But soon the focus swung toward the kids. Saturday-morning cartoons started carrying an ad that offered a
different message: “All day, you gotta do what they say,” the ads said.
“But lunchtime is all yours.”
This idea — that kids are in control — would become a key concept in the
evolving marketing campaigns for the trays. In what would prove to be
their greatest achievement of all, the Lunchables team would delve into
adolescent psychology to discover that it wasn’t the food in the trays
that excited the kids; it was the feeling of power it brought to their
lives.
As C.E.O. Bob Eckert put it,
“Lunchables aren’t about lunch. It’s about kids being able to put
together what they want to eat, anytime, anywhere.”
Kids love to be able to make choices. Instead of a one-size-fits-all approach to learning, give them options. When you place the power of choice in their hands, you will see significant engagement.
What other lessons do you think we can learn from the success of Lunchables with kids? Share your thoughts with us in the comment section below.
10 Leadership Lessons That Will Make You Invaluable to Your Church
Winner of Inside Out Curriculum Announced
Congratulations to Suzanna Greenfield. She is the winner of the Inside Out curriculum. Suzanna is the Children's Ministry Director at Brookside Christian Reformed Church.
Stay tuned for more giveaways coming soon.
Stay tuned for more giveaways coming soon.
Lower Birth Rates in America
Baby Boomers are reaching retirement age, increasing the ranks of the elderly. At the same time, women living without a spouse outnumber those who are married. The result is a birth rate in decline.
Other countries have gone even further down that road. The Russian government is offering incentives now for women who have babies. Japan's birth rate has fallen so dramatically that the Japanese population has the oldest average age on earth. Last year, more diapers were bought and used by aging Japanese than were purchased for babies.
Children are our future. They are our springtime. Their laughter and exuberance is a treasure. Without them we become a culture of self-absorbed adults.
We must cherish and nourish families. We must honor those who are investing themselves in children. Children are a precious gift from God and our link to future generations.
