RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY: advent calendar

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Advent Calendar for Families

7:44 AM Unknown

Christmas is such a great time to place spiritual growth tools in the hands of parents. One tool you can provide is an advent calendar. With the calendar, you can give families a simple, easy activity they can do together each day.

When parents begin talking with their child about faith during the week, the impact is exponential.

Below is the calendar we created for families at our church. If you'd like the ESP design file which will allow you to tweak it for your church, email me and I'll be glad to send it to you. Creating a calendar can also be as simple as using MS Publisher or Word. The main thing is getting something into parent's hands.

Advent Calendar_2012 HR

Death by Program

7:19 AM Unknown

When I started in ministry over 22 years ago, I was taught to begin as many programs as possible. The thought process was "the more programs you have, the more people you will reach and disciple." But over the years, I have found the opposite to be true. It is more effective to do a few programs with excellence than to do a lot of programs with mediocrity.

Do you feel like you are drowning in programs? Are you doing so many programs that your volunteers, time, resources, budget, and focus are spread too thin? Here's some things to consider when it comes to programming.

Just because you can doesn't mean you should.
Steve Jobs said, "Sometimes you have to say no to a 1000 good things so something great can live."

Just because someone wants you to doesn't mean you should.
There will always be people asking you to start a program or host an event. Don't let programs be attached to a personality. Let programs be attached to a process. Which leads to the next thought.

Think processes instead of programs.
Establish processes that help people grow in their faith. The processes should drive your programming instead of your programming driving your processes. Every program should be a strategic step in the process.

Busy doesn't equal effective. A full calendar should not be your goal. An effective calendar should be your goal. This means being very strategic with your calendar planning.

Be willing to change or stop programs that are not effective.
Every year take a hard look at your programs. Are people being reached? Are people growing in their faith? Are families' lives being changed? It may be time to let some of the ministry plates you are spinning fall to the ground. Even if it's a ministry plate that has been spinning for 20 years that was started by the organ player's grandmother.

Is it time to let some mediocre programs die so some good programs can become great programs?

Posted by Dale Hudson

Why Children Will Bring God's Blessings To Your Church

7:15 AM Unknown

Last week I was reading the story of Jesus and the children in Luke 18. I was reminded that one of the keys to Jesus' blessings is making Children's Ministry a priority.

One day some parents brought their little children to Jesus so He could touch and bless them. But when the disciples saw this, they scolded the parents for bothering Him. Then Jesus called for the children and said to the disciples, “Let the children come to Me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” Luke 18:15-17

I believe when you make Children's Ministry a priority at your church, you get Jesus' attention in a unique way and usher in His blessings. Do you want Jesus' blessings on your church? Then...

Make Children's Ministry a high profile ministry in your church. Children's Ministry should be a cornerstone ministry of your church. Does your outside advertising reflect this? Does your weekend bulletin reflect this? Do your announcements reflect this? When people think of your church, one of the first things that should come to their mind is "they love children."

Make Children's Ministry physical space a top priority. The Children's Ministry building, classrooms, decor, and location should be the best area on your church campus. Instead of it being an afterthought, it should be one of most thought through areas. Does your physical space reflect Jesus' heart for children?

Make Children's Ministry personnel a top priority. Children's Ministry should be the best staffed ministry in your church. Is it time to bring more people on board who have the same heart for children as Jesus does?

Make Children's Ministry programming a top priority on your church calendar. Notice how Jesus moved Children's Ministry up to the front of His schedule. Does your church schedule line up with Jesus' schedule?

Make Children's Ministry program funding a top priority. Put your faith in Jesus' heart for children. I believe He will pour out His financial favor on a church that pours it's resources into Children's Ministry. The Children's Ministry budget should be one of the largest in the church.

The bottom line is this. The disciples saw children as a bother. Jesus saw them as a blessing. Line up your ministry with Jesus' heart for children and He will smile upon you.

Posted by Dale Hudson

Christmas Idea #2 for Children's Ministry

7:13 AM Unknown

This week I am sharing Christmas ideas for Children's Ministry. Idea #2 is a Jesus' birthday offering.

It's normal for a child to be focused on what he or she is "getting" for Christmas. As a child, I remember my "wish list" consumed many of my thoughts about Christmas.

But what if we turned children's primary focus from what they are "getting" for Christmas to what they are "giving" for Christmas? What a great opportunity to instill in children a heart of giving and living for others.

One way to do this is to have a "Jesus' birthday offering."

Teach children and families that Christmas is about Jesus coming to the earth for us. He should receive our best gifts at Christmas. It is very important to teach the children the "why" behind the offering. This moves it from something to "do" to something to "live."

Pick a weekend to receive the "Jesus' birthday offering." We receive the offering on our "Happy Birthday Jesus" weekend. I'll share more about this in Wednesday's post.

Give children a container to collect their offering in (below is the one we use). Another option is to print labels that kids can tape around a can or jar.

Choose a need or project for the offering. Children respond well when they have something specific to give toward. Show them pictures of what they will be giving toward (clean water for needy country, homeless shelter, funding a church building for a missionary, etc.).

Align with the entire church if a church-wide offering is being taken.

Communicate about the offering to parents and partner with them. The goal is to get the entire family involved. Here is a short video Pastor Maxwell made to explain the offering to families in our church.

Give children ideas on how to collect money for the offering (ask for one of their presents to be money toward the offering, do chores, have a yard sale, etc.)

Have a special offering time during the service on the designated weekend.

Report back to the children and families about the results of the offering. Take time to celebrate what God did and the impact the offering is going to have.

Posted by Dale Hudson

Christmas Idea #1 for Children's Ministry

6:41 AM Unknown

Each day this week I'll be posting a Christmas Idea for Children's Ministry. Here is Idea #1.

Help families discover a more meaningful, Christ-centered Christmas season by providing them with an Advent Calendar. An Advent Calendar can be a great discipleship tool to place in parent's hands. Below is the calendar we created this year for our families. We included activities for families to experience together such as prayer, Bible reading, baking, singing, watching a video, and more. We are also placing each calendar activity on our parent Facebook page. (day #18 is a video to watch - text is not seen in this version)

You can create your own Advent calendar using a simple computer program such as Microsoft Publisher or there are lots of free online Advent calendars available for download.
Family Advent Calendar
Posted by Dale Hudson