RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

How would you like to be a Bible teacher that captures kids' attention?   A teacher that kids look forward to hearing?  A teacher that kids can't wait to learn from?

You can be.  Here are 10 tips that can help you be a great kids' Bible teacher.

Don't monologue for more than 5 minutes at a time.
It is vital that you honor kids' attention spans.  The rule of thumb is you have 1 minute per the child's age....maxing out at 5 minutes.

If you will stay inside this guideline, kids will love coming to your class.  Here's an example of a 20 minute lesson that will grab kids' attention and hold it.

• 4 minutes - monologue teaching
• 4 minutes - activity about lesson and dialogue discussion
• 4 minutes - monologue teaching
• 4 minutes - game about lesson
• 4 minutes - monologue teaching 

Your goal should be to have just as much dialogue as monologue in your lesson.

Vary your voice decibel.  Don't stay on the same level or you will sound like a robot droning on and on.  Use whisper level, regular talking level and exciting level.

Here's an example.  David heard the Philistine come out and challenge someone to come fight him (regular voice).  His heart began to pound as he felt God telling him to go and fight Goliath (whisper voice).  David began to swing his sling around and around and around.  And then at just the right time, he let the rock fly and God guided it right into the head of Goliath.  Boom.  Down Goliath went (excited, loud voice). 

Use object lessons.  Kids are visual.  Don't just tell them about an item.  Show them the item while you are talking about it.  And if you can't locate a physical item, then at least put a picture of it on the screen.

Here's an example.  You are telling the story about Moses' rod becoming a snake.  Have a wooden walking stick and a fake rubber snake to show the kids while you are talking.

Tell stories.  This tip comes straight from the greatest teacher of all time - Jesus.  Jesus used parables (stories) when He taught.  There is something about a story that grabs kids' attention.  Become a good storyteller and you will become someone kids love to listen to.

Involve the kids in the lesson.  Kids love to get up and move.  Bring them into your story.

Here's an example.  You are telling the story of Peter sinking when he tried to walk on the water to Jesus.  Make a boat by grabbing a table and turning it over.  Have some kids sit on it and pretend they are riding in the boat.  Have other kids make sound effects of the wind blowing, water splashing, etc.  Have someone play the part of Jesus.  Have someone play the part of Peter.  You get the gist.

Use video clips as illustrations.

Here's an example.  You are teaching the kids about faith.  Show the clip from Indiana Jones' Last Crusade where Harrison Ford has to step out in faith onto the invisible bridge.  Follow up with some questions and discussion about how that is like trusting Jesus.

Hit as many learning styles as possible.  Kids learn in different ways.  Try to use as many of these learning styles as possible when you are creating your lesson.

• Visual (Spatial) 
• Aural (Auditory-Musical) 
• Verbal (Linguistic) 
• Physical (Kinesthetic) 
• Logical (Mathematical) 
• Social (Interpersonal) 
• Solitary (Intrapersonal)

Use current kid culture.  Tie in some of the popular toys, video games, movies, sports teams, music, etc.  Connect it to a Biblical truth you want the kids to remember.

Here's an example.  Talk about how you strive to get to the next level when you are playing a video game.  As Christians, we should also be striving to grow and get to the next level in our spiritual walk.  Then share some of the ways you can grow and thrive as a Christ-follower.

Use as many senses as possible.  Tap into their senses and kids will remember what you taught.

Here's an example: You are teaching about John the Baptist.  Give the kids a small taste of honey so they can taste what He ate.  The locust?  Probably not. But you can have one to show the kids.  On a side note, I have had a volunteer who agreed to eat a locust for the kids and did so.

Here is a list of the senses.

• seeing
• hearing
• smelling 
• tasting
• touching

Teach one truth per lesson.  Have one key truth you want the kids to remember.  Repeat it throughout the lesson. When you hear something 6 times, your retention rate goes up to 90%.  Make sure kids hear the key truth at least 6 times per lesson.

Our curriculum (Connect 12) hits on all of these tips.  Using all of these elements, we created a grid and ran all the lessons through the grid so it includes all of the elements. You can see sample lessons, games, videos etc. at this link.

So, there you have it.  Use these 10 things in your lessons and I guarantee your lesson will be a home run.

Your turn.  What are some other teaching tips you use?  Share with everyone in the comment section below.

This past weekend, I was speaking at a church and one of the staff members was talking about small groups.  He made a great point that I want to pass along to you.  And that's this.

Dialogue is more effective than monologue when it comes to learning, understanding and communicating.

From children to adults, people are more engaged when you use dialogue to help them discover the truth you are trying to communicate with them.  

Many of us grew up in a monologue format.  We sat quietly (some of the time) while a teacher verbally taught the lesson.  The problem with using a monologue format is this - it's not the way kids (and adults) learn best.  In fact, studies show that it is the least effective way to learn. 

So why do we keep using a subpar learning method?

I think one reason is because it takes more work to create a good dialogue experience.  You have to get kids to open up and talk about the subject.  This means knowing how to ask the right questions and facilitating a good flow of discussion.  It's much easier to just plan for something you do by yourself while the kids watch and listen to it. But we should be more concerned with being effective than we are with things being easy.

Another reason is teachers are afraid they will "lose control" of the class if they let kids talk.  You have to get comfortable with a noisy classroom.   But done correctly, a noisy classroom is what you want.  When kids are engaged and learning, it is going to be noisy.  

We see ourselves as a teacher rather than a facilitator.  There's a big difference between the two.  A teacher gives out information.  A facilitator guides kids to discover the truth in ways they learn best. 

We miss opportunities to get kids talking.  Every activity should have discussion questions tied to it.  Every game should be used to jump start conversation.  Every lesson should have as much, if not more, questions to prompt discussion. 

Take a look at these stats.  It measures the effectiveness of teaching methods. 

Average Learning Retention Rates:

• Monologue (5%) - worst method
• Reading (10%) 
• Audio visual (20%)
• Demonstration (30%)
• Dialogue (50%) - 10 times more effective than monologue
• Practice doing (75%)
• Teaching others (90%) 

 Here are some steps you can take to move to more dialogue...

• Measure the time you spend in class using monologue versus the time you spend using dialogue.

• Include open-ended questions throughout your lesson.  Effective dialogue moves beyond yes and no answers. 

• Tell the kids you want to them to talk during designated times.  This shifts away from saying "ssshhhh" and "quiet please" to "let's talk more about what we read in that verse."   

•  Measure your success based on how much the kids talked versus how much you talked. 

Remember the voice of Charlie Brown's teacher and parents?  It was like "wonk bwonk, codlue, bdgamaiclic, ygamatick, etc.  (that was my attempt at writing confusing garble). When we sit kids down and become a talking head for the next 45 minutes, kids zone out and what they are hearing is something like Charlie Brown's teacher.  

One last thought.  Want to increase the effectiveness of your lessons?  Increase the amount of time you dedicate to dialogue and you'll see the results you're looking for.  

If you're looking for curriculum that gets kids talking throughout the lesson, then check out these series that we created.  One year's worth of curriculum.  Curriculum that is grounded in teaching kids 12 Biblical truths in 12 months.  You'll see a big element we've included in the curriculum, is lots and lots of time for dialogue.  You can get more information at this link and see lesson samples, videos, etc.

Do you have kids in your ministry that are easily distracted?  Welcome to the distracted generation.

From the time they are toddling around, today's kids are immersed in a digital world.  From being entertained by mom's iPad to watching countless TV shows on networks designed just for them, they are constantly distracted.

And they bring those very short, easily distracted attention spans to your ministry.

So...how can you engage the distracted generation and effectively communicate God's Word to them?  Here's 7 ways...

1. Encourage dialogue.

• ask open-ended questions and follow-up questions
• listen to their responses

2.  Build relationships.  The way to capture a child's attention is through their heart.

• show them you care
• invest in them

3. Give them clear expectations. 

• tell them up front when you want them to talk and when you want them to listen

4. Use hands-on, real life examples.

• teaching about faith being like a mustard seed?  let them touch and feel a real mustard seed

5.  Use cooperative learning.

• give them projects and activities that require them to work together

6. Use peer-to-peer learning.

• allow them to teach each other what you taught them
• retention rate goes up to 90% when kids teach each other

7. Use different learning styles.  This allows all the kids to learn in a way that is comfortable to them.