RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY: giving

Showing posts with label giving. Show all posts

Giving > Craving

11:17 AM Dale Hudson

What do you crave? Power? Success? Money? Glamour? Recognition? Promotion? A larger home? A new car? Designer clothes? Delicious food?

We all have things we crave. I was reminded of this a few days ago, when I read this verse. Look what it says.

All day long he craves and craves, but the righteous gives and does not hold back. -Proverbs 21:26

When you crave material things, you will never be satisfied.

Notice the block of time it says you will crave. All day long. Why is that? It's because earthly, material things cannot provide long-term fulfillment. The temporary will never fulfill the eternal.

We see this in our children, don't we? We buy them the latest, greatest toy. They are so excited. It moves to the top of their "toys I play with list." But over time, you know what happens. They end up discarding the toy for something newer and better.

Even we, as "big kids" crave things. We crave the latest, greatest television. We buy the biggest, smartest, 4kish television. But soon a bigger, smarter, cooler television hits the market. And we gotta' have it. We crave it. So we go and buy it.

Another example is our cell phones. We buy the newest, coolest phone. But 6 months later a newer version is introduced. It is faster, has more apps, takes better pictures and has features your phone doesn't have. You crave it and so you purchase it.

We buy into the mindset that the way to happiness and fulfillment is satisfying our cravings. But it doesn't work.

Craving can't bring long-term peace and fulfillment. Notice that the verse says people crave and crave...all day long.

All day long they crave temporal things. Their mind is constantly focused on what they can get for themselves. And it simply doesn't work.

But what does bring fulfillment is giving. The verse reminds us of this. Giving is the way to true happiness and peace.

It says, "but the righteous GIVES and does not hold back."

Here's the deal. Giving > Craving. Giving is greater than craving because God wires us, as believers, to live for others instead of ourselves.

The happiest people are givers. The most unsatisfied people are cravers.

Jesus set the example for us. He left us the ultimate example of living a life of giving. You can pretty much sum up His life with this verse.

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to SERVE OTHERS and to GIVE His life as a ransom for many." Matthew 20:28

This is not to say that we can't have any nice things. But what it does say is we should first and foremost be about giving to others. This is the key to true happiness and fulfillment.

Have you heard the story of William Borden? He was born into an extremely wealthy family. His father had made the fortune through mining silver and founding the Borden milk company.

Growing up, William had access to anything money could buy. If he craved it, he could buy it. But something happened that changed that. His mother began attending Moody Church in Chicago and because a Christ follower. William started going with her and soon became a Christ follower as well.

He heard the call of God to be a giver. He stepped away from being the heir of the family fortune and followed God's call to give himself as a missionary to China. On his trip to China, he fell sick and passed away. When they gathered his personal items to send back to his family, they found his Bible.

In the front of his Bible, this was written.

No Reserve

No Retreat

No Regrets

Let's commit ourselves to being a giver and ask God to help us live for what really matters instead of craving the temporary treasures of the world.

10 Leadership Lessons from 10 Children's Ministry Leaders

8:27 AM Dale Hudson

Last week, I shared about our annual children's ministry staff retreat. On the second day of the retreat, I asked our children's ministry directors to share a leadership lesson that they've recently grasped as they are doing ministry. They shared some great insight and I wanted to make it available to you.

Josh Danielson

Josh oversees the children's ministry at our Boynton Beach campus. This is one of our fastest growing campuses and it meets in an active mall. You can read more about Josh's campus at this link. He is a team builder, creative thinker, puppeteer extraordinaire and dynamic children's speaker.

Jesus laid down His life for His friends.
It's not about being a hero...it's about laying down your life for others...it's about serving others and making a difference in people's lives.

Hannah French

Hannah oversees the children's ministry at our Royal Palm Campus. This is our second largest campus and Hannah and her team minister to thousands of kids and parents each month. She is a brilliant thinker, strategic leader and excellent creator/writer of children's lessons.

We must lead with compassion.
Jesus was the best example of this. He showed compassion for everyone He led.
People must know that you care about them and want to understand them.

Rebecca Vardian

Rebecca leads the children's ministry at our Stuart Campus. This is another fast growing campus and Rebecca and her team minister to hundreds of kids each week. They recently moved into a brand new facility. You can read more about it here. She is one of the best team builders I know. She knows how to enlist volunteers, equip them and empower them to do ministry. She is also a strong prayer warrior and leads with a servant's heart.

Psalm 92:13-14.
We need to have a large amount of love, wisdom and God's Spirit.
When you do this, you will flourish and continue to bear fruit.

Charlotte Allison

Charlotte is our Associate Core Director of children's ministry which means she helps look after the children's ministry at all of our campuses. She is a organizational genius and helps set up all of our new campuses. She loves investing in people and has an incredible heart for equipping and empowering leaders.

Feeling like a failure can be worse than failing.
Failure is an opportunity to have fear or faith.
Hard endings can be new beginnings.
If you give up, you can't get up.
Proverbs 29:25, Isaiah 41:10, Psalm 27:1, Romans 8:20, Ephesians 2:10, Psalm 34:4, 2 Timothy 1

Shelby Colman

Shelby oversees the children's ministry at our Okeechobee Campus. She is amazing at caring for volunteers and is a true servant leader. Her entire family serves each week and they make a huge impact. She is a difference-maker.

Focus on one child at a time. Jesus went after the one.
Don't despise the small things.
The little thing you do for someone may be huge for them.

Tracy Robinson

Tracy leads the children's ministry at our newest campus in Port St. Lucie. Her campus is our fastest growing and she is already ministering to hundreds of kids and volunteers each week. She is a stellar, dynamic leader.

We must spend time alone with Jesus...listening to Him. There is no podcast that can replace this. The best podcast is being in the Word with Jesus.
Focus on the great commandment, the great commission and great prayer.
Let prayer do the hard work.

Noemy Munoz

Noemy oversees the children's ministry at our CFE Campus. She is an amazing team builder. Her campus is always full of happy, committed leaders and it comes from her care for them.

Leading is about serving and giving. Leaders are servants.
Matthew 28:20.
Jesus gathered regular people around Him and developed them.
Are you looking for people to serve you or are you looking to serve people?
Servant leaders maintain a low profile and give the glory to God.
Treat your volunteers like family.

Arturo Parham

Arturo leads our City Place campus. He is a proven, strong leader and has a genuine love for kids and families. He recently got married and he and his wife enjoy serving in children's ministry together.

Control your attitude.
When you look up it makes looking ahead easier.
Seek God first (Matthew 6:33)
Don't worry. Relax...God's got it.

Seth Ray

Seth oversees our Gardens campus, which is our largest campus. He and his team minister to thousands of kids and families. He is a visionary leader, strategic thinker and is passionate about developing people and empowering them to do ministry.

A clear vision is a necessity.
Vision leaks. It must be reinforced.
People must see and know that what they do matters.
Tap someone on the shoulder and have them run with you.
Remind people what they are running toward.
When people get the vision they will help other people get it as well.

Dale

I shared about being an idea gatherer vs. an idea generator.
Good leaders generate ideas. Great leaders go around and gather the best ideas from others.

It's such a joy to do life and ministry with these leaders. I learn from them each week and I'm a better leader because of them. I pray God will surround you with people who can help you grow as a Christ-follower and leader as well.

Your turn. The floor is yours. Share with everyone in the comment section below about a leadership or ministry thought you've been meditating on lately.

How Believers and Unbelievers Differ - The Latest Findings

7:23 AM Dale Hudson

A recent study from Pew research says believers are different than unbelievers in three key areas.

Overall happiness. 40% of believers say they are very happy compared to only 29% of unbelievers.

Family connections. 47% of believers say they see their extended families at least once or twice a month vs. only 30% of unbelievers.

Volunteering and giving. 45% of believers volunteer on a regular basis with 23% volunteering at church. Only 28% of unbelievers say they volunteer. The gap is even larger when it comes to helping the poor. 65% of believers donate their money, time or goods to help the poor compared to 41% of unbelievers.

There is also three areas where believers and unbelievers do not differ.

Dealing with stress. The percentage of believers and unbelievers who lose their temper in stressful situations is almost identical at 42% (believers) and 43% (unbelievers).

Health, exercising and overeating. 44% of believers say they exercise regularly compared to 43% of unbelievers. 58% of both groups say they overeat at times.

Care for the environment. 50% of both groups say they recycle when possible. 25% of both groups say they consider a company's record of environmental responsibility when making purchases.

Are Unchurched Kids More Generous Than Churched Kids?

8:18 AM Dale Hudson

A new study by Current Biology says kids from religious households are less generous than kids from non-religious households.

The study involved 1,170 kids ages 5 to 12 from 6 different countries and explored the degree to which religion is linked to children's generosity to strangers.

The research included kids playing a game that involved giving out stickers to anonymous participants in their peer group. Kids raised in religious households were less generous in terms of giving to others.

This study can be countered by previous studies which indicate that people with a religious affiliation are more likely to give to charity than those who don't identify with any religion. These studies include charitable giving to churches and other faith-based charities - which is where the biggest share of charitable giving goes.

The conclusion: churched kids are more generous when you include giving to churches and faith-based organizations. Perhaps the churched kids would have given away more stickers in the game mentioned above if they had been told the donation was going to a church.

Here are some takeaways from this for us as children's ministry leaders...

We need to do a better job at teaching kids the importance of being generous with individual people. It's important to teach kids about the "big picture" they are giving to, but we must balance this with helping them seeing people's individual needs as well. Looks like we need to spend more time emphasizing Matthew 25.

Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink?Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing?When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters,you were doing it to me!’

We must help kids extend their generosity outside of Sunday morning. Generosity is not just something we do on Sunday morning when the offering plate passes by...it's a way of life. We must teach kids that random acts of generosity are great opportunities to show Jesus' love. Generosity opens people's hearts to listen to what you have to say. If you want someone who is hungry to listen to the Gospel...feed them first.

The fact that churched kids give primarily to churches shows that we are helping them see the value of giving to the local church. As Christians, we not only give a cup of cold water...we give a cup of cold water in Jesus' name. There is a difference and it's great we're helping kids understand this.

Here's more help to teach kids about generosity...
Christmas Offering Strategy
Teaching Kids It's Better to Give Than Receive
Teaching Kids to Be Generous

Your turn. The floor is yours. What can we do to help kids be more generous?

Teaching Kids About Giving

7:13 AM Unknown

Here is a short video we created to help parents teach their children about giving. We also created full color giving labels with instructions for kids and parents. If you'd like a copy of the labels, feel free to contact me and I'll email it to you.

12 Ways to Help Kids Become Generous Givers

7:36 AM Unknown

Here are 12 ways to help children develop a generous heart for giving their time, treasure, and talent back to God.

Make it one of your core values as a ministry. Show kids that giving is something you live, not just something you do. Show them by example that generosity is a lifestyle.

Teach lessons about giving. Teach kids the "why" of generous giving. Teach kids that we are stewards of all God has entrusted us with. Teach kids that God loves a cheerful giver. Teach kids that it is better to give than to receive. Teach kids that giving is an act of worship. Teach kids that giving is an investment in eternity.

Make giving a weekly part of your Children's Ministry. Set aside a time in the service or class to take an offering. Make it a key component instead of an afterthought.

Take time to share a short thought about giving before the offering each week. Read and explain a verse about giving or share an example of someone in the Bible who had a generous heart.

Give kids opportunities to give toward outreach projects. Some examples would be participating in a special Christmas offering, supporting missions, sponsoring a child in a needy country, etc.

Let kids earn prizes at church...for other people. There has been a running debate about rewarding kids for spiritual disciplines. Have you considered rewarding them...but the prize is something they earn to give to someone else? You can see how we do this through our Five Loaves and Two Fish Gift shop each week.

Provide concrete, hands-on opportunities for kids to give. Kids love to give tangible things like canned goods, toys, clothes, etc. I will never forget last year when we were encouraging the kids to bring shoes for kids in Haiti. One girl came in, saw the sign, immediately took her "Sunday dress shoes" off, put them in the shoe bin, and walked out barefooted. Wow...we were blown away!

Get kids involved in giving toward building campaigns. Building campaigns are great opportunities to teach children to be generous givers. Many times God can use kids to lead the way. At one church I served at, we were raising money to build a new children's building. We challenged the entire church to give generously...including the children. One of the 3rd graders went to his parents and asked if he could forgo vacation that summer to Sea World and instead give the money toward the new building. God used his generous heart to inspire the entire church.

Teach kids to give of their time. Teach kids that financial giving is just one aspect of generosity. It is also about giving of your time to serve others.

Give kids opportunities to give of their time. If we are going to teach kids to be generous givers of their time, then we must provide them with opportunities to serve. Too many kids were told to "sit still and be quiet" at church and that's what they are still doing now as adults...sitting still and being quiet! And we wonder why we can't get them to volunteer! Get kids involved in serving and they will grow up to be adults who serve.

Teach kids to be generous with their talents. Teach kids that their abilities are on loan from God and were given to be used for His glory.

Give kids opportunities to be generous with their talents. Can they sing? Have a kid's praise team. Are they a people person? Have them greet at the doors and welcome new kids. Are they good at sports? Teach them to be a great example for Christ on their team. Can they play an instrument? Have them play at church. Be intentional about helping kids find ways they can use their talents to bring glory to God.

Just think about how much the kingdom of God can be advanced now and in the years to come if the kids in our ministries become generous givers. They are ready...they are willing...they want to make a difference.

Below is a short video story of a girl in our Children's Ministry who gets it. Generosity has become part of her DNA. God is using her generosity NOW to impact others...and I can't wait to see what He is going to do through her generous heart in the years to come.