RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

How well do you know today's kids?

Take this quiz to find out.  Choose the answer that today's kids would choose.  You can see the answers below.

Quiz
1. What is a tablet?

• pill you take in the morning
• electronic handheld device

2. Wiki?

• cooperative web app
• shuttle bus in Hawaii

3. What is a phone?

• device that has a long, coiled wire that you wrap around your arm while talking
• device you carry in your pocket

4. History?

• subject in school
• TV channel

5. GaGa?

• singer
• baby talk

6. Amazon?

• river in South America
• online store

7. Who is the green giant?

• big guy who picks vegetables
• Shrek

8. Madden?

• video game
• super bowl winning coach

9. What is mail?

• something that comes to your inbox
• something that comes to your mailbox

10. Cut and paste?

• something you do with scissors and glue
• something you do on your computer

11. Wire-rimmed glasses?

• Harry Potter
• John Lennon

12. When can you see cartoons?

• Saturday morning
• 24/7

13. Who is the star of Twilight?

• Rod Sterling
• vampires

14. Who is Barney?

• Andy's assistant
• purple dinosaur

15. Basketball star?

• Michael
• Lebron

16. Music?

• CD
• download

17. How do you get directions?

• Google maps
• map book

18. School blackboard?

• smart
• chalk

19. Taking pictures?

• camera
• cell phone

20. What is plasma?

• type of TV
• bodily fluid

Answers
1. A tablet is a handheld electronic device.
2. Wiki is a cooperative web app.
3. Phone is a device you carry in your pocket.
4. History is a TV channel.
5. GaGa is a singer.
6. Amazon is an online store.
7. Shrek is a green giant.
8. Madden is a video game.
9. Mail is something that comes to your inbox.
10. Cut and paste is something you do on your computer.
11. Harry Potter wears wire-rimmed glasses.
12. Cartoons are available 24/7.
13. Vampires are the stars of Twilight.
14. Barney is a purple dinosaur.
15. Lebron is a basketball star.
16. Music is downloaded.
17. You can use Google maps to get directions.
18. A blackboard at school is smart.
19. You take pictures with your cell phone.
20 Plasma is a type of TV.

How'd you do?  It's vital that we stay connected to the world of the kids God has called us to reach.  Just as a missionary to another country studies and learns the culture of the people group he is trying to reach, so we should be doing the same with the kids God has called us to reach.

Google just released data on the toys that parents are purchasing online for their kids this Christmas.

Many of them include the staples like Barbies, Legos and My Little Pony.  But there is one that causes me to shiver.

Let me preface this by saying I'm not one to see an evil spirit lurking behind every corner and I'm not a Harry Potter basher (if you are, we can agree to disagree).  That being said, the #5 "toy" on the list concerns me.  It's the Ouija board.

Online searches for Ouija boards are up 300% since October.  This may coincide with the movie that was released in October called Ouija.  It depicts a group of friends who must confront their fears when they tap into the dark powers of an ancient "spirit board."

I personally know people who have "played" with this "toy" and found it to be a direct link to demonic influence.  

If you have parents ask about this "toy," encourage them to steer clear.  This is one "toy" that I do believe has connections to the occult. 

What are your thoughts or past experiences with this?

The age of gigabit data and connectivity is fast approaching.

A gigabit connection can deliver 1,000 megabits of information per second.  Wondering how fast that is?  Right now the average speed in the U.S. is 10.5 megabits per second.

Companies such as Google and AT&T are already in the process of building gigabit networks at various locations across the country.

So what does this mean for children's ministry?  Think about the possibilities...

Awesome apps.  The increased ability to send vast amounts of data with lightning fast speed will allow developers to take app development to a whole new level.

Children's ministry is just now scratching the surface with using apps to reach and disciple kids and families.

I believe technology leaders in children's ministry will seize the opportunity and develop new, creative apps that will help us reach kids and partner with parents.

Virtual reality.  Virtual reality environments will become even more immersive and realistic.  Think about creating virtual environments where kids can enter the great stories of the Bible like going on the ark with Noah, fighting Goliath with David, and crossing the Red Sea with Moses.

New advanced forms of social media.  Social media tools will expand and advance.  Children's ministry leaders will be able to connect with parents and volunteers in a variety of new ways.

Networking and collaborating.  The boundaries between distant locations will grow even smaller.  Online networking, collaborating, and conferences will become more popular.  Virtual meetings with people from around the world will be common place.  Skype will be ancient technology.

Holograms and virtual teachers / speakers.  Holograms are used occasionally now where advanced technology is available.  Remember this hologram of Michael Jackson performing?











The increase in data speed will bring this technology to the average person.

This will enable children's ministries to bring virtual speakers and teachers in hologram form to train volunteers or speak at conferences.  Virtual holograms of Bible characters will be available to act out or tell Bible stories to your class.  

Downloadable curriculum will continue to dig the grave of hard copy curriculum.  The ability to transfer and download curriculum that contains files, videos, music, etc. at such a fast speed will lead to the further demise of printed curriculum student and teacher books, etc.

Technology is a tool that we can use to reach and disciple kids and families for Christ.  I am praying for the people God is raising up now and will raise up to be leaders for children's ministry in this area.  I'm praying for the college student who is sitting in a dorm room right now pondering an idea he or she has for an app that will be a game-changer for children's ministry.  I'm asking God to give us creative ideas to advance the Gospel as we move into the gigabit age.

Who knows...maybe the person God will use is you.  Would love to hear your ideas, dreams, and thoughts on how we can use rapidly advancing technology to reach the next generation for Christ.  Share them with us in the comment section below so we can pray and dream with you.

A - Apps

B - Bluetooth

C - Chat

D - Download

E - Email

F - Facebook

G - Google

H - Hulu

I -  iPad

J - Java

K - Keyboard

L - Laptop

M - Megabytes

N - Network

O - Online

P - Pixels

Q - QuickTime

R - Router

S - Share

T - Twitter

U - USB

V - Virtual

W - Wifi

Y - YouTube

Z - Zip

Generation Z is a term being used to describe kids who were born between 1995 and 2009.  They are the kids in your ministry.

If you're going to reach them, then here's some important facts and figures you'll want to know.

• The average Gen Z-er will have 17 jobs and 15 homes in their lifetime.

• Their average earnings in 2063 (around the age of retirement) will be $222,000.

• The average home price (in a capital city) at that time will be about $2.5 million.

• 1 in 2 will be university educated – compared with 1 in 3 from Gen Y and 1 in 4 from Gen X.

• They are digital integrators.
• They spend about 10 hrs, 19 minutes using technology per day.  
• 5.1 billion Google searches a day.
• 4 billion YouTube views a day.
• 1 billion Facebook users.
• 500 million tweets a day.
• Over 1 million smart phone apps.

• By the time they reach adulthood, 77.9%  males and 61.8 females% will be obese.

• Commonly named life stages have been broken down into more categories than in the past.  What used to be defined as childhood, teenager, and adulthood has now been broken down into:
• Childhood
• Tween
• Teenager
• Young Adult
• Kippers
• Adult
• Career-Changer
• Downager

• Engaging them in the classroom:
• Visual instead of verbal
• Try and see instead of sit and listen
• Facilitator instead of teacher
• Process (how) instead of content (what)
• Learner centered instead of curriculum centered
• Open book world instead of closed book exam

YouVersion just released The Bible App for Kids.  It's a free app that will help kids fall in love with God's Word.

It contains...

Animated storybook for smartphones and tablets.

Colorful illustrations with touch-activated animations.

Games and activities that help kids remember what they learn.

Kid-friendly navigation.

Here's more info.



You can download it for free at...
iTunes
Google Play
Amazon

You've probably noticed that kids (and adults) are engaged with screens...a lot.

Studies show that 90% of our daily media interactions are screen based.

Kids watch videos, search the web, take notes and save information at the same time using multiple devices.

Instead of being distracted by the multiple devices, they are multi-tasking with them!

Bottom line...we live in a multi-screen world.  Are you prepared to connect with the next generation that is immersed in this screen saturated world?

Effective Children's Ministries in the multi-screen world...

• Communicate God's Word to kids through multiple screens.
• Connect with and partner with parents through multiple screens.
• See the visual word as vital as the spoken word.
• See screens as a key tool instead of just a cute toy
• Truly believe a picture is worth a thousand words.