RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

Here's 20 things you'll never regret doing as a children's ministry leader.

1. Sharing the Gospel with kids and families. There is nothing more important.

2. Leading kids in worship.  The purity of their worship must make God smile.

3. Telling a volunteer "thank you."  Your words remind them that they matter and what they do matters.

4. Getting down on one knee to look into the eyes of a smiling preschooler.  It's one of the best things on earth.

5. Going to the hospital to pray with a family.  They won't remember what you said, but they will always remember you were there.

6. Helping a new family feel welcome.  What a joy to be Jesus' arms of love embracing them.

7. Spending money out of your own pocket to show volunteers you appreciate them.  It's one of the best investments you can make. 

8. Helping kids see that God has great plans for their life.  The seed that you plant will help them walk into their destiny.

9. Taking time to pray with a child who is going through a tough time.  Jesus took time to personally minister to children.  When you pray with a child, you're doing what matters to Jesus.

10. Believing in a volunteer and helping them discover the gifts God has placed in them.  Who you help volunteers become outweighs what you help them do.

11. Creating a place where families who are far from God can come and discover God's grace.  It doesn't get any better than seeing a family changed forever by God's love.

12. Giving a child his or her first Bible.  What a privilege to place a love letter from God into a child's hands.

13. Providing parents with the tools, resources and confidence they need to lead their children spiritually.  When you influence parents, you influence kids exponentially.

14. Baptizing someone who has stepped across the line of faith.  It's worth getting wet for every time.

15. Allowing kids to be kids and have fun at church.  They'll grow up loving to be at church.

16. Spending time with your volunteers outside of serving.  This is where lasting relationships are formed.

17. Staying at one place long enough to see kids grow up and keep serving God as adults.  You'll feel old, but it's worth every grey hair you have to color.

18. Looking in the nursery and smiling at a baby.  There is nothing more precious.  It will make your day every time.

19. Saying "yes" when it would have been easier to say "no."  At the end of the second mile is where you'll find the greatest rewards. 

20. Helping young parents dedicate their child to God.  It's awesome to be able to share in the joy and prayers of young parents as they dedicate their child to God

Let's take time to smile today.  Here's 20 signs you might be in Children's Ministry.

1. If you've ever baptized someone who was splashing...you might be in children's ministry.

2. If you've ever had a "lost and found" box with 25 kids' Bibles in it...you might be in children's ministry.

3. If you've ever wished you had bought stock in the Play-Doh company...you might be in children's ministry.

4. If you've ever had an argument with a church janitor...you might be in children's ministry.

5. If you think serving in the nursery should be mandatory for all choir members...you might be in children's ministry.

6. If you've ever had someone say, "I don't want to volunteer...I like my adult Bible study class too much"...you might be in children's ministry.

7. If you've ever learned some very interesting family information from a preschooler's prayer request...you might be in children's ministry.

8. If you've ever taken a huge bag of coins to the bank...you might be in children's ministry.

9. If you've ever went to Disneyworld and left with 10 new ministry ideas...you might be in children's ministry.

10. If you'd rather paint a room green or orange instead of beige or gray...you might be in children's ministry.

11. If you've ever had a parent say, "I wish VBS lasted 2 weeks instead of 1" and wanted to strangle them...you might be in children's ministry.

12. If you've ever had someone pick up their child 45 minutes after service was over because they were "talking" to someone...you might be in children's ministry.

13. If you've ever been out of breath at the end of a worship song because of the motions...you might be in children's ministry.

14. If you've keep your local inflatable company in business...you might be in children's ministry.

15. If you've ever had a pie put in your face because someone won a contest...you might be in children's ministry.

16. If you've ever been jealous of the student ministry budget...you might be in children's ministry.

17. If your Sunday morning attire always includes a bright-colored t-shirt...you might be in children's ministry.

18. If you've ever ridden with a bus full of kids and it wasn't a school day...you might be in children's ministry.

19. If you've ever pushed a Bibleman video into a VHS player...you might be in children's ministry.

20.  If you've ever filled up an entire cooler full with water balloons...you might be in children's ministry.

Add to the fun by putting some more in the comment section below.

Awana has been helping churches and parents raise children and youth to know, love and serve Christ for more than 50 years.  Each week, nearly 2 million kids take part in Awana worldwide through more than 26,000 churches.

Whether it's through Bible verse memorization drills or crafts, Awana helps children build their faith in Christ on a solid biblical foundation, enabling them to face the tween and teen years through a strong Christian walk.

92.7 percent of Awana alumni continue to regularly attend church as adults, and only 1.8 percent said they had dropped out of church since high school, according to an Awana alumni survey conducted in 2007.

Awana recently announced a partnership with Crossway to release a newly updated ESV (English Standard Version) curriculum.  I recently reviewed the Cubbies (preschooler) kit you see pictured above.  Here are some highlights that stood out to me.

• Appleseed Teaching Cards - beautifully illustrated these teach vital topics such as God is our Creator, God's Word is Truth, God Keeps His Promises, and more.  It also comes with PDFs that you can use to project the images for large format viewing.

• The student books do an excellent job in partnering with parents to extend the lessons and memory verses into the home.  Each lesson equips parents to lead their children spiritually through hands on activities, discussion starters, and a CD.

• The leader shirts are comfortable and will be appealing to your volunteers.  The kids' shirts have the "fun" factor that your preschoolers will love.

• There are great tools that leaders can use to connect with kids and parents including birthday cards, postcards, and more.

• Kids love puppets and there are 3 puppets included to capture kid's attention.

• I love gadgets and this kit has one of the coolest I've seen in awhile.  It's a fan that lights up and shares the gospel when you turn it on.  

My friends at Awana will be giving away a kit to one of our readers.  This is a $300 value.  You can enter by emailing me (dalehudsoncm2@gmail.com.  I will announce the winner next Friday, August 16, here on this site.

Here's a promo video with more information about this great new resource.