RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY: stories

Showing posts with label stories. Show all posts

Turning Like into Share

6:43 AM Dale Hudson

How do you see kids and families in your church who "like" the ministry begin "sharing" about the ministry with their family, friends, co-workers, schoolmates and teammates?

FIRST - CREATE A SHARE CULTURE. Cultures don't happen by accident, they are intentionally created. This can be done by keeping a focus on outreach. Regularly teach about Jesus' heart to seek and save those who are lost.

Each week, we talk to the kids about inviting their unchurched friends. We have an empty chair up front that we use as a visual reminder and talking point.

SECOND - PROVIDE SHARE OPPORTUNITIES. Identify special times that are great invite opportunities. Easter, Christmas, Fall Festivals and other days and events like this are great opportunities for people to invite others.

This past weekend, we had a special emphasis and encouraged our kids to invite their unchurched friends. They responded and brought over 100 friends who had never been to our church before.

THIRD - PROVIDE SHARE TOOLS. This can be as simple as providing them with invite cards. We have found if you make these available, kids and families will use them.

This past Easter, we had a lady come to our church for the first time. When we asked how she heard about the church, she told us she's a crossing guard at a local elementary school. While waiting to cross, some of our kids had given her an invite card and invited her to come.

FOURTH - BE A SPIRITUAL HOSPITAL. When the kids and families in your church know it's a place they can bring others to get help, they will bring them. I'm thinking now of a family who recently came and stepped across the line of faith. The backstory....the mother found out she has cancer. One of the parents in our church works with her. He invited her to come because he knew the lady could find prayer and help if she came.

The church is supposed to be a spiritual hospital where people can find help...not a museum where perfect Christians are on display. Be a hospital and people will bring their friends who are hurting spiritually.

FIFTH - TELL THE STORIES. Tell the stories of lives that have been changed because someone shared with them and brought them. This will inspire others to begin sharing and inviting as well.

In the last 9 months, we've had over 3,400 first-time families sign-in at church. The vast, vast majority of them came because another family in our church personally shared with them and invited them to come.

Turn the families who "like" your church into families who "share" about your church and you'll see lives changed and exponential growth.

10 Reasons Why Your Lessons Are Boring Kids to Death

6:31 AM Dale Hudson

Ever heard a kid say your lesson was boring? If so, it was probably due to one or more of these reasons.

A lecture-based teaching style. I remember sitting in a "Sunday School" class as a kid. We had two teachers. They took turns teaching the lesson. When one was teaching, the other one would fall asleep. As kids, we had too much energy to fall asleep. Instead, we were forced to sit there for an hour and endure what seemed like an eternity of torture. I'm not blaming the teachers. I am thankful for their hearts to minister to us. They simply didn't know that lecturing is not the best way to teach kids. In this article, I share a more effective way to teach kids.

Making them sit still. When we tell kids to "sit still and be quiet" we are really saying "sit still and be bored to death." Kids were made to move. In fact, the more kids move...the more they learn. If you want to engage kids with your lesson, use participatory, hands-on, active learning. In this article, you can read more about how to get kids moving.

Not honoring their attention span. Kids have an attention span of 1 minute for every year of their age - maxing out at 5 minutes. When you violate this, they will get bored. If you want to keep their attention, reset their internal clock every five minutes by switching to another activity, song, game, object lesson, etc.

Not using visual communication. This generation hears with their eyes. Words will bore them. Words accompanied by images will engage them.

Only using one learning style. When you limit your lesson to just one or two learning styles, the kids who learn differently will get bored. Be intentional about using all the learning styles when you are teaching and you'll engage all the kids.

Not letting them talk. "Sssssshhhhhh" kids and they will get bored. And if all the talking is being done up front...you will lose them. Give them opportunities to discuss deeper learning questions. Read this article for the latest findings regarding this.

Putting them in space designed for adults. Stick them in a room with beige walls and brown metal folding chairs and it will contribute to boredom. Can you engage kids even if the room is not kid-friendly? Yes, but you'll have to work harder to compensate for the dull environment. Kids are drawn to bright, fun colors. Kid-friendly environments do make a difference. Ever seen a kid bored at Disney World?

Not knowing their culture. Ever tried to talk with someone who doesn't speak your language? Hard to connect, isn't it? If you're talking cassettes to digital download kids, you'll lose them. In a recent training, I shared about how to connect with today's kids. You can read it here.

Talking down to them. Baby talk leads to boredom. When you're in a room with kids of multiple ages, always talk to the oldest kid in the room. Cool rolls down hill.

Not telling stories. A story is the greatest boredom buster of all times. Want to see kids lock their attention on what your saying? Tell a story. Great story tellers are great teachers. Jesus, the greatest teacher of all times, used stories as one of His primary means of capturing people's attention.

The floor is yours. What are some other reasons kids get bored during a lesson? What do you do to keep kids engaged when you're teaching? Share with us in the comment section below.

7 Proven Ways to Get Kids Engaged with Your Lesson

7:31 AM Dale Hudson

Do you want to engage kids in your lessons? Here's 7 proven ways.

Interactive Discussion
Encourage kids to discuss what you're teaching. Ask open-ended questions. Stop lecturing and start facilitating discussion.

Hands-On Activities
Kids engage when you provide them with activities, crafts, experiments, etc.

Push Play
When you push play, kids engage. Use video clips to illustrate truth.

Honor their Attention Span
Keep segments in their attention span range. 1 minute for every year. Exmaple - 5 minutes for a 5 year old.

Games
Kids love to play. Games that teach will engage kids in your lesson.

Tell Stories
Everyone loves stories. It's wired in our DNA.

Use Visual Communication.
Today's kids hear with their eyes. Use lots of pictures.

What are some other things you do to engage kids in your lesson? Share your thoughts with us in the comment section below.

The Statement I Made In Children's Ministry for Years That Was Wrong

7:29 AM Dale Hudson

I made this statement for years in Children's Ministry. You've probably heard it or said it as well.

"When the kids grow up and leave the ministry, they won't remember what you said, but they will remember that you were there and cared for them."

There's something wrong with this statement. It implies that we are not effectively teaching God's Word in a manner that embeds the truth in kids' long-term memory.

Why don't kids remember what we taught them? Here's some reasons...

We lectured instead of using learner-based teaching.
We taught information without application.
We didn't use repetition.
We tried to teach too much instead of focusing on the basics.
We didn't connect the lesson to everyday objects that kids see.
We didn't create experiential learning moments.
We didn't tell enough stories.

Yes, it's great that kids will remember we were there for them...but it's just as essential that God's Word is embedded in their long-term memroy.

Teaching a Lesson That Captures Kids' Attention...3 Key Things You Need

10:52 AM Dale Hudson

The TED talks are about Technology, Entertainment, and Design. Only the most engaging, thought provoking talks make it to the TED stage.

Carmine Gallo, author of Talk Like TED, has watched over 150 hours of TED talks. He recently shared the top 3 things the most engaging presentations have in common.

#1 - USE STORIES TO EVOKE EMOTION
The TED talk that has received the longest standing ovation was given by Bryan Stevenson. He is a civil rights attorney that won the Supreme Court case Miller vs. Alabama. He knows how to persuade people.

If you examine the talk you will find the following:

10% was establishing credibility for the speaker
25% was giving data and statistics
65% was evoking emotion by telling stories

Most children's teachers tend to do the opposite. 65% of their lesson is giving data and statistics.

Bryan started off by telling a story about his grandmother. When asked why, he said, "Because everyone has a grandmother." It gave him an immediate connection to the audience.

If you want to capture kids' attention, then tell stories that kids can connect with and fill the story with emotion.

P.S. This sounds like how the greatest teacher of all times (Jesus) taught.

#2 - BE NOVEL
Another highly rated TED talk was given by Bill Gates. In his talk about the impact of malaria, he shocked the audience by opening a jar of mosquitoes in the middle of his talk. The novel illustration obviously grabbed the audience's attention.

Kid's brains are wired to look for something new and exciting. When they hear it...their attention is immediately drawn in.

When you are preparing a lesson, look for ways you can make it novel, new, and exciting.

Several years ago, I did a talk about Daniel and the Lion's Den. I decided to go outside the box. When the kids came in the room, there was a cage that was covered by a tarp. When we got to the part of the story where Daniel is thrown in the lion's den, we pulled the tarp off the cage.

Yep... you guessed it. We had a full-grown, real lion in the cage. We had hired a local zoo to bring him in. He let out a roar and the kids were immediately engaged to say the least. The kids will never forget that lesson.

#3 - EMPHASIZE THE VISUAL
Robert Ballard's 2008 TED talk about the discovery of the Titanic is another one of the top rated talks of all time.

What made it so engaging? It contained 57 visual slides...and none of the slides had text in them.

When asked why he didn't use any text, he responded, "Because I'm storytelling; not lecturing."

Research overwhelmingly shows that kids (and adults) learn better when information is delivered using words and pictures. When ideas are only presented verbally, they only remember about 10% of what they hear. But add pictures to the talk and retention soars to 65%.

Add more pictures, animations, and images to your lesson and kids will remember it.

10 Simple but High-Impact Ways to Connect with the Kids You Minister to

8:13 AM Dale Hudson

Do you want to make a lasting impact on the children God has called you to minister to?

For this to happen, you've got to make a heart connection with them. Once the heart connection is made, it opens the door for life impact.

Here's 10 simple, but high-impact ways, you can connect with the kids you minister to.

Get to know them personally. Go out of your way to talk with them.

Listen to them.

Find out what music, TV shows, movies, and video games they like.

Entrust them with a specific responsibility in class.

Let them know who you are. Tell them stories from your childhood.

Talk to their parents. Ask questions. What are their struggles? What areas would they like to see their child grow in? What are their needs?

Ask them what they are passionate about.

Affirm them with your words.

Be kind and loving.

Let them know you care. Tell them with your words and show them with your actions.

Your turn. What are some other simple ways you connect with the kids you minister to? Share your ideas with us in the comment section below.

An Extraordinary Way to "Pay" Your Volunteers

1:52 PM Dale Hudson

Your volunteers serve for “free” or they wouldn’t be volunteers.

But there is a way you can “pay” them.

It’s simple. Ready for it? Here it is...

Share the stories of life change with them. Seeing kids and families impacted for eternity is why they serve. They want to know the volunteer hours they put in are making a difference.

And when you share the stories with them, it’s “payday!" Here’s some ways you can make it “payday” for your volunteers.

Share the stories through a weekly email or social media/networking.

When a child in their class is going to be baptized, invite them to come and be a part of it.

Share the stories when you meet with them for prayer before service.

When a parent tells you a volunteer has made an impact in their child’s life, share it with the volunteer.

When a parent shares with you how their child is living out what is being taught, share with it with your volunteers.

Create a baptism wall. When a child is baptized, have them put their handprint on the wall and write their name and the date inside.

Video a child or family who has been impacted and send the video to all your volunteers.

Two questions…

When was the last time you made it “payday” for your volunteers?

What are some other ways you make it “payday” for your volunteers? It’s your turn. Share with us in the comment section below.

6 Tips That Will Make You a Better Large Group Communicator to Kids

7:07 AM Dale Hudson

Do you want to improve your large group communication skills with kids? Here's 6 tips that will help you grab kids' attention and effectively share God's Word with them.

Use the volume of your voice.
Don't talk monotone. Vary between loud...soft...medium...whispering...shouting.

Involve the kids.
Have them make sound effects...make a motion every time you say a certain word...repeat key phrases to their neighbor...act out the Bible story as you tell it.

Tell stories.
We are wired to love stories. 80% of the Bible is stories. Jesus was the master storyteller. Use stories...lots of them. It's a guaranteed way to connect with kids.

Change the speed of your voice.
Vary the speed. Talk fast...slow...pause between words...use normal speed. When you change your speed, it resets kids' attention spans.

Be animated.
Don't just stand there. Move. Use your arms and hands to visually describe what you're talking about. Get excited about what you're teaching and show it through your body language.

Target the oldest child in the room.
Cool rolls downhill. Aim your teaching level at the oldest child in the room. An example. If you're teaching 3-5th graders, let your target be the 5th grade boy. If you connect with him, all of the kids will think it's cool and engage.

What other tips do you have for teaching kids? Share your thoughts and ideas with us in the comment section below.

How to Make Your Lessons Easy to Remember and Hard to Forget

6:40 AM Unknown

Our lessons should be easy for kids to remember and hard for them to forget. This means moving our teaching from their short term memory into their long term memory. Here are some keys...

Repetition. You remember what you repeat. Instead of teaching one truth a week, teach one truth a month and have the kids repeat it over and over and over throughout the month. Studies show that we forget the majority of what we hear if it is not repeated. When it is repeated 6 times the retention rate goes up 90%.

Simplicity. Great teachers have the ability to take complex truths and explain them in simple, easy-to-understand terms. Teach kids the truths of the Bible in short, easy-to-repeat phrases. An example would be "The Bible is God's Word and I can trust it completely."

Evoke Emotion. Emotion is very closely tied to long term memory. People remember what they feel. Use activities and experiences that evoke emotion. One of the greatest examples I have seen of this was actually in an adult service. The Pastor gave everyone a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie on the way into the service. He had them hold it the entire service while he taught on resisting temptation. Needless to say, a lot of emotion was felt that day as the room was filled with the aroma of freshly baked cookies. The people who attended that day will never forget it.

Link the truth to an everyday object. Link the truth you are teaching to objects that kids come in contact with on a regular basis. This will remind them of the truth each time they see the object. An example would be using a skateboard to illustrate what it means to repent. Repentance is like doing a 180 on a skateboard. Each time the child rides a skateboard after that, he will be reminded of what repentance means. Jesus did this often when He taught. He used birds, fish, coins, sheep, gates. etc.

Participatory. When kids get involved in the lesson, they remember the lesson. Kids are growing up in a world that is quickly moving away from lecture style learning. In a recent article in The Edge, Don Tapscott wrote, “I argued that is a widening gap between the model of learning offered by many big universities and the natural way that young people who have grown up digital best learn. The old-style lecture, with the professor standing at the podium in front of a large group of students, is still common. It’s part of a model that is teacher-focused, one-way, one-size-fits-all and the student is isolated in the learning process. Yet the students, who have grown up in an interactive digital world, learn differently. Schooled on Google and Wikipedia, they want to inquire, not rely on the professor for a detailed road map. They want an animated conversation, not a lecture. They want an interactive education. Students are making new demands of universities, and if the universities are to remain relevant, they will have to change. Professors will have to abandon the traditional lecture, and start listening and conversing with the students — shifting from a broadcast style and adopting an interactive one."

Applicable. It's hard to forget something you are living out during the week. Spend as much time teaching application as you do information. Give children specific ways they can live out what you have taught them. Then check back the next week to see how they did. When kids become "doers" of the Word and not just "hearers" of the Word, you will see life change.

Use a story to illustrate truth. People remember stories. Illustrate what you are teaching with stories. Jesus did this with parables. The prodigal son is a great example. It reminds us of the Father's love and forgiveness for those who have gone astray.

What other tips do you have for making lessons easy to remember and hard to forget? Would enjoy seeing your thoughts in the comment section below.

Posted by Dale Hudson