Be Strong...Joshua 1:9

This morning I found myself singing a kidmin song from years ago! I'm sure its because a friend of mine is having surgery to remove a cancerous tumor today. The song's lyrics are simple; "Be strong and courageous, do not be terrified, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go!" Joshua 1:9, duh!!

As I think about this day through my friends eyes, it must be overwhelmingly scary! The great news is that they can be strong because He is with them!

Are you facing something scary in your life? What about your ministry life? Although we can't compare cancer surgery with not having enough volunteers this weekend, the sentiment is the same. You don't have to be scared or discouraged! You are not in this alone, especially in ministry! Although there are so many times you feel like you are, take heart, the Lord your God is with you!!

Today I will pray for my friend, if you would like prayer as well, just leave a comment and I will pray for you too!!

Be Strong...Joshua 1:9

no money for kids camp

I met an amazing guest services volunteer at kids camp this week! He is actually the Children's Pastor at another church in the area that just didn't have the budget this year to put on a summer children's event and didn't want to stress families out to pay for camp, so what did he do? He volunteered at our kids camp and invited all of his students to attend the camp.

Say what?? I know, right! It's so awesome to hear about churches partnering with each other, it's not as common as it could be.

In this difficult economy this leader chose the best thing for his students, an inexpensive ($15.00) kids camp close to home where he could volunteer and still pour into their lives! He shared with me that his church is in a area hard hit by job loss and to ask parents to pay for their children to go to kids camp would be a hardship. Not wanting to stress out the families in his church he found a great inexpensive camp within driving distance for the children in his ministry!!!

Thank you for being a humble and resourceful servant! You are a Godly example to everyone you came in contact with!!

Review: Spiritual Parenting DVD Series

Spiritual Parenting is a DVD series produced by David C. Cook and written by Michelle Anthony. Dr. Michelle Anthony is Pastor of Family Ministries at ROCKHARBOR Church in Costa Mesa, California. A former professor at Biola University and Talbot School of Theology, Dr. Anthony has written over a dozen resources for Christian Education and Family/Youth Ministries. She is also the Family Ministry Architect for David C. Cook.

The approach to teaching in this series is very well done. The length is hard for me because the target audience has to think about kid's activities as well as paying for a babysitter. Two hours of incredible information and experiential learning activities is awesome, if you have the time to invest.

The content is challenging and applicable and points you to God at every turn! I love that part! Here are my top 5 highlights from the series:

1. God is the #1 parent.
2. There are teachable moments around you at all times, take advantage of those!
3. Parent with an eternal prospective.
4. How you are raised impacts how you parent.
5. As a parent, our goal is transforming lives. That comes from allowing children to flex their spiritual muscles and declare with their lives that God is real.

This series is worth your investment of time.

You can win a free copy on David C. Cook's FB page tomorrow, May 6, 2011 or you can purchase the series at Amazon, Christianbook, or David C. Cook.

You can follow Michelle Anthony or David C. Cook on Twitter.

What's that? Jesse and Prospector are trapped in the old abandoned mine?

We have two golden retrievers at my house that are loved and very well trained. So much so, that when they bark, we all know they need something urgently. This morning, my husband and I were enjoying our morning cup of Land of 1000 Hills coffee when one of our dogs barked several times by the door. Immediately my husband says; "What's that? Jesse and Prospector are trapped in the old abandoned mine and Prospector just lit a stick of dynamite thinking it was a candle and now they're about to be blown to smithereens?" I could not stop laughing! I just figured she needed to go outside, two totally different interpretations!

I know you have seen this happen in ministry, especially with vision! I have found these things to be helpful in communicating clear vision;

• Constantly casting vision using the same language. Repetition is a good thing! It keeps all leaders on the same page. For example, if your vision is to "Love God. Love Kids." then that is what you say. Saying anything else muddy's up the water.
• Owning the vision is another huge step in clear communication. Always saying we and us instead of them or they. This says loud and clear that you personally support the vision.

These are just two things that help me, how do you avoid misinterpretation as you cast vision?

lasting impression

This morning I got into my daughter's Easter basket and took out the colored bubbles. I was too curious and wanted to see if the bubbles really were pink like the container said they would be. Guess what? They are!! Then, the wind blew and the bubbles popped on the siding of the house. They left an impression. Unfortunately it's a pink impression!

After cleaning it off I started to think about you, the amazing children's ministry team! Each week you leave an impression! Each parent you come in contact with as they register for the first time or sign their child in, each child you minister to throughout the morning is left with an impression of our awesome God by watching you!! The best part is that you rise to the occasion each and every week! I believe you are a sweet aroma to our Lord!

I'm glad your impression is not a pink circle like the ones on my house, your impression can't be wiped away, it's eternal!!

See you this weekend! I will leave the bubbles at home, I promise!

Faith, Hope & Love

9 Things They Didn't Teach Me in College about Children's Ministry

9 Things They Didn't Teach Me in College about Children's Ministry reads like a children's ministry survival guide! It's something you could keep in your back pocket (literally, because of it's size) and refer to as questions come up in your mind about leading a healthy children's ministry.

After reading this short and insightful book chock full of leadership insights, I felt like I just left a one day children's ministry basics conference! What I found to be most powerful about this quick and easy read is the way Ryan Frank prioritizes and presents his thoughts. He takes a new leader down a path that creates a firm foundation and a seasoned veteran on a journey of reflection and evaluation that includes a little head nodding and amen!

My top five 9 Things insights:

• The million-dollar question in children's ministry leadership is not about a program, model, or leadership style. It's about this: are kids being changed to become like Jesus?
• Effective leaders do everything possible to make volunteers feel valued and appreciated.
• Get your senior pastor on your team, and be on his team.
• Before the close of each week, ask yourself: With whom did I connect this week to expand my network? Whom did I encourage? With whom did I share some creative ideas?
• Get a prayer team together and ask God to show you what he wants to do in your church. After all, you work for him.

So, are you now ready to read this book? Standard Publishing blessed me with two copies, one to review and one to give away. To win your copy, leave a comment or Tweet this; "Check out @kidminupdate's review of @r_frank's new book and win a copy for yourself here http://bit.ly/iejuY0"

I will pick a winner on Monday.

Thanks for stopping by!!

Awkward...

I recently had one of those tough and awkward conversations with a parent, one that you never actually think you will have and then, bam!!

As this parent was picking up her preschooler, she overheard the kidmin team member singing "Jesus loves the little children" and she was offended.

Offended? Why?

Her concern was the use of colors in the song to represent different ethnicities; "red and yellow, black and white." Her explanation was valid. She is raising her child to view everyone as equal and this song represents a negative connotation to a persons heritage.

Well then, okay! Although I have not been presented with this view before, it gave me something to think about. I assured her that the point of the song goes along her thought pattern that everyone is equal, or "precious in His sight." I also told her that as a leadership team we would discuss her concerns.

My personal thought is that the song itself is just fine, it's simple, straight forward, and has a positive point. It's unfortunate that there is extra baggage added to the words used.

Your thoughts?

Go ahead, ask!

We just recently sold our house, praise the Lord! All the paperwork is so foreign to me, it's overwhelming! I don't sell a house everyday you know! :) We had several people involved to help us through the process. This made me start thinking about people who have never volunteered in children's ministry before. I wonder if serving kids seems foreign to them? If the thought of serving makes them feel overwhelmed because they don't know where to start, or "how to fill out the paperwork."

Do you know people like that? What about your friends who aren't serving, have you ever considered inviting them to watch what you do? I am thinking it might not seem so overwhelming to minister to three year olds if there are people there to help them through the process.

I know you are thinking of someone right now, give them a call! Ask them to shadow you as you serve this weekend! Most people are very willing to help, it's just hard to get started sometimes. Go ahead, ASK!!

Can't wait to see you (and your friends) this weekend!

Faith, Hope and Love

moment of truth

How often do you train your kidmin leaders?

I like to think of it as a "every time I see them" sort of thing. My cup is definitely half full, so I encourage leaders every chance I get. As I encourage them, I try to train them as well. This past weekend, I watched a leader check a family in and immediately after the family walked towards the children's area I said, "Great job greeting the "Smiths" I loved the way you gave them directions, feel free to take them to their classroom as well!" His response was such a blessing!! "I didn't know I could do that!" Viola! He didn't know he could leave his post (so to say) to help a family and now he does, I would consider that part of our training.

When you uphold your values, policies and procedures as you interact with volunteers, it's contagious! As we know, people are busy and it's tough to get everyone to a monthly/quarterly training, we have to take advantage of the time we do have them in front of us!

As we think about how to train leaders a comment one my amazing team members said keeps coming to mind. He said; "Each time we volunteer, it's a moment of truth for the church." Wow, does that hit me right between the eyes! We represent our Savior each time we serve, with that in mind, I am challenged to make sure equipping every leader is my highest priority!