Beyond Background Checks

If you attended this session at CPC, thank you! You made it so much fun.

Below you will find the slide show as promised. If you didn't attend the session, you can get a copy of it on the incm website and use these notes as tips.

Remember, what we do requires us keeping kids safe. A safe loving, well thought out atmosphere allows families to go to church together and grow without worrying about safety.

Here is the link to my volunteer application as well.

Improving Child Security - Guest Post from KidCheck

Our friends at KidCheck support our efforts in children's ministry in a great way. While their check in system is outstanding, there are multiple areas of security that need to be covered for Kids in any kind of ministry, care, or organization. I am happy to pass along to you a well done video about improving our child security. If you have not checked them out, you can do so at KidCheck.com

Why object lessons are awesome

Object lessons and kids, they just go together. I will even venture to say that they work well with adults too. We could go into all the mathematical and scientific reasons why, but I would need you to be in the  room with a live object lesson to make that interesting.

There are many ways to illustrate a Bible lesson to kids, many churches use felt, or puppets or even skits. While these are common illustrations that can be effective, I have personally always favored the object lesson. Here are a few reasons they work, and how and when to use them.

Why does it work: (Jesus used object lessons, but here are a few reasons anyway)

1. Kids are natural bayesian logic thinkers. This means they have the natural ability to take past events and formulate a probable outcome. For some things in life, like math and basic decision making this is a good thing.  So if you put an object lesson in front of them, they're hooked. Most kids have minds that start working over time to reason out what you are doing in front of them, and they are captured until the end of the lesson.

2. It's interactive, whether or not you call on a volunteer, most object lessons require asking questions. Personally, having a child up holding something and a couple peers actually performing the lesson with my guidance is my preference. My friend Roger Fields often says the words "can I get a volunteer" are golden in children's ministry, and I totally agree. Kids learn when they can get their hands on it.

3. It can be inexpensive. I will be honest, the first church I led children's ministry at didn't have a kidmin budget. I wrote my own lessons and had the option of a color page that could line the floor board of the car, or an object lesson. So throughout the week I thought of different ways I could illustrate the lesson using things in my house. Everything from teaching the trinity with steam, ice, and water to a lamp and an egg to illustrate faith.  It can be a very inexpensive, effective, and sometimes edible tool!

How to make sure your object lessons don't stink.
1. Practice! Don't lie there in bed on Saturday night and think through your object lesson and assume it will work. Let's face it, you're asking for disaster! Practice your object lesson a couple times, even use it on your own kids to see if it connects.

2. Prepare! There is nothing worse than showing up on Sunday with the assumption that there is oil in the church kitchen for your lesson and learning that it's gone. Make sure you have all your pieces and they are measured to your needs. This also speaks to the excitement, when kids enter the room, have it ready and they will be excited to see what is coming.

3. Use verses, make sure you start and end with the Biblical tie in. An awesome object lesson can become just a cool piece of entertainment if you don't connect it. My favorite thing to do is use them to connect Biblical principals to life application. Otherwise, kids go home and the "what did you learn" conversation becomes "I learned how to boil water" instead of "I learned all about the trinity...".

Object lessons are great, there are several sites that offer ideas including Pinterest (which is a kidmin must). Be prepared and know that it may change as you go, maybe even plan a couple alternate endings. Use new people in your ministry too, this is a great time to get those volunteers who are being mentored a chance to get comfortable in front of the kids in a more comfortable setting. Even send an outline home with the parents! Object lessons are a great tool in the home to get families talking.

Spiritual Gifts of Children

I once had someone tell me that "kids need to have Jesus in their atmosphere so that when they grow up they can choose to follow Him,  but they weren't really capable of relationship or serving at a young age".  My heart sank when I heard this, and quite honestly, if you have ever served in your church's nursery you know that statement is incorrect.

I have watched for years as children not only absorb information, they display solid faith and exude pure worship. It's no coincidence that Jesus tells us that we need that "child-like faith" to receive Him. (Matthew 18:2-4)

I have also for years watched children display their spiritual gifts. Look closely this Sunday, children as young as two years old will show compassion, leadership, and mercy. As parents we can easily identify them in our children, and often times as ministry leaders we can see them as well.

So what are we doing with this vital information? Do you ever dream and wonder, what are my kids capable of? Am I challenging them spiritually? We as leaders offer up "challenges" of memory verses and other information, but do we really challenge them in their spiritual capability? Are we sharpening their "spiritual gift sword" for use in the kingdom?

As I have been personally reflecting on this question I realized in 2 Chronicles 24:1it is mentioned that Joash was SIX YEARS OLD when he became king! Six! First Grade! I think you get it, he continued his reign for 40 years. What this exactly looked like, well I can't even begin to fathom, but I can tell you that he was a leader. He had older generations around him not only training him up, but entrusting him to lead on his own.  This is where I stopped, while we are embracing family ministry as a culture and investing in our younger generations, I had to ask "are we entrusting them?"

As I sat there looking at the take home pages of family devotions, the memory verse cards, and the curriculum, I came to the realization that we are pouring in (and rightfully so) but are we teaching them what to do with all that input? Are we teaching them that the holy spirit will guide, and stepping back and letting that happen?

So with that in mind, we decided to start with spiritual gifts! In kids church we did a three week series on identifying, using, and sharing spiritual gifts. But it won't just be a lesson! Kids will be given the option to assume ministry tasks based on their spiritual gifts. The desire is to show them hands on that they can have a relationship with Jesus that is full (like adults). To show them that they have something to give, and God has designed them with a purpose.  Giving and serving is a huge part of our spiritual life, and we would be off balance without those elements.

I am an advocate of good material, and quite honestly I found a free online printable curriculum for this series.  I landed on the page with a search and while the page isn't all bright and hi-tech, the content is wonderful! The best part is the fact that all the supplies called for, you probably already have. There were a few changes like milk cartons used for a game, I used cups and cotton balls.

While we may not have a six year old leading our nation any time soon, which may be a better option (well that's another blog post in itself) we can let them lead in places that will equip them to carry the gospel to future generations we will never see. The best part is letting the parents get involved by teaching them what we see in their kids and letting that be nurtured in the home as well.

Gifts of Christmas

Christmas time! My favorite time of year. A season that we can surround everything we  do with the birth of our savior. The opportunities for teaching kids this time of year is never-ending. I love pulling out the lights and handmade crafts by my kids to put on display, the fire department would cringe at the level of candles and lights throughout my home. After all the decorations have been hung and the traditions are in place, that leaves the gifts. In a season of giving, I absolutely love to get gifts for others. As I talk to parents every year during this time I am asked for recommendations. By tradition we do a family gift, something we can do together. So here is a list of ideas, gifts that are unusual and possibly irreplaceable that you can do as parents or even pass to the grand kids.

1. A Family Year Book
 (This falls under that irreplaceable type gift)
Take your favorite pictures from throughout the year and send in for a book. Best of all, the photos are printed onto the hardcover bound book, so they won't age. You can get as creative or simple as you like, and as small or large as you like. I make one for our family and someday my kids will take them, we also make a copy for the grandparents. This can even be a great gift for those hard to buy for teenagers or for homesick college students.

2. Families that play together
 Yes! I love anything that gets the family moving as a unit! And after the holidays we all usually say we need more exercise. What about a family gift of new bikes? New basketball hoop and everyone gets their own ball? Our family has a new pool table, so personalized cue sticks are something I am hunting for.

3. The gift of sports

 Did you know that most stadiums, arenas and locations where pro-teams play offer private tours? Not quite the economy to spend hundreds of dollars on pro game tickets, but maybe your kids are sports fans. On average tours are about $15 a person and kids get to discover every nook and cranny of these places including their favorite athlete's locker!

4. Game night
 Our kids love to play board games. But as they have gotten older our games have become outdated. So a wicker chest full of updated games is a great gift! If you don't have a "no TV" family game night, then a basket of games, and popcorn would be an easy way to add it to your new year!

5. The gift of giving
 A family I know will adopt a child from compassion international this year. This is actually something they choose to do at Christmas as a family. Their plan is to have the kids write letters and celebrate this child all year. I love this idea! In our home we adopt a child from the local children's home, but there are many ways that this could be done. Down to wrapping up a sum of money and the gift being letting the children how to decide to use it in a giving sense. Children who are actively involved in the decision making tend to have an ownership of this process.

Hopefully these give you a few ideas. In a world that we as Americans have so much, it's become a love to find things we can give to our children that will create lasting memories and moments that strengthen our family rather than items that will never make it out of a toy box. My children are 10 and 16 this year. They still find crazy joy in picking their yearly ornament for the tree that will someday become the starter collection for their own family. It's amazing to watch them shop for our "adopted" Christmas child and seeing them want to get everything on their list out of love. I truly believe that the investments made, when based on the knowledge that God gave us Jesus who then gave everything (His life) as an example for how we give of ourselves, make times like Christmas pure joy in giving.

Book Review : 52 Creative Family Time Experiences

52 Creative Family Time Experiences

Author: Timothy Smith

As a family ministry leader, I am more than happy to review this book! I am consistently looking for effective tools for my families to use in the home. As a parent, well same story! We have a ten year old and a 16 year old, both boys and have learned that creativity is the key.

As I read through the book, I loved the format. The simple box at the top of each activity that states the Main point, and materials needed, I thought was great. As I read into the activity and discussion pieces I could see how families could really make these into a weekly time that is fun and bonding.

In the beginning of the book, Smith lays out a few tips to get started. Things like, investing time, protection from distractions and flexibility. Sometimes I think it is all to easy to take for granted that these steps will be put into place without prompting, so I appreciate his directions to prepare.  I think parents who take the time to do all the steps will love this book. The book is intended for families with kids of all ages, and does do a great job of adapting for small children.  This is a very hard task as we all know that kids interests change so drastically as they exit that elementary phase. As a mom of two boys that are soon exiting and have exited that elementary age, some of the activities seemed young for my kids. I found myself adapting activities quite a bit; however I could see families with children through about 5th grade taking it as it is written and loving every minute. The book does do what it states "fun ways to bring faith home" and depending on the age and spiritual maturity of your children can be used as is, or modified to go more in depth if needed. I will say the teenage discussion questions were a great conversation starter in our home. More than anything it gives parents a place to start, a set time and a user friendly tool to start discipling their own children.

I would highly recommend to my preschool and elementary families. Available through Amazon, this book would make a great gift to families you may know this Christmas.

Review of The Preschooler's Bible

The Preschooler's Bible
by : V. Gilbert Beers

I recently had the privilege of being able to review the Preschooler's Bible. As a ministry leader, preschoolers are one of my largest areas to oversee, so having great tools for my teachers and parents is definitely a plus!

V. Gilbert Beers is also the author of the Toddler Bible, he has been developing biblical reference books for more than 50 years. Beers has authored more than 160 books with 125 of them being for children.

As I read the intro of the Preschooler's Bible, I enjoyed the "To Parent and Teacher" message from Beers. While some may not see this as a key page, I do. In ministry I am constantly faced with new parents looking for answers about how to disciple their own children. Not only do I feel it's a good tool, Beers takes a brief moment to explain three ways to assist your children in learning God's word. He then goes on to say that "The Preschooler's Bible introduces your child to just the right amount of Bible for that age level" much like the Toddler's Bible.

As I looked to review, I thought I would take it to the true critics! Yes, I went and read to some of the preschoolers. Children being able to understand vocabulary, as well as relate what they are hearing to a visual and be able to explain it back to me is important. I read "David Fights a Giant" to the kids. The stories are written in storybook format, with language that a preschooler can grasp. As I read, there were no questions of what certain words meant (which is a good sign to me and I do quiz as I go). I asked the kids at the end to tell me the story again as I pointed to the pictures, they did so and one even offered up a little more detail. Their teacher liked the book and said she would like to use it as a supplemental tool as well. "Sometimes you just don't know how to state it at their level, and this does just  that", she said.

As a tool for new parents and teachers I think it's great. It is beautifully illustrated and the pictures make sense. The only thing that as a leader I noticed, was that I could have handled a little more information. The stories are perfect for the length of their attention span, but as that four year old pointed out "There were five stones", preschoolers are sponges and sometimes I think we underestimate what they can retain. This age group likes the details, and hopefully the goal is that the parents will fill some of those in as they go. The desire Beers has, is that these tools create a craving for the word, and I do feel that is accomplished.

I will be adding this to my "Christmas Recommendations List" that I am making for parents for our family ministry and will happily be adding a few to my teacher resource center.

If you would like to win a free copy; enter your name below on the comments or in a direct message on twitter.  I will be drawing a name on November 10th and will post here as well as on Twitter!

Blessings,

Heidi M Hensley