Archive - Children’s Ministry RSS Feed

It’s baaaccccckkkkk….and better than ever!

September 19, 2011 in Kidmin Resources with 0 Comments

That’s right, the kids are back in school, the weather (at least where I am) is cooling off, ministry is heating up, and trees are changing color – WAIT!  Did somebody say color?  That’s exactly what I want to talk to you about this week.  I am taking a sabbatical from my sabbatical this week to tell you, the readers of Dad in the Middle, about something very important.

This coming Thursday, September 22, 2011 is the first day to register for Orange Conference 2012.  The Conference will be help April 25-27, 2012 in Duluth, GA and will feature an awesome lineup of speakers and great breakout sessions.  As an added benefit (not really, but it sounds good), I am doing everything in my power to finally make it there this year!  It’s hard to tell this far in advance, but I’d put my odds at about 80-90% that I’ll be able to pull it off this year.  Much more to come throughout the week here about the Orange Conference, but this morning I just wanted to give you the heads up.

Continue Reading…

That Moment Made My Week

September 16, 2011 in Children's Ministry Moments with 1 Comment

imageIt’s been a busy week – a really busy week.  Soccer practice in the rain on Monday,  Meeting on Tuesday for a new ministry,  Awana Wednesday night, and a starting a new ministry on Thursday all made for an exciting week.  On top of that, I came down with the worst cold I’ve had in quite a while starting Tuesday morning and continuing through now.  So, do I tell you all that to whine about my week – maybe a little bit.  No, but I wanted to set the tone of my week so that God’s grace is sufficiently clear in the story I am about to tell.

Last night was my first night serving in a ministry called Divorce Care 4 Kids.  If you haven’t noticed, I’ve been spending a lot of time recently on my newest ministry called Divorce Ministry 4 Kids.  As part of that, I found a local church offering the Divorce Care 4 Kids curriculum on Thursday nights and asked if they would let me serve in their program.  They were nice enough to allow it, and last night was our first of 13 weekly meetings.  The leaders of the group are great, and the other volunteers are nice enough, but there was, of course, a bit of awkwardness as everyone gets used to each other.

The night went well.  We had 12 kids, plus three more leader’s kids who have been through the program before.  That alone is a gift from God because as of Tuesday we thought we had seven kids coming.  Two of the first people to show up were sisters aged 11 and 9.  Mom hung out for a while, and it seemed pretty clear that they didn’t want to be there.  They weren’t causing any problems, but they were sticking to themselves and just had that “I don’t want to be here, and you can’t make me like it” air about them.

Continue Reading…

Seeds Family Worship Cookbook

July 18, 2011 in Parenting with 0 Comments

If you’ve read this blog for a while, it won’t come as any surprise that I am a big fan of Seeds Family Worship.  We were honored to be a stop of the release tour of their most current album, and I’ve been a fan for a while now.  Well, the guys at Seeds are “cooking up” something new and exciting, and they want to give you a chance to to get in on the action.  From now through July 31, you have a chance to submit an idea or activity for the new Seeds Family Worship Cookbook. 

The Cookbook will feature ideas, games, activities and lessons that you have used with your families to build Godly character at home.  These could include ways to memorize scripture (can your two year old recite the entire book of Ephesians?), ideas on worshipping as a family (maybe you’ve created a Partridge Family type worship band and tour with the kids?), family activities or outings (did you and the kids uncover the lost tomb of Lazarus?), ways you’ve tackled difficult theological questions (did you figure out a way to explain the trinity to a five year old), or anything else you’ve done to instill God and the Bible into your kids.  Seriously though, it doesn’t have to be earth shattering, if you have an idea that can help other parents, share it and let us learn from you.  The best entries, along with your name, will be published in the Seeds Family Worship Cookbook similar to a church cookbook.  If you have more than one idea, make sure you submit them all.

Continue Reading…

A Brief History of Creation

June 25, 2011 in Kidmin Videos with 0 Comments

It’s been a while since I suspended the Saturday morning video segment of this blog. I can’t promise a video every Saturday, but I’ve found so many good ones that I wanted to start sharing them again.

This is a fun little video that depicts the story of creation.  I used it several months back with our Kindergarteners and First Graders, and it was a hit!

Announcing the Official Unofficial CMX 2011 Pre-pre-conference Meet-up

June 20, 2011 in Kidmin Resources with 0 Comments

imageHow is that for a mouthful!  Maybe I should have gone with “Meet Me at CMX 2011,” but that seemed a little self-centered to me.  Anyhow, I am excited to be going back to the Children’s Ministry Expo this year in Lexington, KY on July 7, 2011.  I went to the very first CMX last year and had a great time, so I am really looking forward to going back this year.  More on what will be there later, but first I want to give you the details of our meet-up.  Last year, my one regret was that I was not more proactive about meeting people at CMX.  I assumed I would just “run into” people.  That happened, but there were a number of people that I missed that I only found out afterwards.  So, this year I am putting together a pre-pre-conference meet-up. 

The CMX preconference runs from 6:00 – 10:00 PM on July 6th.  So, we are going to get together from roughly 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM in the food court in the arena where CMX is being held.  So, if you’re coming in early, make plans to join us.  There is no invitation necessary, no agenda and nothing other than a chance to get together with other like-minded people, talk children’s ministry, make some new friends, reacquaint with old friends and just have a good time!  I know I’ll be there, and I hope you can make it too – the more the merrier!

If you’re coming and you can make the meet-up, leave a comment below to let us know.  If you’ll be at the expo, but not in time for the meet-up, let us know that too.  Leave a comment, and I will track you down during the conference.  I want to meet as many people as possible this year!

Continue Reading…

Zotero – A Wonderful Tool With a Funny Name!

June 17, 2011 in Kidmin Resources with 2 Comments

zotero_logoEvery once and a while, I come across a tool which is so useful to me that I feel the need to share it with you.  Zotero is one of those tools!  If you been keeping up with my writing here on Dad in the Middle, over at Kidmin1124.com or on Ministry-to-Children.com, you’ve probably picked up on a couple of things:

  1. I’ve been on “hiatus” for almost six months now which hasn’t kept me from writing the occasional aritcle; and
  2. I’ve been writing a lot recently about Children of Divorce.

I won’t go into all the details, again, of my research into Children of Divorce but needless to say I have spent hours and hours online searching out articles and authoritative literature.  Last week, I decided I need to find a way to organize it and produce a bibliography.  I was lucky enough to find Zotero.  The Zotero website describes the program as:

Continue Reading…

Help Us Minister to Children of Divorce

June 4, 2011 in Children of Divorce with 2 Comments

imageI need your help! I don’t often use this vehicle for personal reasons, but today I am making an exception. I am making an exception because I believe it is of critical and urgent importance to our churches and to our children’s ministries. As you read the article below, you will learn about the wide path of devastation that divorce leaves in the lives of our children. You will read about the impact that this has on kids. I believe with all my heart that we, as the church, are called to fill the void left in a child’s life when their parents’ divorce. In order to do this better, I am currently conducting a short, confidential, online survey of people whose parents divorced before they reached the age of 18. You can find that survey (which asks 8 simple questions) at http://www.Kidmin1124.com/divorce/.

The goal of this survey is to help those of us who work with children to recognize the needs of children of divorce and serve them better. If you fall within the group targeted by the survey, please click on the link above and take 5 minutes or so to help us to positively impact kids who are currently going through the divorce of their parents. If you know of someone who fits the criteria, please forward the link to them as well. The more people we can get to fill out the survey, the better the results will be.

God has laid this issue heavily on my heart. As such, it is my intention to publish this article on Ministry-to-Children, Kidmin1124 and Dad in the Middle at roughly the same time. I apologize to those of you who will stumble across it more than once because of that, but my desire is to reach the largest audience possible in hopes that some in that audience will help me to spread the word. Thank you so much for your help. Now, on to the article!

Continue Reading…

Page 3 of 45«12345»...Last »