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Have you ever wished you had that one new THING, believing it would improve your presentation?

Don’t fall for it! We all love new gadgets, props and things that can be used in a presentation, performance or ministry setting. Try these ideas first and let me know how it goes:

  • Pray beforehand.
  • Study so you’ll know what you’re talking about.
  • Have a plan —When you don’t, they do.
  • Meet the audiences’ level of intensity… and then, go beyond it.
  • Be animated with your body movements: fill the space around you.
  • Be animated with your voice: pace, volume, intensity, tone.
  • Make eye-contact.
  • Get kids to respond verbally: cheering, sound effects, call and response.
  • Get kids to respond physically: standing, sitting, hand motions, moving around the room.
  • Use kid-volunteers to help you: to hold props, become instant actors/actresses, to be interviewed.
  • Use the names of the children present in the room while presenting.
  • Use audio: background music, sound effects, popular song segments.
  • Use lighting: adjust the brightness and color.
  • Demonstrate a talent, ability or skill that fits the presentation.
  • Prearrange for guests (kids, teens and adults) with special talents to be part of the presentation.
  • Teach like Jesus (like one who has authority).

What other tips would you add?

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Children in our churches are becoming increasingly unlearned as far as the Bible is concerned.

I hear many KidMin Leaders complain about the problem — mainly because there is no starting point. I have taken that as a personal mission to do whatever I can to become part of the solution. Here are a few of my ideas. Adopt any or all at your discretion:

  • Encourage kids to bring a Bible with them to church – offer points for attendance and when they bring their Bibles with them.
  • Take time to look up key verses, passages and stories during large group and small group times.
  • If necessary, instruct the children in HOW to find verses, passages and stories in their own Bibles.
  • Have good old Sword Drills — trust me: children still love the challenge!
  • Carry a Bible with you when you teach and preach. Open it, motion to it, make it a symbol of significance.
  • Have several sources for parents who want to get their child their own Bible.
  • Take a year and teach the significant stories through the Bible — example: we taught on the Old Testament for September, October & November; December we taught all about the Christmas story; January, February, we are learning about the miracles of Jesus; March is all about some popular parables of Jesus; April will be the Easter story and May will focus on the early church.
  • Do a series on the importance of God’s Word, how we got the Bible and all the amazing facts about it.
  • Give parents a reading plan they can follow with their children.
  • Have a memory verse challenge where there are incentives for memorizing scripture.
  • Play memory verse games during your classes and services – share those ideas with parents so they can play the games at home.
  • Use music and songs for your worship time that are based on scripture.

What would you add?

Comment below and let us know how you engage kids in the greatest resource available to them.

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We are hosting our 3rd Family Advent Night at our church this Thursday.

It’s an event that draws families together as it kicks-off the Christmas season. We decided to try it our first Christmas at this church since attending one at our home-base church as missionaries. It was great fun to eat Christmas goodies, drink hot chocolate, sing some Christmas Carols and make an Advent calendar as a family.

Here are a few tips to consider starting your own Advent Night next year:

  • Set the date before December starts. We don’t follow a traditional Advent set of dates — we basically set the calendar for December 1 — December 25
  • Provide Christmas Themed Tr
  • eats (cookies, hot cocoa, hot cider, punch, etc)
  • Be sure to explain what Advent means. This is your opportunity to present to the entire family
  • Provide the materials for families to make a pre-determined Advent calendar (Check Pinterest for ideas).
  • Involve your Lead Pastor and give him/her a part to play in the presentation.
  • Allow it to evolve. Not only has our event grown over the last year… it’s evolved! Our first year was very basic and now we have a Santa come ahead of time for photos and to move among the families while making their Calendars. We have many other people involved who take on the various projects (decorating, food, registrations, etc) You can watch the promo video here to get a feel for what we do.
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Here is some stuff from my workshop at the AG KIDMIN 18 Conference:

Tricky Messages for Kids

You will gain some great info from the simple PDF NOTES, but you will get all the details, full-color photos, access to printable graphics and instructional video clips

Special pricing during the week of the conference: $15.00 (normally $20)

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EPISODE 4

I still love Kids Church – in the last episode, we discussed the stuff that makes a kids church work. This episode is Part 2 of all about Kids Church! I discuss the structures that I’ve used to make my Kids Church work over the years.

Did you know that the modern Kids Church is a mash-up of:

education, entertainment and inspiration?

Let me know what you think and please, don’t forget to rate and review this episode and others, on iTunes!

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I thought this new podcast idea would be a monthly thing…

… as it turns out, there might be enough material suggested to make it a “several-times-a-month” thing.

In episode 2, I talk about how we encourage, equip and inspire our volunteer team by hosting our quarterly meetings. Have a listen and let me know what you think… remember: if you like it, subscribe via iTunes, leave a review and rate it!

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I’m back to podcasting after a long hiatus.

I tried to start one, way back… well, a long time ago (you might be able to find some of those episodes out there if you search). My plan way back then, was to simply post audio portions from workshops and classes I had taught at conferences. It was just to arduous of a task back then.

This first episode was suggested by Victor Oliva via my Facebook solicitation. Enjoy and if you like the podcast, be sure to subscribe with iTunes… leave a review and give a favorable rating.

 

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