Review Days

I love doing series lessons.  We've done a series on great people of faith (Billy Sunday, Fanny Crosby, Billy Graham, The Five Missionaries to the Waodoni, Martin Luther, etc), did a super fun series on the Judges, "toured" the Holy Land in a Biblical travel series, and lots of others.  And each series ends with one Review Day Sunday that is full of lots of games to help them remember what we have learned.  We had one recently to finish our current series and I was reminded of a couple things that are helpful when doing a Review day so I thought I'd pass them along to you.

Not every child was there every week
In fact, there is a high probability that none of the children were there every week.  A series is usually 6-8 weeks long and in that time we will have either one or possibly two Family Sunday services where our children will be in the main sanctuary and not children's church so that extends the time a bit longer.  If you stop to think about it, probably most of your kids will miss at least one Sunday over the course of 8-10 weeks.  So keep that in mind when preparing your games.  I combat this issue by using teams for the games.  No child is ever on their own so no one has to have all the answers.  They work together no one feels pressure to know the answer all the time.

Include at least two games that can be played by a visitor 
A new child won't know many (or any) answers from the series you are reviewing, so include a couple games where they won't feel like the outsider. For example, we were just finishing up a series where we were "traveling" to different locations in the Holy Land and one of our games was a bingo game that reviewed those locations and lots of others too. Every child could play and even the newest had opportunity to win because it was Bingo, not a question/answer game. I also included a game where the answers to some of the questions were literally in front of them on the pages of a previous game.  We had two new children at our last review game and I think they had just as much fun as everyone else simply because the service was planned with them in mind...even before we knew they were coming. :-)

Be flexible and be prepared to change things up
Like everything else in ministry, the unexpected is to be expected. Be ready to add a game or activity if the service goes long or perhaps change a game if necessary. My preschool teacher had a family emergency urging our last review game so I can a child much younger than the others stay in our service...but with a few tweaks, all went well.

Have fun!
Review days should be lots of fun. Enjoy it! Praise their memory when they answer correctly and encourage team work when a question is missed. It's not about who wins (in fact I've started taking away points from a team if I see/hear gloating), it a celebration of what they have learned and how they are growing in their walks with the Lord.

Until next week!

Christmas Time is Near...

I love Christmas.  It is, by far, my favorite holiday.  However, in ministry, it is an extremely chaotic time of year. And you start planning for it in January (yes...January), so Christmas prep is sort of always on the back burner throughout the year.  However, there are a few things you can do, to hopefully lessen the chaos and make this very special time of year a bit less stressful.

Don't plan many activities during the month of December.  At my church we do three things in December and only one is not during a regular service time.  The Christmas Musical, our Angel Brunch, and a Birthday Party for Jesus. 

The Angel Brunch is held on a Saturday and it is literally a brunch where the children bring their Grandparents (or a Grandparent they adopt for the day if their own are not available).  We do an angel craft, have someone dress up like an angel for pictures, play angel themed games, and the "Angel" reads a special Christmas Story to the kids.  It's not work intensive, but it is a lot of fun and the families always enjoy this special time.  It generally lasts no longer than an hour and a half, so it doesn't take up much of the people's time during this busy time of year. 

Our Birthday Party for Jesus is always the Sunday right before Christmas.  That particular Sunday is one of the most unpredictable of the year as far as numbers are concerned because sometimes you may have far fewer kids (they have left to visit family) or you may have far more children (those in town to visit family).  This birthday party is great because it works whether you have 10 kids or 50 kids.  On this day, we have an actual birthday party and try to incorporate as many different things that would be done at any child's birthday party.  We have party games, goodie bags for each child (filled with "Happy Birthday Jesus" items when we can), prizes, music, cupcakes or birthday cake and more.  We also include a time to tell the Christmas story in some way.  In fact, all of the games tell parts of the Christmas Story as much as possible.  For example, instead of "Pin the Tail on the Donkey" we might play "Put Baby Jesus in the Manger".  If we play musical chairs, all the music will be Christmas Carols of some sort.  You can find lots of games this fit this idea on Pinterest.   The Christmas Story might be told through a video, by having the kids act it out, or various other ways.  We will have been studying the Christmas Story prior to the party so this is a review more than a full blown lesson.  But, here is my thinking about this party...if we would give a party to a child to celebrate their birthday, how much more appropriate is it to plan a Birthday Party for the Savior of the World.  It's fun and it reinforces that Christmas is when we celebrate Jesus' birthday.  It is one of my favorite days of the year in Children's Church. Also, if you happen to be gone on this Sunday, this is an easy Sunday to have your volunteers lead.  Make sure they have all the supplies and that everything is ready to go, but they can easily fill in on this day if needed.  Even the most shy volunteer generally is ok leading a game even when they might not feel comfortable teaching a full blown lesson.     

About the Christmas musical/program:  If you are doing a Christmas program or musical, my advice is to schedule the performance on the first Sunday of December.  It might seem early for a program, but most of the time, if you wait longer to do it, you will start clashing with the practices and programs the children have at school.  Doing the program early keeps the schedule clashing to a minimum and  will also put your biggest event behind you early on.  Christmas musicals/programs take more time and effort than most people realize and if you do yours early, you will have time to recuperate before you begin celebrating with your family.

That's all for now.  Until next week! 

Fun Family Ideas

In Family Ministry, we are always looking for fun ways to connect our families to each other and that can be a challenge in this busy day and age.  But below are a couple fun things that I have done that are not expensive, offer a cool way to connect, and are specifically for families (as opposed to just dropping off the kids).

Family Picnic
If your city has a park, and most do, this is an easy way to connect your families. Pick a day and do a Family Picnic.  Have each family bring their own lunches and then pick a spot and eat together.  You can rent a shelter house, but it's not really necessary if there is a place with an outdoor picnic area.  After they eat, either the kids can play on the park playground while the parents chat, or your can plan some fun games to do as a group.  Because each family brings their own lunch, there is really no cost involved for this event, and except for the games (if you choose to plan them) there is very little prep.  It's truly a win/win activity.  Lots of fun without adding a lot of work to your schedule.

Family Game Night
There are a few ways you can do this.  The first, is to set out a lot of table type games and allow the families to play these with refreshments, music, and perhaps some fun videos.  Easy, and not really any different than they could do at home, however, not all families take the time to play games at home. Plus it gives families opportunities to connect with other families in a laid back pleasant atmosphere which is always a good thing.

The second way, is to provide family vs. family games and give out prizes to the winners.  To do this, each family is a team and the teams compete against each other in games such as "Name that Tune", "Jeopardy", "Concentration", or "Family Feud".  Admittedly, these games can be very time consuming to plan and put together, so make sure you have plenty of time to prepare.  You will have to come up with the questions or puzzles for each game and that can be work intensive, however it is worth noting that there is a Family Feud Card game that can be purchased and has tons of questions and answers already done.  When I create these games, I try to do it in such a way that neither the parents or the children could win without the help of the other.  So, for example, when we play Name That Tune, not only will I include music from the parent's growing up years, but also music that we sing only in Children's Church...that way they have to work together.  We also have a game where we give each team a random assortment of objects and ask them to create something with them.  This year we gave each team objects that included, a piece of rectangular cloth, a small box of colored clay, a variety of lengths of yarn, rocks, beads, pipe cleaners, and a few other things and asked them to come up with a diorama of something that they did as a family.  I am always amazed at how creative the results of this activity are.  It was truly awesome to see!  As for the prizes, they are always something that promotes another time of family activity.  Perhaps a board game, a puzzle, a family movie, or even the components for them to make cookies as a family.   

The third way to do this, is to create life size versions of games such as LIFE or Candyland and let the families play with each person being their own game piece. This would also be rather work intensive, and while I have yet to try this, I have no doubt that it would be an awesome memory for the families who participated. I mean, who wouldn't love to play a life size version of a favorite game?

We who work in Children's Ministry are often cut off from the other parts of the church simply because we are with the children so much.  Both of these activities promote times of fun with the whole family and also allows them to interact with other families. Plus it gives us the opportunity to be with the family as a unit instead of just with the children.  And if we really want to minister to the whole family, we have to find ways to connect with the whole family...and these are good ways to do just that.  

Until next week! 

Do you know what's popular?

One of the things kids face is a barrage of entertainment that is anything but positive.  Every year, I try to check the winners of the Teen Choice and Kid's Choice Award shows and many times I find myself shaking my head at what they are choosing as their favorites.  More often than not, the things that are winning are not kid friendly...especially where the Teen Choice Award winners are concerned.  And if the teens are watching or listening to it, their younger siblings are probably watching/listening as well.

Just like when you watch the Emmy's or the Oscars and the winner may not be your choice, it is the same way with kids and teen award shows.  Just because something wins doesn't mean all the kids in your department are watching or listening to the winner.  However, it is almost a given that they are aware of the winners and probably have friends who like that artist, television show, or movie even if they do not.  And that being the case, we need to be aware of them too.

It sounds easy...simply know what is popular in the world of children, but it's not.  It changes all the time.  What was popular last month may not be popular this month.  The band the kids couldn't get enough of  when they were in 4th grade may be uncool when they reach 5th grade. The toy that everyone had to have last Christmas is collecting dust on the shelves by February.  The game all the boys were playing on their phone in May might be deleted by August.  You could spend hours every week trying to keep up with it all and let's face it...we don't have that kind of time.  So, what do we do?

LISTEN
If the kids in your department are excited about something, they will talk about it...a lot.  What shows are they talking about watching?  What song in stuck in their head?  What books are they reading? What apps are they loving?  They may walk right up to you and say, "Do you watch __________?  I love that show!"  But we are often so busy before and after church services that we don't always hear what they are telling us.  Make a point to listen to what they are saying.  You might be surprised at what you will hear.

DO RESEARCH
A quick google search for "Teen Choice Award Winners" or "Kid's Choice Awards Winners" will bring up lots of articles about those shows.  Take a few minutes and look them over.  Take note of the artists or movies that win more than one award.  Maybe take a few minutes to look up the names of any winning artist, show, internet celebrity, or movie that you are not familiar with.  These shows also give awards for video games and social media personalities so it really is an overview of all the media that in coming at the kids.  This doesn't have to take a long time, but it can give you an idea of what is popular.

SEE WHAT THEY SEE
We may not have time to watch every television show or movie that comes out geared at kids, but we can do our best to see the ones that seem to be the most popular.  Is there a song that your kids are listening to repeatedly?  There is probably a video on YouTube of that song.  Take five minutes and watch it.  Catch at least one episode of that show they all love to watch.  The game they love to play on their phones may be a free download.  If so, try it out.  See what has made it so addictive. We may not see it all, but we can at least make an effort to know what they are seeing.  

You might not think this sort of thing is important, but here is what I've noticed over the years.  If what is important to the kids is not even on our radar, they will listen to us less.  Not because they don't like us, but because we do not seem to understand them.  If they talk to us about their favorite show and we know what it's about, or if we know who the new popular artist is on the radio, it shows them that we find their interests important...and by extension that they are important.  And if they know we find them important, they are more likely to listen to us on things that we find important...like our Bible lessons.  And they will also be willing to listen to us when we explain why we don't like the lyrics of a particular song or how the message of such and such a movie isn't appropriate.  As the old saying goes, "They have to know you care before they care what you know."

That's all for this week!   


  

Keeping the Main Thing the Main Thing.

All throughout the year, we all are planning events and programming for our department.  And as we do it is important that we do not let opportunities pass us by that we can use for ministry.  When I am planning an event, there is one very important question that I need to be able to answer:

 Does this event include an opportunity to draw people closer to the Lord?

The answer, must always be YES.  That doesn't mean that there has to be an altar call at the event, but what it does mean is that the event MUST be Christ Focused.  Sometimes that means giving people an opportunity to fellowship with other families in the church (like at a picnic), but most of the time, it means making sure that the focus of the event is on the Lord and not just on having the event.   This will always mean more work on your part, but it's worth it.

Let me give you two examples of what I mean.

1) Water Wednesdays
In the summer it is hot and kids want to be outside.  So every summer, we have Water Wednesday's at church.  The kids bring a towel and expect to play all sorts of water games.  But each week we also focus on a Bible Story where water is an important aspect of the story.  Part of the games are planned to bring attention to that focus as well.  For example, one week, when the story was focused on how God held back the water of the Red Sea, we had the kids try to build a wall with water balloons. Not an easy task.  Try it sometime and you will see.  After they tried with all their might and could not get the wall to be very tall at all (Usually not more than two or three balloons high) we were able to talk about how, while we could not make a wall of water even if it was in balloons, God was able to build a wall of water using nothing at all...except the water.  Of course, a water balloon fight was also on the agenda that evening as well, but game was able to point toward the Bible Story...even amidst the fun of the evening.

2) Trunk N' Treat
Every year, there is a Trunk N' Treat at my church around Halloween.  In case you have never been a part of such an event, basically the idea is that there would be cars with decorated trunks in the parking lot with people handing out candy to the kids and in the gym would have games and food for those who attend to enjoy.  Just doing that would have been easy.  Play some games, decorate some trunks.  Everyone has a great time.  But that would not necessarily have pointed people to God.  So we decided to do a bit more. 

Because we wanted to make sure the event had the proper focus, my Children's Council and I decided to give the event a theme:  God's Blessings.  We told the people who decorated their car that they could decorate it with whatever they felt was a blessing from the Lord for them.  This allowed for much diversity in decor' but also kept the focus where it needed to be.  Then in the gym, every game and every area had a blessing theme.  Below are a couple of the signs that accompanied two of the games.

This was a simple fishing game where the kids throw a fishing pole over a curtain and pull out a
prize.

We used the game to remind them that we have a job to do.  We are to be Fisher's of Men.

The Cake Walk is an easy game where they walk in a circle while music plays and when it stops the person on the winning spot get's a snack cake.  

 We used the Cake Walk to remind the children of the sweetness of God's Word. 












 Even the table area (where folks could sit and  wait or chat) was the "Blessing of Rest".   










In my opinion, it is important to take every opportunity to point people to the Lord.  And if we can do it using things that they see often, then perhaps the next time they see that thing (like a fishing pole or a snack cake) they will be reminded of the blessings associated with those things in our games.

Every event, program, or activity should point people toward the Father.  Does it take more work to do that?  Yes, indeed.  Does it make a bigger impact on those who attend.  That is our prayer.

How do you keep the Main Thing the Main Thing?  I'd love to hear your ideas!

Have a wonderful week!!!