Whether it’s the beginning of a calendar year or a school year, most of us make New Year’s Resolutions of some sort or another. Perhaps you’ve decided that this is the year to get in shape, get out of debt, go on weekly dates with your spouse, be more positive, or read your Bible a [...]
Continue reading about Ten Questions to Help You Start Your Ministry Year Off Right
“Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach.”
Every college undergrad has either heard or said this at least once. Sadly, this statement gives teachers a bad name. The truth is that those who “can” are better teachers and those who “can’t” are ineffective teachers.
After my father-in-law retired from a long career in mechanical engineering, he [...]
This month I’m starting something new on Leading Kids Today. Each month I’ll include a five- to ten-minute audio file, called Parent Link Live, addressing relevant issues in the home. Even though these talks are designed to help parents fine-tune their parenting skills, they also have value for children’s leaders in other contexts.
This month’s talk, [...]
Continue reading about Parent Link Live: Fighting for the heart of your child
Last Sunday in Discovery Unlimited, our 4th and 5th graders got to make individual servings of ice cream to illustrate the virtue of determination. If you ask any 4th or 5th grader who was at our church last Sunday, they’ll tell you it takes a long time to shake up a baggy of milk [...]
Continue reading about Messiness: a secret to success in children’s ministry
Being a small group leader in a children’s ministry is a high calling. Every minute you spend with your kids is vital. You have so little time with kids that you need to maximize each minute. Most small group leaders are very aware of that fact, but some fail to realize that large group time [...]
Continue reading about Five Traps to Avoid During Large Group Time
Last week I introduced a few tips for how keep energetic kids engaged in your small group. Since this is such an important topic and since there are so many great ideas, I’m continuing with that topic this week.
One of the best ways to keep energetic kids engaged in your small group is to [...]
Continue reading about An Indispensable Tip for Engaging Energetic Kids
Diana has been asked to lead a small group of kids at her church. She’s excited about this prospect and works hard to prepare for her first lesson. She loves kids and has always wanted to get involved in children’s ministry.
Within minutes after she arrives, Diana notices that one of the boys in her [...]
Have you ever led one of those small groups that you felt was a total waste of time? Every once in a while I have one of those days. It seems like no matter what I do or how hard I try, the kids have a hard time focusing.
If you have ever felt like that, [...]
Continue reading about One Simple Way to Quickly Improve Your Small Group
In my last post, I wrote about the value of having kids sit in a tight circle to increase involvement and focus. Another extremely helpful tactic for keeping kids engaged during small group time is to call each child by name several times during your time with them.
For example, a couple weeks ago, we [...]
These past few weeks, I’ve had about 14 second graders in my “small group.” As I mentioned in an earlier post, 14 kids is more like a class than a group so I need to be very intentional about helping them stay focused.
My main tactic for keeping my group on task is to have [...]