Andy and the Ants is written by a friend of mine name Karl Bastian. Karl is the founder of Kidology and is an advocate for Children's Ministry and Ministers around the world! He has written a children's book that is a must read, but it is also a tool that every children's worker needs in their ministry toolbox.
The parallels in this book that tie it to the Gospel are ingenious. It creates that perfect moment for an adult to share with a child about Jesus and His love for us. The Illustrations are beautifully drawn and brings the story to life. It took me straight back to m childhood playing under a weeping willow tree.
In the story of Andy and the Ants a little boy finds some ants that need his help. Andy goes to great links help the ants and then...... want to know the rest you must read it for yourself!
I am extremely excited about the Daddy Daughter Banquet this year. This is a great time for fathers and their little girls to connect and grow. April 27 is our 3rd banquet and has become a solid tradition.
The other reason I am looking forward to this years event is the guest speaker. We have the pleasure of the Kidologist, Karl Bastian, sharing with us. He is the founder of Kidology and one of the top Children's Leaders in the country! To learn more about Karl check out www.kidology.org.
I got to hang with Karl at the Children's Pastors Conference a few weeks ago. He let me join him on this project. I think it is awesome. Check it out and enjoy the Hunt.
Easter is a pretty big holiday, and while it doesn't get the attention that Christmas gets, it's a pretty important event! In fact, all of Christianity rests on this historic event! And yet, often kids don't know all the important details of this story as well as they do Christmas. So I sat down with my wife a few months ago and we brain-stormed, "What would be a fun game to help kids learn the details of the Resurrection Story in an exciting way?"
We came up with a game based on the classic CLUE game and we think you and your kids are going to LOVE IT! We hired the top artist in children's ministry, Todd Hampson, who has worked on What's in the Bible, JellyTelly, Order of the Ancient, Yancy (not Nancy) videos and more - and then got our very own webmaster Steve Tanner, who is a CLUE game connoisseur - and came up with a game that is both fun and educational.
Next, I asked a new friend I met at CPC in Orlando, Stanley Mearse, to team up with me on writing twenty short devotionals on the places, objects and people of the Resurrection Story, and he came up with the idea of adding QR codes to the game to add an extra element of interactive fun. Others helped with editing, design, game input and tweaks, and in the end, the collaborative process has resulted in one of the most creative and fun projects from Kidology yet! It is called: Resurrection CLUE HUNT!
Wed, 30 Jan 2013 17:39:00 +0000 - Have you ever just wanted to Throw Up? I had the enjoyment of throwing up for the Jesus today! That sounds disgusting! What I mean is I went to my sons school today and shared the gospel through juggling. You know throwing things up in the air. There are times when like a juggler we do not think we can keep things going. Amazingly we do not have to keep everything in the air. Back in college I found myself complaining to God I could not do everything I was involved in. He answered my prayers by saying He never asked me to do it all. We need to be able to say no to some things and focus what God wants for us to do and everything thing else will fall into place. Maybe we just need to throw things up and trust God!
My family and I went to the Junior High production of Beauty and the Beast! There were several people that I was proud of in the performance. These young adults are former PHISH- Pursuing Holiness I Serve Him. PHISH is our 5th &6th grade Worship Team. God is so good I am glad I get to serve with such amazing people! You guys did great and I praise God for you!
Is the International Network of Children's Ministry
I have attended several CPC's in the past but this year was different. This year I went as a volunteer and helped out wherever needed. I was not worried about the giveaways and all the hype but really went to serve and seek after God. God did show up and I met some of the most incredible people.
Micheal Chanley
Micheal is the Executive Director of the International Network of Children's Ministry that put on CPC. Even though he was extremely busy he took the time to check on others, learn their names and truly showed that he is a servant of the one true God.
Karl Bastian- Kidology
I went to a breakout session on discipline with Karl and it was amazing. God is using Kidology is some epic ways and I was fortunate enough to hangout with Karl during CPC and make a new friend.
GO FISH- Jamie
While going to dinner with Karl from Kidology we run into Jamie from Go Fish. Go Fish music is the type the whole family enjoys. While in Church Sunday Night we were singing hymns and we started singing Blessed Assurance. My 5 year old said, "This is one of my favorites but my version is better." He likes it from Kick'n It Old School. Thanks Go Fish for making music to help hide God's Message into Children's Hearts.
I do not have them pictured but others that meant so much to me at CPC this year are:
Brent Randall- He has a radio show for Children , he is a speaker, and he is the author of, Whales, Rocks and Chickenfish I got to room with Brent during the conference.
Sara and Lynn- These two ladies are my inspiration. They serve as volunteers to their church back home and always have a smile on their face. They were Jesus to me this past week and I can not thank them enough for how they impacted my life.
Keith McManus- Keith is the founder of Sonshine Avenue Ministries. I have gotten to know Keith of the past couple of years. He is a friend and mentor. He is the kind of person that I would charge the gates of Hell with only having water guns knowing the whole time his water gun was out of water.
My wife came up with idea to help get the family excited about Christmas! I think it is truly a God given idea and wanted to share it with others:?
Every year we try to make Christmas a memorable and meaningful time where we
focus on celebrating the gift of Christ Jesus. This seems to get increasingly
more difficult over all the racket in our culture of Santa, elves, and the
greedy attitude of what can I get for me. We want our kids to grow up to be
generous givers, compassionate and kind. Humbly understanding the awesome gift
of grace given to us by God. With that said, this year we are going on a Family
Christmas ADVENTure to discover more about who Christ is. Each day in the
month of December we will read from the Bible one of the names of Christ. Then
we will do an activity that either helps us think about the meaning of the name
or gives us an opportunity to share, give, or serve. I'd like to share this with
you for FREE in the hopes that you would make Christ the center of your
Christmas too. After all, Jesus is the reason for the season.
I had seen these in several stores and finally picked up a set in Walgreen's. They come with their own pouch an are not expensive. You can use them for icebreaker activities, dead time, or fun creative brainstorming. Simply roll the dice and use the pictures to make up a story. Have the story on how these things can relate to the Bible or God. How can you make your story evangelistic. You can even use your story to create a drama or puppet show. The possibilities are endless and is a great kick start for creative thinking.
Pocket Disc
This is a Frisbee made out of yarn. It can be used indoors or outside. These discs fly great and are super easy to catch. Pocket discs are machine washable. I have had more fun with this toy than any other playing with kids. The yarn will not hurt the person catching it and any age can play from 4 year olds to Deacons. This is one tool to always have in your back pocket.
Mon, 17 Sep 2012 13:19:00 +0000 - There is a great need for reaching out to families with children that have special needs. This type of ministry is one of the hardest ministries out there. However, for the families you are reaching, it is life changing and a safe harbor in the midst of a storm that never ends. If you are looking to start such a ministry there are a few things to consider. 1. Work on support for: prayer, budget, material, polices and space. Does your ministerial staff support your vision for a special needs ministry? 2. Find Volunteers - not just warm bodies, but qualified people who have experience and the desire to help children with special needs 3. Get training!!!!! The best resource out is Joni and Friends. 4. Try to keep the special needs kids involved as much as possible with the other children. We use shadows, or people who stay with the child in their age/grade appropriate class and help them one on one in the same class as their peers. 5. Do not just babysit special needs children at church. They can learn and understand. Teach them at the level they are able to comprehend and enjoy. 6.When starting any ministry or program of the church such as special needs bathe it in prayer. Ask the Lord what He wants you to do then be obedient to do whatever He asks. He will equip you for the ministry He calls you to. Then I recommend you go over the following program plan. I did not create this, but have used it for years in planning all my programs. What is your Program Plan?
WHO IS YOUR… Leadership team? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
WHAT IS YOUR…. Primary purpose? Program Idea? Program description? Program theme? Program name? Estimated number of leaders needed to support the program? Estimated attendance? Desired ministry outcome?
WHEN WILL YOU… Meet? What day of the week? What time will the program begin or start? What time will it end or wrap up? Do setup and tear-down?
WHERE WILL YOU…. Host the event? You get supplies? What supplies do you need? Get the special equipment you need? What equipment do you need?
WHY DO YOU SEE THIS PROGRAM AS… Connected to your church mission and purpose? Consistent with you children’s philosophy? Relevant? Radical? Reflective? Relational?
HOW WILL YOUR PROGRAM LOOK? Specific activities or experiences: Budget and financial support information: Publicity and promotion efforts: Communication time lines: Evaluation:
Sat, 11 Aug 2012 02:45:00 +0000 - We are close to our Grand Opening on August the 18th. It is going to be a wonderful time with fun, food, and amazing gospel presentations. The Family Life Center (MPACT) will be open at 4:30 with food and fun. At 5:30 the Crazy Tie Guy Nathan Dorrell will kick things off with juggling for Jesus. Then we have Maegen Bruce Yawn sharing the Gospel with her foamies. The cost is free so come hang with us for an exciting time that will MPACT your life.
If you would like to help get ready for this time we would be grateful. The Family Life Center will be open Monday August 13- Friday August 17 from 8am-8pm. God is at work so come be a part.
Mon, 06 Aug 2012 02:03:00 +0000 - Jim Wideman was a speaker at last years Children's Pastors Conference. Here are a few brief highlights that have played a part of my personal ministry.
God will not give you more than you can handle. If you are not ready to handle it God will not give it to you.
Have a plan and job description for each position you need.
Do now what you would be forced to do if you were larger.
Dance with the one who brung ya! Keep doing things that are working.
Have a purpose and vision for your ministry.
Be the leader who leads by example.
Never ask anyone to do anything that you are not willing to do yourself.
Be willing to just about anything.
A minister should be the first one to turn the lights on and the last one to leave to turn the lights off.
Are you ready for growth and follow God?
Mon, 09 Jul 2012 20:33:00 +0000 - The Mission trip with the 5 & 6 graders this year was one of the most awesome trips I have ever been on. God moved in mighty ways among the kids and the areas we went. We stayed here in the Zachary area following the Great Commission and we went to the least of these in our home town sharing the Gospel. The Holy Spirit moved in the environments the kids were in from Mary's House of Bread to St. Vincent De Paul Children's Shelter. I can not wait to see what God has planned for us next.
We had a Mother Son day at Zephyr's Minor League Baseball. A good time was had by all. There was a 80% chance of rain but with God's help we did not get wet and the weather was nice. Thank you to all the Moms that impacted their child's life with a simple baseball game.
Life is hard and there is always something going on such as bills need to be payed, work needs to be done, and the yard needs mowing. It becomes easy to be consumed with stuff and over look the important things in life. One of the great joys is teaching your child to ride a bike. My oldest son did this for the first time last week. I was proud that I had stopped to take the time to spend with him. Will he remeber who taught him when he is older? I do not know but I will remeber. Take time to make an impact on your kids this week it will last a life time.
Wed, 07 Mar 2012 21:56:00 +0000 - God allowed me to be a presenter at the Creative Ministry Conference last weekend. I have never been a presenter and was a little nervous. I taught three different sessions. First was juggling and God allowed 70 people to show up to learn how to juggle. The second session was Illusions and God sent 77 people to it to learn different ways to share the gospel through illusions. Last was Balloon Twisting and once again God blessed me by 35 people attending this workshop. It was great to teach others new skills to serve our king.
The biggest blessing from the weekend was that I was not only a presenter but a minister. I got to take my team of adults and children to compete. The PHISH Team (Pursuing, Holiness, I, Serve, Him) rocked it out. Most of the teams we performed with were puppet ministries ranging from children to adults. Our team was only 5th and 6th graders who rotate out every 2 years to youth group. The adults that helped out were just chaperone's. Needless to say the kids were awesome and walked away with a silver ranking!!!!! I could not be prouder of a group!!!!!
