CentriKid

Events

Christmas Games for your Ministry

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Amidst all the Christmas parties you are attending, planning, and skipping, you are inevitably charged with creating Christmas fun in your kids ministry. These Christmas games are fun, but they are built in a way to create a spiritual application. Your Christmas party will be a success with lots of fun and lessons will be taught through these games.

  • Candy Wrap Relay: open kisses using oven mitts in a relay fashion.
    • Prepare: Set of oven mitts and bowl of Hersey Kiss© for teams of 4-5 kids .
    • Share: Although opening a Hersey Kiss© with oven mitts on is difficult it can be done. In the same way before Christmas and before Jesus came to the Earth it was still possible but difficult for people to have a relationship with God. Unfortunately, it was very difficult. Jews had to practice the law, sacrifice animals for their sins, and worship God in very specific ways. However, Jesus coming to Earth, living a perfect life, dying for our sins, and resurrecting from the grave made having a relationship with God more accessible like taking off your mitts. Jesus did the work, Jesus made a clear way for us to have a relationship, and his life on earth began at Christmas in a manager.
  • Santa’s Beard: this is a stage game option. One kid gets petroleum jelly put on their face and another kid tries to throw cotton balls on their partner’s face to make a beard.
    • Prepare: Petroleum jelly and bag of cotton balls for each pair. Create lines of stage of where they have to stand. A good distance could be 5 feet away.
    • Share: Putting Santa’s beard on someone can make them look like a man. Jesus himself would have had a beard as a Jewish man. In fact it was key to our salvation that Jesus would come to the earth as a man. We needed him to be able to die as sacrifice for our sins. His birth on earth, which is celebrate at Christmas, is a huge part of our salvation plan.
  • Frozen: melt an ice cube fastest without throwing it on the ground.
    • Prepare: Ice trays with enough ice cubes for every kid to get a cube of ice. Consider freezing a item for kids to have to retrieve.
    • Share: When Christ came to earth most people, especially His people, had very hard cold hearts just like our ice cube. But God had already promised to those who would believe, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. I will remove your heart of stone, and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26). Although some people would continue to have hard hearts, Jesus would melt away the heart of others and warm them to himself through a relationship.

We love the celebration of Christmas, and even more we love to use it as a teachable moment in our kids ministry. Take the next step whenever planning your Christmas fun and make a connection to biblical truths your kids need to hear.

Fun Fall Festival Games

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The time of year has come for you to finalize your fall festival ideas to execute. Here are some fun fall festival games to add to your mix. These games have very limited set up or can be very complicated. You choose! We wish you fun times and great ministry results from your fall festival this season.

Pumpkin Relay Race
Gather a few large pumpkins and create a relay race. Turn the pumpkin on its side and roll it to the finish line. If you want to get more involved you can use hay bales to create a more complicated course. Whoever finishes first wins a prize

Toy Swap
Not all families have money to spend but they may have things to give away. Consider creating a toy swap. You can incorporate this into a BIG game as a finale for your event. This way every kids leaves with a big prize!

Hoop the Pumpkin
Tie a helium balloon to a pumpkin. On the balloons you can write different point values and spread the balloons across the playing field. Kids attempt to toss hula hoops above the balloons around the pumpkins to win points. Visually this game looks like a ton of fun.

Be Transformed at #KMC14

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Transformation is at the heart of kids ministry. At the end of the day, we want to see kids lives transformed by the power of the gospel. We’re so thankful for the faithfulness of kidmin leaders and volunteers who proclaim the message and labor day-in and day-out to point kids to Christ. The work is not easy, but because of your unrelenting service to the Lord, children that are dead in their sins are receiving the promise of life in Christ! You truly are our heroes.

Even superheroes, though, have their limits…

Everyone eventually reaches a point of exhaustion, frustration, or complacency. Everyone has that moment of wondering, “Does what I’m doing really matter? Am I really making a difference?” Everyone needs a retreat — an opportunity to pull away from all the busyness and refocus and refresh. If Jesus Himself thought it was important to find time to pull away from the crowds to pray and spend time with the Father, then how much more should we follow His example and plan our own times of retreat and renewal?! At Lifeway’s Kids Ministry Conference, that is exactly the atmosphere and experience that we work hard to create.

This year, the theme of #KMC14 is “Transformed.” We invite you to join us as we explore together many of the foundational truths of kids ministry:

If what you are doing in your ministry doesn’t transform the hearts of kids, if it doesn’t shape the culture, if it doesn’t expand the kingdom, then is it really important? Is it really as good as God wants it to be? Is it really transforming?

At KMC you will experience great worship, inspirational messages, practical workshops, lots of laughter, and a ton of fun! With Jesus Christ being the center of everything we do, the Lifeway Kids team wants to be a part of a catalyst that leads you to go home refocused, refreshed, and ready to take your kids ministry to the next level. Don’t miss this conference! Sign up today.

Play “Pumpkin Putt” at your Fall Fest

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Fall Festival season is upon us. It is time to round up all your supplies and get your games ready. This game has potential to be huge hit at your Fall Fest just remember to bring the putter. It’s called Pumpkin Putt!

Carve a pumpkin with a hole at the bottom. Consider turning the pumpkin on its side and using the stem as a nose, adding eyes, and making the hole its mouth for a funny pumpkin face. This hole must be large enough for the golf ball to easily roll into the pumpkin. Sometimes adding a wood plank as a ramp can help the golf ball get into the pumpkin. Now set up a course where kids win if they make the golf ball go in the pumpkin. Boundaries can be made of tiny pumpkins to fit the theme. You can make this as elaborate or simple as you want. The essentials are only a pumpkin, golf ball and a putter.

Don’t Miss these Breakout Sessions At KMC

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KMC 2013 is almost here. Less than a month away the Kids Ministry Conference is an opportunity for children’s ministers to rejuvenate and learn helpful skills. What you learn from keynote speakers, worship experiences, and practical tips at workshops will benefit you and your ministry.

Below are some of the workshops offered at KMC…

• Teaching Kids Contemplatively – A workshop by Dr. Shane Garrison about the use of silence. Getting kids to sit still. Creating meaning by slowing down. This session will examine how to teach children contemplatively and reflect in a world where this never happens anymore.
• Discipleship in Context – Tired of writing your own curriculum? Learn how Lifeway’s new Discipleship in Context team, including workshop leaders, Michael Kelly and Meredith Teasley, can work with you to create custom curriculum for your children’s ministry or your entire church. Come hear how we can help, whether it’s a short-term study, a church- wide emphasis, or simply a year-long focus on a particular topic.
• Ministry as Being: Revolutionary Spiritual Leadership – Matt Weston leads this session to discuss how one of our temptations as leaders is to believe that our ministry is defined by WHAT WE DO. However, Scripture teaches that our ministry is more centered in WHO WE ARE. In this workshop, we will explore the Biblical model for what it means to be a real spiritual leader.
• Trends that Influence the Future of Kids Ministry – In this breakout, led by Bill Emeott, participants will consider trends that are influencing Kids Ministry and implications for our work today as we prepare to be ready for the future.

These workshops and many more at KMC will prepare you for another great year of Kids Ministry. All of the speakers, invited guests and workshop leaders want you to have a transformational experience while attending KMC. So don’t wait and register now.

Check out the KMC website to register.

Our staff believes in the experience provided by KMC and does not want you to miss out. Take this opportunity to allow yourself to recharge in this season of your ministry. It is such a valuable event we offer a free spot at CentriKid if you attend KMC.

We have heard that it would be a better service to you for this spot to be transferrable. Now you can transfer this spot to any adult within your church. Mention this offer when you call to register for camp.
(Note: To receive a free spot at CentriKid from attending KMC, you must call Events Registration at 1-877-CAMP-123. This offer is not available by registering online or by text).