kids ministry

Innovation in Kids Ministry

January 10, 2017 By michealwalley

If you are a kids ministry leader, you want your kids ministry to be excellent, creative, and most importantly, reaching families for Christ. You also probably want to keep finding new ways to get across Biblical truths in creative and innovative ways to the kids in your ministry. Sometimes, though, it’s a struggle in itself to maintain a level of excellence with the nuts and bolts of your ministry (by studying your curriculum, planning events, and even just recruiting enough volunteers for a Sunday morning). You want to create new, and creative ministry tools and experiences for families, but how in the world are you supposed to find time and energy to dream, brainstorm, and innovate?

Here are some tips to help get you started down the path of innovation:

Find your purpose. Everything in your kids ministry should be rooted in your purpose. Like at CentriKid, our purpose is rooted in Scripture–everything you see at camp will flow from God’s Word. Before you innovate, be sure you know what you want to accomplish. Write that purpose down somewhere that you’ll see it daily.
Schedule Time to Innovate. Go ahead. Put some time on your calendar each week to simply sit, think, doodle, and brainstorm big ideas that you want to see happen in your ministry. If it’s not scheduled and routine, other things will overtake it, and you’ll never have time to dream. Simply put 30 minutes to an hour each week on your calendar, grab a cup of coffee, and get to dreaming!
Don’t give up! You can do it! The nuts and bolts of your kids ministry SHOULD definitely be taken care of and sometimes will take away from the chances you have to innovate. But don’t give up! You can definitely allow your creativity to influence your style of kids ministry leadership, and if you keep trying, God will use you and your innovation to continue to make the gospel clear to kids.

How to Share the Gospel with Kids

December 5, 2016 By michealwalley

In kids ministry, sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ to kids is one of the most important things we can do as we minister to kids. Because of it’s importance, it can also be one of the most daunting things we can do. The real challenge comes in simplifying the language without simplifying the concepts. Kids are concrete thinkers, so when we share the gospel with kids, we must get on their level and explain the full truth in ways that they can understand.

At CentriKid, we have developed a plan that we call “The Gospel: God’s Plan for Me” that we believe fully explains the gospel on a level that kids can understand. (Other Lifeway Kids resources also use this method of explaining the gospel.)

THE GOSPEL: GOD’S PLAN FOR ME

1. God Rules. The Bible tells us God created everything, including you and me, and He is in charge of everything.

Scripture – Genesis 1:1, Revelation 4:11, Colossians 1:16-17

2. We Sinned. We all choose to disobey God. The Bible calls this sin. Sin separates us from God and deserves God’s punishment of death.
Scripture – Romans 3:23, 6:23

3. God Provided. God sent Jesus, the perfect solution to our sin problem, to rescue us from the punishment we deserve. It’s something we, as sinners, could never earn on our own. Jesus alone saves us.
Scripture – John 3:16, Ephesians 2:8-9

4. Jesus Gives. He lived a perfect life, died on the cross for our sins, and rose again. Because Jesus gave up His life for us, we can be welcomed into God’s family for eternity.
Scripture – Romans 5:8, 2 Corinthians 5:21, 1 Peter 3:18, Ephesians 2:8-9

5. We Respond. Jesus has given us this gift, and we must accept this gift. Believe in your heart that Jesus alone saves you through what He’s already done on the cross. Repent, turning from self and sin to Jesus. Tell God and others that your faith is in Jesus.
Scripture – John 14:6, Romans 10:9-10, 13

You might have other ways that you prefer to share the gospel with kids, and that is great! Overall, just be sure that your method is easy to understand for a kid, explains the whole truth, and uses Scripture as the foundation.

As a kids ministry leader or a parent, point your kids to Jesus every chance you get. Trust that the Holy Spirit will give you the words to say and guide you as you share your faith with kids.

Here are some other blogs and resources that can help you easily explain the gospel to kids:

Tips for Sharing the Gospel with Kids – CentriKid

5 Articles on Kids and Salvation – CentriKid Blog

How to Teach the Gospel without Velcro – Kids Ministry 101 Blog

Always Point to Jesus – CentriKid Blog

Free Gospel Poster Download – CentriKid Blog

The Gospel: God’s Plan for Me (Booklet)

Unpack This Verse with Your Kids

October 14, 2016 By michealwalley

This past summer at CentriKid, we taught kids how the armor of God is real and powerful, although it is “Unseen!” On Day 4 of camp, we taught kids how God gives us unseen truth, strength, and peace, and equips us to live those out with “Visible Faith.” During worship that night, we unpacked Ephesians 6:16.

In every situation take the shield of faith, and with it you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

You can unpack this verse with the kids in your ministry just like we did at camp using this kids ministry illustration!

Supplies needed:

a Bible
a large suitcase
several clean pairs of wacky socks
a toy shield
a Nerf gun with foam darts

Illustration:

Say: I want us to look at this verse in God’s word like we were examining a piece of luggage at the airport. I want us to think about each word and phrase to try and squeeze out of it everything the verse can teach us about our faith in Jesus. We will unpack this verse, while I unpack this suitcase! (pull items out of the suitcase one-by-one)

Several pairs of socks. “In every situation…” Have your ever been told to take extra socks with you when you spent the night at your friends’ house or with you grandparents. No matter where you go, you need to take your visible faith with you. You need your faith in every situation. In every situation at home. In every situation at school. In every situation at your church, with your friends, and especially with those that might be your enemies. You need your faith in Jesus in every situation.
A toy shield. “..take the shield of faith…” We are encouraged to take hold of our visible shield of faith in every situation. A shield that we are able to feel secure behind. A shield used for protection. Our faith in Christ is our shield. Our faith in God is our shield. He is our protection. (Psalm 18:2; Psalm 18:30) It was also a symbol who you belonged to. The colors and images on the front of the shield explained which family you were part of and what commitments or loyalties you held. When you become a follower of Jesus, the Bible says you’ve been born again, made new, given a fresh start. And with that comes a new identity, a new family, a new allegiance to God. Our faith in Christ is a new allegiance, a new family, a place of protection and belonging. (Colossians 3:3)
A Nerf gun and foam darts. “… with it you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” Why do we need the shield of faith? These darts are things that tempt you to disobey God, to sin against Him. (Ex. To lie. To steal. To cheat on a test. To hurt other people with your words or actions.) Temptation, like these darts, can come out of nowhere. They fly at you when you are least expecting it. And before you know it, you’ve done something you really regret. We’ve all sinned and all have fallen short. We’ve all messed up and all made mistakes, big ones and little ones. We’ve all done things that we really regret and wished we’d never done. This is why we need the gospel of Jesus!

We hope that you’ll use this easy illustration with the kids in your ministry to clearly illustration Ephesians 6:13! Let us know how it goes by emailing centrikid@lifeway.com!

The Levels of Biblical Learning

August 2, 2016 By michealwalley

All summer, we’ve been talking with Adult Leaders about The Levels of Biblical Learning at camp. The Levels of Biblical Learning is a blueprint and framework that helps kids ministry leaders and parents understand how to explain key Biblical concepts to kids at any age! As Kids GROW, their understanding of FOUNDATIONAL TRUTHS grows with them.

The Levels of Biblical Learning covers 10 biblical concept areas – God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, Bible, Salvation, Creation, Church, People, Family, Community & World – that children can learn as they study God’s Word. The concept areas are presented through six different age ranges, from infancy through the preteen years, and reflect levels of understanding that follow how God designed children to learn.

Lifeway Kids provides resources (including CentriKid Camps!) that will equip you to offer kids opportunities to hear God’s Word, know God’s Word, and do God’s Word by applying it to their lives. The Levels of Biblical Learning Collection resources are tools that we have designed to help you teach children truths from God’s Word, truths that can impact kids for eternity.

You can find out more about Levels of Biblical Learning and find training content for your leaders by visiting Lifeway.com/LevelsofBiblicalLearning.

Bible Studies for Life: Kids is based on the Levels of Biblical Learning. Learn more about how to connect God’s word to kids’ lives in an intentional way with this resource.