Reverb Church in St. Augustine, FL is dedicated to exploring community outreach opportunities and was in need of a facility that would be open throughout the week to serve as a hub for the people around them.
This prayer activity is suitable for groups of children or even a whole congregation as long as you have enough bricks! Have an adult or ch...
When I was visiting The Grove Community Church in Riverside, California, I saw a kids church reward system that they used to help motivate kids to listen & participate. They...
graphical representation of how I plan a kids ministry lesson. feel free to share.
We hear a lot of talk today about family ministry, but what exactly is family ministry? My thoughts about family ministry have changed over thirty-five years of ministry. I have a different view of things than when I started. This is my definition of family ministry: family ministry is comprised of the church and the [...]
Use this list of 20 Purposeful Activity Ideas shared by Women's Ministry Leaders to choose activities to do at your next Christian women's retreat.
One of the most amazing things you'll ever do in youth ministry is empower students to take ownership of the program. After all, it's their ministry (or should be). Having youth ministry student roles helps turn that goal into a reality.
Since 2004, ChurchLV has reached thousands of people from various backgrounds. Due to rapid growth and the vision to reach more people, ChurchLV acquired a 90,000 square foot K-Mart building on Sunset Boulevard to convert into their second campus.
Apron theme for women's ministry events such as ladies retreats. Inspired by the apron, a theme honoring mothers and godly women. Based on Titus 2:3-4
A list of low cost outreach projects your church can do to minister to those in your own community. Read these volunteer ideas..
The four corners icebreaker game is one of my favorites! It's quick and easy. It will get people up and moving. Read the full directions here.
On a recent visit to Woodstock City Church, I noticed their signs. There were 2 things that I noticed. I noticed what signs they had displayed, and what signs they...
Looking for some fun lessons for teaching children (and getting them excited!) about Jesus, can kind of be difficult. Especially when y...
The sermon this week was on Mark 3:13-19 on Jesus choosing the 12 apostles. Our Pastor gave a great sermon (as usual!!) He discussed the choosing of the apostles, and then he asked if we would be f…
I am finally blogging about last year’s VBS (just in time to start writing this year’s VBS). Last year was our first year writing our own VBS. It was lots of work, but totally worth it. We chose to go with a video game themed VBS and we called it Power Up. In my next post, I will be sharing our full Power Up VBS curriculum. I tried to get as many pictures as possible to capture what we did. I thought last year’s set design was crazy! This year we basically doubled the set design work. Honestly, there were moments […]
This is a great visual illustration for thinking about God's protection and can easily be used in a school assembly. You will need: An orange, a deep, clear container, water. Also useful are items such as sun cream, a bike helmet and a hi-vis jacket I used the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the fiery furnace but any story involving God's protection is good- Daniel in the Lions' Den, for example. Tell the story and get the children to participate with sound effects and actions if possible! Next bring out your 'protection' items and talk about what we do and wear to keep us safe in the sun, on the road etc. What about people who help us to feel safe? Talk about God keeping the characters in the story safe and speak about times in your life when you ask God to keep you safe. Put an orange in the container of water and watch it bob along the surface. Then peel off the skin and watch it sink. The peel is what protects the orange and stops it from sinking. God can be our protection! Ask the children to think of those people who help them to stay and feel safe and say a thank you prayer to God for them.
Do you want to become a great youth pastor or church leader? Here are six things I'm working on to become better at my role in youth ministry.
Today we went into school to do a SEALS assembly about 'getting on and falling out'. We decided to focus on the story of Saul and David in the cave, where David chooses not to kill Saul, but just to cut off a piece of his cloak to prove what he could have done but chose not to. We then talked to the children about what it's like when people upset us and we get angry and want to fight back. This is the illustration we used... You will need two jars or bottles with lids, white vinegar, water and bicarbonate of soda. Put neat vinegar in one jar and a mix of vinegar and water in another jar Talk about what it is like when people make you angry. Add half a teaspoon of bicarb to the water/ vinegar jar. The mixture will fizz a little but nothing more. Put a lid on the jar. Next, put a spoonful of bicarb in the vinegar jar and add another spoonful as well. The mixture will fizz up and explode out of the jar (best to keep the jars on a tray to collect the fizzy liquid! Explain that the second jar shows what happens when someone makes us angry and we fight back, adding more to the mix until the situation explodes out of control. David chose not to do this at this point in the story. He chose to be a better person than Saul, to do the clever thing and the thing that Jesus tells us to do- to turn the other cheek. He didn't fight back against Saul and kill him, instead he chose to try and keep a lid on the situation by doing the right thing. He could have easily turned to violence but he made a choice not to and in our relationships we have to make similar choices. We finished with a testimony about how God had given one of us strength not to fight back and then helped the children to reflect on how they could be strong in similar situations.
How are you? Are you ready for another Bible lesson? We are talking about the Holy Spirit as our comforter today.Did you know that the Holy Spirit is also known as the Comforter?Jesus promised the disciples that He would send the Holy Spirit to comfort them after He left them.You can read this story in John 14:15-21. I have prepared a fun windmill craft to help you explain to your children all about the Holy Spirit. You will find the template in the Resource Library. There is also a word search
Here's a free youth group lesson on influence, based on Matthew 5:13 to teach students that true godly influence goes beyond good morals – it flows from a heart that is surrendered to God.
The past few months my students have been making feathers for a group mural. This idea was inspired by my friend and celebrity in the art community, Cassie Stephens! Head on over to her blog and check out her magical art teacher'n treasures at Cassie Stephen's Blog!! Her original inspo was international street artist, Kelsey Montague. Her inspiring murals challenge people to ask the question "What Lifts you" "What makes your heart Soar?" My students are going to be writing about their passions and inspirations that "lifts" them! I want each student that comes to my art class to feel as though they are walking out with wings on their back, so they can bravely rise up to their dreams with courage and passion! I want them to feel confident in themselves and know that the sky is the limit! First, students painted on watercolor paper with tempera paint using a value gradient of tints and shades using one color plus black on the left and white on the right. They had to blend the colors so thet the different shades did not look like stripes One group did primary and secondary colors red, orange, yellow, green blue, and violet. The next group would paint intermediate colors, red-orange, yellow-orange, yellow-green, blue-green, blue-violet, and red=violet Fourth and fifth graders used 9' by 24' paper and 3rd graders used smaller paper the next class, students then traced different shapes of feathers using white prisma color pencils and cut them out then they decorated them with unique lines and designs with white prisma color pencils My wonderful and extremely talented student teacher, Naz Kaya Erdal and I layed them out on three large sheets of black butcher paper until the feathers looked symmetrical. Once we finished the shape, we taped each feather down to the paper with painter's tape Then I hung that bad boy with TONS and tons and TONS of staples!! The next morning the kids were SO excited to find their feathers turned into GIANT wings!!! I hope the parents who come to visit will snap a pic in front of the wings and post to #ArtisFly and #riseupandsoar hashtags for social media!
If you have an emergency first aid kit and a bible, you have all you need to teach a few exciting and important object lesson. Bandages make a great Bible Object Lessons for Kids Bible Object Lesson Using Band Aids
Here's a free Preteen Ministry Lesson on the topic of Making Good Choices. Bible: Matthew 7:13-14; Philippians 4:8 Bottom Line: Making the good choices isn't easy, but it's your choice.
This past Sunday we learned about the story of the conquering of Jericho. We made the "Rams" horns as our "Take Home" Activity. The horns were made before class (see previous post). During class the children added the chenille stick around the mouth piece and were allowed to color and decorate their horn any way they wanted. We also used these horns during the review game...but, more on that later. The kids LOVED these horns. They were soooo excited about getting to show their parents their "Rams" horn. Our memory verse this week was from the book of Proverbs. We said and sang the memory verse several times during class...and I am sure they will have it memorized by Wednesday. Our Review Game was a BLAST (the kiddos were allowed to blow their horns during this game.) I had the children draw card from a pile...if they picked a "Trumpet Carrying Priest" then they were a horn blower....if they picked the "Ark of the Covenant" then they had to follow behind the horn blowers as we marched around "Jericho." The children had to answer a question from the story in order to pick a card. This "Review Game" board from the Rahab story served as our Wall of Jericho. We marched around it a total of 13 times...(1 time for each of 6 days and then 7 times for day 7.) Then the kids blew their horns and shouted. Because this is a poster board type game board, I was able to let the wall fall flat. Their expressions were priceless...I love getting them excited about Bible stories. On Wednesday the children will be making this project for the Explorer Journal. The horns are Bugles (from the grocery stores chip aisle.) I coated them with a thick coating of modge podge and let them air dry for several days. They have become extremly hard and I believe will hold up well in their Explorer Journal...I love the arm on the one Priest...it has motion by adding a brad...I love activities that have the kids do several things with their hands... I believe it will help them remember the story very well. Blessings, Ronda
Thanks to Michelle Abernathy for making this coloring page of the Transfiguration of our Lord! Here is the collect for the day: “O God, who on the mount didst reveal to chosen witnesses thine…
Christian teen ministry leaders must talk about sex. I’ve been working in youth ministry for years, and I currently run a fellowship group out of my home, filled with rambunctious, honest to goodness teens from all walks on the faith trail. We have more girls than boys, but the few boys that do come are […]
