January 22, 2009
While riding home from a family outing a few days ago, Angie and I were participating in some playful banter back and forth with our 5-year old, Logan. We always do this thing where we ask him who he loves the most? (All in fun, of course) Does he love Dad the most or does he love Mom the most? (On this day,we were also asking him if he loved his new dog, Buddy, the most?) When he makes a choice, the other one of us always pretend we are crying and upset. This always gets Logan going as he tries to see who he can get to be the most upset. Most of the time he finally ends the game when he says: “I love you both the most!” Then everyone is happy! Well, on this day, after the questions about Buddy go on a while, Logan finally says in a sudden moment of deep thought: “You know, there are really 5 people we are supposed to love; The Holy Spirit, God, Jesus, the Angels, and Santa Claus!” ( This conversation has taken place only a couple of days after Christmas, of course!) After everyone has had a good laugh, Logan then says: “And …….there’s one person I don’t love, and he’s down there! (pointing to the ground) And he stinks because he’s Aubren (Auburn)!
It was apparent that he had been influenced by our families love for Bama football! Also throw in Christmas, the church Christmas play, and what he has recently learned from his great Preschool class teachers! All of this together had helped to shape his thoughts about who he should and should not love!
What an awesome responsibility we have as parents and leaders! We are shaping the hearts and minds of the next generation! We all have to be aware that there are always little eyes and little ears watching our every move and attitude about life, love, and God.
Father, may I strive to be a Godly example to all children. May I always be conscious of those little eyes and ears!
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Posted by Steve Patrick
January 5, 2009
Children’s Ministry Pastors and Volunteers,
Hurry – the deadline to save more money by registering early for the FOCUS conference is Friday, January 9th! You will not want to miss this year’s conference so get your registration in asap. See you there!
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Posted by Steve Patrick
December 16, 2008
Fellow Children’s Ministry leaders,
Share your praise reports from your Children’s Christmas program!
I’ll get the ball rolling by sharing about ours this past Sunday morning. Our children’s ministry presented “It all happened in the country”. This is an older program, but our children’s drama directors did a masterful job of revising it , adding video to it, and………… it was a huge hit! We had 1,985 people in attendance for the two morning services. To add to the ‘country’ theme and atmosphere, there was a bluegrass band playing in the lobby as guest came in. Outdoors, near the church entrance, ’Uncle Yule’s’ petting zoo/farm was erected, complete with a barn and fenced area. Between and after services all the kids got to visit and pet ponies, a llama, goats, pigs, rabbits, calves, and more! Uncle Yule, Granny Mae, and all of the other actors were available for a ‘meet and greet’ after the play. (of course, there was also plenty of germ-x available!)
Of course, nothing is ever perfect and neither was this day! There was one hiccup in the program as during the 2nd service, half of the audio board mysteriously went out for about 3 minutes! Can anyone relate to tech problems in a major production? The choir, which was right in the middle of the opening selection, continued in acappella as if nothing had happened. My wife, Angie, who was just wanting to be a mom for the day, quickly volunteered to grab a mic. She went to the stage and did an ad-lib stand-up session for a minute until the board was re-set! The rest of the program went off without a hitch. I know that you wanted to hear that all the farm animals got out, ran through the church auditorium, causing a children’s revival, but……… that never happened! Anyway, the day was a tremendous success – praise God! Let’s hear about yours!
Steve Patrick
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Posted by Steve Patrick
October 21, 2008
The NCLA leadership team is extremely excited to announce that Reggie Joiner will join us for FOCUS 09.
Reggie is the founder of The reThink Group, a non-profit organization encouraging churches and families to think strategically to impact this generation of students from birth through high school. The reThink Group urges ministries to be both relevant and strategic; to teach truth while offering hands-on experiences, to be more together than we could be alone.
He is also a co-founder of North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, Georgia, and the co-author of The 7 Practices of Effective Ministries along with Lane Jones and Andy Stanley.
Reggie truly is a champion of children’s ministry! We’re honored to have him at FOCUS 09! This awesome children’s ministry conference will be held March 5-7 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Greenville, South Carolina. Make plans to be there!
1 Comment | focus conference | Tagged: children's ministry, focus 09, focus conference, reggie joiner | Permalink
Posted by phil h
October 20, 2008
I have been wondering lately if we are doing a good job at embracing the potential of the kids in our churches. It seems to me that many churches have relegated children’s ministry to serve as a babysitting service for the parents and adults, to keep the kids occupied while the adults enjoy God and the presence of the Holy Spirit. I get angry at times because of the budgets that are present for sanctuaries and parking lots, but when it comes to children, they are often placed in a back room somewhere.
I believe that God uses children to fulfill the Great Commission. I believe that children are capable of being filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. I believe that children can walk in the Spirit. I believe that children can witness. And I believe that children are the recipients of the last days promise that His Spirit will be poured out on our sons and our daughters.
While I love great facilities and Disney like themed rooms, I am more concerned that we are guiding children in to experiencing God and discovering their gifts and more importantly actively utilizing their gifts in the body. There is no age restriction when it comes to being used by God.
If we are truly going to develop a biblical community in our church, then it will require that we allow children the privilege of serving in the ‘big church’, leading in worship, in prayer, and even preaching and teaching. Even the Bible reminds us that a little child shall lead them.
If we are going to reach this world in fulfilling the Great Commission and reaching people, then let’s not forget the resource of children! Let’s get them filled with His Spirit so that they can witness and so that they can be involved in doing the greater works!
Children’s ministry is not tomorrow’s church in waiting. They are the church of today, willing, when given the opportunity, to impact their community and the world!
I hope our budgets, our programs, our worship experiences, all will soon reflect that we truly believe in the whole family of God and their potential!
How are you encouraring and embracing your children and their potential to become Great Commission Kids?
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Posted by tony l
September 23, 2008
We have a 7 and 4 year old at home, and they’re both becoming more computer savvy everyday. For this reason, my wife and I started looking for an internet filtering device recently, and last week we stumbled upon Glubble.
Glubble is a Firefox add-on that allows you to customize the internet experience for each person in your family. It is especially geared for folks who have elementary and younger aged children at home. We’ve only had it a week, but so far we’re really pleased.
It was easy to set up and has lots of kid friendly internet sites already preloaded. Additionally, when my kids click on a site that is not on their already approved list, we get a notice and have the choice to approve or deny their request. This way we’re assured that they will not accidentally find their way into inappropriate material.
So far we’re happy we’ve found it! If you’ve got little ones in your home, it’s worth your time to check it out here!
Leave a Comment » | culture, family ministry | Tagged: family ministry, glubble, internet filter, internet safety | Permalink
Posted by phil h
September 15, 2008
How are parents involved in your children’s ministry? And I mean all of your parents…any parent that has a kid enrolled in your ministry program.
We are endeavoring to make our children’s ministry a true “partnership” with the families and a good portion of our parents do not have an active roll in this ministry.
Should parents have an active roll in children’s ministry by filling volunteer roles?
What percentage of your parents volunteer?
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Posted by phil b
August 28, 2008
The NCLA leadership team is gearing up for a great FOCUS 09 conference and in the midst of that hard work we’re excited to announce that Phil Vischer will be with us.
Phil really needs no introduction, but in case you’ve been doing children’s ministry under a rock for the past decade, Phil is the cofounder of Big Idea Productions the company best known for bringing us VeggieTales. Recently Phil has started a new creative shop called Jelly Fish Labs where he and a team work to produce faith-based media for children and families via the internet.
Phil is incredibly creative and has an amazing story to tell. We look forward to hearing from him at FOCUS 09. This awesome children’s ministry conference will be held March 5-7 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Greenville, South Carolina. Make plans to be there!
1 Comment | focus conference | Tagged: children's ministry, focus conference, Phil Vischer | Permalink
Posted by phil h
