“And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness,  while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 

And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

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I couldn’t believe it when my friend showed me the post-card. “Every six weeks,” she explained, “We get a reminder that it’s our turn to serve in the church nursery.” The problem? They hadn’t been to that church in years! The church had even updated this family’s address in its database, but never caught on to the fact that they had moved two states away.

I vowed to never allow this to happen (actually, I half-jokingly threatened our nursery coordinator to never let this happen). But it also reminded me about ways that I’ve poorly communicated with others — whether volunteers, parents, or other ministry leaders.

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…not a talent issue.

Last night on the Kidmin1124 radio show on CMConnect, I once again got into some passionate prose, but failed to remember that some listeners may not know me in the capacity that the panelists know me.  I felt the need to clarify what I mean when I say we should do all things with excellence.

As we discussed large group teaching, we were in a conversation about various methods.  I implored those serving in children’s ministry that whatever method they chose to incorporate into their large group teaching, do it with excellence or don’t do it all.  Wayne brought some nice balance to that conversation, but I still felt that some loose ends were left.  (I’ve embedded the audio from the show tonight below.)

Serving with excellence is not to be equated with serving with talent.  There are many very talented people who do what seems to be a great job, but fail to serve with excellence.  I know, because I’ve been that person more times than I care to admit.  Because of a charming stage presence and some natural communication giftings, I have been known to appear to do well even with little preparation.  That will never be considered serving with excellence.

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I recently wrote about “seasoning” our words with grace and wanted to consider this a bit more. I wrote about the “power’ of our words and said, “Consider Colossians 4:6, “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” (NIV) As you enter 2012, commit to be a person whose conversation is always full of grace, seasoned with salt so as you serve the children and families in your church and community the “echo” which results in their lives will “shape” them with the grace God so richly lavishes on us!”

Certainly we all agree we need to guard against the careless word which has the potential to harm a child – or any other person as well, but along with guarding against the careless word, we also need to guard against the “intentional” word. How often have we used our words in an intentional manner to “shame” or “discount” another person or their ministry, but do so in a way which is subtle? For example, do we hold up a ministry in our own church while “tearing down” a ministry in another church? Do we say something along the effect of the following, “We used to do that in our ministry, but found it was a waste of time, money and energy. What we do now is so much better . . . ” While it may be true there are things we may have done in the past which, for whatever reason, we no longer do, it doesn’t mean other churches should also abandon that particular type of ministry. Nor does it mean what we are now doing is “better”, it just may be more effective in our particular ministry, with our particular people, community and culture.

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If you work in Children’s Ministry, there’s a good chance you’ve heard about the deals from Only144.com  These are the guys who offer amazing deals on collections of children’s ministry resources that are available for only 144 hours each time.

Well, the newest 144 hours sale starts this Friday, January 13th at 12:00 P.M. and lasts for, you guessed it, 144 hours!

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So we fasted and earnestly prayed that our God would take care of us, and he heard our prayer.

Ezra 8:23

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Last week I posted my Top 5 Reasons for Focusing Kids on Giving at Christmas, but this week I want to stop to think about the Top 5 reasons for Focusing our Kids on Receiving at Christmas . . . yes, I said “receiving“! At Christmas children – and adults, too – think quite a bit about the gifts they would like to receive, but in God’s Word we find some of the most incredible gifts anyone could ever receive . . . and we read they are gifts God wants us to receive! Consider the following .  .  .

• I Peter 1:3,4,8,9 “³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to His great mercy, He has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ and into an inheritance that is imperishable, uncorrupted, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, ⁸ You love Him, though you have not seen Him. And though not seeing Him now, you believe in Him and rejoice with inexpressible and glorious joy, ⁹ because you are receiving the goal of your  faith, the salvation of your souls.” (HCSB) Praise God! Because of His great mercy, He has given us new birth and a living hope through Jesus’ resurrection! He wants us to receive His amazing gift of salvation! There is no better gift we could ever receive! This is a gift we want kids to focus on receiving!
• Acts 17:11 “¹¹ Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.” (NASB) God’s Word is a gift like no other! It allows us the opportunity to know God and how to walk with Him. We want the children in our ministries to receive God’s Word with great eagerness! We want them to be excited about examining the Scriptures every day so they can grow in their walk with Jesus! This is another important gift for our kids to focus on receiving!
• Matthew 7:7, 8, 11 – “ ⁷Ask, and you will receive. Search, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened for you. ⁸Everyone who asks will receive. Everyone who searches will find. And the door will be opened for everyone who knocks. ¹¹you still know how to give good gifts to your children. But your heavenly Father is even more ready to give good things to people who ask.” (CEV) Is there anything so amazing as the truth our Heavenly Father hears us when we pray? Not only does He hear us, but He says if we “ask” we will “receive“! Rejoice with the children in your ministries this Christmas over the incredible gift God gives us of hearing us when we pray and of answering our prayers! We want our kids to know they can and will receive answers to their prayers!
• Hebrews 12:28 “²⁸ We are receiving a kingdom that can’t be shaken. So let us be thankful. Then we can worship God in a way that pleases him. We will worship him with deep respect and wonder.” (NIrV) God’s Word tells us we are “receiving a kingdom that can’t be shaken”! This gift is the gift of hope! God’s kingdom will not be shaken. It is firm and it is everlasting and this does give us so very much to be thankful for! Lead the children in your ministry in worshiping God this Christmas for the promise He has given us of receiving His kingdom!
• John 14:15-17 “¹⁵ ”If you love me, you will keep my commandments. ¹⁶And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, ¹⁷even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” (ESV) As if all the other incredible blessings we receive from God isn’t enough, He goes above and beyond and gives us the Holy Spirit to be our Helper! He is with us forever! We can know Him! Amazing!

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“Christmas time is here Happiness and cheer Fun for all that children call Their favorite time of the year!”

Ah, yes . . . Christmas time is here and while children are likely to be focused on the gifts they hope to receive . . . as for many children it is their favorite time of year, I believe it is the ideal time to redirect their focus on giving to others! So . . .  here are my Top 5 Reasons for Focusing Kids on Giving at Christmas . . .

1. Jesus is our Example . . . He gave to us – John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” (ESV)
2. Jesus told us to give to others . . . when we give to others, we are choosing to obey Jesus  - John 15:12 “‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.’” (ESV)
3. Giving to others brings glory to God! – Matthew 5:16 “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (ESV)
4. It pleases God – Hebrews 13:16 “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.” (ESV)
5. It shows by what we do God’s love is in us!  - I John 3:17 “But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?” (ESV)

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With the news of the past week it is impossible to not have our hearts grieve for children who have been harmed at the hands of an adult they should have been able to trust. When news like this hits the airwaves, it leaves parents understandably shaken and in need of assurance they can trust the adults who have access to their children. So what can you do to help parents know their children are safe with you? Consider the following . . .

• Transparency. Share your written child safety policy with the parents of the children in your church and community. This is an excellent opportunity to mail a copy of your safety policy to each family in your ministry and schedule a time for parents to sit down with you to walk through your policy and how you implement it. Invite parents to visit their children’s classes and be sure they know their child’s teachers.
• Collaborate. Along this note, schedule a time for your volunteers to sit down with the parents. Give the volunteers the opportunity to share why they serve and provide time for parents and volunteers to pray together for the children. Help parents and volunteers come together as a team to disciple their children!
• Vigilance. Pay attention. Watch. Have a plan for safety in all areas of your ministry and stick to it like glue.
• Prayer. Make the safety of the children an issue which is at, and which remains at, the top of your prayer list.

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Still looking back in this series and in my children’s ministry, there is one more thing I wish I had known at 50:

That networking will make you smarter than you are.

I had just turned 50 when I came on staff at Momentum Church.  A children’s pastor with  30 years experience, yet I was at a complete loss as to where to begin.  All my previous experience had been in very traditional church settings.  Momentum was a portable church, setting up and tearing down every Sunday to have a worship service.  That meant putting everything you used to teach, all tech, all props, all everything, in a box and loading it in a trailer, set it up at the theater, have service, then put it all back in boxes and back on the trailer; all before the first movies began at noon!

How do you do games?  What back drops work best?  What materials all will hold up to the constant loading and unloading?  How do you have a clean, safe nursery on the floor of a theater?  The questions came faster than I could write them down.  It seemed that every turn, every department, every inch of the ministry was unlike anything I had ever done before.  I was clueless.

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