Children’s Ministry Insights

Life. Money. Hope. Featuring Dave Ramsey

Dave Ramsey is teaching a 3-week series at LifeChurch.tv for churches across the world to use. It’s called Life. Money. Hope. Featuring Dave Ramsey. You’re invited to participate in these services at any of their campuses or at http://live.lifechurch.tv for any of our 10 church online experiences.

If you’d like to use the messages at your church, you’ll be able to download them from http://open.lifechurch.tv beginning March 31, 2009.

Here’s a 2-part interview where Dave speaks to ministers and discusses integrity, accountability, among other things. Well worth watching!

Interview Part 1

Interview Part 2

Tags: finances

Revolutionary Presentations Using Prezi

Several weeks back I came across Prezi beta that claims to allow,

…anyone who can sketch an idea on a napkin to create and perform stunning non-linear presentations with relations, zooming into details, and adjusting to the time left without the need to skip slides.

I was skeptical at first, but after seeing several sample presentations and receiving my beta invite, I had a chance to put together my first presentation using Prezi in about 30 minutes. I must admit that I am very impressed with this radically different approach to presentations. Prezi lives up to its claims and provides a simple and yet elegant workspace for creating as well as delivering presentations in real-time or sharing online for on-demand viewing.

I’d encourage anyone who gives presentations regularly to sign-up for a beta invite to Prezi and once you receive your invite, give Prezi a try.

While waiting for your beta invite, check-out the intro training video clips.

Mark my words…Prezi will completely transform the way presentations are given in the future. Prezi is that revolutionary!

Andrew Bracht took the challenge of trying Prezi for himself and put together this fabulous example of using Prezi for a children’s ministry presentation for his volunteers.

If you do give Prezi a try….post a comment her with the link to your presentation to share with others.

Tags: presentations

What is a Children’s Sermon?

CMUO is pleased to announce the launch of its latest 3-credit course Children’s Presentations to be available beginning March 1, 2009.

CMU393: Children’s Presentations offers an overview of puppetry, storytelling, juggling and other visual methods used in children’s ministry. Practical emphasis is placed on choosing, preparing, and presenting content and concepts to children of various ages. Emphasis is placed on tying kid-tested methods to solid Biblical messages in order to delight children with the Gospel.

Some of the topics covered in this course include:

• Powerful Programs
• Method vs. Message
• Elements of a Successful Children’s Sermon
• Using Children as Volunteers
• Object Lessons
• Storytelling
• Snappy Ways to Teach Scripture
• Developing Costumed Characters
• Clowning
• Balloon Tying
• Magic with a Message

Be one of the first to enroll in the new Children’s Presentations course by signing-up today! Register and pay your course registration by February 25, 2009 to receive a $25 discount!

CMUO courses begin monthly, so you can sign-up and begin your journey toward expanding your children’s ministry skills anytime. No matter whether or not you have taken an online course through CMUO before, you can sign-up today to begin your online learning experience as soon as March 1st. Simply logon 24/7 to http://www.cmuo.com and find out more details. Current CMUO learners or those who have already applied and been accepted to CMUO can register for the new “Children’s Presentations” course at: http://www.cmuo.com/register

Registrations for March 1st courses will be accepted thru February 25th.

Free Workshop – What is a Children’s Sermon?

Want to catch a glimpse of what a CMUO instructional presentation is like? You can view a free training workshop entitled, “What is a Children’s Sermon?” at http://www.cmuo.com/workshops/childrensermon.

Additional FREE children’s ministry training workshops are available at http://www.cmuo.com/workshops.

Have a question about CMUO? Contact CMUO Learner support at: http://www.cmuo.com/support

We hope to see you “in class” soon!

Tags: clowning, cmuo, costumed characters, gospel magic, object lessons, puppetry, storytelling

Custom Maps using Google Maps

Have you ever wanted a customized map for a special trip or event? Give Google’s “My Map” feature a try. Here’s a quick video that explains how to create a customized map in Google Maps.

What applications do you see for customized maps in children’s ministry? Post a comment with your ideas for how customized mapping can be utilized in your children’s ministry.

Tags: google, maps, webtools

Halloween Outreach Ideas

With Halloween just a few weeks away, many churches are busy preparing for some sort of Halloween outreach event. This is a great time of you to conduct outreaches, for a variety of ideas. Dick Gruber and I discussed a host of considerations for Halloween outreaches in episode 14 of Children’s Ministry Talk.

Dick has been generous enough to share his Halloween Outreach Booklet and Trick or Treat Tract. Download ‘em both and put ‘em to use in your children’s ministry! While you’re at it, leave Dick a comment and let him know you were blessed by these resources.

Tags: Halloween, outreach

The New DickGruber.com

My good friend Dick Gruber has revamped his website and it is now live at dickgruber.com.There you’ll continue to find a host of resources, helps, articles, and links related to children’s ministry.

In addition, Dick’s blog is now combined with the site, making it easier to be notified when he posts new updates as well as to post comments on items you find to be a blessing. His new site is also searchable, so if there’s something in particular you are looking for, you can just give the search a try! There’s a bunch other new features that I’ve added, but you’ll just need to take a look for yourself.

Take a moment to stop by Dick’s new site and leave him a comment. I know he’d love to hear from you.

Children’s Ministry Appreciation Video

Here’s a great little video thanking children’s ministry volunteers for their service to the children of your church.

What effective approaches have you found for encouraging and appreciating the children’s ministry leaders of your church?

Tags: appreciation, volunteers

Webcast Reminder: Cultivating a Cutting-Edge Children’s Church

One final reminder…you can join Dick Gruber and me for this first-of-its-kind 3 hour interactive online workshop where you’ll discover the practical steps to Cultivating a Cutting-Edge Children’s Church.

Despite the fact that my flight to Little Rock out of O’Hare today was canceled, we’ll still be offering a free webcast of the pre-conference session that is being offered conjunction with the National Children’s Ministries Leadership Conference, this pre-conference workshop offered face-to-face at the conference will be webcast live online on Tuesday, April 1, 2008 from 9:00am-12:00pm (CDT) and then repeated later that day from 1:00pm-4:00pm. View the FREE session online and interact with the presenters and other participants live online during the session!

Two identical sessions will be offered:

• Session 1: Tuesday, April 1, 2008, 9:00am-12:00pm (CDT)
• Session 2: Tuesday, April 1, 2008, 1:00pm-4:00pm (CDT)

Both sessions will be webcast live online using Ustream. You can click here to register for a free Ustream account. Then, 10-15 minutes before the session begins, click here to login to participate live online!

For those unable to participate live, the sessions will be recorded and archives made available afterwards at www.cmuo.com/workshops/kidschurch. Links to additional resource materials and the slides referenced during the sessions will also be posted.

FREE Webcast: Cultivating a Cutting-Edge Children’s Church

Join Dick Gruber and Jason Rhode for this first-of-its-kind 3 hour interactive online workshop where you’ll discover the practical steps to Cultivating a Cutting-Edge Children’s Church.

In conjunction with the National Children’s Ministries Leadership Conference, this pre-conference workshop offered face-to-face at the conference will be webcast live online on Tuesday, April 1, 2008 from 9:00am-12:00pm (CDT) and then repeated later that day from 1:00pm-4:00pm. View the FREE session online and interact with the presenters and other participants live online during the session!

Two identical sessions will be offered:

• Session 1: Tuesday, April 1, 2008, 9:00am-12:00pm (CDT)
• Session 2: Tuesday, April 1, 2008, 1:00pm-4:00pm (CDT)

Both sessions will be webcast live online using Ustream. To participate in the chat room to ask questions and post comments during the workshop, you need to login to Ustream. If you do not have a Ustream account yet, click here to register for free. Then, 10-15 mins before the session begins, click here to login to participate live online!

For those unable to participate live, the sessions will be recorded and archives made available afterwards at www.cmuo.com/workshops/kidschurch. Links to additional resource materials and the slides referenced during the sessions will also be posted.

Twitter in Plain English

CommonCraft has released yet another wonderful video explaining a technology in plain english. In their latest video, they explain Twitter in Plain English.How might Twitter be used in a children’s ministry context? I’m looking for examples of how children’s ministry leaders are currently using Twitter. If you have an example, comment with your ideas.

Tags: twitter