Kid's Ministry Resource Dreams
The internet has changed how I prepare for children's ministry on Sundays. It is helpful to discover creative games, crafts, experiments, activities, and lessons. Google has saved me from recreating the wheel many times allowing me to pour my creative energies into other areas. There are also great resources for pastors from training materials to leadership development. There are more sites available than I could ever discover. However, there are times I feel there are gaps in what is available. These are two resources I wish I could find:
1) About a year ago I caught a radio interview with Laurie David about her book The Family Dinner: Great ways to connect with our kids, one meal at a time. She talked about the needs for families to make the effort to eat meals together and make those meals special. An example was Friday night's having a question to discuss during the meal that related to something in the news. I would like to see more resources available that take this idea and give families conversation points or activities that relate back to what was taught on Sunday or connected to a family devotional. Some curriculum companies are doing this but few are being intentional about it.
2) The room in my children's ministry meets in matters. The whole space sets the tone. The colours, posters, decorations or lack of these affect the atmosphere which can aid or hinder learning. I love to create decorations that fit the upcoming unit theme. Only some times I'm stumped. I am not sure what to do to make jungle vines or rocket ships. I often search for birthday parties with similar themes to help generate ideas but it's not always enough. I wish there was a database of images like Pinterest for pictures of children's ministry spaces, decorations, and themes. It could include pictures from VBSs, current themes, displays, anything that could help inspire others creativity.
These two resources might exist, I just haven't found them yet. If I was interwebby skilled I might make the second one, but I'm not. Have you seen anything like these dream resources? What would you like available to enhance your children's ministry?
1) About a year ago I caught a radio interview with Laurie David about her book The Family Dinner: Great ways to connect with our kids, one meal at a time. She talked about the needs for families to make the effort to eat meals together and make those meals special. An example was Friday night's having a question to discuss during the meal that related to something in the news. I would like to see more resources available that take this idea and give families conversation points or activities that relate back to what was taught on Sunday or connected to a family devotional. Some curriculum companies are doing this but few are being intentional about it.
2) The room in my children's ministry meets in matters. The whole space sets the tone. The colours, posters, decorations or lack of these affect the atmosphere which can aid or hinder learning. I love to create decorations that fit the upcoming unit theme. Only some times I'm stumped. I am not sure what to do to make jungle vines or rocket ships. I often search for birthday parties with similar themes to help generate ideas but it's not always enough. I wish there was a database of images like Pinterest for pictures of children's ministry spaces, decorations, and themes. It could include pictures from VBSs, current themes, displays, anything that could help inspire others creativity.
These two resources might exist, I just haven't found them yet. If I was interwebby skilled I might make the second one, but I'm not. Have you seen anything like these dream resources? What would you like available to enhance your children's ministry?
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