Words Kids Need to Hear

It’s the subtitle that hooked me…”to help them be who God made them to be.”

This new book from David Staal the director of Promiseland, the children’s ministry at Willow Creek Community Church, is most certainly a must read for all children’s ministers and parents. Having read the intro and chapter one, I am not qualified to speak on the whole book, but just in those few pages I have learned and been affected.

The book lays out seven statements that parents and other adults can use to make a profound impression on the life of a child.

I believe in you….You can count on me….I treasure you….I’m sorry, please forgive me….because….no….I love you

Also included is personal application questions & exercises and a workshop facilitator’s outline.

I encourage all to pick up this book and give it a read…you’ll be glad you did and so will your kids.

KIDFEST ‘09

You thought Kidfest ‘08 was the greatest? Wait till you see what’s in store for Kidfest ‘09. This is the greatest weekend of the year for kids. It’s a time of transformation! Mark your calendar now for the 2009 Kidfest season dates and locations. New Kidfest locations will be added soon. Watch www.mykidfest.com for future information about this year’s events and locations!

Frontier Kidfest: April 3-5

Carolina Kidfest: April 24-26

Midwest Kidfest: May 1-3

Smoky Mt. Kidfest: May 15-17

This year’s theme is RIDE THE WAVE!

What would you like to see at this year’s Kidfest? Share some ideas!

Any testimonies about past Kidfest events? Share one!

-tl

PIXAR… Master Story Tellers!

My family went to the movies recently to see ‘Wall-e.” As expected, the genuis of Pixar shined through once again. The makers of some of the best animated films ever… including The Incredibles, Toy Story, and Monster’s Inc… once again showed why they are the best. They are MASTER story tellers!

Sure, they always have amazing, new graphics, perfect soundtracks, and the best voice-overs in the business. With Pixar though, all these elements are there to support (and never overpower) the reason for their movies… to tell a GREAT story!

In addition to telling a great story, the folks at Pixar humanized their insentient characters like only they can. One of the coolest moments in the movie for my family was at the climax. Without giving too much away… Blake (my seven-year-old) got it! He was telling me why things weren’t working and was providing me with the technical solution. However, I new this plan wouldn’t work, but I didn’t know how they were going to resolve it. Well, let’s just say they did it perfectly… even with a gesture of respect to some of the Disney classics.

Way to go Pixar!

As children’s ministry leaders, we must never allow stuff to overpower THE Story we have to tell. The methods of our ministry must never supersede the Message. We must remember that we’ve got the greatest story of redemption the world has ever known, and all our efforts at creativity should be to present that Story in a way that is understood by the audience. Creative programming is the means to the end!! The end is kids accepting the truth of the Story!!

Anybody else see the movie? What were your thoughts?

FOCUS Debrief

Alright… FOCUS ‘08 has now come to a close and it was a great success. WOW! I was blown away by everyone involved. I was talking with someone whose worked with conferences before and they said, “When you show up and everything is running smoothly, it makes you think it wasn’t a lot of hard work, but I know better.” I laughed and said that if the hard work had not been done, when people show up it is obvious to those attending that somebody didn’t plan or work hard enough. Well, the leadership team worked hard and I truly believe it paid off.

Now… my questions to you are: What was your favorite part of the conference this year? For you repeat offenders out there, what keeps you coming back to FOCUS each year? If this was your first time, what will it take to bring you back next year? (And no, I will not be your room-mate… lol… inside joke.) Finally, what two or three ideas did you take away that if you implement immediately will make your ministry better, more efficient, and/or more effective? I look forward to hearing from you!

3 NEW Exhibitors and Some ol’ Favorites

FOCUS is a place for networking, inspiration, but also resources. Children’s ministry leaders have always been able to find new products and services to enhance their ministries when they return home. This year is no exception.

In fact, we’ve got 3 brand new exhibitors who’ll be with us for the first time:

Additionally, many of your favorites will be back including:

• G3 Worship Music
• Color Craft Studios
• Creative Arts Store
• Kids Power Co.
• Royal Family Kids’ Camps
• Pathway Press
• Tamera Kraft
• Two Shallow Gals
• Tasch Ministries International
• Samaritans Purse
• Kingdom Karactors
• Gospel Light
• AwesomeVideoStuff.com

Just a few more reasons you’ll want to be at FOCUS this year!

FOCUS! Are You Ready?

On Wednesday, the NCLA Team met in Greenville, South Carolina, for our final on-site planning meeting before the FOCUS conference next month. Everyone has been working hard and came prepared. We all drove away with more assignments as we hope to continue the expected excellence associated with the FOCUS conference. For me personally, FOCUS is a place where I see old friends and always make new ones. I receive encouragement, ideas and inspiration, and I walk away challenged to do things better than I did the year before. For these reasons and others, I can’t wait to get there! What part of FOCUS is your favorite?

Register for FOCUS by March 15 and SAVE $!

The FOCUS Children’s Ministry Conference is a place of inspiration, encouragement, networking, and resourcing. If you work with kids at your church on any level, you’ll be blessed by attending this conference. The leadership team has worked hard to put together an awesome lineup of speakers, workshop leaders, and exhibitors this year. We feel certain that if you attend, you’ll leave the richer for it! And… if your registration form is postmarked by March 15, you’ll be $35 richer!

To register for this awesome conference, print out the FOCUS Registration Form below and follow the instructions! We look forward to seeing you there!

FOCUS Registration Form

Awesome FOCUS Workshop Leader!

Marlene LeFever is Director of Educational Ministries for Cook Communications Ministries. She is the author of ‘Learning Styles’, ‘Creative Teaching Methods’, and her 2002 release, ‘Flowers from God’, is a celebration of what God is doing through children’s ministry workers.

The NCLA Leadership Team is excited to announce that she will be conducting workshops at the FOCUS conference this year. We have tried for several years to get her, but were unable to make it happen. This year, she will be a blessing to all who attend her workshops. She brings a wealth of knowledge, experience, and passion for children’s ministry. Just another great reason YOU need to be at FOCUS this year!

The BIG Challenge

We recently closed out a teaching series at GenesisKIDS entitled the BIG Challenge. In the series we talked about getting into spiritual shape. We covered issues with the kids that would help them focus on becoming all that God wanted them to be.

When we closed the series, I remember praying for the kids during that last service. I prayed for them to respond to God’s leading so they could do great things for God. But then, in a moment I will not soon forget, the Lord checked me and I changed my prayer. I prayed that the kids would first allow His Spirit to change them. Then I repented for the times I prayed for God to do great things through me instead of in me. I asked for forgiveness for the times I wanted change the world, but I neglected to allow His Spirit to change my heart.

It seems kids today are more socially aware then my generation. In my experience with them, they are definitely more concerned about issues affecting the world then my friends were in the 80’s, and that is without a doubt a good thing! However, in order to affect real, eternal change, it will take kids (and adults) whose concerns go beyond the social injustices of today. God needs people whose principle concern is how they respond to God’s leading their personal lives with that still small voice. To put it more succinctly, the BIG challenge for us today is to focus on what God wants us to be, before we obsess over what He wants us to do.

Engage 21 Conference

An invitation is being extended to visionary leaders who desire to be connected and empowered for ministry. Engage 21, February 28 and 29, is the first conference of this type in the Church of God and we are excited about its potential! I long for a re-focus on the mission which Jesus initiated. Perhaps the dialogue and interaction allowed at this gathering will help us to do that. I greatly appreciate the emerging leaders, including church planters, lead pastors, children’s pastors, and student ministry pastors. One of the tensions we all experience is the uniqueness in which God has created us for a specific purpose in the place where He desires to go. We have to allow for differences in style and methodology. While the Word does not change, culture shifts. And in order to be effective in reaching our varied cultures, we must empower individuals to proceed, doing whatever it takes to win their communities for Christ! We have to make a choice to choose to encourage, rather than criticize!

I’m excited about the future, if we can regain our focus on the mission and not on positional movement with selfish agendas. As long as we are willing to deny ourselves and our desires, then God can mold us, shaping us into a vessel fit for His use in today’s world. I’m ready to be propelled into the future! I believe in the new generation of leadership. I choose to stand still, listen for His voice, maintain integrity to the call and character of Christ, and obey. As Erwin McManus, I too want to follow the barbarian way!

Join me on the journey! Take a look at the Engage 21 Conference information which can be seen at www.churchofgod.org. There you will see a promo video, schedule, and registration form. I hope to see some fellow barbarians there!

-tl