All Blog Posts (180)

Tuesday night, I had the privilege of going to a piano recital. I went to listen to one the children in my ministry, I was surprised to find out that it was two of them. One had just begun to take lessons. I was truly impressed by what I heard. Did I not know this child was taking piano lessons, or did I forget? Either way, I didn’t realize the gift, the talent this child had. I know that when the membership of our church hears them play this Sunday, that they will be…

It is often difficult to get people to try certain things because of preconceived notions, "fear" of the unknown, a reluctance to change and a myriad of other reasons.

Today, I simply need to share a little of what happened in an Awana club where I assist.

One of the T&T clubbers brought a friend and said, "she's new". So I started off joking around around that if she was "new", then she'd be a baby and she didn't look like a baby and I kept the atmosphere light, having…

I was reading a local news story this morning and the correlation to ministry was overwhelming. The story talks about a local volunteer fire company that has had volunteers baking pies as a fundraiser for about the last 50 years and next month, this tradition will end. Why is the tradition ending? Simply because no one else has come in to learn and continue the tradition. The same men have been doing it for years…

If you are like me, your inbox over the last few days has been full of Black Friday and Cyber Monday messages from various stores and ministries. As i listen to the media talk about Cyber Monday, I wonder if it is still relevant.

Cyber Monday began several years ago as people had dial-up or no internet connection at home with high speed access at work, making it easier,…

Yesterday I downloaded the new app from Awana, to my tablet (Motorola Xoom), which takes the hard copy book "Sparky Shines His Light" and makes it an app for iOS and Droid devices.

On the surface it may look like just another e-book with the pages…

When I got my tablet (Motorola Xoom, competition to the iPad), I was disappointed in the available resources for children's ministry. Yes, Awana had the Gospel app, the only real app to share the gospel with others, but I thought there might be other resources to share God with children. (If you know of any, let me know). Awana has come through again.

Awana has made Sparky Shines His Light into a mobile app for universal iOS, Android, Nook Color and the Kindle Fire. It is…

Okay, well, not really, but I do! Are you confused?

No one likes conflict. It is taxing, tiring, drains you and is just plain no fun. But imagine your ministry without parents complaining, children always eager to attend and ready for the lesson, church leaders never commenting on what the “kids” are doing to the building. Sounds great doesn't it?

But how would God look at a ministry like this? Would it be reaching and discipling others? If you have children and…

This time of year can be difficult for people serving in Children's Ministry. How do you balance the strong presence of evil that surrounds it, while understanding that most see it as a fun, harmless tradition?



I strongly believe that we are daily in a spiritual battle and I struggle when it comes to Halloween as parents and children plan for their costumes and activities with seeming disregard for the spiritual battle we face. How can I support such activity when I see the…

Last week, I purchased something that I thought would enhance our children's ministry. It is a "digital puppet" that can interact with the children, the host, or whoever. They are called Power Puppets (Click image to go to their web site). I just received the characters this week and I've previewed them and I am truly glad I got them. While I still need some things to use them to their full…

Some of you may have already attended an Awana conference... if you did, why aren't you saying anything about it?!? I know in Texas they tried using the Twitter hashtag #AMC11 and when I searched, I only saw two tweets which were by the missionary :-(



I wonder, is the Awana…

Last night I attended the memorial service for a 14 year old boy who died suddenly last week. I personally did not know the young man, but many who attended our Awana club last year did and so I was there to support them.



This young man was active in his church and many shared stories of his spirit of giving, often sacrificially, for others.



One thing that hit me was that as we walked in, there were items from his life that he had accomplished and enjoyed. One thing was…

Ministries within churches battle each other for space and budget. If one ministry feels threatened, you need to be careful because they may attack yours.



One denomination cannot work with another, because one may have a better idea than the other. Churches cannot work with other churches because people will question, who’s budget is this coming from? what if our members leave and join the other church, or vice versa?



It is human nature to focus on the negative aspect…

So many different things can happen on a club night.

- Leaders calling out sick, or not showing up at all.

- A sudden surge of clubbers.

- Somebody else is using the media equipment you reserved

- Someone left crafts all over the handbook time tables

- The youth pastor has a big inflatable in the game time  space and you find out…

Yesterday, I shared how we need to set the example as leaders for the children in our ministry. It can sound really easy, but in reality, it is not. Let me give a personal example, one I’ve shared many times at conferences and trainings.



When I first became involved in a local Awana club, I wanted to work through the handbooks. At the time, the commander did not have a system in place to accommodate that and didn’t plan to develop one, consequently, I didn’t. Later, when I became…

As the ministry season kicks into full gear, what are the children in your ministry seeing from you?



Are you telling the children the need to pray, but you don't do it regularly?



Are you sharing the importance of reading the Bible, but neglect to bring yours or have trouble finding it before club?



Are you encouraging children to memorize Scripture, but you don't take the time?



Are you teaching the importance of telling others about Jesus and…

As the United States remembered the events of Sept. 11, 2011 this past Sunday, there were many in children’s ministry who had plans to do something special. I did not.

I looked at the children in our KidzChurch and knew that non of them would remember the events of that day. They either had not yet been born, or were just a few months old at the time. They didn’t know what had occurred, they didn’t experience it first-hand.



I think back to other events in U.S. history…

As I arrived at work after the “long” holiday weekend, it immediately hit me why I sometimes dread making the long commute. And I find that it is not just work, but other areas in life as well.



What I faced was an immediate negative worldview from a co-worker.



Things in general are not up to par, difficult to do, you name it, things are dreary. I found myself quickly fleeing the individual and the discussion. When people around me are negative, it really brings me down.…