Fall Family Fun

Share this list of fun fall family activities with the families in your ministry to do at home, or incorporate them as part of your in-person fall event! A lot of these ideas, printables, and more are included in our Not So Spooky Night at Home Fall Fest Take-Home Kit for families, and you can learn more about this resource here. Family Costume Contest – Everyone put on a costume! Find a costume you have already or create one using things you find around the house. Take a family picture in your costumes and post on social media, asking people to vote on which costume they think is the best! Don’t forget to tag our church in the picture too! Monster Mash Freeze Dance – With a grown-up’s help, look up the song “Monster Mash” on YouTube or your favorite music streaming service. Listen to the song and play Monster Mash Freeze Dance!...

Ministry Planning Tool

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Even if you didn't win our Equip Family Online Courses giveaway, we've still got something for you! This week's freebie is a Ministry Planning Tool that helps you plan the year ahead. It was only available for free through the end of October 2020, but you can purchase the Ministry Planning Tool as part of the Creative Ideas for Family Ministry online course, or for a small fee here.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Make plans for your ministry year with this ministry planning tool. This PDF includes four sections: Ask key questions about your ministry goals for the year. Brainstorm ideas for events, teaching & family connections – and filter them. Create a ministry calendar. Think about a back-up plan in case of changes to in-person ministry or large...

Equip Family Online Courses Giveaway

If you’ve been around long, you know I’m a total nerd and conference junkie. I love to learn and share what I learn. That’s why I am so excited about this week's giveaway: 2 leaders will win free access to one online course from Equip Family! With online courses, you don’t have to pay tons of money, travel far away, or even leave your couch to learn valuable ministry skills and gain leadership development. * This giveaway is now closed.* This week, we're giving away free access to one course from Equip Family to 2 lucky winners! Equip Family is run by Julia Ball, the creator of our Fall Family Night, Fruit of the Spirit Take Home Kit, Guide to Family Worship, Family Advent Calendar, and more! In August 2020, Julia launched 2 online courses designed specifically for children's ministry leaders... 1) Creative Ideas for Family...

Fidget-Friendly Signs Printable

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]If you're hosting family worship services, your families with young kids may be nervous about how their little ones will do during the service. Post these signs in sections of your main worship space to let families know they (and their wiggly little ones) are welcome! [/vc_column_text][vc_btn title="Download the Fidget-Friendly Signs here!" align="center" link="url:https%3A%2F%2Fdeeperkidmin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F09%2FFidget-Friendly-Signs-DKM.pdf||target:%20_blank|"][vc_column_text]You may also consider providing Praise Packs, a Parent Note, or Sermon Notes for Kids, and use the resources in our Guide to Family Worship! And if you really want to help kids and parents have the best experience possible in a family worship service, consider registering for our online ministry training all about...

5 Practical Tips for Family Worship

There are lots of resources you can offer parents to help their kids engage in a family worship service (find some in the resource list at the bottom of this post), but as a ministry leader, there are lots of things YOU can do to make a family worship service engaging for all ages too. Here are 5 practical tips for hosting a family worship service: Remember it's a team effort. Effective family worship services involve more than just you as the children's pastor. Your senior pastor and worship leaders have to be on board too. Have a conversation with your senior pastor and share your vision and your heart with him or her. Talk about your ideas and what he or she is comfortable pursuing. Make a list of the top 3 things you’d like to see, then share with him/her and ask how you as a staff can work together to make it a great experience for the...

Creative Ministry Brainstorming List

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]This week's freebie is a little bit different than our normal Freebie Friday Download. It's not cute. It's not formatted. It's not even complete. This Google Doc is a brainstorming list from my church staff as of August 28, 2020. After opening our doors and then closing again when nearly half of our staff tested positive for COVID-19 (hear the full story here), our pastor challenged us to consider new and creative ways to do ministry in a social-distanced world, and this is the result. It’s a list of all of the ideas, resources, links, and thoughts we’ve come up with individually and as a staff on how to move forward this semester in light of COVID-19. As a brainstorming page, it’s messy, it’s incomplete, and it’s unorganized. Some of these ideas have already turned into realities (marked green)....

Creative Problem-Solving in Ministry

"Creativity begins at the moment we don't know what we are doing." - Simon Sinek  If that quote doesn't sum up 2020, I don't know what does. This year has given us lots of opportunities to be creative in ministry, and it's encouraged me to dig deeper into the process of creative thinking and creative problem-solving. I started listening to The Creative Thinker's Toolkit course on Audible. Even though I'm only a few lectures in, I've really enjoyed the challenges and encouragement to think creatively and build up my creative thinking muscles. Like other skills, creativity can be taught, refined, and strengthened. The more we practice it, the more creative we can be. The creative problem-solving process involves 4 key steps: Clarify - What is the problem you are trying to solve? If creativity is providing value in a new way, what kind...

Money: Good or Bad? Activity for Kids

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Kids often grow up with an improper view of money. 1 Timothy 6:10 (NIV) says, "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil." Did you catch that? Loving money or placing it on a pedestal is bad, but the verse doesn't say anything about money itself. In fact, money is neither good nor bad; it is simply a tool for exchange. However, what you do with money and how you treat it can be good or bad. [/vc_column_text][vc_btn title="Click Here to Download the Money: Good or Bad Activity for Kids Here!" align="center" link="url:https%3A%2F%2Fdeeperkidmin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2019%2F12%2FDKM-Money-Good-or-Bad-Worksheet.pdf||target:%20_blank|"][vc_column_text] Use this free printable to help kids understand that money isn't good or bad, but how we use it can be. Use this printable as part of a lesson on...