2024

3 Must-Have Children’s Ministry Characteristics

While ministry looks different in every context and every church, there are still a few key characteristics that all children's ministries should strive to achieve. I'm excited to share this article from Courtney Weaver at the Wonder Ink team as she dives into 3 of the most important aspects your kidmin should prioritize: Many churches face a similar challenge: engaging and spiritually nurturing the congregation’s youngest members. In a world full of distractions and competing influences, our children’s ministry programs must provide a constant source of encouragement and discipleship to help kids grow in their faith.  How can we be sure our ministries meet this need? There are a few key characteristics our programs should prioritize, including: Biblically Sound Curriculum Safe and Welcoming Environment Strong Volunteer and...
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Filed Under Blog, Leadership

“Little Pumpkins” Fall Volunteer Appreciation Tag

Print these fall-themed appreciation tags on cardstock and cut out with scissors, or print on business card paper (like Avery 28371) and print and tear apart on perforations. Then attach the tags to a fall gift like tiny pumpkins, fall-themed candles, and pumpkin-flavor or shaped cookies/treats! Share them with your volunteers on Sunday mornings or at your fall event. Download here! Want even more volunteer appreciation tags to use this season and year-round? Check out this Fall Volunteer Appreciation Tag BUNDLE with 10 tags + gift ideas for each one! Download the bundle...
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Filed Under Blog, Free Weekly Downloads, Volunteers

Pumpkin Twister Freebie

Print and laminate these pages to play pumpkin twister at your fall event! Download here! This is one of the games included in our Pumpkins and PJs PNO event - a fall-themed event where kids wear their favorite PJs and enjoy an evening of pumpkins and FUN! Learn more about this fun fall event...
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Filed Under Blog, Free Weekly Downloads

10 Unique Fall Family Events

Are you looking for a unique fall family event to host in your ministry this autumn, but don't want to host another Trunk or Treat or Fall Fest? Check out one of these unique ideas the families in your ministry will love! Escape Room or Mystery Event - Set up a fall escape room or host an adventure challenge/mystery night! We love this mini fall escape room as an add-on element, or you can invite families into the Mystery of the Misplaced Jewel where they'll work together to solve the mystery of Penelope Peabody’s misplaced jewel while also discovering an important Biblical truth: God has a plan. PNO - Host a Parents' Night Out to give the parents in your ministry a break! We've got a fall-themed Pumpkins and PJs PNO, and lots more to choose from, including Nerf Wars and Mad Science! Service Project - Invite families to serve together...
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Pumpkin Pose Game

Play this fun and simple fall game to help kids remember that God loves them no matter what they might be feeling! Supplies: Pumpkin Pose Printable (printed and spread out on the floor) Music (and a way to play it, even if just a volunteer’s phone) To Play: Lay out the different pumpkin faces on the floor and point them out to the kids. When the music plays, kids must walk around the room. When the music stops, kids have to run to a pumpkin on the floor, put 1 foot on the pumpkin, and “pose” or make a face like the face on the pumpkin. Play again as time allows, reminding kids that God loves them no matter what they are feeling. Option: Remove 1 pumpkin each round until there is only the happy pumpkin left. Download the game here! This game is one of the games included in our Pumpkin Patch Preschool Series, a...
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Filed Under Blog, Free Weekly Downloads

Don’t Ask For Volunteers, Invite Them

"I have more volunteers than I know what to do with." - Said no kidmin leader ever. Volunteers can be hard to come by, and it requires constant and consistent recruitment to add to your team. As you navigate what it looks like to build a team for your ministry, consider a subtle but intentional shift in the language you use: Rather than asking for volunteers to serve in your ministry, invite them into the story of what God is doing in your ministry. Think about the difference between an ask vs an invitation. An ask implies they're doing you a favor, while an invitation is something they want to be part of. An ask can be ambiguous with no definitive boundaries while an invitation provides clear details and descriptions. An ask communicates that you just need help - anybody's help, while an invitation shows a clear, specific place for that...
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Filed Under Blog, Leadership, Volunteers

Volunteer Job Description Template

An effective job description should give your volunteer all the expectations of the position and allow them to decide if they can do it or not. This free job description template will help you create a top-notch volunteer description for any and every member of your team. Download the Volunteer Job Description Template Here! Want some of the work done for you? Check out our full Volunteer Job Description Template resource, which includes an editable version of this template, sample job descriptions for 12+ roles on your volunteer team, and explicit instructions and vision for creating rock-solid volunteer job descriptions. Download the full resource...
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Filed Under Blog, Free Weekly Downloads, Leadership, Volunteers

10 Posts to Read If You Want to Update Your Ministry Strategy

This week marks the 1st anniversary of the release of my book Time to Update: 7 Areas to Integrate Digital Discipleship into Your Children's Ministry Strategy, and we're celebrating with a giveaway + highlighting some of our favorite posts about digital discipleship from the last few years! If you want the full step-by-step guide and ideas for updating your ministry strategy to the next generation of digital natives, check out a copy of my book here, or get a little taste by browsing some of our top posts below that helped inspire the book! Just click on the title of the post to read, and find giveaway details at the bottom of the page to enter to win a free copy of the...
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Filed Under Blog, Leadership

Questions for Exploring New Digital Tools

There are LOTS of digital tools out there that can be helpful for children's ministry leaders, and new ones are released all the time. But how do you know if a new tool or app is worthwhile? Use this list of questions to determine if a new digital tool or app is a worthwhile investment of your time and money. You won’t need to use ALL of the questions for every single tool, but they can be a good starting point to help you explore new digital tools. And if you can show your leadership that you’ve thought through these questions, sometimes having the answers can help make asking for the money easier! Download the questions here! To discover more resources to help younavigate digital discipleship in yourchildren’s ministry, check out the bookTime to Update...
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Filed Under Blog, Free Weekly Downloads, Leadership

6 Leadership Lessons from the Olympics

I have LOVED watching the Olympics over the last few weeks. Swimming and gymnastics are my favorite events to watch, and I'm always blown away by the level and skill of the athletes competing. The more we watched, the more I saw a few leadership lessons we as ministry leaders can learn from the Olympics. Here they are: Child discipleship is a team sport. Did you see those handoffs in the relay races or how teams work together on the beach volleyball court? Child discipleship is a team sport that requires all of us to run our race and do our part with excellence. That includes ministry leaders, parents, the church body, and even kids! How can we as ministry leaders partner with and encourage parents in their race? How can we equip volunteers and the church body as a whole to understand their roles in the faith development of children? How...
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KidMin Event Planner Printable

Use this event planner printable as you're planning your next kidmin event! It provides an overview page for planning the what, when, where, who, and how of the event. Download the Planner Printable Here! This Event Planner Printable is only one of many printable planning pages found in our Complete Children’s Ministry Planner, which has everything you need to plan your children’s ministry, including tools to help you along the way. Learn more about the Complete Children’s Ministry Planner...
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Filed Under Blog, Free Weekly Downloads, Leadership

5 Tips for Partnering with Local Schools

If you're looking for ways to increase your impact in your community, consider partnering with your local schools! As schools prepare for back-to-school season and the return of teachers and students, your church or ministry can support families and your community in intentional ways. Here are 5 ways to build connections and partner with your local schools:  Ask and listen. Always connect with your local school administration first, asking if you can partner with the school and how you can support them. Share that you want to partner with the school and support their staff and students through prayer. Ask about the needs the school may have, and become familiar with the polices and procedures the school may have in place when it comes to faith organizations and faith conversations. Be ready to connect and listen. Do not assume you know their...
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18 Ways Your Ministry Can Serve Local Schools

Use this list of ideas to have a conversation with your local schools about how your ministry can partner with and support them. Always ask where the school might have needs first, and use this list as suggestions if needed. Also, remember these 5 tips for partnering with your local schools! Download a printable version here! Ideas for meeting student needs: Reading Buddies (reading once a week for 30 minutes with a student throughout the year) Mentoring or serving as a “Lunch Buddy” weekly or monthly Food on the weekends for the food insecure Snacks and healthy food for the school “pantry” School supplies drive Clothes to be kept in the office in case of accidents Personal hygiene items Shoes and warm clothing Ideas for encouraging teachers:  Write...
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Olympic Family Games

Share this fun printable with the families in your church and encourage them to play their own Family Olympic Games at home as they watch the Summer Olympics this year! Download the Olympic Family Games here! Want to help them have intentional faith conversations at home while they watch the Olympics? Check out our Olympic Faith Family Challenge! It includes 7 simple family devotions that help families explore their faith while cheering on their favorite athlete. The download includes a printable version for you to share with families + a full social media campaign to engage with them online! Learn more...
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Filed Under Blog, For Parents, Free Weekly Downloads

3 Back to School Games

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Use these games to add some fun & competition to your back-to-school event or lesson![/vc_column_text][vc_btn title="Download printable version of all 3 games here! " align="center" link="url:https%3A%2F%2Fdeeperkidmin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2017%2F09%2FDKM-3-Back-to-School-Games-Freebie.pdf||target:%20_blank|"][vc_column_text] Lunch Box Race Supplies: 3 empty lunchboxes (or brown paper bags), four lunch items per lunchbox Set out three empty lunchboxes on one side of the stage and three piles of lunch supplies on the other. Each pile can have 4 lunch items, such as a pudding cup, a banana (or orange), a piece of bread, and a small bag of chips. Choose three students to race from their piles to the empty lunch boxes with one item at a time and see who can fill the lunchbox first. Just before they...
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Mixed Feelings: Back-to-School Feelings Wheel Family Resource

The first day of school can bring lots of emotions to the surface. Share this simple resource with families to help them talk about those first-day feelings and find out what the Bible says about different emotions! Print copies for every child, and/or share the printable with them digitally! Download the resource here! Want to dive deeper into helping kids and families talk about their emotions this back-to-school season? We’ve got TWO resources to help! Learn more about each one below, and find all of our Back-to-School resources here! Mixed Feelings is an emotions-focused lesson all about those first-day feelings! By looking at Philippians 4:4-7 & John 14:27, kids will learn that God made us with emotions, He wants us to talk to Him about our emotions, and that no matter what we are feeling, we can ask...
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Filed Under Blog, For Parents, Free Weekly Downloads

The Parents In Your Ministry Need This Book

My word of the year this year is habits. Last week, we shared about simple scripture habits for families, and we're continuing this habit theme with a giveaway of Christie Thomas' brand new book: Little Habits, Big Faith: How Simple Practices Help Your Family Grow in Jesus.  In Little Habits, Big Faith, Christie applies the science of habits to faith formation in a way that makes family discipleship easy, doable, and sustainable for every family, all while sharing encouragement and support. She walks readers through a Faith Growth Cycle, which she divides into three stages: seed, sprout, and root. This metaphor effectively conveys the gradual and nurturing process of faith development. By focusing on small, habitual actions, the book emphasizes how even brief moments of spiritual practice can have a significant impact over time. I personally...
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Filed Under Blog, For Parents, Leadership

Scripture Stars: 4th of July Family Faith Activity

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Share this fun summer activity with the families in your ministry to help them decorate their house for the 4th of July and remind them of the freedom we have in Jesus! It's a great way to help them form tiny habits that incorporate scripture into their lives![/vc_column_text][vc_btn title="Download Printable Copy Here!" align="center" link="url:https%3A%2F%2Fdeeperkidmin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2021%2F06%2FDKM-Scripture-Stars-Freebie.pdf|target:_blank"][vc_column_text] Supplies: red, white, and blue cardstock, star templates from online, gluestick, markers, Bible Instructions: Search the internet for star templates. Print and cut out stars of different sizes on red, white, and blue cardstock. Layer the stars by gluing a smaller star on top of a larger star. Then write one of the Bible verses...
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Filed Under Blog, For Parents, Free Weekly Downloads

Simple Scripture Habits For Families

Sometimes parents feel overwhelmed by the thought of family devotions or reading the Bible with their kids. But you can remind them that even the simplest habits can help them incorporate Scripture into their daily lives! Here are a few ideas to share with the families in your church: Decorate with scripture - Many families have more scripture in their homes than they realize, but it's also easy to make it an art project or part of a holiday celebration! With an activity like Scripture Stars or even encouraging kids to make their own Bible verse poster, families can hang up scripture around their homes where they'll see it every day. If they're decorating for a certain holiday or season, they can find Bible verses that relate to that celebration, add them to some decorations, and hang those up too! Then each time they pass the scripture...
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Filed Under Blog, For Parents, Leadership

Summer Connection Idea: KidMin Pizza Delivery!

Summertime is a great time to connect with families in unique and fun ways! I saw Darren Goodrich, a Family Pastor at a church in Florida, share this idea in a local children's ministry Facebook group and had to learn more! The idea is simple: set up a signup genius (or other scheduling tool) to invite families to choose a day over the summer when you, the kidmin leader (or someone from your team), will deliver a pizza to the family for dinner! It can be a surprise for the kids or something they know about. Darren shares more about the idea on his blog here, and DKM subscribers can find a step-by-step plan for implementing this idea in their own church (including an email template) here! Darren also shared more about how he got the idea and what the families in his ministry had to say about it: "I really had the idea to...
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Filed Under Blog, For Parents, Leadership

Step-by-Step Summer Family Engagement Plan

Hear an overview of how one leader used this plan for a summer pizza delivery initiative here! Download a printable/save-able version here! Step-by-Step Plan: 1. Identify Goals and Budget Goal: Enhance family engagement, reinforce community bonds, and maintain connection with the children and their families during the summer. Budget: Allocate funds for pizza, delivery materials (magnets, etc.), and other potential activities like Christmas cookies. 2. Plan and Communicate Calendar and Communication: Create a clear and detailed summer calendar highlighting all events and dates, including the special delivery days. Email and Social Media: Send out emails and post on social media well in advance. Use graphics and engaging language to get families excited. 3. Sign-Up Process Online Form: Use an online form (e.g., Google...
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Filed Under Blog, For Parents, Free Weekly Downloads, Leadership

5 Ways to Increase Engagement on Your Children’s Ministry Social Media

Recently, Deeper KidMin had a few reels go viral (follow DKM on Instagram and join the fun here) and it's been wild. I've experimented with a few different things and learned a lot about what seems to work best for fostering engagement on social media (at least for now - it's constantly changing). You may not be trying to go viral (honestly, I wasn't either) but you SHOULD be trying to reach more of your families and engage with them online. Find 5 tips for your kidmin social media in general here, and check out the tips below to see what I've learned over the last few months and what it means for your ministry to increase engagement online: Use real-life pictures and videos whenever possible. Making appealing graphics and using the graphics provided in your curriculum are great and can save time, but people really want to see authentic...
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KidMin Social Media Planner Template

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]An effective social media strategy for your children's ministry requires planning, but that doesn't mean it has to take up hours of your precious time! Use this week's free download to help you plan weeks' worth of social media posts at a time. Print 1 copy of the first page and use it to choose one idea for each day to help you create a template plan for your ministry social media posts. Print multiple copies of the second page, then use it to map out your weekly posts, several weeks at a time! Download the KidMin Social Media Planner Here! Want to go deeper with your social media strategy? Check out Chapter 7 in the book Time to Update: 7 Areas to Integrate Digital Discipleship into Your Children‘s Ministry Strategy. Time To Update explores 7 areas of your children’s ministry strategy where you can...
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Baptism Adventure: Unique Baptism Resources for Kids and Preteens

As kids are hearing the gospel and expressing their faith at camp and VBS this summer, are you thinking about their next steps? Salvation decisions are an important part of children's ministry since we get to share the gospel with kids at a time when their little hearts are most open to receiving it, but if we don't think intentionally about following up with a child after they've made a decision to give their life to Christ, we're missing a big piece of our roles as disciple-makers. One natural next step: baptism! Earlier this year, I learned about an incredible resource that Rivers Crossing Church in Ohio created to help kids and preteens explore baptism in fun and adventurous ways! A team at Rivers Crossing created 3 books that inspired special Adventure Kits: Maya and River’s Campout Adventure (a fiction book, like a modern-day...
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Filed Under Blog, For Parents, Leadership

Sermon Notes For Kids List

If you search “Sermon Notes for Kids” on the web, there are literally hundreds of options that show up. So to help you narrow down your search, here’s a list of links to my favorite free sermon notes for kids! Sermon Notes for Kids are a great activity to include in your worship bags and encourage kids to participate in the church service. I recommend including a sermon notes printable every week, but feel free to change up the look, layout, style, or format each Sunday to add variety for your kids! Then start over and cycle back through them. Before long, your kids will have favorites! Emoji Sermon Notes Printable that just released from Deeper KidMin! Sermon Notes Bundle from Deeper KidMin (Including pages for Pre-Readers!) Free Bible Coloring Pages from Sermon for Kids Worship Notes for Kids PDF from MMMCrafts Kid’s...
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Filed Under Blog, For Parents, Leadership
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