Categories: Blog

Hope Has a Name

As we begin this season of Advent, I'm excited to share this guest post from Christie Penner Worden at Raise Up Faith:  Hope has a name. I’ve seen this phrase a lot lately. Not nearly as often as I have seen evidence of hopelessness in this season, I’m afraid. But in our clamoring for what’s next, for change, even for what’s required to get through the day, hope can seem dim, faint, even fading. Hope has a name, and as followers of Jesus, we know it to be His. But in a recent deep dive into the book of Hebrews, I found that Hope is not only rightly named, it is so clearly defined that to miss it would be, well, hopeless. “Because God wanted to show his unchangeable purpose even more clearly to the heirs of the promise, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to...
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Advent Devotional for Kidmin Leaders Free Sample

Many of our resources and freebies are geared toward the kids and families in your ministry, but this freebie is for YOU, kidmin leader. Here’s week 1 from a 4-week Advent devotional written specifically with children’s ministry leaders in mind. So block out 20 minutes on your calendar this week, grab your Bible, print the following pages, and spend time with Jesus this Advent season. Praying for you as you place your hope in Him. Download the Advent Devotional Sample Here   If you enjoyed this Advent devotional, download the full month (4 weeks + Christmas Eve/Day)...
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Last Christmas

🎵 "Last Christmas, we shared these ideas & freebies, but some of you weren’t here. This year, to save you some time, I’m bringing them back in case you missed them." 🎵 Ok, so maybe those aren’t the lyrics, but it’s true! (And you already have my heart anyway, kidmin leader.) Here are our top posts and freebies from Last Christmas! Keeping Christ in Christmas (Without Overwhelming Families) I’m excited to share some thoughts from Christie Thomas, author and one of our DKM Vendors! Here’s what she has to say about keeping Christ in Christmas at Home (without overwhelming families). Help Families "Treasure These Things in Their Hearts" This Advent Season After Jesus was born, the Bible tells us Mary “treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart” (Luke 2:19). As children’s...
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Christmas Scavenger Hunt Printable

Share this fun Christmas Scavenger Hunt Printable with the families in your church to send them on a fun family activity hunting for Christmas lights and decorations all December long! Download the printable here! This activity is one of the many included in our Christmas Karaoke December Family Faith Kit! Christmas Karaoke is a 4-week devotional resource that provides devotions and activities for kids and families, focusing on 4 Christmas hymns: Angels We Have Heard on High, O Little Town of Bethlehem, Joy to the World, and Silent Night. Learn more about Christmas Karaoke...
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Wondering to Bethlehem: Advent Devotional for Kids Review & Giveaway!

If you've been around long, then you know how much I love talking about the imagination and learning. Developing a child's biblical imagination is a key element of their spiritual development, which is why I am STOKED for the newest Advent Devotional for Kids: Wondering to Bethlehem. In Wondering to Bethlehem, author Vanessa Myers invites kids to dive into their wonder and imagination as they journey to Bethlehem! Starting December 1 and going through Christmas Day, kids have a daily short reading, prayer prompt, spot to jot down their wondering notes, and an interactive activity that takes them a little deeper into the story. These extra wonders to unpack give kids snapshots of how the Christmas story connects to other parts of the Bible or historical/contextual facts that help bring the story to life. There's even a bonus devotion for...
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Counting Down to Christmas: 3 Simple Ways to Focus on Advent in Your Children’s Ministry

It may only be October, but it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! And with Advent only a month away, we're already thinking about counting down to Christmas. That's why I'm excited to share this week's guest blog post from Courtney Weaver at David C Cook all about 3 simple ways to focus on Advent in your children's ministry. P.S. Find all the Advent resources you'll need here!  As a children’s ministry leader, you know that the importance of the Christmas season can easily be drowned out by Christmas trees, presents, music, and other exciting indicators of the season. That’s why your children’s ministry and the curriculum you teach should prepare hearts for the holiday. We all need to be reminded of the gift of Jesus–kids, families, and leaders alike! Advent is simply a time of preparation for the celebration of Christmas,...
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Advent Coloring Page Freebie

Share this simple and pretty Advent coloring page with the kids in your ministry this Advent Season! Use it as an early-arriver activity, as part of a lesson on Advent, or even during a family Christmas service. Talk about each of the candles and help kids color each one the correct color! DOWNLOAD THE FREEBIE HERE! Want to help kids and families create beautiful Advent wreath of their own? Host a Get Ready Advent Wreath Event! This coloring page is part of the full event guide that helps you host an event where families learn about the Advent wreath and make one of their own to take home and use throughout the season of Advent. Learn more about the Get Gready Advent Wreath Event...
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3 Goals for Building Faith in Families

As children's ministry leaders, we know we're supposed to equip parents to build faith at home. But how do we actually do that? In this guest blog post from Vanessa Myers of Family Faith Builders, Vanessa shares her journey to make family discipleship a priority in her ministry, and she lays out the 3 goals she has when equipping families with at-home resources. Find all of Vanessa's resources on Deeper KidMin here.  "Building faith in families." That was a phrase that wasn’t on my radar when I first began serving in children’s ministry. I thought my focus was just on teaching kids God’s Word. I really didn’t think about helping parents build faith together at home with their children. Not that I didn’t see it as important, but I honestly just didn’t think it was something I needed to do. And then God spoke to me and helped...
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Fall Volunteer Appreciation Tag Printable (How Sweet It Is to Serve With You!)

Print, cut, and pair this fall volunteer appreciation tag with some candy to let your volunteers know how much you appreciate them! Use leftover candy from your fall event, or pull some out ahead of time! Share with your team on Sunday mornings and with any volunteers who help at a special fall event. Whether you give each volunteer their own little treat bag or set the large printable sign near a bowl of candy for them to choose their own treat, your volunteers will love the random surprise this fall! Download the printable here! Want even more fall resources for your ministry? Find more...
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10 Fall Ideas for Your KidMin

Last week, I co-hosted another KidMin Leadership Gathering where we shared training, connections, and ideas. Part of the day involved local kidmin leaders sharing their fall ministry ideas! So here are 10 fall ideas for your children's ministry from the amazing kidmin leaders at the South Carolina KLG. Fall/Holiday KidMin Leadership Team for events (create a special team of leaders to help plan, prepare, and run your fall and holiday events) Student-ministry-led pumpkin patch for kidmin Harvest Hangout (candy, games, fellowship) Service Project Bingo (They must have downloaded this resource!) Community Carnival (Trunk-or-Treat, rides, food, and games) Hope Harvest Festival (A festival event that presents the hope of the gospel) Grateful Gathering (family-led stations with a focus on thankfulness) Great Pumpkin Race...
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Pumpkin Walk Game Printable

Play this game with the littles in your ministry this fall to remind them that God chooses them! Download the Pumpkin Walk Game Here! SUPPLIES: Large numbered pumpkins placed on the floor in a circle or pumpkin shape Small numbered pumpkin cards in a basket or bowl music and a way to play it (could even be played from a volunteer’s phone) PLAY: 1) Place the numbered pumpkin cutouts on the floor in the shape of a circle (or large pumpkin shape), 1 for each player. 2) As the music plays, invite kids to walk around the pumpkin shape. Stop the music at random intervals. When the music stops, players should choose a number to stand on - 1 player per number. Kids will choose a pumpkin just like God chooses us (1 Peter 2:9)! 3) The leader will choose 1 pumpkin card from the basket or bowl. The player standing on the...
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On the Seesaw By Yourself (Why Doing Ministry Alone Doesn’t Work)

Trying to do ministry alone is kind of like trying to play on a seesaw by yourself. It may sort of work for a little while, but eventually, your thighs are burning and there’s not much payoff. Just like a seesaw, when you do ministry alone… You burn out! I know “with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26) but it’s just not healthy for you or your ministry. Carrying the weight of every responsibility will leave you feeling worn out, overworked, and constantly behind. You’ll be jumping as hard as you can on that seesaw but will only go so high, wasting a lot of energy in the process and not getting much accomplished. Before long, you won’t be able to keep up the pace you’ve set, and everything (your family, your ministry, your sanity) suffers. You leave out! Maybe there’s someone else on the playground who wants to...
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“Is this Event Worth It?”

As we head into the time for planning your fall fest, Trunk or Treat, and general fall season, you may be wondering if all the time, energy, and money you spend on your special fall events are worth it. Here's some encouragement from one of our DKM Vendors, Meghan Clayton from Meghan's Ministry:  Recently, I coordinated an event that was an absolute disaster on my end. But the kids had the most fun they have ever had. When I arrived at the church three hours prior to the event, everything went wrong. All of my setup took ten times longer than planned. Items I had set out were stolen, my technology did not work, and I was an absolute mess. I closed all my activity rings on my watch before the event even started because I was running around the church trying to troubleshoot everything that went wrong. As a type A personality who typically has...
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Defining Identity

As kids get into the groove of the school year with new classes, friends, sports teams, and more, they will probably come up against questions - asked in their own minds and by those around them - about their identity. Who are they? WHOSE are they? Where do they belong? I'm excited to share this week's guest blog post from Christie Penner Worden from Raise Up Faith about helping define identity with kids:  How do we help kids truly know who they are, rooted in identity, and confident children of God? How do we tell them the truth without pretending the world around them won’t answer what we struggle to talk about? The word “identity” has caused confusion over the last number of years. And I wonder if we have been part of the problem, as the Church, misusing or abusing the word, from a place of misunderstanding, fear, or even bias?...
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6 Tips for Talking With Parents About Their Child’s Misbehavior

Are all the kids in your ministry perfect angels who sit quietly for the lesson and immediately obey any instructions? No, doesn't like your Sunday morning? You're not alone. (And honestly, if you did have perfectly behaved children 100% of the time, I'd think something was wrong.) We all have behavior issues that arise in our ministries, especially as we enter back-to-school season and return to routines after the summer. If you haven't yet, at some point you'll have to talk with parents about a child's misbehavior. That can be an intimidating and uncomfortable task, but you don't have to go in unprepared.  Check out this guest blog post from David Rausch, creator of Go! Curriculum and a DKM Vendor, with 6 tips for talking with parents about their child's misbehavior: "Yay! I get to tell a parent about their child's misbehavior," said no...
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What is Digital Discipleship?

What comes to mind when you hear "digital discipleship"? When I asked this question in a few different Facebook groups, most of the answers mentioned Zoom, online classes, or YouTube channels. But digital discipleship is so much MORE than live-streaming your children's ministry. So what exactly IS digital discipleship? Here's an excerpt from my new book Time to Update that defines digital discipleship and why it's something every kidmin leader needs to integrate digital discipleship into their children's ministry strategy: We update everything in our lives and ministries. We regularly update our phones and computers to keep them running correctly. We update the worship songs we use and the curriculum we teach. Even when transitioning from one teaching series to another, we often update the physical environment of the children’s ministry...
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5 Creative Ways to Use Media Content in Your Kids Worship Experiences

This week, I'm excited to share a guest post from Jason Noble, a team member over at Twelve Thirty Media. With my book, Time to Update, releasing next week, this post about creative ways to use media in your children's worship experiences was perfect! Learn more about my new book here, and keep reading to learn how to effectively utilize media with kids.  We live in a media-driven world. The children in your kid’s ministry are surrounded by media everywhere they look. The question is how do we effectively use media in our kid’s ministry experiences? Media cannot and should not ever replace leaders, or just be turned on to babysit children. A phrase that literally drives me crazy in the church world is “childcare”. Daycares do “childcare"; churches do “ministry to children.” Effective ministry to children must be...
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“Let’s Build Something New!” Embracing Creativity and Experimentation in KidMin

"Now let's build something new!" says my toddler after we just completed the coolest freeform Lego treehouse that ever existed. "Don't you want to play with this awesome treehouse we just made?" I ask, not sure we'll ever be able to top the masterpiece in front of us. (It even had a garage.) "No Mommy, let's build something new!" Toddler responds. It's a true test of my creativity to come up with varying Lego layouts of a treehouse. But because my daughter loves building with Legos and enjoys the times we get to build together, I take a deep breath and we tear down our Lego masterpiece to start all over again. Leading children's ministry presents a similar challenge. We may be comfortable sticking with what we've got, doing what we've always done, and hosting the same events year after year in the name of tradition and comfort. But...
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10 Verses to Pray Over Kids as They Head Back to School

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Praying for the kids we lead is one of the most important things we can do as children's ministry leaders, especially during seasons of transition like back-to-school time. So mark off time on your calendar or to-do list this week, and spend at least 5 minutes a day praying these 10 scriptures over the kids you lead. Ephesians 4:32 – Ask God to help them be kind. Joshua 1:9 – Praise God for always being with them. Proverbs 10:9 – Ask God to help them walk in integrity this year. Psalm 56:3 – Ask God to help them put their trust in Him. Philippians 4:6-7 – Ask God to help them not worry. Luke 2:52 – Ask God to help them grow this year. Proverbs 17:17 – Pray for their friends. Colossians 3:23 – Ask God to help them work hard. James 1:5 – Ask God to give them wisdom. ...
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Backpack Blessings Relay Game

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Ready to play the Backpack Blessings Relay Game? It's a great, active way to celebrate the start of a new school year with a focus on Scripture![/vc_column_text][vc_btn title="Download the Game Instructions here!" align="center" link="url:https%3A%2F%2Fdeeperkidmin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2023%2F07%2FDKM-Backpack-Blessings-Relay-Game.pdf|target:_blank"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_single_image image="107033" img_size="full" alignment="center" onclick="custom_link" img_link_target="_blank" link="https://deeperkidmin.com/product/back-to-school-4-week-curriculum/"][/vc_column][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_column_text]This game comes from the Back To School 4-Week Series that uses four different passages and school subjects to encourage children to share and show their faith as they head...
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The Power of Little Moments: 10 Ways Parents Can Nurture Faith in Children At Home

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Earlier this spring, we dedicated our youngest in a Sunday morning church service. It was a sweet moment when even our toddler was included in the charge to raise up our daughter in the Christian faith. We stood before the church, the pastor held our baby girl to show her off to the congregation, and he shared words of wisdom, advice, and encouragement. We prayed together, asking God to help us as parents lead her into a life-giving relationship with Him. And I of course took lots of pictures of her in her sweet little dedication dress.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_single_image image="107370" img_size="full" alignment="center"][/vc_column][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_single_image image="107368" img_size="full"...
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Certificate of Dedication

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]A family dedicating their child to the Lord is a special time of celebration for the church and the family. Many families may want a keepsake of the day. Use this free certificate of dedication to share with your families and help them remember this special time.[/vc_column_text][vc_btn title="Download the Certificate Here!" align="center" link="url:https%3A%2F%2Fdeeperkidmin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2023%2F07%2FDKM-Certificate-of-Dedication-Freebie.pdf|target:_blank"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_single_image image="102800" img_size="full" alignment="center" onclick="custom_link" img_link_target="_blank" link="https://deeperkidmin.com/product/parent-child-dedication-milestone-class/"][/vc_column][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_column_text]Want to help parents understand the true meaning...
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5 Practical Tips for Leading Kids in Worship

This week’s post comes from my friends over at Seeds Family Worship and 12:30 Kids Media. They're both leading creators in the world of media and music in children's ministry, and I so appreciate their willingness to share these practical tips for leading kids in worship... For all of us who minister to children, we see firsthand the challenges kids in this generation face. There are so many things coming at them from all directions in this fast-paced, high-tech, unfiltered culture… and their parents are facing the same pressures. How can we make the most of the limited time we have with these precious children and point them to Jesus? How can we come alongside their overstressed and overwhelmed parents and help them teach their kids about Jesus in their homes? I (Josh from Seeds Family Worship) believe one of the most powerful ways...
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The Chips and Salsa of Sunday Morning: Leveraging Arrival Time to Minimize Chaos

When you go to a Mexican restaurant, what is always brought to the table immediately upon sitting down? Chips and salsa! When kids walk through your doors on Sunday morning, there should be 2 things readily available: 1) a volunteer and 2) an activity they can dive right into. Your volunteer is like the waiter at the restaurant, helping kids settle in and get comfortable and sharing options for ways to dig in. The activity is like the chips and salsa of your ministry time. It gives kids a taste of what's to come while also occupying them until everyone arrives and the morning officially begins. And it's OK if it's a game - kids need time to build relationships with each other before diving into a deep, spiritual lesson. When you have leaders and activities ready to go, there’s no time for kids to plunder the room because there is...
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Filed Under Blog, Leadership, Volunteers

Something for You, Just out of the Blue Volunteer Appreciation Printable

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]NOTE: This is a limited-time DKM Subscriber freebie! That means it is available to DKM Subscribers right now for free, but will eventually become a paid resource in the DKM Marketplace.  One of the best ways to retain your volunteers is to celebrate them! And what better way to celebrate them than with random, surprise gifts of appreciation? People may be expecting an appreciation gift around holidays or special days, but you can make any day a special day with this volunteer appreciation tag printable! Use this volunteer appreciate tag printable to surprise your team with a little gift "just out of the blue. Choose the printable option you'd like to use, follow the instructions below, and attach the 3x3-inch tags to a blue item (food, candy, ministry merchandise, random blue items,...
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