Categories: Blog

5 Ways to Work With the Youth Pastor For Preteen Transition from Children’s To Youth Ministry

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]As the end of another school year rolls around, you may be planning the transition of your preteens from the children's ministry to the youth ministry. The transition from children’s ministry to youth ministry should be a collaboration between the leaders of those two ministries, not just a hand-off. So here are 5 ways to work together with your ministry counterpart (the youth pastor) to ensure the transition goes smoothly... Think about what elements of youth ministry can you pull into kids ministry. Consider creating a “hybrid” ministry that pulls in elements of both the children’s and youth ministry for your preteens. This can be as elaborate as a separately-named-and-run ministry or as simple as adjusting small group time. Learn how the small group format works in the youth ministry, and start...
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Preteen Transition Conversation Guide

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Helping preteens transition from the children's ministry to the youth ministry requires an intentional approach from leaders in BOTH ministries (children's and youth). Use the following questions to have a discussion with your ministry counterpart and think through the logistics of a smooth transition for preteens from children’s ministry to youth ministry.[/vc_column_text][vc_btn title="Download the printable version here!" align="center" link="url:https%3A%2F%2Fdeeperkidmin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2023%2F05%2FDKM-Preteen-Transition-Conversation-Guide-Freebie.pdf|target:_blank"][vc_column_text]Before the Transition What elements of youth ministry can we incorporate into children’s ministry? What are important milestones/skills we want kids to have before entering youth group? What...
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Mother’s Day Digital Gift Card Template

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Use this free template to gift the moms in your ministry with a digital gift card to Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, Chick-fil-a, or any restaurant that has an app or e-gift cards that let you simply scan a barcode on your phone to pay! Happy Mother's Day![/vc_column_text][vc_btn title="Download instructions + template links here!" align="center" link="url:https%3A%2F%2Fdeeperkidmin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2023%2F04%2FDKM-Mothers-Day-Digital-Coffee-Gift-Card-Template.pdf|target:_blank"][/vc_column][/vc_row]
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How To Treat the Moms in Your Ministry to a Free Cup of Coffee!

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]What mom doesn't appreciate a little caffeine? This Mother's Day, give the gift of free coffee to the moms in your ministry in a fun and creative way! You may have seen businesses, leaders, and even other churches share a Starbucks gift card on their social media to buy their community a cup of coffee on them (we've even done this at Deeper KidMin a time or two). Here's how they did it and how you can do it for the moms in your ministry this Mother's Day! Download the Starbucks app to your phone and sign into (or create) your free account. (Lol let's be honest you probably already have it downloaded right? KidMin leaders appreciate some caffeine too.) Click on the Gift tab and choose a design for your gift card. The design doesn't matter too much, but we recommend choosing a simple or generic "Thank...
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Filed Under Blog, For Parents

Beach Ball Prayer Activity For Kids

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Use this interactive prayer activity (works best with small groups) to add a fun summer twist to prayer time in your kids ministry! All you need is a colorful beach ball and a group of kids. [/vc_column_text][vc_btn title="Download a printable version of the game here!" align="center" link="url:https%3A%2F%2Fdeeperkidmin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2023%2F04%2FDKM-Beach-Ball-Prayer-Activity-for-Kids.pdf|target:_blank"][vc_column_text] Directions: Have the kids in your group sit in a circle. Tell the kids to pay attention to all of the prayer requests, but especially to the request of the kid they throw the ball to. Begin by throwing the beach ball to a kid across the circle from you. When the kid catches the ball, have them look to see what color their right thumb is touching. Depending on the color,...
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3 Common KidMin Mistakes

This week's post comes from my friends over at Small Church Ministry, a site devoted exclusively to ministry leaders in small churches! And while their goal is to help small churches do ministry better (by sharing ideas and hosting free online conferences like this one coming up on April 29, 2023), this blog post has relevance and encouragement for churches of all sizes... The reality of another failed kids’ event isn’t a fun one. Or teaching children’s Sunday school class and wondering if it’s making a difference. Or having to miss worship every week because there’s no one else to serve in the nursery. I’ve been there. We’ve all been there. Yes, it can be deflating at times, but it really IS possible to serve in a small church and have a children’s ministry that rocks! Unfortunately, we sometimes get sucked into these...
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Bible Story Recipe Activity

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]This creative activity invites kids to create a "recipe" for a Bible story! It works with any story in the Bible and can be used over and over again. Use it as a small group activity at church or share it with your families to complete at home! Using the template provided in the download below, create a recipe using the different parts of the Bible story! For example... the title of the recipe could be the name of the Bible story. The ingredients could be the people and places in the Bible story. The directions could be a version of what happened in the story. Be creative![/vc_column_text][vc_btn title="Download the freebie here!" align="center" link="url:https%3A%2F%2Fdeeperkidmin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2023%2F04%2FDKM-BIBLE-STORY-RECIPE-FREEBIE.pdf|target:_blank"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column...
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10 Screen-Based Easter Games for Kids Ministry

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Games are more than just time fillers or fun add-ons in your children's ministry. They can help build relationships, reinforce the lesson, and more! Add some fun and relationship-building to your Easter events with one of these 10 Easter games![/vc_column_text][products columns="2" orderby="rand" order="DESC" ids="99066, 97446, 79501, 100383, 78348, 78040, 54017, 49526, 101528, 102744"][/vc_column][/vc_row]
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Free Easter Activity Pages

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Use these Easter Activity pages in your ministry to help remind kids that Easter is about more than eggs and bunnies! These activity pages make great time fillers, service activity pages, or walk-in activities.[/vc_column_text][vc_btn title="Download the Easter Activity Pages Here!" align="center" link="url:https%3A%2F%2Fdeeperkidmin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2023%2F04%2FDKM-Free-Easter-Activity-Pages-Updated.pdf|target:_blank"][vc_column_text]And if you want more activity pages like these, check out our full Easter Activity Books for ages 3-7 and ages 8-12! Click on each image below to learn more about that book. Both of these free printables are excerpts from the full activity books.[/vc_column_text][products columns="2" orderby="title" order="ASC" ids="99314,...
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New Family Ministry Info Packet Template

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Customize this Canva template to create your very own new family packet! Everything is completely customizable: the fonts, the colors, the pictures (we encourage you to use real pictures from your ministry in place of the stock photos!), the space for your ministry name/logo,etc. Save the edited version as a PDF, then print or share it digitally with any new families that interact with your ministry (brand new parents, visiting families, etc.). **Note: this is a temporary subscriber freebie! It will soon become a paid download in the DKM Marketplace, but it is available for DKM subscribers right now for free.** [/vc_column_text][vc_btn title="Access the template instructions & link here!" align="center"...
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5 Steps To Effectively Follow Up with Families AFTER Easter

The Easter season typically brings in visitors and guests from the community, but how many of those visitors actually come back and get plugged into your church? Sometimes the follow-up plan for staying connected with families can be more important than the initial connection, so here are 5 steps to effectively follow up with families AFTER the Easter rush... Prepare well. An effective follow-up begins before the event or special service even happens. Prepare to follow up with guests before they even walk through your doors by having a solid system in place for collecting their information with new family registration cards or online options through your check-in system. Know how and when you'll follow up with families before the event takes place so you can rest and recover after. Create a welcoming environment. Make sure your ministry...
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5 Resources to Help Families Celebrate Holy Week

Easter is a big celebration each year, for families in both our church and our community. But we often get so focused on Easter Sunday that we miss the opportunity to invite families into the full Easter story and the days leading up to Easter - Holy Week. Whether your church hosts Holy Week services or not, check out these 5 resources to help families celebrate Holy Week: Sunday to Sunday Family Devotion - This brand new resource includes a printable Holy Week devotion for families that invites them to ponder, pray, and play the events of Jesus’ last week on Earth. These devotions are simple enough for busy families to complete but deep enough to help families connect with our Savior in a meaningful way. We used real pictures (not cartoons or graphics) because we want kids to know these events actually happened. They were real. And so is...
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5 Ways to Welcome Young Families to Your Church

At Easter, it's common to see an influx of guests and new families. So is your church ready to welcome them? This week's guest blog post comes from Julia Ball, the creator of Equip Family and a family pastor in Newfoundland, Canada. Find her amazing resources here, and read on as Julia Ball shares 5 ways to welcome young families any time of the year, but especially during the Easter season. Can I make a confession? Before I had kids, I could never understand comments from parents that getting to church on Sundays was “hard.” I honestly wondered – how hard can it be? When my kids came along, I discovered the answer: getting to church with kids is really, really hard. At times, it feels nearly impossible. While I can’t prove it scientifically or with stats, I am convinced that Sundays are THE most difficult day of the week...
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Dinner With Jesus Easter Family Activity

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Share this activity with your families to complete during or after Easter! Families will read the Road to Emmaus story in Luke 24 and then have a "dinner with Jesus". The provided discussion questions will help guide the experience, and it's a simple activity for families to do during dinner together.[/vc_column_text][vc_btn title="Download the Dinner with Jesus Family Activity Here!" align="center" link="url:https%3A%2F%2Fdeeperkidmin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2023%2F03%2FDKM-Dinner-with-Jesus-Freebie.pdf|target:_blank"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_single_image image="101197" img_size="full" alignment="center" onclick="custom_link" img_link_target="_blank" link="https://deeperkidmin.com/product/an-easter-week-walk-7-day-family-devotional/"][/vc_column][vc_column...
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Glow in the Dark Event Decoration Ideas

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Whether you're hosting a Glow in the Dark Easter Egg Hunt or another glowing event, use these ideas to help you decorate your space and tie in the glowing theme! Glow Stick Lanterns Supplies: Glow sticks, connectors Use the connectors in a kit like this one to create several glow stick lanterns to hang around your event area. They don’t provide much actual light, but they were great for marking doorways, gates, etc. Glowing Balloons Supplies: white balloons, glow sticks Blow up the white balloons, inserting 2 activated glow sticks into each one before tying it off. (Tip: blow the balloon up halfway, then quickly insert the glow sticks and continue blowing.) Using different colored glow sticks will give you a different color glowing balloon. Tie your glowing balloons up at the entrance or in...
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Cost-Saving Ideas for Your Easter Egg Hunt

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]If you're putting on an Easter Egg Hunt but need to cut back on your budget, try one of these cost-saving ideas! Ask church members to donate pre-filled eggs. Reuse eggs year to year. After the egg hunt, have kids empty the eggs and keep the candy, then collect eggs to reuse for the next year. OR don't stuff the eggs to begin with, and have kids turn in their empty eggs for a goody bag of candy. Rather than handing out food such as cotton candy, popcorn, etc., see if local food trucks would be willing to come set up at your event. Combine your egg hunt with another local church to help save money. Shop at your local dollar store for eggs and prizes. Limit kids to 20 eggs a piece (or fewer). Shop the day(s) after Easter for next year’s event. Buy prizes/trinkets rather than using...
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25 Apps/Tech Tools KidMin Leaders Can’t Live Without

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Though it may have its negatives, our digital world provides lots of new tools and resources we can use to help us do ministry more effectively and efficiently. Last year, I asked kidmin leaders in a FB group about the 1-2 apps or tech tools they can't live without in children's ministry. Here were the top 25 answers (in no particular order):[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text] Canva (top recommended) Remind FaceBook Page & FaceBook Groups (Psst Here's a training to help you make the most of your ministry's social media.) Propresenter Right Now Media Planning Center Amazon - "It's where I get all my supplies!" Weather Channel App - "Just in case I need a rain plan." Notion - "Basically you can make pages which house all the different notes you need as a children’s minister. Then...
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Preparing for Lent: What Would Your Schedule Look Like If God Were in Charge Of It?

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]I'm a schedule-and-routine person through and through. I like my calendar and my daily task lists, and the predictability of a schedule brings my head comfort and my heart joy. But as we head into the Lenten season, I've been pondering this question: What would my schedule look like if God were in charge of it? I'd probably spend less time scrolling social media. I bet I'd spend more time resting and even sleeping. I'd probably spend more time investing in intentional relationships with others. I'd definitely spend more time in prayer and the Word. When I shift my view of my schedule from something all mine to control to an offering to sacrifice to God, how I spend my time shifts dramatically. Interruptions in my day become divine appointments that God just didn't put on my calendar. Quiet times and studying...
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Fasting Tracker Freebie for Lent

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Fasting is a spiritual discipline that even kids can participate in, and with this fasting tracker printable, you can help kids track their progress through the Lent season of fasting. Each week, kids are encouraged to give up (fast from) something. Each night of that week, they color in the corresponding box to show they completed the fast for the day. Kids have the option to change what they fast from each week, or fast from the same thing throughout the entire season.[/vc_column_text][vc_btn title="Download the Lent Fasting Tracker Freebie Here!" align="center" link="url:https%3A%2F%2Fdeeperkidmin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2023%2F01%2FDKM-Fasting-Tracker-Freebie.pdf|target:_blank"][vc_column_text] Find other resources for helping kids understand and practice the spiritual discipline of fasting...
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30 Must-Know Bible Verses for Young Kids

Kids, even young kids, can memorize Scripture to help them learn God's word and apply it to real-life situations. If you're looking for a place to start, here's a list of 30 Bible verses (NIV) perfect for young kids... "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness," - 2 Timothy 3:16 "Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”" - Mark 10:27 "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." - 1 Peter 5:7 "But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”" - 1 Samuel 16:7 "Be still before the Lord and...
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Guacamole! Bible Skills Game Free Printable

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Just print and cut this free printable to play Guacamole - a Bible skills game for kids you can use over and over again. To play, kids take turns drawing a card. They must say whether the book on the card is from the Old or New Testament. If they are correct, they keep the card. If they draw a "Guacamole!" card, they must put all their cards back. The player with the most cards at the end of the game wins! More variations for playing are included in the instructions in the printable. [/vc_column_text][vc_btn title="Download the Guacamole Bible Skills Game Here!" align="center" link="url:https%3A%2F%2Fdeeperkidmin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2022%2F11%2FGuacemole-Bible-Skills-Game-from-Deeper-KidMin.pdf|target:_blank"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_single_image image="54675"...
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Valentine Resources Your KidMin Will LOVE

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Valentine's Day is a great opportunity to not only teach kids about God's love but to create space for kids to experience God's love too! These Valentine Resources can help...[/vc_column_text][vc_btn title="Shop All Valentine Resources Here!" align="center" link="url:https%3A%2F%2Fdeeperkidmin.com%2Fproduct-category%2Fseasonal%2Fseasonalvalentinesday%2F|target:_blank"][vc_separator color="custom" border_width="5" accent_color="#3ac1e1"][vc_custom_heading text="Help Kids & Families Experience God's Love Through Prayer..." font_container="tag:h2|text_align:left|color:%233ac1e1" use_theme_fonts="yes" link="url:https%3A%2F%2Fdeeperkidmin.com%2Fproduct%2Flove-one-another-valentine-prayer-stations-lesson%2F|target:_blank"][vc_column_text] God’s Conversation Hearts is a Scripture-based prayer prompt...
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How to Lose a Volunteer in Only 1 Week

Do you have new volunteers joining your team as we hit the mid-point of the school year? Maybe it's time for a mid-year volunteer training, or a refresher for your rookie volunteers as they jump into serving with your ministry. Maybe you're in the midst of a volunteer recruitment process or celebrating your volunteers to help them feel encouraged and inspired in their roles. No matter what your volunteer to-do list looks like right now, check out this guest blog post from David Rausch, creator of Go! Curriculum and a DKM Vendor, all about how to lose a volunteer in only 1 week (so you can make sure they're not running for the exit the first time they serve):  I recently began volunteering for a ministry at my church called "Los Vecinos." Using my high school level of Spanish, I roughly translated that to mean "The Vaccines," but upon further...
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Don’t Just Think Outside the Box; Expand the Box

As we head into a new year, you might be looking for new and creative ways to engage kids with the gospel. Check out this week's blog post from Rosemary Winbush, one of our DKM Vendors, about how to not only think outside the box, but how to EXPAND the box when it comes to creativity in children's ministry:  More than ever before, there is a need in Children’s Ministry for more innovative ways to reach children and enhance the ministry we provide for them. It’s getting harder and harder for children to hear the Word of God, so we must become more resourceful to get the job done. The global call to children’s ministry has not changed, but the ways we do it need change. We have all heard of the saying ‘think outside the box,’ but in the future, let’s not only think outside the box; let’s EXPAND THE BOX. Let’s allow our minds to...
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6 Ways to Make Scripture Memory Fun

Scripture memory can be a daunting goal to accomplish, even as adults, but the importance of hiding God’s Word in our hearts is undeniably valuable. Check out some of the ideas below for making memorizing Scripture fun (and therefore easier) for you and your kids. We’ve used several in our ministry context, and they are easy to apply at home or in your ministry too! 1) Make it a game! There are SO MANY ways to make memorizing scripture a game, and the more fun your kids are having, the more they’ll want to memorize! Check out some of our favorite scripture memory games here. 2) Sing it Out! – Make up your own song, chant, cheer, or rap using the words in the verse. You could also check out several resources that are readily available for you and your family. JumpStart3 and Seeds Family Worship both provide relevant worship music...
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