Categories: Leadership

First-Time Guest Follow-Up Communication Templates

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Use these templates to follow up with first-time families in 3 different ways: via email, text, and mailed postcard! These templates are included in the full First-Time Guest Follow-Up Kit resource in customizable Word document format here.[/vc_column_text][vc_btn title="Download PDF version here!" align="center" link="url:https%3A%2F%2Fdeeperkidmin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F08%2FDKM-Follow-Up-Communication-Templates-Freebie.pdf|target:_blank"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_single_image onclick="custom_link" image="{``187532``:{``url``:``https://deeperkidmin.com/product/first-time-guest-follow-up-kit/``,``title``:````,``target``:``_blank``,``rel``:````}}" img_size="full"][/vc_column][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_column_text]Want a simple, repeatable system toolkit to welcome...
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Filed Under Blog, Free Weekly Downloads, Leadership

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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Filed Under Blog, Leadership

Grandparents as Co-Disciplers: Leveraging September for Family Ministry

Grandparents Day happens every September (this year it's September 13), but it doesn't have to be one Sunday where you hand out flowers and call it done. If you treat it as just a single moment instead of a doorway, you're leaving the biggest untapped discipleship resource in your church sitting in the pews. Grandparents aren't a nice bonus to family ministry. For a lot of your kids, they're one of the most consistent faith influences outside your ministry. They often have more margin than busy parents. They have decades of stories about God's faithfulness that no curriculum could ever recreate. They babysit, pick kids up from school, come to ball games, spend weekends together, and pray faithfully behind the scenes. Parents are often shaping faith in the everyday rhythms. Grandparents have the unique opportunity to reinforce those rhythms with...
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Filed Under Blog, Leadership

What Happens When AI Answers Kids’ Questions Before They Even Ask Them (And What That Means for Discipleship)

A kid types "who created the world" into Google. Before they finish the sentence, AI produces a full paragraph. They read it, close the tab, move on. Question answered. Wonder never started. Common Sense Media just rated Google's AI search features as an "unacceptable risk" for children, and 75% of U.S. teens and tweens are already using it. It can't be turned off even with SafeSearch on, and it answers with equal confidence whether it's right or wrong. The content concerns are real. But the discipleship concern underneath them is the one ministry leaders need to sit with. In the four Gospels, Jesus gets asked a question 187 times, and do you know how many he directly answers? Three. In contrast, Jesus is recorded as asking over 300 questions. Jesus didn't just answer questions automatically; instead, He asked questions to engage people's...
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Filed Under Blog, For Parents, Leadership, Volunteers

7 Design Tips Every Kids Ministry Leader Should Know

I'm so excited for our Canva Confidence online workshop happening this Thursday, August 20 as we dive into the basic principles of good design, discover time-saving Canva features, and create ministry resources you can actually use right away. (Save your spot for the workshop here). We've partnered with Church Visuals for this workshop, and we're excited to share a guest blog post from them this week... Kids are visual learners, and every visual is communicating something, whether you intended it to or not. As ministry leaders, we have the greatest message ever told. Our job isn't to entertain kids; it's to communicate the Gospel as clearly as possible. Quality visuals help remove distractions so kids can focus on what matters most: Jesus. Whether you're creating graphics in Canva or another design program, I want to give you seven...
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Partnering with Parents Carousel Post Canva Template

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=""]Use this Canva template to quickly and easily create 2 carousel social media posts for your children’s ministry that encourage parents in discipling their kids at home! Change the wording, modify the colors, etc. to fit your ministry best. Note: Canva Pro account required to use the templates as-is. You can modify the elements to free elements if you don’t have a Canva Pro account.[/vc_column_text][vc_btn title="Download template link in PDF form here!" css="" link="url:https%3A%2F%2Fdeeperkidmin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F07%2FDKM-Carousel-Post-Template-Freebie.pdf|target:_blank"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_single_image image="184143" img_size="full" alignment="center" onclick="custom_link" img_link_target="_blank" css=""...
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Filed Under Blog, Free Weekly Downloads, Leadership

6 People to Celebrate With As a New Semester Begins

A few years ago, my word for the year was celebration, and I confessed that celebration is a spiritual discipline I often skip over in pursuit of the next goal, event, or task. So I've tried to be more intentional about taking time to reflect and celebrate. Want to join me? As we head into back-to-school season, consider celebrating with different groups of people in your ministry: Volunteers - Weave celebration into every interaction or gathering you have with your volunteers (especially your annual volunteer training!). It boosts morale, reminds them of their purpose, and keeps their enthusiasm for serving high! (More on celebrating your volunteers here.) Parents/Grown-ups - Grown-ups love hearing positive stories about the kids in their lives. Share major milestones and even small wins with the grown-ups of the kids in your ministry...
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Filed Under Blog, Leadership, Volunteers

5 Things Every KidMin Leader Needs to Know About Gen Alpha

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=""]You can have a solid curriculum, fun games, and the most organized (or at least the fullest) supply closet in the building, but if you're not factoring in who today's kids actually are, the amount of supplies you have and prep you do doesn't matter. Here are five realities shaping how Gen Alpha learns, connects, and grows in faith, and what that actually means for your Sunday: They're digital first - For this generation, screens aren't a tool. They're the environment. Kids are learning through videos, apps, and short-form content from a very young age, and it's shaping how long they can focus, how fast they expect an answer, and how they process anything that isn't moving. Faith formation is now competing with constant stimulation, which means a kid can know the Bible story and still struggle to...
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Filed Under Blog, Leadership

5 Everyday Moments Families Can Use To Grow Their Faith This School Year

Back-to-school season is full of opportunities to encourage families, but it's also easy to overwhelm them in this busy season. As children's ministry leaders, we should be hyper-aware of the importance of back-to-school season for our families and walk alongside them in all the excitement, nerves, and school supplies. The best way to support families in this season? Give them a resource that already fits into a moment they're living. What if we helped families recognize the everyday moments as they get back into the school day routine, then handed them exactly what fits there? Faith takes root in the ordinary rhythms of everyday life just as much as (if not more than) it does in a Sunday morning program. Here are five simple moments you can equip families to use this school year to help build their faith: Before They Leave the House...
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Filed Under Blog, For Parents, Leadership

9 Promotion Sunday Themes For Your Children’s Ministry

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=""]Promotion Sunday is one of my favorite days of the whole year! It always has such a great energy as kids are excited to move up into a new class or small group. We host ours right before school starts, so there’s the added excitement of the back-to-school season too! I like to make the morning extra special and something out of the ordinary to celebrate all of the new beginnings. Whether you’re adding a fun theme to your already-planned curriculum or making the whole morning all about Promotion Sunday, here are a few fun Promotion Sunday themes! Promotion Sundaes – I’ve always wanted to host a giant ice cream party on Promotion Sunday and make special ice cream sundaes with the kids! Peel some bananas, scoop some ice cream, and drizzle some chocolate syrup for a tasty celebration. Then...
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Filed Under Blog, Leadership

6 Ideas for Following Up After Summer Events

Summer is often a busy season in ministry with extra events, special services, and even overnight trips. So much planning and preparation go into these events that we can sometimes forget about the importance of following up AFTER the events are over! But we miss out on crucial opportunities to connect with families when we ignore the follow-up opportunities that summer events provide. So here are 6 ideas for following up after your summer event(s). Plan ahead. Make your follow-up procedure part of the planning process for the entire event. So while you're thinking about VBS decorations, volunteer appreciation, and worship playlists, think about how you can follow up with families after your event is over. When you include the follow-up in the main planning of the event itself, it helps make sure follow-up doesn't slip through the post-event...
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Filed Under Blog, Leadership

Asking for Feedback in Your KidMin (Because Guessing What’s Working Isn’t a Strategy)

We spend a lot of time wondering why things aren't working... Why the volunteer stopped serving. Why that event fell flat. Why a parent seemed frustrated but never said anything. Most of the time, the answer is sitting right there waiting for us. We just haven't asked for it. Feedback is how we actually see our ministries clearly, and asking for it well is a skill worth building, so here are some tips for gathering feedback well and intentionally in your children's ministry: Start with yourself. Before you ask anyone else, do your own honest debrief. If you've already named what could've gone better, it doesn't sting as much when someone else brings it up.  Build a culture where feedback is normal. Ask your key volunteers and parents consistently, not just after something goes wrong. A volunteer feedback system or a parent council that meets a...
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Filed Under Blog, Leadership, Volunteers

Discipleship Happens One Drop at a Time

My family spends a week at the beach every summer for our family vacation. One year, our 2-year-old wanted to fill up her big bucket with water, but it was too heavy for her to carry with water in it. So she decided to use a small bucket to fill up the larger one. She placed the large bucket on the beach and started walking back and forth from the water to the beach, a distance of nearly 40 yards, since the tide was low and the shore was long. She didn't start with much water in the little bucket each time, and along the way, most of the water in the little bucket got sloshed and splashed out. I recommended she move the larger bucket closer to fill it up, but that was too logical for a 2-year-old. So she walked back and forth, back and forth for over an hour, from the water to the beach, filling up her big bucket of water with drops from her...
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Filed Under Blog, Leadership

VBS Volunteer Appreciation That Will Make Them Want to Serve Year After Year

VBS doesn't happen because of a great theme, a solid schedule, or a killer decoration plan. It happens because faithful volunteers show up day after day and pour themselves into kids. They arrive early, stay late, manage chaos with a smile, and give their energy to help kids experience Jesus in a meaningful way. That kind of investment deserves more than a quick “thanks” on the last day. If you want your VBS volunteers to feel seen, valued, and excited to come back next year, appreciation has to be intentional. Not flashy. Not expensive. Just thoughtful and well-timed. Here are some practical, realistic ways to appreciate your VBS volunteers in ways that actually matter: Appreciation starts before VBS begins. One of the most overlooked ways to honor volunteers is by making it easy to volunteer in the first place. Clear communication...
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Filed Under Blog, Leadership, Volunteers

Today’s Kids Learn Like Rocket Ships: 3 Keys to Engage Them on Sunday Mornings

I shared this story in my book all about digital discipleship in children's ministry, and it's one I think of often (it brings a smile to my face every time)! It sets up this week's blog post perfectly: One day while helping me clean out my home office, my then 2-year-old found one of my old laptop computers. She immediately slid it in front of her on the floor, opened it, and began tapping on the keys. I haven’t touched it in years, and I don’t think it even turns on anymore, so I let her play with it. She spent almost 45 minutes “working on projects” and even having online meetings about planning for VBS. (Can you tell she’s a ministry kid?). She even grabbed her Minnie Mouse cell phone while working to “text a friend” and take a selfie with her new computer. I never sat her down and explicitly taught her how to use a laptop or a...
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Filed Under Leadership

20 Plug-and-Play Curiosity Questions to Increase Engagement on Sunday Mornings

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=""]Sparking curiosity is one of the best ways to engage today’s learners. (Find more details about that here.) Choose 3-4 of the questions below to spark curiosity during your teaching time each Sunday. You could even share this printable with your volunteers to choose 1-2 questions to use during small group time.[/vc_column_text][vc_btn title="Download a Printable Version here! " align="center" css="" link="url:https%3A%2F%2Fdeeperkidmin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F04%2FDKM-20-Plug-and-Play-Curiosity-Questions-to-increase-engagement-on-Sunday-mornings.pdf|target:_blank"][vc_column_text css=""]START WITH CURIOSITY (Hook them at the beginning) Use these to grab attention & pull kids in as you introduce the story: What do you think is going to happen? What would you do if you were in...
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Filed Under Blog, Free Weekly Downloads, Leadership

The Baby Boom That Reshaped One Leader’s KidMin Strategy

Every kids ministry has seasons. Sometimes you’re swimming in 4th graders. Sometimes everyone moves up to the youth group at once. And sometimes, like at Trinity Church in Larchmont, NY, your nursery suddenly becomes the most crowded room in the building. I chatted with Kathleen Jaoudi, a DKM Vendor (find all Kathleen's resources here) and the Children’s Pastor at Trinity Church, about the baby boom they experienced over the last year. “We average 35 to 45 kids on a Sunday,” she told me. “Those stats have flipped in the last year from mostly 1st to 5th graders to mostly 0 to 4 year olds.” When Kathleen returned from maternity leave, she started hearing pregnancy announcements. Then more. Then she and her team started counting. “We realized we would have 8 babies born between February and June 2025, including a set of twins,”...
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Book Recommendations for Baby Dedications + Church Nursery

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=""]It’s never too early to start building a faith foundation, even for babies and little ones. Gifting young families a special book or other faith-based resource when welcoming a new baby, either at birth or at a baby dedication, is a great way to equip and encourage new parents to disciple their kids! The list below comes from Kathleen Jaoudi, a DKM Vendor and a children’s pastor in NY and also includes some other favorites. Kathleen’s ministry experienced a baby boom one year when they welcomed 11 new babies in a short time frame! She shares more about her experiences here and shared her list below based on her experiences both personally and as a ministry leader during the baby boom. Order a few copies for the new babies in your ministry, or keep them in the nursery for Sunday...
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Filed Under Blog, For Parents, Leadership

Podcasts Every Kidmin Leader Should Be Listening To

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=""]When you turn learning into an intentional habit, your leadership grows. Podcasts are one of the simplest ways to keep growing and learning as a leader without adding more to your plate or using any of your budget. Podcasts are also great tools to use with an intern! Here are some of my favorite podcasts for kidmin leaders in 2026:[/vc_column_text][vc_btn title="Download Printable Version here!" align="center" css="" link="url:https%3A%2F%2Fdeeperkidmin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F04%2FDKM-Podcasts-every-kidmin-leader-should-listen-to-.pdf|target:_blank"][vc_column_text css=""] KidMin-Specific Podcasts: Kids Ministry Circle with Lauren Jackson The KidMin Huddle Podcast with Amber Pike The Lead Ministry Podcast with Josh Denhart Stained Glass Kids with Yancy The KidzMatter...
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This One Habit Could Change Your Sunday Mornings

What if the secret to better Sunday mornings was hiding in a stack of printed articles on a Wednesday afternoon? My friends joke that research is one of my spiritual gifts, and one of them claims that research is my parenting style (they're not wrong). So when I heard about a kidmin leader who does intentional research as a weekly habit, I knew I had to learn more. Meet Andrae Jones. Andrae is the Kids Pastor at One Community Church in Plano, TX, a multisite church with six campuses, where he oversees nursery through 4th grade. He'll tell you he's working with a lean team but that they have some of the most amazing volunteers ever. Andrae is also doing something that not enough kidmin leaders are doing. He's learning and researching. Consistently. Intentionally. Every single week. And it's changing how he leads. How It Started Andrae has always...
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The 5 I’s for Connecting with Families This Summer

Summer will soon be upon us, and that means more travel, family vacations, and sporadic attendance for both your volunteers and the kids you serve. But summer can be a prime opportunity to connect with families in the midst of their summer activities outside of Sunday mornings. This week, we're sharing 5 tips to connect with families this summer from Cheri Kulhawick and Becky Sargent of Church Resource Spot! Find their resources on Deeper KidMin here, and explore all our summer resources here.  We can sometimes assume that because we teach or lead in a children’s ministry, we are instantly connected to the children and families we serve. In reality, it takes some intentionality to build relationships that make a difference. God equipped us with the Holy Spirit and His love to help us develop connections with others. Follow His leading...
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Maycember Faith Habits For Families

This week's guest blog post is from Vanessa Myers, creator of Family Faith Builders, and she shares how she helps families be intentional with one of the busiest months of the year: May. She shares a little about her ministry calendar for this season and shares 5 ways families can keep discipleship happening at home even in the midst of a crazy time of year. Find all of Vanessa's resources here, and learn more about Family Faith Builders here.  We all know Maycember is real. It’s the time of year when May feels just as packed as December—sports, recitals, field days, awards ceremonies, and more. If you've got a senior (like me), then you've got EXTRA things to do on top of the regular end of school fun. I love all these senior things, but at the same time, I'm having a hard time watching my baby grow up and go to college! Lots...
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Filed Under Blog, For Parents, Leadership

3 Simple But Meaningful Mother’s Day Gift Ideas

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Mother's Day is right around the corner, and you may be wondering what to gift the women in your ministry. Since becoming a mom myself, I've realized the gifts moms want most are 2 things: 1) simple and 2) meaningful. So here are 3 simple but meaningful Mother's Day gift ideas to celebrate all of the women in your church. White Carnations - Did you know the white carnation is the official flower of Mother's Day? Anna Jarvis, the creator of Mother's Day, used to tend a garden full of white carnations with her mother as a girl. In 1907, Anna delivered 500 white carnations to her church. She requested that each mother in the congregation get one as they arrived at church that week. Every year after that, the church upheld the tradition and continued to hand out carnations at the Mother’s Day service....
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Filed Under Blog, For Parents, Leadership

Children’s Church By Age: What, When, and How to Teach Each Age Group

Teaching kids, especially multiple age groups, can be tricky, but when we keep kids' developmental traits in mind, teaching gets easier and more effective (a win-win in our minds). In this week's guest blog post, the team at Ministry Spark explores how you can reach every age group when you keep their key developmental stages and characteristics in mind. (And if you want to dive deep into engaging elementary kids through interactive teaching methods, join us for our next online workshop! More details here.)  Teaching kids every Sunday poses its own unique set of challenges. It can be even more challenging when you serve several age groups. That’s because age groups represent different stages of cognitive development, so they react to and process information differently. If we want to truly reach the kids we’re serving, we must make sure...
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Filed Under Blog, Day-to-Day, Leadership

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. (Join us for a full 90-minute online workshop where we unpack and apply this thinking here.) 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...
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Filed Under Blog, Leadership, Volunteers
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