Categories: Leadership

A Holy Week Invitation for Kidmin Leaders

If you serve in children's ministry, there's a good chance Holy Week looks a little different for you than most of the world. You're thinking about volunteer schedules, cleaning up from Easter events, printing parent resources, gathering supplies, and running through the Easter Sunday morning plan in your head. Don't get me wrong; all of those details matter. Doing ministry with excellence is part of loving the families we serve. But sometimes we spend so much time preparing the Easter story for others that we forget to sit in its truth and power ourselves. So here is a small Holy Week invitation just for you, kidmin leader: Before you send the next email or check off the next thing on your to-do list, take two quiet minutes and read Matthew 28:5–6 slowly: “Do not be afraid… He is not here; He has risen, just as He said.” The women...
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Summer Camp Parent Info Sheet Template Freebie

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Are you headed to overnight camp this summer with the kids or preteens in your ministry (here are 5 reasons why you should be)? Use this free Camp Parent Info Sheet Template to share all of the important details parents need to know in one simple document! It includes details like the packing list, itinerary details, contact info, etc.[/vc_column_text][vc_btn title="Download this freebie here!" align="center" link="url:https%3A%2F%2Fdeeperkidmin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2022%2F05%2FDKM-Camp-Parent-Info-Sheet-Freebie.docx|target:_blank"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_single_image image="82482" img_size="full" alignment="center" onclick="custom_link" img_link_target="_blank" link="https://deeperkidmin.com/product/so-youre-going-to-camp-bundle/"][/vc_column][vc_column...
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Filed Under Blog, For Parents, Free Weekly Downloads, Leadership

5 Priorities for Hosting an Impactful Easter Event

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=""]Holy Week and Easter are like the Super Bowl Sunday of ministry life and one of the busiest seasons of the year. A lot of work (and time and energy and prayer) goes into planning the events for Easter and the surrounding days, and sometimes you may wonder if everything you're doing is worth it. Spoiler alert: it is. Your ministry efforts are never wasted, but there may be things that could be better utilized or prioritized when it comes to planning and hosting your Easter events to increase their lasting influence on the discipleship of kids and families. If you want to see greater impact, deeper connections, and more discipleship from your Easter events, you need to prioritize these 5 things: Decide the Experience Before the Activities - Before you plan the schedule, get clear on how you want...
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8 Ways to Encourage Families To Celebrate Lent (No Matter Their Background)

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Lent is the Christian season, beginning on Ash Wednesday and ending with Holy Week, that encourages believers to pray, fast, and serve as a way to prepare their hearts for the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The ultimate goal of Lent is to draw closer to God. Much like Advent prepares our hearts for Christmas, Lent prepares our hearts for Easter. Not all Christian traditions place the same emphasis on Lent. I never observed Lent growing up, and 99% of what I know about Lent, I've learned as an adult. I have friends who take the season very seriously with daily devotions and family-wide fasting, and I have other friends who don't really pay much attention until Holy Week. At our current church, we host an Ash Wednesday service, our pastor leads us through a Lenten series each Sunday leading up...
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Filed Under Blog, For Parents, Leadership

4 Tips for Making VBS More Than Just a Fun Week of the Summer

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]It might only be January, but it's time to start planning your VBS! I know there are lots of solid VBS curriculum options out there (we even have a few of our own!), and this week's guest blog post comes from the creator of a new VBS curriculum I just learned about! Meet Samantha Kuiper, creator of Diving Deep VBS, and read on to discover 4 tips for making VBS more than just a fun week of your kidmin summer.  It may seem a bit early to be talking about summer, but as the new year begins, we start looking forward to and planning our ministries’ next big events and programs. One summer event that I advocate for every year is Vacation Bible School (VBS). Whether your church holds a traditional VBS or you do summer camps and programs, gathering your kids for some intentional, fun, and engaging time to learn...
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3 Ways to Balance the Big Picture and the Small Details of Leading Children’s Ministry

Ministry has a way of tugging us in a hundred directions at once. Some days you’re dreaming big, praying big, and planning big. Other days, you’re digging through the weeds just trying to pull the details, supplies, and volunteers together for Sunday. And most days? You’re doing both at the exact same time. Both the big picture and the details matter. Both are valuable. Both are part of how God wired you to lead. But living in the tension between the two can leave you feeling stretched thin, scattered, or stuck in survival mode. So how can we balance both? Here are 3 steps to start with: Evaluate and rearrange your time. Take a hard look at where your time is actually going each week. Are you spending most of it reacting to urgent tasks, or are you carving out space for the things that matter most in the long run? Shifting your schedule to...
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3 Goals for Using Social Media to Partner With Parents in Children’s Ministry

For better or worse, social media is one of the main places today's parents spend their time. That means it is also one of the biggest opportunities children’s ministry leaders have to support, equip, and partner with families beyond Sunday morning. The goal of kids ministry social media is not to entertain kids or keep up with trends, or even to go viral and grow your reach. It is to come alongside parents and remind them they are not alone in the work of discipling their children. When used intentionally, social media can build trust, offer encouragement, and create meaningful community with the families you serve. So when thinking about your children's ministry social media, keep these 3 goals in mind: 1. Connect: build trust, clarity, and understanding Remember that your audience on social media is the parents in your ministry, not...
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KidMin Social Media Strategy Calendar (Sample + Template)

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=""] When thinking about your social media in children’s ministry, remember to focus on the parents, not the kids, as your main audience. And rather than posting randomly and hoping something sticks, keep 3 goals in mind... Your children’s ministry social media should: Connect Encourage Build Community Learn more about each one here, and use the sample calendar + template calendar freebie to plan out a month of engaging posts at a time! [/vc_column_text][vc_btn title="Download here!" align="center" css=""...
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5 Year-End Questions for KidMin Leaders

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=""]Take time before the new year begins or the first week of January to plan a quiet time to praise God for the past year and dream with Him for the new year. Print out the following page. Feel free to use your journal to add additional thoughts, ideas, and prayers, or use the back of the page. Create action steps to make what you plan happen. Know that we’re praying for you as you plan and prepare for a new year.[/vc_column_text][vc_btn title="Download the Questions here!" align="center" css="" link="url:https%3A%2F%2Fdeeperkidmin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2025%2F12%2FDKM-5-year-end-questions-for-kidmin-leaders.pdf|target:_blank"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_single_image image="170578" img_size="full" alignment="center" onclick="custom_link" img_link_target="_blank" css=""...
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Walking the Line: Leading with Both Vision and Action

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=""]Ministry leadership is a balancing act. It’s about holding two very different kinds of work at the same time. In one hand, we carry vision: the big picture, the dreaming, the long-term planning, the God-sized thinking. In the other, we carry action: the details, tasks, supply bins, emails, and logistics that make ministry happen week after week. (Sunday is always coming, right?) And most of the time, you’re living in the tension between the two. There’s the pressure to make things happen right now and the responsibility to think about what’s coming 6 weeks and 6 months down the road. The need to meet expectations today and the desire to create something healthy for tomorrow. It feels like a tug-of-war sometimes, but that tension is actually a gift. Think about it like this: A tightrope only...
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Christmas KidMin Debrief Questions

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=""]Use these questions to pause, reflect, and learn from your Christmas season before jumping into what’s next. Take a few minutes to celebrate the wins, think through what worked (and what didn’t), and jot down notes that will help you next year. Tip: Save these notes somewhere you will remember to pull them out when planning for next year! You could even schedule an email to yourself for August or September to look back at these notes for next Christmas. Find all of our Christmas resources here, and find more admin/leadership resources here.[/vc_column_text][vc_btn title="Download the Questions Here! " align="center" css="" link="url:https%3A%2F%2Fdeeperkidmin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2025%2F11%2FDKM-KidMin-Christmas-debrief.pdf|target:_blank"][vc_column_text css=""] Celebrate the Wins ...
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5 Tips for Volunteer Appreciation

Christmas is the perfect time of year to shower your volunteers with a little extra appreciation and thanks for all they do in your ministry! But it can be tricky to come up with creative ideas year after year and not feel like you're stuck in a gift-giving rut. That’s why I’m excited to share this guest blog post from Jaden Howard, a DKM Vendor, on 5 tips for Volunteer Appreciation! These tips come from and helped create her Ugly Christmas Sweater Party Volunteer Appreciation Event.  What an honor to love and appreciate such an awesome team of volunteers! The goal of volunteer appreciation is to express gratitude and to make your volunteers feel seen and known. Although we all want to be like Oprah and shout out “you get a car…. you get a car” at all of our volunteer gatherings, we understand the limits of a ministry budget and the...
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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! Making Plans: Advent Devotional for KidMin Leaders Many of our resources and freebies are geared toward the kids and families in your ministry, but this one is for YOU, kidmin leader. It’s an overview and preview of a weekly Advent devotion written specifically with children’s ministry leaders in mind.  3 Candy Cane Games for Your KidMin SUBSCRIBER-ONLY ACCESS: Play these fun candy-cane-themed games in your kidmin this Christmas! They’re...
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3 Things to Do Weekly Between Now and the End of the Year

It's the final countdown of the year and the peak of the holiday season! Between Thanksgiving, Advent, and Christmas, it's a busy time of year. To help you stay focused on the reason for the season and stay sane amidst the chaos, here are 3 things to do weekly between now and the end of the year: Rest: What’s one way I can truly rest in the next 7 days? How can I be intentional to take time off and rest in His presence? Release: What’s one burden I need to hand over to God? What's something I can delegate? What feelings of guilt or stress do I need to let go of? Refill: What spiritual practice or activity brings me life? What sparks joy for me in this season, and how can I prioritize it this week? Each week, ask yourself these questions and set aside time to rest, release, and refill. Your heart, family, and ministry will be...
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4 Ways to Help Kids Slow Down this Christmas

The Advent season is all about waiting and preparing. Even if your church doesn’t lean into the traditional Advent themes of hope, peace, joy, and love, this season gives us a powerful opportunity to help kids (and ourselves) slow down and focus on Jesus. But let’s be honest. Slowing down in December feels nearly impossible. Between Christmas programs, family gatherings, school events, and sugar-fueled excitement, kids (and adults) are moving at full speed. That’s why Advent matters. It invites us to pause, breathe, and remember what we’re really celebrating. So how can we help kids embrace that slower rhythm of waiting and preparing their hearts for Jesus? Here are a few simple ways to help them do just that: Talk About Waiting - Kids don’t love waiting (and honestly who does?). But waiting is something God uses to grow...
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20 Creative Ways to Teach the Christmas Story

When you teach the Christmas story every year, it can be hard to find new and engaging ways to teach it. Here are 20 creative and interactive ideas for teaching the Christmas story in your children's ministry this year! Use these ideas during Sunday services, family events, on Christmas Eve, or anytime you want to help kids connect with the story of Jesus’ birth in a fresh way. Find a printable version of this list here.  Interactive Storytelling Ideas Story Stations: Set up simple stations that walk kids through each part of the Christmas story (announcement, journey, birth, angels, shepherds). This event turns the story stations into an "escape room" challenge for kids to decode and discover! Live Nativity Remix: Let kids act out the story using costumes, puppets, or even Lego sets. Christmas Escape Room: Create simple puzzles and clues...
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Gratitude + Generosity = The Full Picture of Thanksgiving

This post is sponsored by one of our favorite mission organizations: Rice Bowls. Rice Bowls offers a simple and effective way to feed hungry kids around the world, and their Rice Bowl campaigns are the perfect service project for kids! Order rice bowl coin banks (Rice Bowls will send them to you for free here). Families fill them with coins and money, then SMASH THE BOWLS (everyone's favorite part), and you return the money to Rice Bowls to use to feed kids around the world! Learn more about getting involved with Rice Bowls and hosting your own Rice Bowl campaign here. As children's ministry leaders, we love helping kids learn to be thankful. November is full of lessons, crafts, and conversations about gratitude, and rightly so. But if we stop there, we miss something important. Thanksgiving isn’t just about gratitude; it’s also about...
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10 Tips for Planning Christmas in Your KidMin

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] 10 Tips for Planning the Christmas Season in Children’s Ministry The Christmas season in children’s ministry is full of opportunity and activity. Between Christmas programs, family events, Advent lessons, and volunteer appreciation, it can feel like there’s always more to do. But what if this Christmas you could lead from a place of peace instead of pressure? Here are some practical tips to help you prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus with your kids and families, and join us on November 13 for an online workshop all about making Christmas manageable and meaningful in your kidmin. 1. Start early. Christmas always comes on the same day every year, but it still somehow manages to sneak up on us. The earlier you start planning, the more freedom you’ll have to stay organized and calm once December...
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The Great 8! Celebrating DKM’s 8th Birthday!

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image="165535" img_size="full" alignment="center" css=""][vc_column_text css=""]It's our party, and we'll give away stuff if we want to. We are celebrating our 8th birthday this week with a special sale and a fun, limited-time bonus! October 19-25, get 30% off EVERY resource on the site! So whether you're thinking about Thanksgiving, planning for Christmas, or even looking ahead to Easter, save big this week in honor of our birthday!  Find our newest resources here, and explore all our resources in the DKM Marketplace here.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image="165536" img_size="full" alignment="center" css=""][vc_column_text css=""]And if you spend more than $25 during the sale week, we'll mail you a set of our KidMin Stickers (a $9.99 value) for free! We don't often send things in the mail since...
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12 Filters for Curriculum Evaluation in Your Children’s Ministry

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Leaders often ask about curriculum I recommend or how I choose curriculum. And while I point to Deeper KidMin and some of our series for special occasions or seasons, if you’re looking at various larger curriculum companies for your Sunday morning curriculum, the “best” curriculum will vary from church to church. Vicki Abbott, a kidimin leader in Michigan, shared about her experience with switching curricula, and they created these 12 filters for evaluation based on their ministry’s goals. Read about her full experience here, and explore the 12 filters below. Note: These lenses fit the priorities and goals of Vicki and her church. Use them as a brainstorming launch point, but then use your own ministry goals and priorities to create your own list of evaluation filters. [/vc_column_text][vc_btn...
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20 Quick Wins To Serve Young Families in Your Church

I'm in Evansville, IN at the KidzMatter Conference this week, hosting the Deeper KidMin booth in the resource center and teaching 3 breakouts! One of my breakouts is all about how we can best serve young families in our church. My breakout session walks through a S-E-R-V-E acronym, with each letter highlighting a specific action leaders must prioritize with young families. While I'm saving the full details for those who attend my breakout at the conference, here's a little nugget from that session to help you serve the young families in your church... Families with littles are in one of the most demanding, exhausting, and spiritually significant seasons of their lives. When it comes to ministering to families with young children, one of the best things we can do as leaders is to SERVE them well. What does that look like practically? Here are 20...
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6 Ways to Use Pumpkins In Your KidMin This Fall

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=""] October starts this week, which means pumpkin patches, pumpkin spice, and of course, pumpkin-themed ministry ideas! (Are anyone else's kids as obsessed with pumpkins as mine are?) Pumpkins are fun, familiar, and full of potential when it comes to engaging kids with God’s Word. If you’re looking for simple and seasonal ways to bring pumpkins into your children’s ministry, here are six ideas (and some fall pumpkin resources) that make it easy. 1. Play with Pumpkins - Pumpkins aren’t just for carving. They can also be the star of your next game time! Kids love interactive activities that get them moving, laughing, and connecting with one another. Try a few ready-to-go options like Pumpkin Select, Pumpkin Peekaboo, Pumpkin Jokes countdown, or Pumpkin Shuffle to bring some pumpkin fun into your large...
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15 Fall Service Projects for Families

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The fall season is the perfect time to encourage families to serve your church and your community! Here are 15 fall service project ideas families can complete together: Write a thank you note to your teacher Shop for and stuff a box for Operation Christmas Child (This event guide does the work for you!) Leave a snack & note for the mail carrier Clean something for someone else Raise & donate money for offering or a mission partner at church Pick up trash in a local park Visit a nursing home Donate used towels and blankets to a local animal shelter OR make no-sew blankets for your local homeless shelter or foster care (This event guide includes a fun way to celebrate the blankets with bananas splits too!) Send flowers to someone going through a hard time Volunteer at church...
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Filed Under Blog, For Parents, Leadership

Fall Reminds Us: God’s Word Never Changes

As we head into the fall season, it often brings change. Change of routines as kids head back to school. Change in the weather as the temperature cools down and the days get shorter. Maybe even a change of ministry rhythms and events. But one thing that never changes? God's Word. Which is why I'm excited to share a guest blog post this week from Tricia Machel, a DKM Vendor, who is passionate about helping kids dig into God's Word. Plus, we're celebrating that Tricia now has activity pages available for over 400 passages of Scripture!!! Find them all here or use the search bar to search for a specific passage, and read more about helping kids remember that God's Word never changes below.  Fall... autumn… a season that echoes the pattern of life. The pattern of change. Life is full of changes. We experience changes every single day: ...
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From Resources to Relationships: Shifting Your Mindset in Partnering with Parents

When most ministry leaders talk about equipping parents, they usually mean one thing: providing resources. And while there’s nothing wrong with handing out resources (we love a good family resource here at Deeper KidMin), if our strategy for partnering with parents stops there, we’re missing the bigger picture. Equipping parents is more than just distributing resources. If our only strategy for engaging families is giving them materials (that don't even make it into the house half the time), we’ve slipped into what I call a “vending machine mindset.” In a vending machine mindset… The children’s ministry leader simply provides resources with little interaction. Parents are expected to come to us: our buildings, our events, our parent resource shelves. Families may not know how to use what we’ve provided (or may not...
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