Bible Story Transition Ideas

Helping young children transition from active times to more quiet parts of your lesson can be a challenge. You can create activities specially designed to give them a chance to calm down and turn on their listening ears. Here are a few suggestions:

• Give children a warning when moving from one activity to another. A couple of minutes before you want them to finish what they are doing, say, "This is your two-minute warning. We will start putting away the toys (or crayons) in two minutes." As adults, we get frustrated when someone interrupts what we're doing. Children often have the same frustration when we stop their activity abruptly instead of giving them time to finish what they're doing.

• If you want your students to move from an active to a quiet activity, provide a transition activity to help them calm down and get the wiggles out. This can be an action rhyme, "The Wiggle Song," a march around the room (getting slower and quieter each time around), or an action song such as "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" (getting faster and faster; then getting slower with each round until everyone ends by sitting down).

• Do a fun action rhyme before the Bible story time, to help your students calm down and begin to focus their attention on you, the teacher. 

Here's a rhyme you can try with your class to help with the transition to your Bible story. Before doing the rhyme together, hold your open Bible and explain that the Bible is God's Word and it is true. Show your students how to hold their hands together, palms up, to look like an open Bible. Now lead them in this rhyme (younger children will either say the words with you or do the motions but probably won't be able to do both, which is fine).

I open my Bible (hold hands open like a book)
    And listen to God (hold hands to ear).
He tells me what I should do (point up).
    I know that He loves me (hug self)
He hears when I pray (hold hands folded as in prayer)
    And all of His stories are true (nod head)

I also know that Jesus loves me
    (point up, then hug self)
And watches over me every day
   (shade eyes and look side to side).
I like my Bible (hold hands open like a book)
   It's special to me (fold hands over heart)—
Like a friend I see every day (point to eyes).

So now I'll be quiet
    (put finger to lips and sit down)
My hands will be still (fold hands).
    I'll hear what God has to say.
(Hold one hand to ear and point up.)

Celebrate Christmas with a Stress-Free Outreach Program

The Church Family Christmas Celebration is a complete program book with CD-ROM to help you easily plan and  organize a complete Christmas outreach to your church and community. The easy-to-use instruction guide tells you all you need to know—whether you've been planning church events for 25 years or this is your first time! Includes worship ideas, an instant Christmas pageant, promotion and programming ideas, printable family devotions, recipes for refreshments, craft instruction sheets, CD-ROM, and lots more:

• Step-by-step instructions for planning and set-up
• Reproducible instruction sheets and patterns
• Christ-centered crafts
• Worship service guides
• Quick and easy decorations and centerpieces
• Nativity Pageant scripts
• Missions project ideas
• Printable family Christmas devotions
• CD-ROM included!

The Church Family Christmas Celebration can be used during the advent season to prepare the hearts of your congregation and community for Christmas. You choose the time frame and programming options that work best for your church. 

The reproducible bulletin inserts, posters, song sheets, recipes, pageant instructions, and much more will help you put this memory-making event together in no time at all. When your volunteers see how well organized you are, recruiting will practically take care of itself. (The Church Family Christmas Celebration — Save $10 with Item #3031SPEC — Now just $19.95!)

Bible Lesson: Jesus, the True Vine

Here's a Bible lesson you can use with your students to help them understand that God takes care of us just as a gardener takes care of his garden and Christians grow spiritually when they read the Bible and stay connected to Jesus.

Bring a bowl of raisins, a bowl of grapes, and some napkins. Print out the visuals below and cut them apart. Put a circle of tape on the back of each one and give each visual to a different child. Hold your open Bible on your lap. Explain that this is a true story from the Bible.

THE TRUE VINE 

(Read John 15:1 and 5.) God says that He acts like a gardener. A gardener helps plants grow. God helps us live right and grow as Christians. In Bible times, many people grew grapes. A grape plant has several parts. First, there is the vine. (Have the child who has the Grape Vine place it on the wall.) Whose name is on the vine? (Jesus) The Bible calls Jesus the True Vine.

On the vine are many branches. (Have the children with the Side, Bottom, and Top Branches place them on the vine.) Good branches produce grapes. These grapes are called the fruit of the vine. (Pass around napkins and a bowl of grapes and let each child take a napkin and some grapes.)

God is the Gardener in the garden of life. Jesus is the Vine who grows good branches. Christians are those branches. If you have asked Jesus to be your Savior, you are like a branch on a vine in God’s garden.

What happens to a branch if it is cut off the vine? (It dies; it doesn’t grow anymore.) That’s what happens to anyone who isn’t a true follower of Jesus. The person may look like a Christian, and even act like one (by going to church and doing good things). But, if this person hasn’t invited Jesus into his life, he’s a fake Christian. He may fool other people, but he can’t fool God.

Branches need water and food to grow. How do the branches get these things? (through the roots) The vine sends food and water from the roots to the branches. Then the branches send food and water to the flowers that will produce grapes. (Pass around a bowl of raisins and let each child take some.) 

Once the vine has been taken care of and well watered, it makes grapes. Some grapes are dried like these. We grow spiritually when we get food from the Bible (read the Bible and memorize what it says) and stay connected to Jesus. We don’t make grapes, but we do make good actions that remind people of the way Jesus acted. Our good actions are called spiritual fruit. Jesus gives a promise that helps us stay close to Him. (Read Matthew 28:20.) 

This verse is part of the Great Commission, the last command Jesus gave before He went to heaven. Jesus promises to be with us always. Jesus will never leave us, just as a vine never leaves the branches.

Click on the image above for a larger view.

(This lesson is an excerpt from Elementary Bible Activity Lessons. Try a FREE sample and then choose your lesson by topic or Bible story. Each lesson is just $5.95 each. Quantity discounts are available when you purchase ten or more lessons.)

Elementary Bible Activity Lessons

Ready-to-use Sunday school lessons!

Elementary Bible Activity Lessons are the perfect solution whenever you need a Bible lesson or just some extra activities for Sunday school. Bible Clubs or children's church. You can choose lessons based on topic, Bible reference, or even Scripture verse. Each lesson is regularly only $5.95 each. 


Now the more lessons you buy, the more you save!
Use BACT10 to save $1.00 off each lesson ($4.95 each) when you purchase 10 or more.
Use BACT25 to save $2.00 off each lesson ($3.95 each) when you purchase 25 or more.


Mention these coupon codes when you call 1-800-854-1531 or use these codes in the Coupon box when you check out online.


Instantly download the lessons you need, any time, at your convenience online. Each Bible story features three or more Bible activity sheets, one take-home Bible story page with activity, and a teacher's page with a creative way to present the Bible lesson plus answers to the activity pages. Many lessons also include colorful visuals to help tell the Bible story.

• Easy to use and fun for kids
• Download anytime for only $5.95 per lesson or less
• All lessons are fully reproducible
• Flexible and easily adaptable for a wide range of ages (Kindergarten through 6th grade)
• Activity pages include both NIV and KJV
• Wonderful supplement to any Sunday school curriculum — and VBS too!
• Complete Bible lessons, easy-to-read Bible stories, plus fun activities
• Designed to help children apply the Bible lesson to their lives
• Activity sheets can be used in class, at home, or during kids' worship
• Minimal preparation is needed — great for substitute teachers

Try out a sample lesson with your students: David Becomes King

Download or view the entire Scope & Sequence.

VBS Memory Verse Coloring Pages

Here are some coloring pages we’ve created for the 2011 VBS programs.

For each program, there is a coloring page for every day of VBS—a total of five pages. Each coloring page has the daily memory verse and the Bible theme. If you have younger children, you can feel free to shorten the verse by whiting out (or taping over) the final phrase before copying the coloring page. Each coloring page shows a picture to complement the Bible memory verse or Bible point for that day. The coloring pages come in sets of five pages for just $4.99 per set. The best part is, you can make as many copies as you need!

For Nazareth, there is a set of coloring pages for the New Living Translation, a separate set for the New International Version, and a separate set for the King James Version. (The NLT is the version used on the Bible memory makers.) 

(Click on the images above to go to the download pages—NLT is on the left, NIV is on the right, and KJV is on the bottom.)

For your SonSurf VBS, there is a set of coloring pages for the New International Version and a separate set for the King James Version. (The NIV verses are used on the Connection Cards and other SonSurf printed materials.)

(Click on the images above to download the pages—

KJV is on the left and NIV is on the right)

For the Main Street VBS, every coloring page has a portion of the daily memory verse, I Timothy 4:12. Each day we've added a few more words to the verse so by Day 5 the entire verse is shown. There is a set of coloring pages for the New International Version and a separate set for the King James Version. (These are the versions used on the Bible memory posters.) 

(Click the images above to download the pages—

KJV is on the left and the NIV is on the right)

For the PandaMania VBS, there is a coloring page for the New International Version and one for the New Living Version. At the end of your VBS week, your students will have all five of the memory verses—a fun keepsake reminder of their week at vacation Bible school.

(Click images above to download the PandaMania coloring pages—

NLT is on the left and the NIV is on the right)

For Go the Distance, the Mega Sports Camp VBS, the coloring pages have the daily memory verse portion in the New International Version along with the lesson focus and Scripture. Each day we've added a few more words to the verses so by Day 5 both verses, 2 Timothy 4:7-8, are shown in their entirety.

(Click on the image above to download the pages.)

If you’d like to take a look at any of these VBS Starter Kits, visit Shop VBS for more information, craft downloads, and to order your starter kits. 

Plan a Summer Spectacular

Don't allow the summer vacation to cause a break in your students' spiritual journey. Here are some ideas to make this a spectacular summer:

1. Take a day trip with your students to your local nursing home or hospital. Before your trip, let your students make cheery cards to hand out to the patients.
2. Go swimming, rollerblading, or miniature golfing. Make this a family outing so siblings and parents can join in.
3. Have a picnic at a local park and do the Bible Exploration part of your lesson or a brief devotion or Bible study there.
4. Spend a day letting your students help out at a local soup kitchen or folding clothes for a thrift store.
5. Hold a work party at church and help with any jobs the church needs.
6. Have an ice cream Sundae party and let each child or family bring a favorite topping.
7. Hold a game of Ultimate Frisbee. Let younger children use a ball instead of a flying disc.

Gather the children at the church before you begin any special event. Use all available phones to invite non-active All-Stars for Jesus members to your next Bible Club meeting. After each event, let each child say a sentence prayer of thanks to God for a wonderful summer spectacular!

Mother's Day Craft: Bath Salts

Have your students prepare a special Mother's Day gift for their moms or grandmothers. Collect a small clear container with a lid for each child (such as a baby food jar or pimento jar or plastic muffin cup container). Cut a fabric circle larger than the lid for each child. Copy the sheet below onto heavy paper and cut out a circle for each child. Punch a hole at the top of each paper circle.

Cover the work area with newspapers. Bring a shirt box or box lid, a 10-inch ribbon, a rubber band, and a small scoop for each child. Also bring Epsom salts, (1 cup for each child), a sealable plastic bag for each child, and food coloring. Let each child print his name on the back of a directions circle. Give each child a small clear container with a lid and a plastic bag about a third full of Epsom salt (about 1 cup). Help the child put several drops of food coloring of his choice in the bag. Seal the bag and help the child knead it to spread the color throughout the salts.

Give each child a shirt box or lid to use as his work space. Place an empty clear container in the box. Then let each child scoop a small amount of the colored Epsom salt into his container. (The shirt box will catch the extra salts and you can recycle the salts for others to use.) Let the child trade salt colors with the other children until he has at least three or four layers of colored salt in his container. Add the lid and cover it with the fabric circle. Use a rubber band to hold the fabric in place. Tie a ribbon through the directions circle and then around the fabric to hold it in place. 

Make sure names are on the crafts. Say, This salt feels nice and soft in a bath. You can give this gift to your mother or to someone you love. When you are kind to your parents and family members, you are showing you love them. God is pleased when we show love to others.

Click the image above to download this fun craft.

Salt Dough Cross Craft

Let your students make salt dough crosses to remind them of Jesus' death and resurrection.

Before your lesson, make salt dough by mixing together 1/2 cup salt, 1 cup flour, and 1/2 cup water. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Have your students wash their hands.


Let your students take turns kneading the dough on a floured surface until it is elastic and smooth. Divide it into quarters and let the children roll out the dough to about 1/4-inch thick. Cut a small cross for each child (one batch makes about 20). Use a drinking straw to cut a hole in the top of each cross. 


Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 2 hours. Cool completely. Cover the work area with newspapers. Give each child a salt dough cross, a chenille wire, and a paintbrush. Let him paint the cross, initial the back, and thread a chenille wire hanger through the hole. Provide wet wipes for clean up and plastic bags for taking the crosses home.


Talk about the Easter story as the children work. Be sure to talk individually with any child who has questions or expresses interest in knowing Jesus as his personal Savior.

Picture This!

Here's one way you can lead your students in group prayer. Collect a number of pictures that have to do with the theme of your lesson. Place the pictures on the floor and talk about each picture. Then ask the children to select one of the pictures they would like to talk to God about.

If the pictures are of nature items, they might want to thank God for all that He has created. If the pictures are of people around the world, they might want to pray for the missionaries ministering in that country. If the pictures are of vocations or activities, the children might want to pray for the people who do what is shown in the pictures. Or they might want to thank God for the people in that vocation.

If you support a child through Compassion International or World Vision, bring pictures of your child or other children in countries around the world. Let each child choose a picture of a child and pray for that child and his or her family. The pictures can help your students think of something (or someone) specific to pray about.

Attitude Adjustment

To help your students understand that Jesus can help Christians adjust our attitudes to be attractive to others (and therefore a good witness) rather than a turn-off, try this object lesson.

Bring two similar sized drinking glasses and a pitcher of water to your lesson. Prepare one of the glasses to look dirty on the outside by smearing it with your dirty fingerprints or rubbing food particles or dirt on it, keeping the glass rim clean.

Show the students your glasses and pitcher of water. Ask, "Is anyone thirsty? I am! I have two glasses here, and I will pour some water into both of them."

Show the children the glasses and, as you pour the water, say, "The only difference between the two glasses is that one glass is dirty. Who would like to drink from that glass of water?" Get a show of hands. (Some of your more precocious kids will probably raise their hands. After the lesson, give them an opportunity to have a drink from the dirty glass.)

Then say to those who didn't raise their hands, "You wouldn't want to drink that water? But the dirt on the glass are only on the outside. Nothing bad or dirty has mixed with the water. Now who would like to drink from the dirty glass?" Get a show of hands.

"Who would like to drink from the clean glass?" Get a show of hands. Say, "The water in either glass will take away our thirst. But most of us aren't attracted to a dirty glass, are we? Why not? (We can't be sure the water isn't dirty or contaminated. If someone is careless enough to serve water in a dirty glass, that person may be careless enough to mix dirt in the water. The water doesn't look clean when it's in a dirty glass, even though it may be.)  Christians can present to the world an attitude that is attractive (hold up the clean glass) or we can present a grumbling, complaining, whining attitude (hold up the dirty glass). Which type of Christian are you? When you leave church do you grumble, complain, and whine?

Even during tough times, Christians don't have to act like grumps or complainers. As we let Jesus fill our lives, we will appear more joyful and attractive to those around us. Our up-beat attitude will help others want to know more about Jesus, too. The world is thirsty for the love of Jesus. Your attitude can either turn people away from Jesus or draw people to Him.

Jesus called himself "living water." We can offer people the living water of Jesus when we let Jesus adjust our attitude and clean up our language, dress, and speech. What areas of your life do you need to work on cleaning up? (If you have an example from your own life about how God helped you clean up your attitude, share it now.) Then let the students share prayer requests and praises or examples of how God is working in their own lives.

Close your lesson in prayer. Have the students pray, asking God to help them make an attitude adjustment and let Jesus fill their lives. Talk individually with any students who would like to know more about having Jesus as their Savior. (See the blog post from May 17, 2010,  "Leading a Child to Christ" for suggestions.)

The Peace of Christ

Jesus Christ brought peace to humankind when He came into this world, but it was a personal peace, not a political peace. "And on earth peace..." (Luke 2:14) was part of the angel's announcement of the birth of Christ.

Thirty-three years later, as Jesus prepared to leave His friends and followers, He said to them, "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid" (John 14:24).

When things are topsy-turvy in our lives, we can remember promises such as these:
"I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety" (Psalm 4:8).
"You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You" (Isaiah 26:3).
"Great peace have they who love Your law, and nothing can  make them stumble." (Psalm 119:165).
"And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:7).

Even when the trials of the world seem overwhelming, we have a deep peace beyond anything we can understand through the love of our Savior, Jesus.

The Empty Cross Craft

While the excitement of Christmas is still fresh in your student's minds, help them remember the reason God sent His Son Jesus to be born. Let your students review the Christmas story. Then explain that Jesus didn't stay a baby. Rather, Jesus grew up into a boy and then into a man. Remind the children that Jesus told people about God's love and then he was crucified on a cross to pay the penalty for our sin (the wrong things we say and do).

Let your students make a cross craft to help them remember that Jesus didn't stay dead. Instead, He came alive again and now lives in heaven. Talk personally with each child and follow up with those who interested in learning more about becoming a Christian. (See the post from May 17, 2010 on "Leading a Child to Christ" for more helpful information.)

Click on the image below to see the cross craft. You have our permission to copy it for your students.

Make No Assumptions

By Becky Ussery

Your teacher training session is just around the corner, and you're staring at a list of volunteers—a mixture of people from various backgrounds. You have Rookies, Veterans, and Experts with a wide range of abilities and teaching experiences. How can you possibly meet all their needs?

Identify which category your volunteers fall into, and then customize training to meet their unique needs. Rather than having individual meetings for Rookies, Veterans, and Experts, sprinkle in a variety to meet all their needs. The following ideas will help you understand your volunteers and provide them with the basic skills needed for each experience level.

ROOKIES

Your new teachers and assistants come to training with preconceived ideas about what's going to take place in their classrooms. They're either eager to pitch in and make a difference—or terrified at the possibility of being asked to pitch in and make a difference! This is your opportunity to set their minds at ease, inform them about the basic ins and outs of their responsibilities, and let them know what's really going to take place in their classrooms.

Training Needs

Relationships—Introduce all new teachers to your team. Let your Rookies know that they're a welcome, valuable part of your team. Present each new teacher with a tote bag of supplies or a tub of materials as a welcome gift. Intentionally plug Rookies into relationships with Veterans and Experts by having them pair up for discussion and prayer times.

Mission Statement—Provide Rookies with the written mission statement for your ministry. Let them know that accomplishing this mission will be their motivation for all that takes place in their classrooms.

Job Descriptions—Develop job descriptions for the different positions within your ministry. By the way, these can be one paragraph long. Give each Rookie the appropriate job description.

Age-Level Characterisics—Provide age-specific information for the grade level each Rookie ministers to.

Curriculum—Review the curriculum you've chosen with your Rookies, focusing on each component of the lesson. Consider having a mock classroom to demonstrate teaching a lesson. (Your Experts can even teach this.) Include a suggested schedule that'll also be posted in the classroom as a backup reminder to keep things moving in class.

Safety—Review safety procedures and administrative policies regarding finding substitutes, chain of command, discipline methods, and confidentiality agreements.

Supplies—Tell Rookies about your resource area. Discuss your system for checking out resources, purchasing supplies, and adhering to classroom budgets.

Partners—Pair Rookies with Veterans or Experts in classrooms. Have partners evaluate the teaching sessions in four-week intervals. Encourage teaching teams to pray together for the children in their classes as well as for each other.

VETERANS

With one year in children's ministry under their belts, your Veterans can be a valuable resource. They've learned by trial and error how to run a classroom and have experienced success in making curriculum and schedules work. It's time to take your Veterans to a deeper level and further develop their skills and interests to make an even greater impact on children.

Training Needs

Mission Statement Review—Keep your mission statement and policies in front of your Veterans. Everyone needs a "refresher course" on these topics.

Job Description—Have your Veterans review their job descriptions to see if they've been taking on too much or if there are responsibilities they've let slip through the cracks.

Skill Development—Help Veterans pinpoint their "specialties" so you can help further develop those skills. Provide training from guest speakers or team members on worship, prayer, Bible teaching, and creativity geared toward children.

Growth Plan—Have Veterans identify personal areas for improvement. Connect your Veterans with other volunteers who have strengths in these areas.

Deeper Training—Provide in-depth training on teaching skills and understanding the needs of children. Discuss learning styles, involving the five senses in lessons, delegating responsibilities, in-home visitation, and outreach projects.

Veteran Stories—Have your Veterans share testimonials with Rookies about what they learned during their first year in the classroom. Use their enthusiasm to make announcements to the congregation about children's events and recruiting needs.

EXPERTS

Volunteers who've put in five or more years of service are unique in their own way. They've gained a great deal of experience in the classroom and have seen their assistants and other teachers come and go. They may've begun teaching out of guilt or just to fill a slot, but they've found a reason to stay. Your best way to provide continuing training for your Experts is to find out why they've stayed in the game and maximize on their desires. Show respect for the years of service your Experts have given to children's ministry. Help them stretch beyond their experiences by introducing them to new resources and strategies for ministry.

Training Needs

Ministry Reminders—Remind your Experts of nuts and bolts of your ministry, such as your mission statement, administrative policies, and procedures. Provide Experts with age-level characteristics, curriculum overviews, and administrative policies annually. Go over any changes to curriculum, schedules, classroom assignments, or teaching teams on paper and in person. Ask for Experts' feedback the first week after any changes have been implemented.

New job Descriptions—Have your Experts create or edit their job descriptions to fairly represent all they're doing. This will provide affirmation about the impact they're making on children. It'll also give them an opportunity for personal evaluation in areas where they may've started "coasting" through the preparation process out of familiarity with the curriculum or children.

Personal Touch—Spend one-on-one time with your Experts outside of your regular training sessions. Ask for their input on special events and additional programs for your ministry. Train them to handle responsibilities in these areas with less involvement from you. Ask these volunteers to tell you what's working in their classrooms. Affirm them for the work they're doing and ask how you can help. What areas of development would your Experts like to explore? Just ask them. Have them suggest possible topics to cover in future training sessions, and see if they'd be willing to serve on a question-and-answer panel or teach about a topic they've suggested.

Extended Training—Pay for your Experts to receive training at national and regional conferences where they can choose the seminars they want to attend. Have them report what they learn to your Rookies and Veterans.

Leadership Development—Help your Experts recognize their opportunity to make contributions to the teachers with whom they teach as well as the children in their classes. Pair these teachers with Rookies and Veterans. Your volunteers will learn from each other if you promote these relationships.

Feedback—Allow Experts to offer advice on problems in the classroom and share common experiences and struggles. Before making any dramatic changes in curriculum choices, teaching teams, or classroom assignments, ask for your Experts' feedback. Valuing their opinions and insights will make them stronger team players when changes are implemented.

Update—Some Experts may feel close to retiring from your team because they think children today have changed too much since their first classroom of kids. Other Experts are teaching in your children's ministry because they know it's what God created them to do, and they wouldn't consider doing anything else. Either way, Experts need to keep in touch with today's kids. Create a "What's Hot" list detailing the interests of kids in each age group. Include movies, books, hobbies, clothing trends, and other details, with a brief description or blurb about each topic. Give your Experts their own copies of Children's Ministry Magazine to keep them in the know. Better yet, encourage your Experts to survey kids about their interests. Although members of your ministry team have different levels of experience and talents, your training can level the field and help all of them, regardless of their years of service, feel confident and equipped to accomplish the mission the Lord has laid out for them and the children in your church. Your sensitivity to your volunteers' needs and understanding of how to effectively address their concerns and interests will lay the foundation for a strong and effective team that sticks together for the long haul.

Encouraging Long-Term Service

While many people are willing to volunteer for a year or so, long-term workers are harder to find. What can you do to turn your Rookies and Veterans into Experts? Make a strong start with the following steps.

Pray, pray, pray. When facing the challenge of recruiting volunteers and assigning teachers to classrooms, ask God to lead you to the specific people he wants ministering to children.

Make it personal. Approach each individual personally, focusing on gifts rather than availability. When you know the specific positions you need filled and the best types of people to fill them, seek out individuals who are good matches—not just warm bodies.

Connect consistently. You've only begun your job when your classes are staffed with equipped teachers. Your volunteers need to see your face and hear your voice weekly. Lend support verbally and physically. Offer to serve as an assistant from time to time. Volunteer to take over a class to give a teacher a non-vacation related break. Call, visit, and send notes.

Listen as you lead. Ask for input from your teachers about ideas, implementing as many as you can to give them ownership in children's ministry.

Offer timely training. Meet in large and small groups throughout the year. Hold weekly or monthly prayer times whenever possible.

Develop relationships outside of your roles. Take time to invest in the lives of your volunteers, not just in their ministries.

Practice what you preach. Demonstrate the level of commitment you expect from your workers. Treat your volunteers as if they were your class.

Be flexible. Keep in mind that children's ministry isn't the only area where your workers are involved. They need personal ministry, time with family, and occasional breaks from the grind. Keep the doors of communication open so you're approachable when your workers need to ask for getaways. Better yet, build into each person's job description a clause that provides for refueling and time off at the end of a yearly rotation. When people know they have a break coming, they're likely to be more consistent.

© 2001 Children's Ministry Magazine. Used by permission. To learn more about Children's Ministry Magazine and how to subscribe go to Children's Ministry Magazine. Use your browser's back button to return to ChristianEdWarehouse.com

Fundraising Ideas for Your Bible Club

Don't let a lack of funds keep you from  having an exciting and dynamic All-Stars for Jesus program. Here are some ideas for funding your Bible clubs. For even more ideas plus a kick-off party with reproducible invitations and patterns, download the FREE report: How to Pay for Your All-Stars for Jesus Bible Club.

Registration Fee
Have an annual registration fee of $20.00 to $25.00 per child. Just as sports teams have a sign-up fee for equipment and supply costs, your All-Stars for Jesus Bible clubs can, too. Let your students' parents know that the registration fee will help to cover the costs of shirt, caps, pennants, and awards. Provide scholarships for needy families and "family packages" so no family has to pay more than $75.00 (or whatever amount you set). Have church members sponsor children whose families can't afford to pay the entire amount.

Special Offerings
Have a special Bible Club offering over five weeks, and challenge your congregation to reach a certain goal. Give an update following each week, letting everyone know how much was raised. Have an artistic church member draw a thermometer with some benchmarks indicated at the quarter, half, and three-quarter points, with the goal at the top. Color the "mercury" in the thermometer red each week to show how the offering is progressing. Collect a different coin each week for the first four weeks (of course other coins and bills are welcome, too!): Week 1 pennies, Week 2 nickels, Week 3 dimes, Week 4 quarters, Week 5 bills.

All-Stars Sponsors

Have your church members sponsor children for All-Stars for Jesus Bible Clubs. Read the free report for bulletin board ideas. Most people will jump at the chance to support children in a positive, Bible-teaching program. Have sponsors purchase stars for the entire Bible club registration amount or an amount of their choosing. Cut out two stars for each of of your donors—one to add to your "Hall of Fame" bulletin board. Write a note of thanks on the other star and give it to the donor (or have the child receiving the scholarship write the note).

Yard or Rummage Sale
Encourage your congregation to clean out their closets and garages and bring the unneeded items (in good condition) to the church for a giant rummage sale. Be sure to advertise that all the proceeds will be used to fund the All-Stars for Jesus Bible Club programs at your church. Have children and teens from your church set up a bake sale at the rummage sale to sell donuts, coffee, muffins, cookies, and juice donated (and baked) by members of your congregation.

Business Sponsors

Ask several local businesses to sponsor your All-stars for Jesus Bible Clubs. Include the business names on all promotional materials and encourage your congregation members to frequent those businesses. Create a donor star for each business and add them to your "Hall of Fame" bulletin board.

Stuck on All-Stars for Jesus
Make a list of items needed for your Bible clubs and the cost of each item. Print each item needed and its price on a sticky note (notes shaped like stars would be great). Post the notes on a bulletin board or wall and have your congregation members go "shopping." Each member can choose a sticky note and then pay for the items at the All-Stars Sponsor Table or your church office. Give each "shopper" a donor star on which to print his name and then add to your "Hall of Fame."

For more fundraising ideas, download the FREE report: How to Pay for Your All-Stars for Jesus Bible Club.

Teacher Appreciation Cards

Recognize your summer workers, teachers, and volunteers with handmade cards created by your students.

Give each child a half sheet of construction paper. Hand out markers, glitter glue, puff paints, scissors, and stickers. Talk about some of the people in your church who serve God on a regular basis or who have served during the summer months (missionaries, pastors, teachers, music leaders, custodians, volunteers, etc.) 


Explain that each child will make an appreciation card to give to some of these Christian servants, showing them they are appreciated. Print some Bible verses on the board for the children to include on their cards. As they work, have a volunteer read Mark 10:44 aloud. Explain that this verse teaches that the greatest people in the kingdom of God are those who serve. Say a prayer of thanks for each of the workers and their ministry.

Tell your students that Jesus is our best example. He came to give His life for us and to save us from sin. Invite any children who want to accept Jesus as Savior to talk with you afterward. Distribute the cards during the week along with a large candy bar, an All-Stars for Jesus Pin (item #14824), or a couple of balloons (item #14820) to each worker.

Those Creative Preschoolers (Part 2)

A walk in the rain, a seed planted in a flower pot, a magnifying glass, colorful leaves, a thank-you note to Grandma, a castle made with blocks—the ideas for creative growth are all around us. They extend to your own interest areas, too. Young children like nothing better than to be included in your activities and hobbies, even if it’s cooking, auto repair, or carpentry. To help children keep and expand the creativity of their early years requires understanding:

•  Recognize that everything is new for your young students. “Everything” includes the sky, clouds, rain, stars, and wind, and extends to tiny insects, pebbles, snowflakes, and leaves that most adults seldom notice. After all, small children are often a couple of feet closer to them than we are!

•  Accept the idea that the exciting world comes to them through their eyes, but also through sounds, tastes, and smells, and by way of their fingertips, too.

•  Realize that we have to show interest to help them retain theirs, but it’s foolish to fake it. Most children, even young ones, are alert to adults acting as thought they enjoy childhood games, when those games are really a bore to them.

•  Emphasize that the pictures they draw, the sounds and words they create, and the body movements they make are their very own. They are as much theirs, and theirs alone, as are their fingerprints.

Allow each child to be the creative being God has made him or her!