Articles Zone

Practical and insightful articles about Children's Ministry.

Looking for some expert advice? This Zone is a treasury of Children's Ministry expertise from the Kidologist and other veterans in children's ministry.

Some of the most popular articles are:

Getting into the Home | Mailbox Ministry | Discipline that Disciples | Entering the World of Kids | First Steps for a New Children's Pastor | The Great KID Mission |

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Free Four Creative Water Day Games

Water day for your children’s summer camp is coming up. What do you do? Here are some creative water games that you can play!

Water Games
Starter Four Steps to Form a New Habit

Form healthy habits with your family now so you can enjoy long term results. 

Healthy Habits
Free Free and Inexpensive Ideas For Volunteer Appreciation Gifts

If you’re like me, you know how important volunteers are to Children’s Ministry. It is a true partnership: we cannot accomplish the work of our ministry without our dedicated volunteers; they cannot effectively accomplish the work of our ministry without a leader at the helm. How can we show them we truly appreciate them?

Appreciation Gifts
All Access Free Summer Activity Ideas for Summer Fun!

Keep your kids engaged this summer with free summer activities! Here are a few ideas.

Summer Activities
All Access Freedom and Hot Dogs

What does the 4th of July have to do with God?

Fourth of July, Skit
All Access From Foolishness to Final Forgiveness

A parable about the Prodigal Son that was orignally an email forward

prodigal son
All Access Fruit Basket Upset Game

Use this game to explain the fruits of the spirit!

Fruit of the Spirit, Game
Free Fun Ways to Use Balloons in Ministry

I’m a firm believer that we should never let a tool go to waste, so I’ve found some fun ways to use balloons during children’s church. Keep kids focused on your lesson and keep them excited about attending by using balloons regularly!

Creative Ideas, Object Lessons
All Access Gaming Addiction and Kids of Divorce

Excessive use of video games can become a trap (an addiction) kids get caught in as they try to escape their emotional turmoil.

Divorce, Addiction
All Access Getting Back in the Tube

This article addresses getting "back in the saddle" when you have been thrown from the horse. Only in this case, the illustration used was getting back in the inner tube after body surfing through the rapids.

leadership, dealing with failure
All Access Getting the New Kid to Open Up

Is it possible to get any kid to talk to you? Yes it is, and here are a few tricks. Feel free to put them to the test, and I guarantee that you will get a positive response.

New Kids, Welcoming
All Access Gideon's Torches, Pottery, and Trumpets: A Bible Lesson for Preschoolers

Here is a fun Bible school lesson to help your little ones become familiar with the story of Gideon and 1 Corinthians 15:57.  I call it “Gideon’s Torches, Pottery, and Trumpets.”

Preschoolers, Bible lesson
All Access Gift Exchange Game

At Christmas time, when you want to spice up the ornament exchange or the white elephant exchange, try this fun game!

Gift Exchange
All Access Give It Back To God

When you stress over your ministry, you have taken the ministry away from God and have made it your responsibility to solve its problems.

Stress in Ministry
All Access Give Thanks!

This lesson tells the story of a time when David sinned and how we can give thanks because God forgives those who repent and believe!

Thankfulness, Repentance
Free Giving Hope To Broken Families

How can you give hope to others during this season?

Hope, Christmas, Broken Families
All Access Glad You Found Jesus - Goodbye and See You Around

Once children accept Christ, what does your ministry do in order to keep them growing in their newfound faith?

Divorce,
All Access Go Green

Great ideas on events you can lead at your church to care for the environment

Events, Environment,
All Access God Believes in You!

In times of trial and in times of error, God says You Can Do This!

Encouragement, Faith
Free God in a Box

Home is where the heart is. Church is where Jesus is. And where Jesus is, it's not a box.

Devotion, God, Church
All Access God Made Everything: Lesson for Toddlers

Want to teach your toddlers that God created everything? Check out this lesson plan to help children understand the nature and power of God!

God, Creation
All Access God Will Never Forget

A fun Scripture activity for your preschoolers to teach them that God always keeps His promises.

Scripture Activity, Short Talk, Preschool
All Access God's Act - Believe It Or Not

Have you heard? Jesus rose from the grave! This puppet skit helps explain the reaction people would have had when they heard about the resurrected Christ.

Skit, Puppet Skit
All Access God's Firefly Reminder

This week's Encouraging Word urges us to fix God's words on our hearts.

God's Word on our Hearts
Starter God's Love Balloon Game

Here is a great game for Valentine's Day to demonstrate how God's love never runs out!

Valentine's Day Game
All Access Going Graphic: VBS T-shirts

We build unity among our VBS volunteer team by giving them sweet t-shirts! Here's our strategy for this.

VBS Volunteers, Teambuilding
All Access G-R-O-W Whack! A Preschool Bible Verse Game

Do your preschoolers know that growing in God is as simple as G-R-O-W?

Preschool, Bible Verse Game
All Access Growing Mighty Oaks from Little Acorns

Discover the root problem that the Church is experiencing and find your children's ministries identity.

Childhood Discipleship
All Access Happy Holidays? Does it Really Matter?

Does it matter if we say Happy Holidays or Merry Christmas? Perhaps the bigger issue is how we, who know Jesus, celebrate every day of our lives! Use this handy guide to help you do just that!

Christmas, Holiday
Free Have You Reset the Gospel Lately?

"Doing stuff for God" is our default setting. Sometimes we need to hit the reset button. 

Reset Your Ministry
Free Having a Successful Children's Ministry, Is It Really as Hard as We Make It?

Allow me to offer up some of the things that I see in common between the most successful ministries.

Children's Ministry Models
Free Having Trouble? Take Heart!

Today, you need to take heart and stick your courage into the sticking area, because Jesus never changes!

Encouragement
Starter Hear: Speaking So Children Want to Listen

What would ministry be without conversation? ~ Katey Hage "How can they know who to trust if they haven’t heard of the One who can be trusted? And how can they hear if nobody tells them?" ~ Paul (Romans 10:14)   p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 11.7px 0.0px; text-align: justify; line-height: 15.0px; font: 12.0px 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000} span.s1 {font-kerning: none}

Teaching Tips, Conversations, Connecting
Free Heaven is For Real Movie Review

I was honored to be sent a “screener” version of the upcoming film, “Heaven Is For Real.”  I have to admit, I had not read the book, so I was coming from a completely open-minded position. I was thoroughly impressed.

Movie Review
All Access Help Kids Overcome Their Fears

We have to teach our kids to control their own thoughts of fear and that is anything but easy.  

Fear
All Access Helping a mean or hurtful child

Children often respond to trauma by lashing out in anger. Linda Jacobs from Divorce Care for Kids recommends the use of the "grace card" to help a child heal.

Divorce, Dealing with Anger, Grace, Discipline
All Access Helping Kids to Honor Their Dads

As children's ministers, we must help kids honor their fathers. Here are some ways that kids can honor their dads, and ways that they don't honor their dads.

Father's Day
All Access Helping Ministry Volunteers Connect

Fun ways to help your volunteers get connected with each other

Leading, Community, Volunteers
All Access Helping Your Kids Memorize Scripture

Do you struggle with finding easy ways for your kids to memorize scripture? Whether at home or at church, these tips can help children of all learning styles painlessly remember their verses.

Bible Memorization
All Access Here's why play time might be the most important part of your KidMin

What do you think is the most important thing that happens in your KidMin on a Sunday morning?

The Importance of Play
All Access Here's why play time might be the most important part of your KidMin

Why and how can playtime be the most important part of your Sunday morning?

Fun and Games
Free 'Hire Me' Resume!

You can put together a plain 'ol résumé, or you can create one that demonstrates the creativity and effort and zeal that you will put into your ministry once you are hired!

Job Hunting and Resumes
All Access His Shoes Don't Fit

How do children view their dads? Use this skit to explain a bad example of a dad, and what the Bible says about being a father!

Skit, Puppet Skit, Father's Day
Free Hitting the Mark and What to Do When You Don't

Learning the skill of writing effective goals will go a long way towards accomplishing them. Janelle Hoos of the Well Equipped Volunteer blog provides a strategy of writing goals, accomplishing them, and knowing what to do when you fail to hit your goals.

Leadership, Goal Setting
All Access Honduras: Play It!

Honduras is primarily a poor country, but Honduran kids have a great time playing simple games they create using items they can easily find. Try both of these ways to enjoy a game Honduran style!

Games from Honduras
All Access Hope for Your Ministry Team

Get ready for what God has in store for you and your ministry team.

Encouragement, Team
Free Horribly Embarrassing Ministry Mess-up? Here's What to Do When It Happens to You

Sometimes it seems like some mistakes signal the end of your ministry! Fear not. Here's how your ministry gaffes can lead to growth.

Leadership, Mistakes, Growth
All Access How a Helicopter Can Show God's Power

Using a remote-controlled helicoper, you can demonstrate how only God's genuine power can lead our lives in right ways.

God's Genuine Power vs. False Claims to Power
All Access How Can God Hear Everyone's Prayers at Once?

Can God hear everyone's prayers at once? Looks like it's time for the Answer Guys to help us out!

Puppet Skit, Skit
All Access How Can R2D2 Encourage You Today?

It is with a sense of duty that R2D2 finds himself in unlikely, often frightfully dangerous, situations. In those situations, when the humans are outwitted, outnumbered, and hopelessly surrounded, he saves them from looming annihilation. There are many days when children's ministry leaders are stuck in these same situations!

Encouragement
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