When we Children’s Pastors think about school outreach we tend to focus on the ever closing door of public school. I have found that local Christian Schools and even Daycares are looking for ministers and volunteers to help in their weekly chapel services.

I never considered a Christian school to be much of a harvest field… But I was wrong. There are quite a few families who send their children to Christian schools because they can, not because of any kind of Christian faith or values. You’ll also find a segment of children there who just couldn’t make it in public school due to behavior or emotional disorders. The need is great and the doors are often wide open.

Most schools require a background screening. The schools I work with require a level 2 background check which includes fingerprinting. I also had to have a volunteer badge made with a photo. This allows me on campus to do two chapels for elementary students per month and one for the pre-schoolers per month. They’d let me do it weekly at the preschool if my schedule allowed,

To get started head over to Google Maps and search for Christian schools in your area and give them a call. I can almost guarantee they’re looking for chapel speakers. Even if the school is run by a church.

The benefits? Every child on campus knows me. Parents know me by default which gives me an instant “in” while on campus. I’ve been able to help with “See You At The Pole” events and graduation ceremonies. We also have more than a few families who attend here as a result. The schools are more than happy to return the favor by promoting any of my special events to the kids. I’ve even been asked by the Art Teacher to come share some of my artworks with the kids over a period of several visits this year.

Those of you with successful public school outreaches… Press on! But for those of us who are looking for more ways to reach into the community… Consider your local Christian school. There may be a harvest there ripe for the picking.

Do you have experience in working with local schools, Christian or otherwise? Share your tips and thoughts in the comments,

What Bible version is best to use when kids are involved? We typically use Bibles with children in one of three contexts: general or devotional reading, scripture memorization and in ministry to children.

Devotional Reading

For general devotional reading some folks default to the New International Version (NIV) for children. They may not realize that the reading level for the NIV is 7th-8th grade. This means that a majority of our elementary aged children will not be able to read the NIV with ease or with comprehension.

Memorization

I think the NIV or KJV is fine for scripture memorization. The New International Version is popular and will be compatible with other uses later in life. The King James Version is popular as well, but the reading level for the KJV is 12th grade!

Children’s Ministry

For preaching I typically use the Contemporary English Version (CEV). It is easy to read and understand for a majority of elementary school aged children. The Contemporary English Version targets a 3rd grade reading level. This is also the Bible I suggest when parents ask me for a version that will work well for their children.

I know a lot of children’s pastors like The Message for the same reason… but The Message is a paraphrase, not a translation. Also The Message, though written well, contains abstract concepts and metaphors that are not as easily grasped by children. Even though The Message is at a 4th grade reading level, the readability of the words themselves does not necessarily translate into simple comprehension for the child reading.

For devotional reading and preaching to children I suggest the following Bible versions:

• Contemporary English Version (CEV) 3rd Grade Reading Level
• Everyday Reading Bible (ERV) 3rd Grade Reading Level
• New International Readers Version (NIrV) 3rd Grade Reading Level

As a bonus, these versions also double as great Bibles for folks who are learning English as a second language (ESL Students). You can sample all of these versions at www.biblegateway.com.

What Bible version do you use when reading or preaching to your kids?

We have a listener who’s looking for English and Spanish curriculum that is in sync with one another. She currently uses Gospel Publishing House curriculum, but she’s found that the English and Spanish versions don’t teach the same thing for the same Sundays.

I find myself in charge of the nursery-High School ministries at the Hispanic Ministry at our church. I am starting from scratch. We have been using Gospel Publishing House curriculum for Sunday School because they have Spanish material, but the English and Spanish are not parallel. do you know of anyone who has parallel curriculum?

Anyone out there have a English/Spanish curriculum solution for her? Leave your answers in the comments.

I’m planning to build a light-weight, portable set for our children’s church. Portable and Light-Weight usually don’t go hand-in-hand with the words Sturdy and Long-lasting but that’s what I’m going for.

This is the scale model I created from office supplies to see how everything would look before I started spending money.

It was created to be broken down and packed in a closet each week. Each set of two panels fold back on themselves for transport. Even the steps break down into 7 small boards with no glue or nails.

Instead of building traditional flats I’ll be using hollow core door panels or 2″ Styrofoam depending on which I can get cheaper.

See the photo set of my Children’s Ministry Set Maquette on Flickr.

I had the rare opportunity to go to Spain over Thanksgiving week to minister to Missionary Kids (MK’s). Each year the missionaries from all over Southern Europe get together for a traditional Thanksgiving and combine it with an annual business meeting and retreat. The kids tag along and until this year were usually kept busy with games and activities. This year they wanted something different. Most MK’s don’t get to experience any form of child-centered ministry or anything remotely close to what we’d call Kids Church. So Rev. Tony Gryskiewicz, missionary to the MK’s of Southern Europe, made a call to America to see if he could get a Children’s Pastor to come and minister to these children. Continue reading →

After nearly three years producing podcasts under the name Children’s Ministry Monthly, I’ve decided to rebrand the show. “Help! I’m A Children’s Pastor” seems to encapsulate the direction the show has taken almost since the very beginning. CMMonthly has always been a show for folks who are just getting started in kids ministry… or who have found themselves thrust into the ministry almost by accident. My hope is that the new name will attract even more of the folks this show is targeting.

Dropping the “monthly” from the name also allows me to consider producing more than one show per month. Right now I’m considering doing a bi-weekly half-hour format. We’ll see.

So it’s still me, James Kennison, and the same focus… you don’t even have to change anything in iTunes or your RSS feeds. Just keep enjoying the content and consider contributing questions, tips or other feedback.

Update: If you’d like to see a video on this puppet. Click here!

The script for this Sunday’s puppet lesson called for a second puppet character that resembled the first. Since I created the costume for our regular character from scratch, this wasn’t going to be easy or cheap. I started thinking about craft supplies, foam balls for heads, dowel rods for the body, elastic to create tension for the jaw. I even went as far as to look up simple puppet making online. Then I had this idea… why not make myself out of paper?

The first step was to draw the character out in Photoshop. (You can download the finished image as a PDF if you’d like to use it yourself) Then I printed it out on card stock with a color printer. You could just as easily draw your character directly on the paper though. Then I cut it out and cut a slit at the bottom of the black space. I slid a narrow strip of paper up through the slit and attached it with Super Glue to the top edge of the characters bottom lip. Instantly I was able to manipulate the mouth… but I had to use both hands.

I added some tongue depressors to the back for support with Super Glue. I added a short length of rubber band to the back to pull the mouth back up when I pulled down. Then I wrapped the end of the mouth manipulation strip around a bit of Popsicle stick so I could pull it down with one hand using my thumb. And that was it!

Check out the video of the finished puppet so you can see what I’m talking about here.

I’m very pleased with the result. I’ll defiantly be making more of these… and I’m pretty sure Little Scripture Man will become a regular on Sundays.

What do you think? Will you try your hand at making a paper puppet? Shoot me you thoughts in the comments.