Have a puppet ministry at your church? You can get free scripts at PuppetResources.com. They have Christian and non-Christian skits. They can be used with puppet ministries or as general skits to help you teach various Bible lessons or points of life application.

I love it when an organization will give their hard work away for free! It’s all about the kingdom work, right!

Congratulations to Mark Bainbridge for winning the Riggleberry Bloke book of poems by Jon Slone. Mark is a Children’s Pastor in Wake Forest, NC (ever heard of it? It’s actually kind of like heaven!).

To find out more about Riggleberry Bloke, see the post here. If you didn’t win it, go buy it! It’s a great little book for your children or your ministry!

Since my church does not have a paid videographer or tech person, I’m the one who edits almost all of my ministry videos and children’s worship slideshows. I’m often looking for interesting sound effects to round off the presentation. I have found a great site for free sound effects called Partners In Rhyme. You can purchase a good deal of effects, but they offer a large number of free ones. You can access all of these off of the main page.

If you are looking for a simple and free sound effects player that will run effects directly from your computer to your soundboard, then V-Sampler Basic from Kidzturn Labs (go to bottom of page) is what you need. You get a limited 20 banks of effects, but it is a nice basic program which should meet most ministry needs.

If you are like me, you are in the absolute HEAT of recruiting for the fall. I mean there is no other ministry in the church that recruits 100 people at a time right?

I’ve found a great video on Vimeo that is a handy recruitment tool. If you are not familiar with Vimeo, it is a site much like You Tube, but filled with videos from much more competent videographers. You can also download straight from the Vimeo site. Many churches have found Vimeo a useful site for sharing their work.

You can view the video below or see it directly from the site here.

When I Grow Up… from Marty Taylor on Vimeo.

Did you know that Eleven 72, a worship media company, offers a free monthly download? It is always some sort of video or background they have produced. I’m not extremely familiar with the company so I will not commentate elaborately.

This month, they are giving away a nice video full of Scritpture that is all about Jesus called “I Am.” It would be good to show as kids are coming in to a worship service, but at over five minutes is too lengthy (in my opinion) to be used as a teaching resource.

Know any other places to get free media? Let the CM world know in the comment box below!

Alright friends, it is time for another Wednesday Give Away (WGA). My friend Jon Slone has written a book of poems called Riggleberry Bloke. Many of them are Christian in nature and the rest are just downright fun. I like to say that his work is a mix between Dr. Seuss and Shel Silverstein. Jon is very talented and I pray the Lord will take him very far with his work.

I use his book in my own home and in my ministry. After reading a Bible story each night with my two preschool daughters, they always ask for a “siwwy pwum” (translated, silly poem!). They love the whole book, but some of their favorites are “Stormie Mol Bean” and “Homemade Traps.” In ministry, I’ll use a poem that is pertinent to worship or a funny one that might make a good lesson illustration. It’s also a handy book to have around if you have an extra 10 minutes before parents pick all your children up from your mid-week program!

Here’s how you can win this book. All you have to do is comment with the words: I want Riggleberry Bloke! Didn’t win the book, buy one, they’re less than $11 at Amazon.com, Half.com and BarnesandNoble.com. Next Wednesday I’ll put everyone’s name in a hat (or basket, or pot, or iron cauldron, or carved out watermelon rind) and draw out a winner. You have one week to submit your comment. Go!

If you are like me, you spend a ton of time with children, preparing lessons, working with your volunteers and running around looking for last minute subs. Unfortunately, the position of Children’s Pastor often does not lend itself to regular time in corporate worship. I listen to my pastor’s messages weekly, but also get spiritual growth through other pastor’s messages. John Piper’s website is full of incredible resources I wanted to be sure you knew about. I love the spirit of sharing, which is why I love John Piper’s work so much.

On Pipers site, you can download messages of his from 3 decades ago, articles he has written as well as conference messages of which he has been a part (like the recent Advance ‘09 Conference in my town of Durham, NC). You can also download Scripture study guides and virtually every book which Piper has written in PDF. Yes, the books are all free. I have to say that the Desiring God site is one of the most comprehensive of any ministry I have seen. It is definitely worth bookmarking and using as an occasional resource for your own spiritual growth or for study materials as you prepare to teach children.

**Please, no comments about Piper’s Calvanism or my affinity for him. I am not a follower, I just think he has some great resources!

Anyone in CM has had to deal with children losing a loved one. Aside from my prayers, encouragement and counsel, I recommend that parents take a look at some articles on the Christian Works website. You can find some specific articles on grief here. I have found them to be biblical and helpful to Christian parents trying to help their children understand death.

If you have not stumbled upon Max 7 yet, you are really missing out. They have forms, curriculum, audio and videos. You must take a look at the video: Aim Lower. If your pastor would let you show it in “Big Church” during recruitment time, you should take him up on it!

Well, I’m at camp again this week! Aside from my own camp with Grey Stone Baptist Church, I’ll be doing 3 other church camps this summer. I’m in the second of three right now. Needless to say, I’ll be brief in the next few posts. But that reminds me…if you are looking for a retreat/camp speaker or worship leader, feel free to get in touch!

Here’s a blog similar to Free CM Stuff. It’s called Children’s Minister Blog. He has some ideas and reflections, but also links to free or low cost resources.