My buddies over at Equipping Kids, Peter and Brian, are doing a very generous give away for Free CM Stuff this week!

Before I tell you about the give away, let me commend this great business to you. They have a variety of curriculum and materials and they discount everything at least 15%. I have worked with Peter and Brian over the last 3 years and can say they have great hearts, excel in customer service, and truly desire to meet the needs of your ministry.

If you need VBS, Sunday school, discipleship curriculum or Bibles and all kinds of other stuff, be sure to check them out.

They are giving away a package of prizes to 3 lucky contestants.

Three lucky folks will win a package of 5 “God’s Story for Me” Bibles published by Gospel Light. Each pack is a $50 value! All you have to do is enter the words “Thanks Peter and Brian” into the comment box below. You can only enter once for this give away!

Start commenting! This contest runs through next Wednesday July 28th.

Scripture

1 Corinthians 15:3-4 (English Standard Version)

³For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, ⁴that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,

Devotion

Have a bag of 3 normal objects (examples would be a pencil, watch, dollar bill). Get 3 volunteers to secretly see one of each of the objects. Their role is to describe that object to the rest of the group and get them to guess what it is as quickly as possible. They just can’t say the name of the object. Group members should be able to guess pretty quickly.

Explain that the gospel really needs to be this way. We don’t need to put some kind of cutsy explanation to it, we just need to be clear about what the gospel message is with kids.

Read the passage from I Corinthians and note a few things:

• Paul notes that the gospel message was of “first importance.” Our ministry should never get to the point where we lose sight of the fact that this message drives everything we do.
• The message focuses on the DBR–Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus as prophesied in the Scriptures. The message is simple and it includes those three vital components. Children need to understand that Jesus took their place in his death. They need to believe that Jesus was buried helping us to understand that he suffered death for sin so we don’t have to. Kids need to be taught the resurrection. Paul later says in chapter 15 that if Christ is not raised, your faith is worthless, you are still in your sins” (v. 17).
• When we leave out the resurrection in our gospel presentations, we leave the hearers with a dead Jesus. But that’s just half of the message. He is a risen Savior, proving that He has the authority to offer us new life in Him.

Since the gospel message is so simple, this is probably a good time to speak to some ways we communicate the response to the gospel that are not so simple. Let’s be very clear with abstract thinking children about how we lead them to salvation for fear that they misunderstand and don’t experience salvation in the first place.

• Ask Jesus into your heart–This one is not right on so many levels, yet it is probably the most popular way used to talk to children about salvation. If you would like to see an argument against this terminology from a practical and theological perspective, go here.
• Ask God to forgive you–Don’t forget the message. This one can easily leave out Jesus. I can get a kid to pray and ask God to forgive them without any effort. The problem is that they are simply asking for a favor and have not directed their faith toward the work of the cross and resurrection.
• Confess your sins–Many base a salvation response off of I John 1:9. The problem here is that I John was written to believers, and this verse speaks to confessing individual sins at the moment of commission so that your current fellowship with God can be restored. No unbeliever can actually confess ALL of their sins. They need to repent of their lack of faith and turn to Jesus in faith.
• Believe in God–James says that even the demons believe in God. Demons are monotheists. Simply being a monotheist leaves you no better than one of Satan’s minions! Again, don’t leave out Jesus!

Let’s allow I Corinthians 15 to be a great encouragement to the way we choose to share the gospel with kids. Make the presentation clear and to the point. Let’s be careful not to allow any hindrances to a child understanding and accepting the gospel!

If you like quality kids music, then you need to check out what Integrity has to offer.

In generous fashion, Integrity is allowing me to give away 5 prize packs! They include

• 1 Shout Praises Kids: Promises DVD
• 1 Shout Praises Kids: Promises CD
• 1 Integrity Kids backpack

You can enter into the drawing two ways:

1. Comment below that you would like to be entered (1 comment per person)
2. Tweet or Facebook about this contest–then just enter in the comment box below that you Tweeted or Facebook’d it. I trust you to be honest!

I want to commend a free PDF book by Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill Church. You may not agree with everything that Mark teaches, though I think he is practically and boldly biblical, this book will be a great tool in your hands as you disciple fathers in your ministry. Print it out and make them available to dads. Mail a copy to a dad who you know could use it. It’s a short little read, but very thought provoking. I read it last week and have a new sense of direction as a father now!

Are you doing a camp or summer weeknight ministry? I’ve found two sites full of games and ideas that may be useful to you:

1. Ultimate Camp Resource
2. My Camp Resources

Have fun!

I love VBS (that’s Vacation Bible School for the scarf with t-shirt wearing crowd of Children’s Ministers!). I love it because when it is done well and creatively, children learn foundational truths about Jesus, kids get saved, parents get plugged into church, and momentum is built to further the overall vision and work of one’s children’s ministry. My VBS is in 2 weeks and I’m extremely excited for what God has in store this year! Below are some creative ideas you can incorporate into your VBS to make it the best one ever!

Fun for Kids

• Mascot Hunt: Figure out a good mascot for your VBS and try to find a stuffed animal that looks like it. Hide the animal each day and challenge the kids to find it as they are walking around. If they find it, reward their class with a bag of candy and a special flag they can carry around the next day. This is so popular at my church, I have to do two, one for Pre-K and one for elementary.
• Surprise Character: Have someone dress up as a character who matches the theme. Have them bust into the classrooms during teaching time, interrupting the teacher and getting the whole lesson for the day wrong. Alert the teachers ahead of time so they can interact with the character and “set them straight” on the meaning of the lesson.
• Incentives: Offer an incentive for non-church kids to attend or for your own church kids to invite their friends. Last year, I gave away a Wii. It was our largest VBS in church history. This year, I’m giving a $5 gift card to Toys R Us to any non-church kid who attends at least 4 nights of VBS. I’m already WAY above the average mark for this point in our registration process and many of them are guests.
• Involve Kids in Follow Up: Have children in your ministry take the contact info for a guest that was in their class. Instruct them on how to follow up via a phone call or note in the mail. Have them to invite the kids back to church the next week and start a friendship with them.

Fun for Parents

• Send them home in style: If you have a car pick up line (which I recommend to reduce the amount of people who come into your building), then I recommend that you greet parents with a smile, open the door for kids, help them get their seat belt on, and say something positive about the kids. This can really have a huge impact on the ride home.
• Parenting Skills: Offer a parenting skills class during your VBS time. Have some snacks, foster community, and/or bring in a well known presenter to help them grow as a parent (Frankly, I’d love to do it!). You may start this off one year by just doing a one or two night thing. That way you could advertise it well during drop off and pick up prior to it occurring.

Fun for Volunteers

• Late Week Break: Have a variety of drinks and special snacks available on day 3 or 4 of your week for volunteers. Stand by the cooler and personally thank each one who gets a drink.
• Perpetuate the Memories: Set up a Facebook page or blog where VBS leaders can share memorable experiences after VBS is over. Use these quotes in recruitment the next year.
• Make Them Feel Good: Be sure to recognize them in a creative way if you do some sort of kick off or celebration night. Have them run out through a kid “tunnel.” Do a creative video highlighting the lead teachers. Pick a “Leader of the Day” to recognize outstanding work.

What creative idea do you have for VBS?

Do you want some crazy awesome kids music for free? Then go and download The Village Church’s “Jesus Came to Save Sinners.” I’m so excited when large churches like The Village give out stuff like this that is obviously a product of long hours and hard work. Thanks Village Church!

Have you heard of this new Game Show on NBC called “Minute to Win It?” It’s really cool and features a ton of games we can use in Children’s Ministry. Most of the games do not involve any elaborate set up or props, so they are very doable. You can check out videos on each of the games (instructions) here. Check out an example below. If you can figure out a way to pull the NBC videos off of their site to use them in kids church, let me know!

On Good Friday, I taught my daughters a way to remember the 5 Mighty Miracles of the Cross (Matthew 27:45-54) using their hands. My wife posted the video on our family blog and I’ve inserted the video below. Just in case you can’t quite understand them because you are in awe of their cuteness, I’ve written it here:

1. Darkness covered the whole earth (first finger is the “one” earth)

2. Veil torn in two (two fingers in a “V” to represent the tear)

3. Earthquake (other hand hitting the three fingers)

4. People rising from the dead (four fingers lying flat, then “rising” up)

5. Soldier believed in Jesus (lifting hand to the sky)

I hope you can use this as you teach your kids the mighty miracles of the cross. Feel free to comment excessively about how cute and sweet my precious angels are (they get it all from mama)!

I went over to Buckets O Fun the other day to check out the world’s largest pair of underwear. When I took a look at the Yuck material, I saw that they will send you a free sample of it to try out. Head over there and get some free Yuck!