Children’s Ministry University Online is a partnership with Valley Forge Christian College. It is an “online, 30-credit degree program in children’s ministries” that is fully accredited through the College.

They also offer several free training resources on their website. To be honest, every training will not be beneficial to the Children’s Ministry veteran, however, I do see them as being a fruitful part of equipping newbies and potential leaders in your ministry. The professionals out there may find one or two that is helpful. The topics you can choose from are:

Beyond Babysitting

Creative Storytelling

Cultivating a Cutting-edge Children’s Church

Help is on the Way! Recruiting and Keeping Substitute Staff

Learning Disabilities & ADD/ADHD

What is a Children’s Sermon?

I can see these being productive to a variety of people. You may want to send your newly appointed Children’s Church leader to watch the one on Children’s Church and Children’s Sermons. If God has put on your heart to minister to special needs children, be sure to check out the disabilities training.

These trainings come in an online presentation format including the speaker and slides. Some are more “training-oriented” and some are more “classroom-oriented” in their presentation. Hope they can be a tool for you!

Recently, I found out about a very nifty tool for the technological generation of parents that we serve. It’s called “Zefty” and is an online way for parents to help their children manage their allowance. They say they may add premium features down the road, but for now, everything is free. Here’s how the site describes its service:

1. Parents set up virtual accounts for their kids
2. Allowances can be automatically deposited
3. Parents manage withdrawals and deposits
4. Kids can print out ZeftyChecks to take to their parents
5. Kids can use ZeftyCalc to see how long they will have to save for purchases
6. Parents can use ZeftyCalc to find a reasonable amount for their allowance

Essentially, the parent is the bank branch with the actual money and Zefty operates as the online banking system. Obviously, the service will only work in a setting with older kids who can read and proficiently operate a computer. My daughters are preschoolers so we are resigned to giving them 4 quarters a week with one going to “Jesus.” Hopefully as they get older we’ll be able to use this site to teach them about Christ-centered financial management.