1 billion people are on Facebook. That’s a lot of status updates and news stories and pictures. But I came across an article about another billion person milestone. According to Oxfam, 1 billion people currently go hungry across the world. That’s too many people. This year our church is going to pack 1 million [...]
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Email. Even as you read this volunteers, ministry staff, Facebook, local businesses, and your favorite clothing store are sending you emails. According to a market research group, in 2011 the average number of emails sent and received every day was 110. Here are some tools and ideas for managing your kidmin email life. Cutback. Have [...]
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When I arrived at Hayward Wesleyan Church nine years ago, the church had a database that was located on our office manager’s computer and all the other computers accessed the information off of that one computer (and still does). Anytime any of the pastors or other staff members needed contact information the modus operandi was [...]
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Last week I opened with a little bit about teaching digitals and then walked through making an animated short for teaching. Although Matt mentioned Prezi last week, I’m bringing it back up to show you how easy it is to use. The first time I used Prezi is when I taught K-5 about conflict resolution. [...]
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Have you heard about TED-Ed? TED-Ed is a new tool from TED, the idea sharing organization behind the TED Conference. The whole idea behind TED-Ed is “Lessons Worth Sharing.” It is a platform for users to take any useful educational video (not just TED’s) and creating a customized lesson around the video. According to TED-Ed, [...]
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Today’s kids prefer to process images before text. As leaders and storytellers present the truth of God’s Word, it is vital to incorporate visual elements into the teaching and today’s nonlinear presentation tools resources are the right tools for the job. Why use a nonlinear tool? Visuals can be accessed in any order Increased interactivity [...]
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I am fascinated with the teaching and learning process. As children’s and family ministry leaders, part of our work is educational so being attenuated to issues related to learning theory is critical. In Approaches to Training and Development, Dugan Laird posits that the vast majority of knowledge (75%) is learned through seeing. God created our [...]
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The purpose of this series is to equip leaders in children’s and family ministry with tools and resources from the digital world. We’ve covered theological topics, leadership issues, volunteers, worship and music, research, budget, and social media. Today I want to introduce you to a concept that completely changed my work style and effectiveness. Whether [...]
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For decades, animation has won over audiences both young and old. From the first animated film, Snow White, to the Toy Story trilogy, animation has become one of the most powerful storytelling tools in our culture. In the early days of children’s ministry, a church producing original animations was inconceivable. The time, cost, and expertise [...]
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Understanding digital learners is the most critical knowledge gap in children’s and family ministry today. Wow. I think I just summed up what I have sensed for the past 10 years in ministry. That phrase captures the reason why I started blogging four years ago, the purpose of my ongoing research, and the explanation behind [...]
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