ANGLICAN children’s ministry strategy
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Transcript of ANGLICAN children’s ministry strategy
ANGLICAN CHILDREN’S MINISTRY STRATEGY
Jonathan Kemp, YCF / MEC / ADB
The Next Generation
Where will Growth come from, if not from Youth, Children and Families?
To separate or integrate?
PINS model: Participation: involved? Visible? Integration: intergenerational? Not
always separate? Normative activities: is this Anglican? Is
this Christian? Are children learning what they need to learn? Range/balance/variety?
Sensitivity: age-appropriate? Allowing space and time for children to do their own thing?
The secret weapon of Children’s Ministry
Is “having fun” a good strategy?
Yes! “When it’s fun, they learn.” Kids’ feedback: “Hey, that was fun.”
Wanting more Developing positive feelings about your
church: a place to belong. Jesus never bored people!
Can we force people to have fun? Probably not. But we can set up a
likely environment for it.
How can we set things up for fun? Boundaries and expectations. Feeling secure is a big thing. E.g. “Rev Marian said it was OK for us
to play with messy stuff in the church today. She trusts us to clean up afterwards.”
Leaders always set the tone.
Understand where kids are coming from
Know them / their families / their lives
Design your ministry around the kids you have
Encourage kids and families to become co-leaders
Start small and build up
Stages of Child’s Development Physical
- developing motor skills / need for movement
Emotional - from adult-referring to self-
understanding Psycho-social
- from adult-dependent to independent [Fun activities which assist in the
development of these are not a waste of time!]
What do YOU find fun?
Hobbies / recreational activities / etc. Compile a list.
Different Learning Styles
Fun means different things to different people!
VARK: Visual (Owls) Audio (Bats) Reading/Writing (Bookworms) Kinaesthetic (Monkeys)
Can’t cover all these every time – but should cover each regularly
So: See/hear; do; think; review what’s been learnt.
What do you think?
Do you need to have lots of expensive resources to have fun?
Aim Lower
Some ingredients to create Fun Dress ups Dramatise a story – kids can hear the
story and be left to it, or you can write a script with older ones
Take on a personality and express things that kids might be too shy to say otherwise
Costumes for you / narrator
Sand pits
“I wonder what Bethlehem looked like” – see what happens
Use for drawing – easy way to do animations – photograph each drawing and then wipe clear and start again.
Water play
Problem solving... shifting water from one place to another, team work
Very relaxing, involving activity
Play dough
To occupy hands while listening to a talk/story
Cheap and easy to make
Seeing adults play
During a sermon, distribute play dough and ask adults to make something from the talk.
Giving adults the materials we give children can be a revelation! Kids love to see what adults make of it all.
[Sending adults out etc – swapping roles]
Building
On small scale with lego, or large outdoor activity with hay bales, wheelbarrows, bricks etc
E.g. Replica church for Pentecost / stewardship campaign / etc.
Moving stuff around
Tyres, hay bales etc – create an obstacle course – can be a team building activity in itself. Then kids can do the course!
Loading stuff on and off wheelbarrows and moving those barrows around. Sense of empowerment, actually builds upper body strength
Puppets
Children of all ages can use puppets, the sophistication depends on the child/young person, not the puppet.
Tell stories using puppets, or give puppets to children to re-tell or make up a story. Concentrating on a puppet takes the pressure off the storyteller
Using puppets to express themselves is a non-threatening way to have children participate
Movement
Kids wake up with movement – learning happens more effectively when the body gets involved. E.g. Memory verses – repeat while tossing a ball from one to another in pairs
Walking to the shops for an icecream is a great time to discuss tricky subjects
Set up a series of activity stations – walk between them, sense of pilgrimage
Fun through Music
Simple songs / instruments Pre-recorded music e.g. Colin
Buchanan Aim for interaction (kids not just
audience) Could kids help lead singing? (or lead
actions?) What if kids are too young to read
lyrics? Call and response: Lord’s Prayer.
Organised Fun
WWW.AYCF.ORG.AU “Recommended Resources”
For Children from Size Zero: Playgroups:
Christian Playgroup Network (cpn.org.au) Mainly Music (www.mainlymusic.org.au)
Sunday School / Children’s Church Seasons of the Spirit (
www.seasonsonline.org.au) Workshop Rotation Model (WoRM) (
rotation.org) Energize (Urban Saints) (www.energize.uk.net) Sermons4kids (www.sermons4kids.com)
For everything: www.max7.org Children’s Ministry Network: cmn.org.au Kidsmin.com.au
Kids’ Clubs
KidsPlus+ (GFS) [NB GFS Grants available] (gfsaustralia.org.au/kidsplus.html)
Girls’ Brigade (gbqld.org.au) Boys’ Brigade (
boys.brigadeaustralia.org)
Other ‘specialities’:
Science experiments (related to Scripture) www.madaboutjesus.net
Excursions / walks e.g. Cemetery to discuss death and resurrection; garden for Gethsemane
Cooking (eat and share) Family-based activities
Service & Justice
Social service activities to meet community needs (physical and emotional)
Wash cars or do some gardening while adults are in church
Contribute to garage sales Operation Christmas Child Handing out free cold water/drinks at
events
Worship: Children-focussed Messy Church
Kids’ Games
www.kidssundayschool.com www.jubed.com Look for iPhone apps (or create one!) Books from your local Christian
bookshop.
When it’s Fun, they learn. We will depend, finally, on the
Holy Spirit, not techniques. We will develop whatever skills that will make us better communicators. But we know that we will need to subordinate skills and techniques to the work of the Holy Spirit, if anything truly lasting is going to happen.
Pursue excellence!
We will pursue excellence in our ministry with children. There is a big difference between perfection and excellence. We will face moments of deep satisfaction; we will also have moments of frustration and disappointment. The test of the direction of our ministry comes at such times. If we are pursuing perfection, we will keep failing. If we pursue excellence, we can absorb failure, allow God to train us in it, then continue the pursuit.
“Off-line resources” Join the Roscoe Library here at St Francis’
College, Milton Free membership for Brisbane Anglicans Thousands of books, DVDs and materials Picture books, Messy Church books, “young-
people friendly” worship instruction books. NOOMA DVDs and study resources Catalogue is open on-line at
www.mecmoodle.net
Where will Growth come from, if not from Youth, Children and Families?
Jonathan Kemp
www.AYCF.org.au www.facebook.com/brisangyouth Twitter: @jonkemptweets (07) 3514 7432/0409 744 507 Email: [email protected]
(MEC, Anglican Diocese of Brisbane)