Phone Calls, New Stuff, and a Giveaway!

May 14, 2013 By 6 Comments

katie2aIf you’re a kids’ minister, chances are you’ve gotten a call from us recently! Everyone in our department has been setting aside time to call up customers and see how they’re doing and to chat about the brand new Bible Studies for Life: Kids.  We really think you guys are going to like this new material and we want to make sure everyone has a chance to preview it!  If you haven’t already, be sure to check out three lessons for FREE!  There’s no obligation to purchase, we just want to get the word out!

And when you preview, did you know that you get access to material for ALL ages?  Yep.  Babies through senior adults.  AND did you know that all those age groups are studying the same biblical concepts each week?  Pretty awesome.

But that’s not all!  We also want to announce that Bible Studies for Life: Kids will feature a Large Group Worship package that is available separately.  Think that sounds awesome?  We’re giving away 5 right here on the blog and there are lots of ways to enter!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Great Children’s Ministry Training Content. Online. For YOUR church.

May 10, 2013 By 2 Comments

katie2a“If you give children your attention, they’ll be drawn to you,” says Clayton King, Founder of Crossroads Worldwide. Ministry Grid captured King’s leadership training session at LifeWay’s 2012 Kids Ministry Conference.

King encourages that just as children approached Jesus in Mark 10:13-16, the same is true for leaders and volunteers in your church’s children’s ministry. Children naturally gravitate toward those people who are investing in their lives.

“You are being like Jesus to those children,” King states. “Because to a lot of the children you are serving and ministering to, you’re the only Jesus they’re ever going to see.”

King explored lessons about children from Mark 10 at this leadership training event. He encourages that the children’s reactions to Jesus in this passage reveals three specific things about their character to keep in mind in your children’s ministry.

First, children are into people not power. They instinctively understand that life is about people, not attaining power in this world. This truth further reveals how we should all live as Christ-followers: recognizing that the kingdom of God is all about people.

Second, children are about innocence and not influence. King emphasizes that children are naturally honest, often telling the truth with brutal honesty that many adults would shy away from or tiptoe around.

Lastly, children are empty and not yet established. King describes children as canvasses that have yet to be painted. By serving in children’s ministry, we’re helping fill their minds and hearts. King encourages filling them with such things as the Gospel, mercy, compassion, and patience.

As King summarizes, “They’re going to be filled with something. Let’s fill them with the Word of God.”

Preview this video and other free leadership training sessions at ministrygrid.com.

Ministry Grid is a subscription-based, online leadership development platform for pastors, staff, and volunteers that is unmatched in scope of content, customization, and simplicity. You’ll find more than 1,000 video sessions on topics, ranging from parking ministry to polity, with more added continually. You can even upload your own content, turn off unwanted content, and put your church’s own logo and skin on the site. An intuitive Learning Management System makes assigning courses and tracking your people’s progress a snap. It’s training made simple. Coming Summer 2013. 

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Coming soon: FLYTE Digital!!

May 9, 2013 By Leave a Comment

katie2aFLYTE. Faith. Life. Together. Digitally.

Finally, a Bible study curriculum preteens can call their own – available as a digital download! Now that all 8 volumes of FLYTE have released in print, we are making these same great volumes available as digital downloads this summer (Volume 1 is releasing June 1. Volumes 2-8 will be available by August 1.) Each volume will be released as a digital leader kit, containing all the great FLYTE videos plus the leader guide, learner magazine, and teacher helps all in PDF format. You won’t miss a thing, all for the same great price as the print edition, $89.95 per volume!

You will be able to manage your digital curriculum and leaders with ease. Once you purchase the digital FLYTE products, you’ll have access to My Curriculum Manager, where you’ll be able to:

  • Access your digital curriculum files.
  • Share digital materials with leaders. Anytime. Anywhere.
  • Spread out work: assign multiple administrators.
  • Schedule lessons with built-in calendar to keep leaders on track.

We are also releasing an eReader version of the FLYTE Leader Guides for the convenience of your leaders request an ePub format. Each leader guide will be released on the same schedule as the leader kit. Available separately for the same great price as the leader guide, $4.95 per issue.

Each volume of FLYTE has:

  • 13 simple to execute sessions
  • Fresh video content
  • Sound Bible study
  • Life application
  • Parent letters

Each FLYTE leader kit includes a leader guide, learner magazine, DVD, and CD-ROM. There are video segments for every session. The segments include Bible study backgrounds, music videos, real life scenarios, and more. There are visually appealing teacher helps for every session, fellowship ideas, and kickoff event suggestions to make preparation fast and easy. The result is a “real-life” curriculum that today’s preteens identify with, in language that respects and protects this very unique age group. So if you’re teaching preteens this year, take FLYTE!

If you ask preteens, they would tell you they’re not “in between” anything. They are facing puberty, drugs, sex, acceptance, and self-esteem issues every day. FLYTE is a curriculum that’s all theirs, one that speaks to what they’re dealing with right now – not what’s past or in their future.

Preteen experts — namely, preteens themselves — weighed in on the energy, movement, and excitement of FLYTE during its development so that key biblical concepts are not only grasped, but applied, to issues like eating disorders, puberty, sex, bullying, emotions, family relationships, and more. FLYTE is undated so if you see a topic your preteens aren’t ready to tackle, simply skip that session and come back to it later.

Today’s preteens stay on the move; if we’re not reaching them, someone or something else will.  So if you’re teaching preteens this year, take FLYTE!

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FREE Webcast- Strengthen Families & Equip Parents with Bible Studies for Life!

May 7, 2013 By 1 Comment

katie2aWe don’t want you to miss out on the incredible opportunity to learn more about the all-new Bible Studies for Life from LifeWay.

Tomorrow at noon, we’ll be hosting a FREE webcast with some great pastors and speakers and our own vice president, Eric Geiger.

After the webcast, we will provide all three video segments for you to share these eye-opening truths with your leaders:

Connecting the Unconnected by Pete Wilson
Strengthening Families by Ron Edmondson
Disciple People with Wisdom by Ronnie Floyd
You will also receive free downloads of the first two six-session studies:

Pressure Points
When Relationships Collide
Plus, if you’d like to review free copies of the six-session studies for your Small Groups, simply provide your mailing address when signing up for the webcast.

REGISTER NOW!

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4 Easy Mother’s Day Projects for Kids!

May 7, 2013 By 1 Comment

katie2aMother’s Day is just around the corner!  Moms do so much to take care of the kids in our ministry.  They are the ones in the trenches each day, teaching, loving, nurturing, and discipling their kids.  And many of them even volunteer to make children’s ministry happen at our churches!

Do you organize a special Mother’s Day project for your kiddos to create at church for Mother’s Day?  Why or why not?  If you have a link to a fun Mother’s Day craft, please feel free to share it in the comments section!

Here are 4 easy (preschool-friendly) Mother’s Day projects you can prepare for this coming week:

1. This handprint bouquet from Trendy Treehouse is adorable and super easy!

handprint bouquet

 

2.  Here’s another way to say Happy Mother’s Day with a flower from Preschool Playbook. Each petal represents something the child loves about his or her mom!

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3. This easy peasy color-your-own-picture from Bitsy Creations. Click through to download the full-size sheet.

MothersDay

4. Wayway Girls’ Crafts has step-by-step instructions for this “I love you because…” book for moms!

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BONUS IDEA!  If you or a church member has a hydrangea bush or any other type of flowering plant and can spare enough blooms, have enough for each child to hand to his/her mommy!

Filed Under: Crafts, Fun Tagged With: , ,

Congratulations to our Winner!

April 19, 2013 By Leave a Comment
katie2aThank you so much for reading up on the new Bible Studies for Life with us this week and learning all about how it connects the unconnected, strengthens families, and helps you disciple with wisdom.
The winner of the Bible Studies for Life giveaway has been selected. Thank you to everyone who entered! 
And congratulations to Jon Cooper, our winner!  Jon is a student minister at Highland Baptist Church in Meridian, MS.
 Don’t forget you can still preview three lessons of Bible Studies for Life for FREE!
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Bible Studies for Life brings Christ into Focus all year long.

April 18, 2013 By 1 Comment

The following post was written by Bible Studies for Life: Kids team member Erika Scrimpshire. Erika attends CrossPoint Church in Nashville, TN where she is involved in various ministries. A former high school teacher, Erika has taught Bible studies to kids, students, college students, and young adults. In her spare time, she can be found sharing coffee or dinner with friends, jogging in a local park, or at a dog park with her schnauzer, Bella.

I remember sitting in “Big Church” as a kid holding a slingshot I made Sunday School to remind me of the story I just learned about David and Goliath. Dismissing the inevitability that the kids would slingshot church bulletins across the sanctuary, the pastor began to preach about Jesus and what He has done for us. I remember thinking, Jesus seems awesome, but what does He have to do with David and Goliath? I understood that God did great things through David, but I could not connect the stories of the Bible with the amazing things I was learning about Jesus.

Among the many new enhancements of  Bible Studies for Life: Kids, each lesson is equipped with a short phrase, called a Christ Focus, that is designed to do just that—focus on Christ. We acknowledge that the Old Testament points to Jesus and the New Testament reflects Him. So, in each session, leaders are provided with a short phrase to help kids answer the question, “What does this story have to do with Jesus?”

The answer: It has EVERYTHING to do with Jesus!

Karl Barth was a Swiss theologian that, in the midst of two world wars, fought the Nazi establishment of a “German Christian Church” and devoted his life to writing about Scripture during the early part of the 20th century. He was once asked by a reporter to give a summary of his life’s work. Barth simply replied, “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” We agree. It’s all about Jesus.

Make sure the kids in your ministry are hearing how amazing and awesome Christ is EVERY week– not just during “big” weeks like VBS, Easter, Christmas, and camp!

Click here to learn how you can win Bible Studies for Life for an entire year plus an iPad mini! Hurry! Today is the last day to enter — winners will be announced tomorrow!

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“Wow” Kids with the God of the Bible

April 17, 2013 By 1 Comment

katie2a

Our God is an awesome God!  When you teach from an early age about the greatness of God, kids learn He is better and bigger than anything else they may face.

Bible Studies for Life: Kids combines creative teaching elements, biblical stories, and hands-on learning to wow kids with the God of the Bible.

 

32 Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth;
sing praise to the Lord,Selah
33 to Him who rides in the ancient, highest heavens.
Look, He thunders with His powerful voice!
34 Ascribe power to God.
His majesty is over Israel,
His power among the clouds.
35 God, You are awe-inspiring in Your sanctuaries.
The God of Israel gives power and strength to His people.
May God be praised!

Psalm 68:32-35 (HCSB)

You can win Bible Studies for Life for an entire year plus an iPad mini! How? Find out here. Hurry! You only have until Thursday to enter!
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Bible Studies for Life– a Life-based Starting Point for Kids!

April 16, 2013 By 1 Comment

The following post was written by Andrea Hultman (aka, Ms. Andi). Andrea teaches Bible Drill and substitute-teaches in Children’s Sunday School at First Baptist Church, Nashville, TN, where she has been a member since 2001. She loves Jesus, a great cup of coffee, and copyediting any text in sight. When she’s not helping produce Bible Studies for Life: Kids, you can find her laughing with friends, reading a good book, or belting showtunes.

If you are a children’s ministry leader are like me, then you love seeing that aha! moment in a child’s eyes when he understands that Jesus loves him or when she makes the connection between a Bible truth and a situation in her family. I am delighted again and again when the first graders at my church recall details from Bible stories and express insights I did not expect from 6 and 7-year-olds. Those fantastic experiences do not happen haphazardly—they require both the presence of the Holy Spirit and plenty of planning!

I know first-hand the value of a Bible study curriculum that allows me to prepare Bible content and teaching that will meet kids “where they are” and helps me create an atmosphere in which I can get to know the boys and girls better—a curriculum that facilitates those aha! moments.

Are you searching for a new Bible study curriculum for the boys and girls in your church? Does your church desire to start with a life-application base and find a well-designed curriculum with reliable Bible content and age-appropriate, easy-to-use teaching plans? Well, have I got a solution for you!

200474737-001Bible Studies for Life: Kids begins with a key concept, question, or outcome and builds a session around that idea. The Bible passage(s), Life Point, Life Verse, Christ Focus, and Life Action for each session all connect back to the life change that Bible study leaders will be seeking to help make happen. At LifeWay Kids, our goal is to help you create an environment in which the Holy Spirit will not only make Bible content clear but also will transform kids lives—and for the kids to have fun while they’re learning! And that’s what Bible Studies for Life: Kids is all about.

We know that kids need to learn so much about God, Jesus, the Bible, and more. And that’s why we developed the Levels of Biblical Learning. The Levels of Biblical Learning framework was born out of a need from children’s ministry professionals to have a clear, concise plan for teaching kids about God in age-appropriate ways. Each unit of study in preschool and kids materials will be assigned 1 or more of the 10 concept areas: God, Jesus, Self, Community & World, Bible, Creation, Family, Church, Holy Spirit*, and Salvation*. This framework helps us provide you with solutions that will ensure that kids in your ministry will hear key Bible stories, experience important Bible truths, and learn life-transforming Bible verses.

I encourage you to preview Bible Studies for Life: Kids today to discover what we at LifeWay Kids offer for preschoolers and children and their leaders at your church. You can download three lessons for free!

Blessings on your ministry, and thank you for allowing us to partner with you in helping kids and their families know Jesus Christ and live for Him!

* These 2 concept areas are for kids in grades 1–6 only.

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Want to win Bible Studies for Life for an entire year plus an iPad mini? Click here to learn more! Hurry! You only have until Thursday to enter!

 

 

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Bible Studies for Life Giveaway

April 15, 2013 By 1 Comment

katie2aYou’ve heard us talk about it before– coming in the Fall, the same trustworthy content you love is coming to your Sunday School classes in a new and improved format.  Bible Studies for Life: Kids is focused on discipling kids and strengthening families.  It’s great as a stand alone resource to strengthen families in your kids ministry, but it’s also the perfect choice if you want to align the biblical concepts your kids, students, and adults are studying each week.  Multiple translations are available (view options here) and it will be available in print and digital format to make things easier for you!

Throughout the week, we’ll be telling you more about the new changes and neat features you can expect to see when Bible Studies for Life launches this fall.

And to celebrate the upcoming launch, we’re giving away an iPad mini plus an entire year of Bible Studies for Life for your whole church!

Do you want in on that giveaway? Click here to learn more. Hurry! The giveaway ends this Thursday night!

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