All posts in Ministry Ideas

This summer, we’re focusing on the BASICS while hanging out at base camp.     We use the 252Basics curriculum during Wednesday which is based on Luke 2:52:

And Jesus grew in wisdom, in stature, and in favor with God and man.

The basics are: Wisdom, Faith, and Friendship.

The kids helped me make some posters to decorate our humble “stage” area which highlight these three basics.

Want to know how we made them?

Okay! Okay!  I’ll tell you.  :)

To begin, we put some paint on a sponge.  I would recommend using a smaller kitchen sponge or even one of those shower loofas, but all we had was a car wash sponge, so that’s what we used!  I did the Wisdom poster and the kids did the other two — so you can see the different a little extra paint can make!

I had some pre-cut bulletin board letters that I had taped onto the posters to spell out “Wisdom”, “Faith” and “Friendship”".  Then we just sponged the paint right over top of the letters.

Then, I used puffy paint to make a decorative edge.

We waited until the paint was completely dry to take the letters off, but then the tape ripped the paper a bit, so it might be better to take them off right away.

Letters freshly removed!

After the paint was dry and the letters removed, we typed out the definitions and printed them on standard printer paper.  Of course, you could go more fancy with the paper if you wanted, but we kept things easy.

We glued on the definitions and hung on the wall (with duct tape of course).

There you have it!

Of course, there are WAY cooler posters you can buy from the Orange Store, but these fit into our budget a little nicer and the kids were happy to make them!

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This summer, we are introducing THEME NIGHTS in order to bring in some extra excitement and fun.  Last night was “Beach Night” and I just had to share a few pictures with you all!

To start off the fun, I bought these super huge beach balls from Discount School Supply.  They were a little pricey ($13 each), but the wow factor was great, so I think they were worth it!

My friend Paulette made this super great Beach Theme cake which the kids loved.

I love how enthusiastic the kids are!  We had several wearing sunscreen and sunglasses.   One girl even brought her own beach chair to use during lesson time.  Very fun!

We played crab ball with the giant beach balls (while listening to some Beach Boys music).  I thought I recorded a longer clip, but I must have messed it up.  Oh well, at least you get a quick shot!

  I also wanted to head outside for some water games, but alas, it was raining.  Apparently, getting wet from a giant bucket of water is fun, but getting wet from rain is a drag.  Go figure!

What about you?

What are you doing to keep summer lively this year?

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Recently I was at Chick-Fil-A story time talking to some mom friends when one mom asked about places to have birthday parties around town.  She had considered the Children’s Museum, but they have a 10 kid minimum.  Since she was new in town, she didn’t have 10 kids to invite and hated to pay for empty seats.  I suggested having it at her house, but she said they were still in an apartment from the move and didn’t have room for many guests.  I told her I would think about it, but I didn’t have any more suggestions.   Then, a few days later, I got an email from Reagan at Worlds of Wow with details about a birthday party ministry.   The idea is to open your church as a birthday party venue in order to bring in new families.  I can’t believe I never thought about this idea!  We already host baby showers and graduation parties at our church for congregation members, so it wouldn’t take much to open the building up to the community!  Here’s a few more details about the idea (provided by Worlds of Wow):

Why Birthday Parties?

• Transforms church into THE place to be in the community
• Revolutionary concept that uses what we already have like never before.
• Every one of the kids and parents that attend the party will enter your  facility, see your ministry, see how you care about kids, and learn more about your church.

Taking The Extra Step

• Before, during, and after the birthday party experience, ambassadors for your
  church will be communicating with party hosts, attendees, and interested
  parties. This is another excellent opportunity to share your message with
  others centered around birthday parties.
• Each guest attending a birthday party will receive an information packet about
  your church to take home. This will include details about your children’s
  ministry, upcoming sermon series, coupon for redemption when they come
  back, etc. It’s another opportunity to share your message with hundreds of
  new people every week.

Getting it Organized

You can find more details about the Birthday Party Ministry on the Worlds of Wow website, but they recommend decorating well (balloons!), playing great games, and hiring energetic engaging congregation members to help run the event.    Make sure you think about the adults at the party too, offering free coffee and comfortable places to sit as they kids play.  You can get a full PDF with details and reminders by emailing hello@worldsofwow.com and requesting a copy.

Think It Over!

This type of thing is certainly worth thinking about — I know I’ll be bringing it up at our next staff meeting!

Disclosure: This is sponsored post.  All opinions expressed are my own.

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