If I were to ask you what your number one job as a children’s minister is, the first thing you might think of is sharing the good news of Jesus with kids. And although that answer isn’t exactly wrong, it’s not exactly right either! Helping children love and follow Jesus is our ultimate goal, but […]
It’s time for another Hot Topic! A little while back, I debated with myself over the merit of using reward stores in children’s ministry. You can read about it here. But now it’s time to tackle another tough topic–VBS. For some churches, VBS is a sacred cow. For others, it’s an old horse that’s been put out […]
Are you ready for a good laugh? VBS has been a cornerstone of children’s ministry for generations, but some themes are better than others! In fact, some are downright terrible! Here’s my list of the 10 WORST VBS themes you can do: 10. IRS Camp: An auditing adventure through the Book of Numbers 9. Camp […]
A couple weeks ago, I sent an email about using a cool new A.I. song writing tool called Suno. (You can read it here.) But I might have gotten ahead of myself. Maybe I should have started with the question, “Is it okay to use A.I. in ministry?” Last week, I explored that question by […]
Conferences are an incredible opportunity to learn from other leaders in children’s ministry. To help you find the one that’s right for you, we’ve compiled the ULTIMATE list of conferences on the Children’s Ministry Hub. For each conference on the list, you’ll see: Featured Conferences I’d also like to highlight a few conferences that you […]
I am so, SO excited to announce our first ever LIVE show filled with the gospel-centered fun of the Journey Today Show. JTS Live is a 90-minute event hosted by the one-and-only Timmy Bow Ties–live and in person. Whether the kids at your church are super fans of the show or they’ve never heard of […]
I am so, so excited to share with you an incredible new tool that the team at GO! Curriculum has been working on for quite some time! It’s a tool that will help you take your children’s ministry to the next level. Drum roll, please… It’s called the CHILDREN’S MINISTRY HUB! The HUB is your […]
Are you ready for a good laugh? Games are in important part of children’s ministry, but some are better than others! In fact, some are downright terrible! Here’s my list of the 10 WORST games you can play in your KidMin: 10. Capture the Plague 9. Hide and Sleep 8. Javelin Catch 7. […]
Life can be rough sometimes. We all get our fair share of bumps and bruises along the way, but wouldn’t it be nice if life had a pit stop for banging out dents. As rough as we think we have it, kids have it just as bad (and sometimes worse). And for a lot of […]
I love healthy debate! Especially when it’s about how to most effectively reach kids with the gospel of Jesus. With that in mind, I present to you “This or That!” It’s a new blog series where I debate with myself on both sides of a hot-button topic in children’s ministry. (The great thing about debating […]
One of the best parts of being on the GO! team is hearing back from the family of GO! users. They’re an enthusiastic bunch, to say the least! And every week they send us words of encouragement that make us smile. We hate to pick favorites, but…well…here are our top 5 favorite reviews and why […]
I think it’s fair to say we would all LOVE to have a bigger budget! In fact, one of the most common complaints I hear from KidMin leaders is that they don’t have enough money to support their ministry vision. But unless you have experience in the business world, successfully petitioning for a budget increase […]
You’ve probably heard this statistic before. A study by Barna found that nearly 75% of Christian youth fall away from the faith and leave the church after high school. But you can change this…and GO! wants to help! During this interactive webinar, you’ll also also learn: 3 reasons why youth leave the church and […]
Have you ever tried to pour liquid into a container, but the opening to the container is too small, so the liquid goes spilling all over the place? Of course you have! In fact, if you’re like me, you do it on a regular basis because you’re too lazy to go to the garage and […]
Games are a great way to get kids excited about coming to your KidMin. Not only are they fun, they promote teamwork, social interaction, and problem-solving skills. With that said, here are 7 game ideas the kids in your ministry will LOVE! Best of all, they require very few supplies and they’re super easy to […]
A new ministry year is quickly approaching and we couldn’t be more excited about the fun, faith-filled GO! lessons that are coming your way! Do you want a sneak peek? Click the Scope & Sequences below to see all the exciting stories and storytelling methods we’ll be using as we take elementary and preschool kids […]
First, an exciting introduction… I’m SUPER excited to introduce you to a new member of the GO! team. His name is Jeffrey Reed. He was formerly the Director of Lifeway Kids, but now serves as our Marketing Director. I first met Jeffrey at a KidMin conference nearly 10 years ago–it was the first conference GO! […]
If you had to guess, what would you say is the most visited website by kids? (I’ll give you a hint, it’s in the title of this article!) You got it! It’s YouTube. If you’re the parent of a school-aged kid, that most likely doesn’t come as a surprise. My kids probably spend more time on […]
One of the most frequent questions we get asked here at GO! Curriculum is “Why don’t your preschool lessons align with the elementary lessons?” In other words, why aren’t preschoolers learning the same stories at the same time as the older kids? That’s a great question! And I understand where it’s coming from. For the past 15 […]
I’m always on the lookout for awesome resources – and I bet you are, too! So, here are four that I’m loving right now! (And as always…these are NOT paid endorsements! I only recommend resources that I think are truly awesome and worthy of your attention!) Time to Update: 7 Areas to Integrate Digital Discipleship […]
Last week I talked about how often times our lessons are geared towards teaching kids about God, but fail to connect kids with God. (If you missed it, you can read it here.) How do you fix that? For elementary aged kids who can read, one of the best ways I’ve found is through Response […]
Imagine this for a second… You meet this incredible man who you can’t say enough good things about. In fact, every week, when you get together with your other friends, you spend an entire HOUR talking about this person. One week you tell stories of how kind and compassionate he is. The next week, you […]
Long ago, after speaking at a conference, a 70 year old gentleman approached me and told me a story I’ll never forget. He told me, “When I was a young boy, I was one tough cookie!” That’s old-man speak for “problem child.” Along with every other person of authority, he defied his Sunday School teacher […]
I had an interesting conversation with a KidMin leader at the KidzMatter Conference a couple weeks ago. She approached me at the GO! booth and said, “It’s because of you that I cancelled my summer kids camp.” Uh oh. I didn’t know what she was talking about, but it didn’t sound good. And for a […]
