‘Contact over content’ has been my motto for kids ministry over the last year
A year ago this would not have made much sense but living through a pandemic has meant that we have all had to change the way we do things. This last year I have been reminded how important it is for us to maintain relationships with our kids and families, to contact them and connect with them.
I am sure you have all been reminded of this recently, yet at the same time there are so many amazing resources out there that enable us to create this connection, and content which we use to connect. Here are 3 resources that I use on a weekly basis:
1) The Jesus Storybook Bible — it has been amazing to see how children connect to our videos when they see that I have the same Bible as them. This Bible is a wonderful resource to link the story of the gospel to all the stories within the Bible.
2) Saddleback Kids videos — these are amazing videos of all different Bible stories. They are really well produced and biblically accurate. We use them on a weekly basis in our Life Groups and in our Family Worship on Sundays. Hint: If you contact Saddleback Kids directly you can receive permission to use their videos within the videos you’re creating.
3) If I could ask God anything by Katheryn Slattery — a lot of our kids are starting to ask bigger questions. The pandemic has sparked the curiosity of many children who are asking more questions about faith. This book gives short and child friendly answers to big questions, it is great as a resource for you but also easy enough for children to read themselves.
4) A puppy — My husband and I got a puppy in the summer and he has been such a great tool for kids ministry in the pandemic. He has appeared in our videos, my talks and also been a great connection tool for meeting kids and families in the park.
These are a few resources which have been super helpful in creating content and building connection with our kids and families. My prayer is that during this time we will see many more kids come to faith and grow in their faith as we all experience church in a different way.
Tamlyn Carshagen is Children’s Pastor at St Paul’s Ealing, London. She used to be a Key Stage 1 teacher but knew that her calling was full time ministry.
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Join us for our online Leadership Conference: Beyond the Storm, 15–17 March. Each afternoon we’ll be looking at the shifts we have seen in all things kids ministry — from supporting parents to being even more creative with our digital ministry. Find out more & book.
