A Children's Curriculum Idea

I had an idea almost 3 years ago about a curriculum for Children's Ministry that still has not come true. My thought was, "Why don't the major players of Children's Curriculum come together and make one resource that is out of this world?" I mean think about it. It is not like we are talking about competing businesses or even platforms with different agendas and different goals. It can't be that we are worried about the government saying that this couldn't happen because of the fear of a monopoly. I even pitched this idea to Keith Johnson who was working at Group Publishing at the time. Keith was the Children's Director for Billy Graham and I worked under him back in 1999. I thought now that he was working for a publishing house that was successful in almost all denominations throughout the country that they could bring the major players together and let each work on what they were passionate and successful at. For example, can you imagine a Children's Curriculum that had Fellowship Church working on technology and training volunteers on a weekly basis, Willowcreek working on dramas, North Point working on involving and resourcing families, Saddleback working on videos, and Kidmo working on energy and hype? All could bring their budgets, teams, and leadership to the table and then Group could publish it. So why haven't they? Don't they all have the same mission? Is it a technology issue? Is it a lack of vision? Tell me that it is not a pride deal... Tell me that it is not a money deal...Tell me that it is not a personal deal... Aren't we talking about the future of the church? Aren't we talking about kids bringing their parents to church? Aren't we talking about giving every church a tool that they wouldn't have to worry about being excellent so that they could focus more of their time on building relationships? What is the excuse? We have the idea now. I don't even need the credit or work on the project, but if someone needs to step up and coordinate it then let me do it. Isn't this just getting the right people on the bus and then getting them in the right seat. To me it is a no brain idea that would help the local church better serve its kids and their families. So let's do it. Let us come together like no other industry has in the past and do something incredible for the kingdom of God and for the lives of millions of children everywhere. If you hear me yelling it is because this should be done. So here is who I invite to be on the bus: Mike Johnson, Sue Miller, Reggie Joiner, Craig Jutila, Johnny Rogers, and Thom Schultz. Let's sit down and figure this out.

Staying Current

I had the following questions on my blog recently:

What resources do you use to find out about the various curriculum? How about knowing what is cutting edge out there?

These 2 questions are excellent questions. By the way, I do believe in the theory that if you ask the right people the right questions then and only then will you get the right answers. Now I don't consider myself the ultimate expert of what is cutting edge in Children's Ministry but I do try and stay as current as possible. How do I do that? Well, here is the process.

1. Look to large churches with successful programs.
-- I consider there to be 4 highly successful churches in America when it comes to Children's Ministry. These 4 are Fellowship Church, North Point, Willow Creek, and Saddleback. Why these 4? All four thrive in their community but go beyond that and have created resources that help everyone else be successful. Fellowship has Elevate, North Point has created their own company called The Rethink Group, Willow Creek has Promiseland, and Saddleback has Empowering Kids or Purpose Driven Kids, whichever one Craig is promoting at the time. These resources are great because the church is already using and tweaking them for their success. They are also great because they have staffs that can do what myself or any other Children's Minister can't do alone.

2. Look at Disney, Nickelodeon, and any theme park you can find.

3. Look at Curriculum companies next.
-- I consider Group Publishing to be the best curriculum company for Children's Ministry. There are others but all of them seem to watch the larger churches first and then see what they can come up with sell to churches. Right now, if you are doing VBS then curriculum companies are the only way to go. They put mega bucks behind there product and do things that even larger churches have trouble doing for VBS.

4. Go to conferences that aren't just product pushers
-- For example there is a new one coming up put on by the Rethink Group called Orange. It should be very good. Reggie Joiner is great about not pushing his stuff to much but having incredible stuff that you want to buy. The Children's Ministry International Conferences feel more like pushers then real purpose. It almost feels like you just sold a used car. Group's regional one day conferences are nice to take your team too and get training. Willow's is nice if you need a pump me up. Saddleback's is great if you are looking for philosophy, alliteration, and a nice time in California.

5. Search Children's Ministry Websites
-- Just for fun I put "Children's Ministry" into Google and 1,570,000 entries came back in 0.12 seconds. As you can probably tell, most are a waste of time. I am not a big fan of most children's ministry sites, including Kidology.org. It seems like it takes longer to take their ideas or products and change them to fit then it does just to create my own stuff.

There are my Children's Ministry insights for you. I do of course have 47 blogs that I try to keep up with on a daily basis. Most are not Children's Ministry related but it does help to see what other industries are doing to see how they can be applied. I hope this has helped.

Do you Twitter?

There is a new rage that is being blogged about all over the internet. It is called Twitter. Read the buzz here. Here is what Twitter says it is...

What is Twitter?

Twitter is for staying in touch and keeping up with friends no matter where you are or what you’re doing. For some friends you might want instant mobile updates—for others, you can just check the web. Invite your friends to Twitter and decide how connected you want you to be.

It simply asks the question. What are you doing?

I think this could be a very useful tool for ministry but I want to see if you think so. What ways could you use Twitter? Is it a waste of time? Is it possibly the next MySpace.com or YouTube.com?

I have a twitter account and if you want to be my friend you are more than welcome. My e-mail is remixkids@gmail.com.

Right now I am blogging on www.mckeelive.com.