3 Resolutions for your Church Ministry in 2019

 

January is only halfway over and most New Year’s Resolutions have already failed.

According to Jon Acuff in his book Finish: Give Yourself The Gift of Done, 92 percent of all New Year’s resolutions fail. Not because people don’t try to accomplish them, but because perfectionism stagnates growth and the resolution sputters to a halt.

Below are three simple resolutions to implement in your church ministry that are both achievable and significant.

Resolution #1 – Learn Something New About One Attendee Every Week. 

In children’s ministry this can be both easy to accomplish and forget.  However, committing to learn one new thing about a child each week can make a major impact. What video game are they into this month? Who do they want to be like when they get older? Why are corndogs their favorite meal? Simple questions allow you to connect with the individuals who are attending your ministry on a personal level and send the message that you care about them.

Resolution #2 – Make One Big Ask A Month

Big asks can be terrifying. Asking that volunteer to take on leadership responsibilities, inquiring with a parent if they would prep all the material for your ministry, calling a business to check if they would allow you to use their space for free. Yet scripture is clear that Christ has empowered us with the Holy Spirit which, as it says in 2 Timothy 1:7:

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” – 2 Timothy 1:7

Each month in 2019 make a big ask. The worse thing that could happen is for that person to decline and the best is beyond imagination.

Resolution #3 – Try One New Thing

It feels good to have a ministry that is running effectively and efficiently. The dangers of this happening is that stagnation can set in. Simply doing the same thing you did this year as in 2018 can be an easy way out. Instead, plan to try one new thing this year in your ministry. I don’t mean a little thing like serving tea instead of coffee. I mean something major. Change how your small group operates, host one major church event, build an interactive experience for kids. Shake things up and try one new thing.

Small change can make a major impact. You can’t lose twenty pounds in one week, but in the course of a year you can adjust your diet and exercise to accomplish your goal. Pick one of the resolutions above and start making small changes. In one year you will see the fruit of the small but important changes.

Let us know which Resolution above you picked or if you have a different New Year’s Resolution that is still going strong! Want help on resolution #3? Check out our blog post form last year about Five Ways To Create a Fun Kidmin Environment.

5 FREE Church Graphic Resources

Living in a digital age can be daunting when you don’t know where to start. To help we have compiled a list of five free resources that will enable you to effortlessly boost your Facebook page, event flyers, or church slides.

1. Canva

Canva is a free do-it-yourself graphic design website. Using an accessible interface, you can make posters, flyers, presentations, announcements, social media posts and much more. Canva was created to make design simple and with pre-designed templates you can alter, no design looks bad.

 

2. Church Motion Graphics

Church Motion Graphics (CMG) offers an array of colorful slides and pictures. The content is perfect for making eye popping presentations or using the backgrounds for worship slides. With hundreds of free slides CMG is a fantastic resource.

 

3. Freely Photos

Freely Photos is a stock photo database that focuses on resourcing churches. Split up into categories such as Bible, Prayer, Worship, Kids & Youth, and more, you can always find a picture for the right occasion. Each category is licensed under Creative Commons which means you are free to use the pictures in your own personal marketing or however you see fit.

 

4. PixaBay

Another free stock photo database, PixaBay boasts more than a million photographs and illustrations. The website includes a keyword search that allows you to quickly find any type of picture you may need. As with Freely Photos, PixaBay allows you to use any and all pictures free of copyright.

 

5. Danstevers

While the majority of content on Danstevers is actually not free, the website does include a handful of useful freebies. This list of nine different packages includes countdowns, videos, graphics, and loops. Seasonal packages are also included such as a winter themed pack and a Good Friday Collection.

 

We hope this list can help springboard your creativity and make the world of graphics a little easier. Have a favorite free graphics resources that didn’t make our list? Let us know what it is in the comments below!

5 Ways To Teach Kids Thankfulness

“Thank you”

A simple phrase that we love to teach our kids or students. It is a respectful response that should be used often.

However, thankfulness goes beyond the words and phrases we use. Instead, a thankful posture grows out of a heart of gratitude. Below are 5 ways to help your students or children mature in gratitude and move beyond a simple phrase into a constant state of thankfulness.

A Prayer of Thanksgiving

Prayer is a simple yet powerful way to teach thankfulness. The next time you pray with children, lead them in a prayer of thanksgiving. The format for this style of prayer is to have the child list something or someone they are thankful for and say, “God, thank you for ______”. You continue the prayer until the child has run out of people or items for prayer. For concrete thinkers (elementary age) give them a goal to reach, such as to thank God for ten people or things in their life.

“I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.” – Psalm 9:1

Thankfulness Board

Grab a whiteboard or large sheet of paper and set it around your home, classroom, or church. Allow kids to write and draw pictures of what they are thankful for on this board. Incorporate the board in a weekly routine so that children are constantly engaging with their creative side while striving to grow in thankfulness.

Thank You Cards

Anytime your child receives presents for Christmas or their birthday, sit down with them and help them write thank you cards. As a Sunday school or classroom project, set aside some time to write thank you cards for police officers, fire fighters, soldiers, government officials and local businesses. Don’t have the budget to buy cards? You can print some for free on Greetings Island Thank You Cards

Gratitude Walk

The next time you take kids on a walk, go for a gratitude walk. As you stroll to your destination, have kids point toward objects around them and say “I am thankful for _____”. For kids that may have a harder time staying focused on this activity, make it into a Gratitude I Spy Game by stating, “I am thankful for something that is the color _____”. After a kid guesses the correct object, have everyone proclaim together “We are thankful for ______” (the object just guessed).

Local Thankfulness

Bake a tray of cookies and buy a simple box or bag from the dollar store that can be decorated by kids. Package up the cookies and take kids on a trip to a local business or government building. Go inside and have the children offer the gift of cookies to an employee by sharing how they are thankful for that person or business. It is a truly sweet moment when you can see the shock on an employee’s face at the practice of gratitude by a child. Several stores that have worked well for me in the past include: City Hall, YMCA, Recreation Centers, and Small Retail locations.

By putting some of the above activities into practice, you can teach children that thankfulness goes beyond a simple phrase and is a lifestyle that comes from a heart of gratitude.

Looking for another “No Mess” way to teach children about Gratitude? Check out our Gratitude Object Lesson Blog Post.