KidMin Backstage

Today I'm running solo.

Here's an audio version of an article I wrote for the WPF Together Magazine back in 2022.
I've added some music and sound effects to hopefully enhance the narrative.

The premise of today's podcast is that we are always making an impact, even though we might not see it manifested right away.

Today I'm joined by Bro. Myles, and we're talking about what makes a Bible story interesting.

In our Sunday school, we focus a lot on themes. We do Space Themes, Pirate Themes, Army Themes; all kinds of stuff. 
One time we were brainstorming on different theme ideas, and we started talking about popular stories like Narnia and Pilgrim’s Progress-both of which we’ve done. But as we were talking, I stopped and said, “Hey, wait a minute! We have a resource that is full of awesome stories!” 
Now, we still do big themes and it is a major part of our Sunday school, but we act out Bible stories 99.9 percent of the time and we try to make them interesting and memorable. 

A few things we try to cover:

• Jesus told stories for a reason.
• Kids today are overwhelmed with "attractive" media.
• Know the details.
• Give it your all.

Coming up!
I'm joined by Bro. Myles and we're talking about interesting Bible stories.

Today I'm joined by Bro. Steve Arter and we're talking about the green grass on the other side of the fence.

The old saying, “The grass is greener on the other side of the fence.” has been around a long time. I did some quick research, and it seems to be attributed to a Greek philosopher, but the Bible has examples as well. 

Have you ever seen a cow poking its head through the fence and eating the grass on the other side while the grass on her side is up to the chin? There’s just something about looking at other people, or other ministries and thinking that they’ve got it going on. That they have it all together and if only we could be like them… 

While we should always strive to be better and it’s fine to gain inspiration from others, don’t forget what you have right in front of you. Because someone, somewhere thinks your grass is greener.

Some of the things we try to cover:

• It's not a competition.
• Realize what you already have.
• Let greener grass be an inspiration.
• Some grass is just different, not better or worse.
• Follow your pastor's landscaping specifications. 

Coming up!

I'm joined by Bro. Steve Arter.

Today I'm joined by Bro. Aaron and we're talking about creating a scene on stage in Sunday school.

In our Sunday school, we try our best to make every element awesome. We don’t always get it right, but that’s our goal. We do big sets with slides and custom playgrounds, we create cool themes, etc., but the way we get there is bite-size. 
We have been doing this for a while and we’ve added things here and there to create what we think is a pretty decent Sunday school. 
We’re always trying to improve and the way we do that is by taking a look at individual elements and improving them. 
That’s why today, we want to talk about creating a scene in Sunday school. We want to kind of break down what makes a scene on stage incredible.

Coming Up!!!
I'm joined by Bro. Aaron and we talk about the creating a scene onstage.

Today I'm joined by Bro. Brent and we're talking about the tipping point.

Have you ever been asked to lead something, and you don’t feel qualified, or you don’t know if you’re even capable? Maybe someone calls you out as an “expert” at something and you’re like, “Hey wait a minute.”. 
Or, on the flip side have you ever felt like you kind of had something figured out and that maybe you were an expert then you get around some different people and you feel like you don’t have a clue? 
We certainly don’t have all the answers, but today we want to discuss the phenomenon of the tipping point. That point where you go from learning how to do it to becoming a leader. 

Coming Up!
I'm joined by Bro. Brent and we're talking about the tipping point-that point where you go from being a follower and learner to being a leader and providing resources.

Today I'm joined by Aneisha & Shaylee - back by popular demand!!!

So much of what we think of as “cool” isn’t cool at all to kids. And sometimes the things we think of as messy or “unprofessional” are exactly what kids think of as cool. We promote professionalism in our Sunday school, but we need to remember what kids are thinking and what they’re looking at. 
We talk about how the details matter because kids hone in on things we might not even notice. With this in mind, we try to create those details to our advantage so that we can get kids to focus on the right things and it gives us the opportunity to teach them and make it stick. 

Some of the things we try to cover:

• Why cool themes are important.
• Stories keep kids interested.
• Create specific scenarios to obtain interest.
• Remember, you will have a lasting impact.