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Countdown to Olympics
The Summer Olympics are kicking off in Rio on the 5th August, and what a great time to get your families involved in sports ministry, Check out these websites for some good sports ideas:
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Oh no, the kids are staying in...
Many of us wrestle with what to do with children when they stay in church, whether its for the beginning of the service, blocks of worship, or (gasp!) the whole time.
Engaging children with the whole church worship and helping them understand elements of corporate worship are vital if we want children to know they belong. They belong to a church bigger than just the children's ministry.
Here are a couple of projects that churches have involved children in as acts of worship - Visual Lord's Prayer, Prayer Placemats and some Psalm 96 bunting from the Waikato. What ideas have you had?
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Children's Ministry Research
Scripture Union's Children's Ministry Survey closes on 17th June. If you are a children's ministry worker at your church we would love you to fill this in - only one response per church is required. It will provide a clearer picture for churches about what is happening for our children. The more churches who are a part of this, the clearer the picture.
And OHbaby! has kindly donated $500 for one fortunate participant….spend it on yourself or on your ministry – that’s your choice. Click here to take the survey.
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New Children's Bible app
Bible Society New Zealand has launched a new app for mobile devices that is designed to help parents share the Bible with their kids. Called The Big Little Bible, the app features New Zealand-made illustrations by Mesh Holswich, using a unique 'one line' art technique called contour drawing - where the pencil never leaves the page.
"One line, one thread, from the beginning of the Bible until the end, it's all one story. Each illustration is made with one continuous line, which then joins with the next illustration, and the next, representing the one story than runs through the Bible from beginning to end," explained Meesh.
Aimed at 8-10 year olds, the app includes 30 Bible stories taken straight from the Contemporary English Version and seeks to bridge the gap from paraphrased Bible stories to independent real text Bible reading.
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Chronicles of Paki
Have you seen the second series of Chronicles of Paki? SUNZ have put together a series of resources to go along with the books. See their children and families ministry blog here
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Sea Sunday
Sea Sunday is a global celebration of the enduring and vital work of the Mission to Seafarers. This year the Mission to Seafarers celebrates 160 years of continuous ministry to the maritime industry. Sea Sunday is traditionally set for 10 July, but can be celebrated on any Sunday in July, with a focus to celebrate and remember the life and work of today’s 1.5 million seafarers, on whom we depend for the goods that are transported to and from New Zealand. Today 90% of all imports and exports come via the sea, and it is the seafarers who crew the ships that manage this trade. Great resources here along with a children's pack
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Training Dates
Get your leaders along to some of these events across the country this year. More information can be found on our website or email us
Auckland
- Sports Ministry Workshop, 9th June
- Mainly Music Workshop: Mind Health for Families, 14 June
- Spark Plus, 20 June
- Godly Play Core Training, 20-22 June
- Messy Church Resource Day,
6 August
- Carey Baptist Block Course, 5-9 September
Blenheim
- WAY2GO Focused, 13 September
Greymouth
- WAY2GO Focused, 17th September
Hamilton
- Mainly Music Workshop: Mind Health for Families, 15 June
- 'It's Just a Phase' workshop, as part of the Hamilton Children's Ministry Cluster
Nelson
- Messy Church Resource Day,
27 August
- WAY2GO Focused, 14 September
New Plymouth
- Strandz Children's ministry workshops, 7-8 June
Including 'Keeping People Safe' and 'It's just a Phase, so don't miss it'
Wellington
- WAY2GO, 11 June, Silverstream
- Mainly Music Workshop: Mind Health for Families, 16 June
- Children's Ministry Network workshop, 25 July
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Carey Baptist Children's Ministry Block Course
The children's ministry block course at Carey Baptist Theological College offers some of the best, robust and thorough training for children's ministry leaders in New Zealand. The course is running on the 5 - 9th September, and Dave Csinos is teaching this year, and there will be a great group of Anglicans attending. Download the flyer
We have 3 Strandz Scholarships to attend the course for audit (worth $340 each). View the scholarship details here
To apply
Email us and share:
- why you are passionate about children's ministry
- what you hope to get out of attending, and
- how your parish/diocese would benefit from you coming along to the block course.
Successful applicants would need to get to Auckland and cover their expenses (food, travel and accommodation). Applications close 10th June.
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World Weekend of Prayer for Children at Risk
This weekend (4-5 June) it's the World Weekend of Prayer for Children at Risk. Resources for this event can be found on the Viva website or the Scripture Union blog. |
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mainly music
Using the promo code QUEEN, you can get 10% off everything (not events) on the mainly music shop this long weekend. And speaking of events, make sure you get along to Richard Black's 'Mind Health for Families' events if you are in Whangarei, Auckland, Hamilton and Wellington. More details here |
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Messy Church
Bring your team to explore in depth the five core values of messy church in Nelson (6 August) and Auckland (27 August). More info here.
Also check out the Messy Church magazine
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Disability Awareness Sunday
Disability Awareness Sunday falls on 19 June this year. This is a great time to remember the Body of Christ is made up of many parts and all congregation members have talents that can be used to serve Christ.
ELEVATE, the Christian Disability Trust, has prepared this resource to help churches celebrate congregation members with disabilities.
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